Joining the GPC, First Raw Powerlifting Comp, Plans for some big gym PR's by the end of the year.

Firstly, apologies for the fact I have not post up my training for a long time on here.  Blogging took a back seat to general life, running the business and training my arse off.

In my next post I will detail my training programme which will take me up to the end of the year.  This is something I have designed myself using a few influences from some big names in powerlifting, but it is very specific to myself and what I believe works for me.


I decided a while ago that the single ply lifting was not what I wanted to focus on for the moment and so have been training 'raw' since then.  I have trained for phases with no knee sleeves, some training with knee sleeves, and more recently with knee wraps (the last 6 months or so).  I do still do a combination in my training but my focus is to improve my squat with 2.5m knee wraps and a belt.

I chose to join the GPC Federation due to the fact I feel it offers me the most freedom to choose varying styles of powerlifting without being frowned upon.  You can lift raw without wraps, raw with wraps, single ply or multi-ply and each is given respect and credibility by all.  I have met quite a few lifters involved in the GPC now and have found it much more welcoming and friendly than the GBPF.

I have a competition this Sunday (23rd August) in the GPC (the South West Qualifier) over in Bristol which I am looking forward to.  There are a few things I will be experiencing for the first time. Lifting out of a monolift (which I have not done in competition), lifting in a federation with music playing during the meet, and lifting in a federation with some good atmosphere.  I am not going in and putting too much pressure on myself to beat my all time gym PR's, but I do want to post up some good numbers for me.  To qualify with the A standard I just need a 647.5kg total I believe, and this will be done when I hit my openers so anything over this with my second and third attempts will be for fun and based off how I feel on the day.  I am certain when I get there I will feel a bit more competitive and maybe a little more nervous but so far I am pretty relaxed about it and am looking just to enjoy the day.

Moving forward after this competition I am going straight into a new training cycle which I am looking to hit some new gym PR's with by the end of the year (weekend before the Christmas week).
My training plan is going to be run by 3 or 4 other lifters as well who I may ask to record their progress to gauge how successful the programme is across the board.  I've spent the last 3 weeks putting it all together and am excited to get going with it.

I'm going to be training with a couple of extra people who I feel will push me to achieve more than I have before, so all is looking good for some 'big' numbers by Christmas. When I say big I mean in the relative sense.  My targets for the end of the year are roughly a 280/190/280/750 breakdown   (thats a 280 squat, 190 bench, 280 deadlift, and subsequent 750 total).  More would be nice but thats the aim.

Check back here soon to see my training plan and breakdown, and I will be posting up here fairly regularly from now on to share my progress and workouts.

As always if you have any questions for me, please don't hesitate to email me on info@bridgeroadbarbell.co.uk.

Happy lifting.
The Iron Never Lies.

Phil