the POWER MAG NEWSLETTER

monday nov 6, 2000
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1.....RICKEY DALE says.....

try "the POWER FORUM" at http://members.boardhost.com/powerforum/
..........talk to others and have your say..........

well........i am primed, as my workout partners are for training....a tiny bit of snow on the ground and a warm weight room.........we can stay in here for hours and lift and talk to our hearts content...what more could you want.......

the usapl team usa is in japan and ready to roll.......lifting in the ipf world's.......good luck guys...lift smart and do well and bring home some gold.....

again, as usual i have been diluged with requests by beginners for routines.......saying the ones they have tries just do not seem to work very well.............PAY ATTENTION.......ONE MORE TIME..........form and technique is more important than routines........greater gains will be made in improving your form than in new routines........beginners also need to be patient........take your time and write up your routines to reflect slow to moderate but consistent gains..........even though this is the instant society it is better to be the turtle in this case than the hare.....

2.....POWERLIFTING PARAPHERNALIA AND TRIVIA.....

and the answer to the trivia question is the supersuit by marathon was originally designed to be used as a wrestling singlet.......and the only winner is michael butler of longview, texas ( a longtime friend and ex-oklahoman)....

and this week's trivia question is..............what bodybuilder and author ate his way up to 400 lbs and then lost down to under 200lbs to win the mr america.....he also was big on good mornings.........his articles and pictures were in the old iron man mag on numerous occasions.......

Have had many conversations on the forums with people who use and do not use equipment. The estimate is about 90-94% of all powerlifters use equipment most of the time in the last weeks of training at least, and at meets. You all know where I stand on the subject. So I did a little investigating, since I know many coaches of many different sports in college, high school and professional levels. I did a little unscientific research on equipment they use in their sports and advancements in gear of such in the past 10-15 years and in the next 10-15 years. As I suspected, "all" the coaches (total of about 30), all said pretty much the same thing, they could not conceive of the thought of there being no advancement in gear in their sport in the next 10-15 years. And most likely they would embrace it. They also told me the advancements in gear in the past 10-15 years, In their opinion, had not only improved safety but had improved performance. Both in training and in the game and final performances. Injuries were less, but also the performances were improved with the gear, both in physical enhancement and the mental ability to perform better. They had no concerns that the public would think otherwise and they discounted the very few nay sayers who said otherwise. Very interesting, but not surprising. It is as I expected and have stated. Advancements happen in all sports with gear which improve the performance of the athlete. 
I cannot state enough that many people train without any gear of any kind, that is their choice. However, through the years of experience and observation I see the majority of the lifters who are still at it (fairly injury free) after 20 years or more are the ones who chose to lift and train in gear, even if it was loose gear. Therefore be smart and lift a long time by using gear to enhance your longevity.

SO, WHO CARES! 

I got that off my shoulders.

3.....POWERLIFTING ROUTINES AND INFO.....

Some general trends in powerlifting gear seem to be holding steady. There is not a whole lot more in the way of improvements one can make in design to improve the power suits anymore, without going to different types of materials. Which I do not foresee. You may find in the future more interest finally being paid to form, style and technique changes for improvements than to gear. As I look out among the lifters I still find that the vast majority need significant form changes in their technique. One can make faster gains in lifting in this area than in any other, yet it is the last to be looked at. Which is puzzling to me since in every other sport this is the first thing that is looked at when one needs improvement. I would like to emphasize this, everyone needs to look at their technique, evaluate it and work on the changes to improve ones lifting. ...and then continue to look at it and evaluate it throughout one's lifting career.......i constantly see on the powerlifitng forums the question being asked.....what is a good routine to improve my bench..i am stuck.......instead of how can i improve my form...my bench is stuck.........think form...not routine............

I have had some great feedback from the routines in my squat book, "To Squat Or Not To Squat". Thanks...... we are in the process of a second printing of the book and have added some more routines. I have redone the nutrition section and added some general info. It should be out by january........... Remember, simple routines are the best and you have to cycle. You cannot keep at 80-90% all year round and make gains or not get injured. Be smart, do not take long rests, just back off. We have had numerous questions on youth lifting recently. They should concentrate on 5-10 reps and just do the basic lifts, squat/bench press/deadlift with a minimum of supplementary exercises. Work on form and technique constantly...

Jan Erick has suggested we discuss rest periods. So..... the amount of time between sets and reps will vary depending on your training program, your cardio and muscle endurance level, your workout program goals (i.e. training for a sport, training to get into shape, training for a bodybuilding or powerlifting meet, etc.) and your experience level and time allowed for the workout. In powerlifting your rest periods will be longer in general than in any other type of training. At the beginning of a cycle my rest periods are less and sometimes I even do 2-3 or more sets at a time, instead of 5 sets of 5 I might do 2 sets of 10 at the same weight and finish off the odd set of 5, just for a change, but only at the beginning of a cycle when the weight is much lighter. If you are having form problems you should not do this; as this is the time to work on that. As the weight gets heavier and the reps drop to 3's and 2's the rest period will become greater. If I am in the last 3-5 weeks of my cycle and I am doing heavy squats for 3's, my rest period will be 10-15 minutes. Also if I am doing 3 sets, it would be obvious that the third set will take a longer period of rest than the first sets. I firmly believe one should rest till they are at least 95% recovered from the previous set. Remember we are not looking for a pump, just a little muscle endurance, and a lot of pure strength; so we need the rest to be able to handle that heavy max weight again for sets. In hot weather perhaps longer times and in cooler weather a shorter time will be needed. The lighter class lifters usually get by with less rest time than a 350 lb super. You need to get the oxygen back in your system but remember do not cool down. It is an art to learn the right amount of time to rest and everybody is different. So pay attention to your body and your previous training sessions to keep learning. If you do not rest long enough, you defeat the purpose of handling the heavy weight for strength gains. Also your form will tend to get sloppy if the rest period is not long enough. So beginners, learning your body and its recovery time is very important.

4.....NUTRITION AND SUPPLEMENTS.....you are what you eat.....
and check out the incredible supplement specials at
www.crainsmuscleworld.com/supplements.asp

Extra vitamin C is a must. I have said it time and time again, 2-5 grams a day, especially during the flu and season. If I can find some legitimate info not put out or subscribed to by the nutrition industry i will do so.... I am trying to keep it fair and above board.

still have some specials on drinks and some closeouts on protein supplements........get some of these while they last

5.....PARTING THOUGHTS.....

well this has been a busy week...so training has been scarce..........but never completely gone........ALWAYS LOOKING FOR GUEST ARTICLES................and always looking for pics to put on the site.........feedback is a must and i want to thank all the ones who send the many positive e-mails i receive each week.........

Rickey Dale Crain
5 time world champion

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