I think what I need to start doing in order to build more strength on bench, squat and deadlift is like the title says… I need to lift heavier weights and do low reps a lot more. I know you’re not going to build more strength by lifting weights that makes you feel comfortable all the time. For example, I always like to go for the 4 sets and 8 – 12 rep. range which will be about moderate weight. That will give you some strength sure but it’s more of a muscle building technique than giving you strength. To get more strength you want to lift the heavier sets for around 1 – 6 reps and that’s what I need to start doing from now on.

https://www.johnsonfitness.com/blog/lifting-weights-building-lean-muscle-high-vs-low-reps/

You see, I want to build muscle and get more strength at the same time. So I got to mix it up somehow. I have been mixing it up lately.

Usually what I’ve been doing is that I lift the moderate weights for 4 sets and 12 reps first and then I’ll do the heavy set last. I’ll only do that with bench, squats and deadlifts.

I’m going to have change my workout plan around some and figure something out ’cause I’ve been writing things down in a log book lately. What a lot of lifters do is that they pick a week for moderate weights and then they do heavy days the week after. I’m not sure how exactly they do it but I’ll do some research on that.

Another way to get more strength is that I need to boost my nutrition and I have done that. I’ve started eating more instead of less. Usually I eat 4 or 5 meals a day and I think soon, I’ll boost it up to 6 meals a day. Gotta get those calories and lbs. if you want to get bigger and stronger. I don’t want to lose weight, I want to gain but not get fat if you know what I mean.

I was never meant to become a Powerlifter… I just wanted to build muscle and become the best shape of my life. To do bodybuilding and powerlifitng at the same time is kind of challenging and I’ll figure out how to do both. Not only do I want to build muscle and look great, I also want to be strong like a beast too.

Kev

This is me deadlifting a big 210 lbs. again. This is the heaviest I can dead-lift as this is my personal record so far. I’m hoping to be able to deadlift 220 lbs. sometime before the next Powerlifting meet but it’s gonna take me a while to get there. This is my third time lifting 210 lbs. for one rep but if I keep doing it, I’ll soon be able to deadlift 215 like maybe in a month or two.

Still though, 210 lbs. is really good and I’m pretty proud of myself for sure. I never thought I would be able to dead-lift over 200 lbs. but I guess I can. Here’s the video to prove it. This didn’t hurt me at all and it was real easy too.

I can’t bench and squat heavy yet but working on those too.

Over the years of my life, people called me weak and thought I couldn’t lift heavy things. Well, how do you like me now?

Kev

In the past, I used to never take form seriously when it comes to weight-lifting admittedly. When I first started weightlifting, I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. Admittedly, I was sacrificing good form just to get into lifting heavy right away which is the last thing you want to do. Good form is vital if you want to hit the muscle in the right places and so you won’t get injured.

It’s amazing how many guys in the gym I see lifting with bad form. I don’t say anything ’cause it’s rude and “bad” gym etiquette just to go up to someone to tell them “you’re doing this wrong, you do it this way”.

Just a few days ago, I was watching a guy doing heavy bench pressing and he was doing it the worst form ever. He was moving the bar up and down very little, not using full range of motion. While he was moving the bar up and down very little, his butt was going up off the bench which is bad. When benching, the butt needs to be on the bench at all times. If the butt lifts off the bench when lifting, you’re using too much weight. I think this guy knew that, it’s just that his ego was so huge and was trying to be a show off that he could lift heavy.

I see too many half reppers and I see too many guys doing stuff in horrible form as if they look like they were about to hurt themselves.

There are too many gym rats that are in such a rush to lift heavy when you don’t need to be. What’s wrong with lifting weights that makes you comfortable? Lifting weights that makes you feel comfortable would be more easier and you can feel a full contraction that way. Nothing wrong with lifting heavy but if you can do it in good form by all means, go for it. So many men in all ages workout in terrible form ’cause a lot of them are misinformed about bodybuilding.

I’m just starting to learn that if you want to build big muscle quicker, feeling the full contraction is key. Feel the full contraction on every rep and every set. Do every rep and every set in perfectly good form. If you can’t do a workout in good form then don’t be afraid to lower the weights ’cause it’s okay. I’m starting to do that more… lowering the weights so I can do better form.

A lot lately, I’m trying to take good form in all my workouts more seriously. I take every aspect of form very seriously even the things that are very small. It’s the best thing to do if you want to hit the muscle in the right places and get a full contraction.

Also, I see a lot of guys in the gym do their reps very quickly… for example, I see guys doing lat pull downs very fast, same with seated cable rows and cable crossovers. In my opinion, I think that’s bad. I like to do my reps in slow movements ’cause you hit the muscle harder that way.

So many people in the gym will NEVER admit they do things in bad form ’cause their ego is so big and they’re a bit of a narcissist. It’s okay to admit that you do things in bad form. I’m not afraid to admit it. I’m still trying to get the form right on barbell squats and dumbbell shoulder presses.

Leave your ego at the door and stay humble. There are a lot of egos and arrogant jerks that go to the gym… that’s why you see a lot of men screaming, grunting and dropping heavy dumbbells to the floor when they don’t need to do all that. They’re just a bunch of attention whores.

I’m glad I’ve been filming myself working out at the gym ’cause that’s a great way to see if you’re doing things right and you can correct your form that way. It really works.

Kev

I can deadlift 210 lbs, I can bench 100 lbs. and I can squat about 90-100 lbs. all for one rep. For deadlifting, if I want to lift for 4 sets and 12 reps, I’ve got to lower the weights some. Same for the other two workouts. I would like to bench 90 lbs. for 4 sets and 12 reps but I’m not there yet — I’ve got long ways to go so for now I can bench 50 lbs. for 4 sets and 12 reps.

I find it weird that I can deadlift heavier than I can bench and squat. Probably ’cause my lower body is much stronger than the upper body. After noticing this, I’m going to have to build more strength on the upper body and I’m working on that.

To build more strength on your workouts, you just gotta keep at it. Don’t give up and you’ll get stronger. For example, my dumbbell curl work… I’m noticing that 25  and 30 lbs. dumbbells feel really light for me now and now I’m lifting 35 lb. dumbbells for 4 sets and 12 reps so I’m getting strength in the arms. Getting strength is kind of a slow process so you got to take your time. I do want to become a heavy bencher and heavy squatter but I’m not gonna rush. Just continue to lift weights that I’m comfortable with and I’ll get stronger that way.

This is why I can’t slack off from the gym and can’t take breaks. I’ve got to keep my 4 day a week routine going even throughout the fall/winter. I kept it going throughout the Spring and Summer this year and it has been going real good. I’m going to keep 4 day a week routine going all year round. I’ll try to take a week break like once or twice a year and that’s it ’cause you need a break from the gym once in a blue moon, just don’t over do it. If I want to get big and if I want to get real strong, I gotta keep going to the gym 4 days a week.

I’ve decided I’m going to do barbell stuff for benching, deadlifts and squats. Everything else will be all dumbbells and a few machines.

To get myself stronger, I just keep lifting, lifting and lifting. That’s all I gotta do. The more you lift, the stronger you’ll get. I’ve noticed that doing dumbbell curls. To get good at benching takes a lot of arm strength too. I’m enjoying benching more and more but I have a problem trying to like squats, though. Maybe I’m not used to barbell squats ’cause I’ve never ever done barbell squats in the squat rack before until now. It just gotta grow on me somehow. Just gotta get the form right and I will once I do squats for leg day on Friday. I’ll just practice doing barbell squats for lighter weights for now and then maybe I’ll enjoy it more. I’m glad I got into barbell workouts more, though.

That’s another reason why I got into powerlifting training too to give me more strength in benching and squats. To lift stronger, you gotta watch your form and take your form seriously which a lot of lifters don’t do which is sad. I’ll have another rant about that in another blog post.

Kev

I’ve been doing research on gym etiquette a lot lately. The reason I do research reading about this stuff on the internet and watching youtube videos about this stuff is that I want to be able to help make the gym a better place when I workout there. When you work out at the gym, you have to realize that it’s not really a place to make yourself at home. Meaning, you’re at a public place where a lot of people use the gym so you need to be responsible about gym etiquette for yourself and others.

This article here is probably most well-written article on gym etiquette there is.

Check it out:

Gym Etiquette: 29 Unwritten Rules

Like the article says not only gym newbies have a big problem with bad gym etiquette even the most experienced lifters have a problem too. They all have a problem really.

At the gym I go to, bad gym etiquette is a real problem there. It’s getting worse. Sadly, lifters break all those rules that were written in this article.

People don’t care to put weights back to where they belong when they’re done, happens all the time and I’m sure you’ve seen it too. There are people who stand so close to the dumbbell rack when lifting dumbbells (when I do dumbbell stuff, I go farther back away from the dumbbell rack like a gentleman). People are always blocking others mirror views (I get that all the time when I’m trying to watch my form). Stupid idiots dropping heavy dumbbells on the floor is still a problem. I also see stupid idiots doing barbell curls in the squat rack. Too many idiots curl in the squat rack and it’s so dumb. Also so many guys in the gym get so rough with the equipment when lifting (like when guys are done lifting a bench set, they’ll slam the weights on the rack when they rack it and crap like that).

More problems that happen in the gym… people using cell phones during their workouts, chatting with their friends between their sets for a long time, equipment hogging, dumbbell hoarding, etc. It can go on and on. You get the deal.

Now I can see why some people prefer to workout at home with their home gym ’cause people at public gyms suck ass, they really do. LMAO….

You see, this is why I tend to workout at a public gym early in the morning or real late in the afternoon ’cause those are the hours when the public gym are usually slow. The busy hours at public gyms are usually around noon or in the evening. I hate working out in busy as hell gyms like when they’re packed with people and stuff ’cause the equipment I need to use are always being used.

I’m always respectful to the public gym… at least I try to be. Admittedly, I’m guilty of bad gym etiquette sometimes myself but I’m always responsible and respectful. I put weights back when I’m done, I always wipe down equipment when I’m done, I try not to take so long on a piece of equipment and things like that.

Bad gym etiquette is a big problem at all gyms. Make no mistake about it!

Kev

I’m trying to get bigger in size and yes, you can do that naturally. I’m already am getting bigger in size ’cause people around me are noticing it. When people notice you’re getting bigger in size when it comes to weight lifting, people will tell you. I get a lot of nice compliments on my physique lately… people telling me I look good, “you’re looking massive lately” and things like that. Where ever I walk out in public and I’m wearing a tank top or a t-shirt, I would get stares by people. That’s because they’re probably just admiring my built physique.

I feel pretty good of how I look now but I could get bigger. Before I first started bodybuilding, I used to weigh 130 lbs. Since I’ve been bodybuilding for 10 years or over now, I’ve gained some more weight over the years and now I weigh 148 lbs. I’ve never been fat really… so the weight I gained over the years was muscle weight. I’ve gained muscle pounds over the years since I’ve started lifting. You can get bigger in size just by lifting and that’s how I’m going to continue to do it.

The bodybuilding and powerlifting websites out there say in order to get huge, you need to bulk by eating more calories. Maybe I should give the bulking and cutting method a shot, I don’t know. I have decided to boost my food intake a little bit to see if that will help. I gotta be careful though ’cause if I eat too many calories, I will get fat and I don’t want that.

I’ll just continue to do what I do. Eat clean and lifting hard. Knowing from my own experience, lifting with high intensity will get you bigger. Lifting with high intensity… meaning pushing to your limit. Working out the heavy reps ’til failure which is something known as hypertrophy lifting which is what I’ve been doing a lot lately. Train like a bodybuilder aka “beast mode” is what they all say. That’s how I train in the gym.

Someday I want to look like these guys: The Ultimate Warrior, the young Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brock Lesnar, Dave Bautista, Sly Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, etc. Yes, you betcha I want that big monster look but it’ll take some time to get there. Yes, you can get there without steroids and other drugs.

I already got a decent physique now but could get better and I’m working on it.

I just switched to mostly barbell lifting and that’s gonna help for sure. Doing bench press, deadlift, squats and I’ve started doing seated barbell overhead press for shoulders too. I’m noticing that barbell is way more effective than dumbbells. I’ve been doing bench press for weeks now and I’m feeling great development in my chest lately.

I will never compete for bodybuilding shows ’cause that’s never gonna be my thing, but I will continue to compete for powerlifting shows, though. In the past, I used to be against competitions and all that stuff but powerlifting meets are a blast, though and I definitely gonna do more.

Some of you may ask, why do I want to get so big in size in bodybuilding? It’s not an ego thing or anything. I just want to be able to become the best shape of my life. You can only live once, ya know? Just want to live a healthy lifestyle and also to prove the doubters wrong. People are always criticizing and doubting me in my fitness goals and this is my opportunity to shut ’em all up.

I’m definitely thinking about making my life story documentary video that I was talking about. It’s probably gonna happen and it’s in the planning stages right now.

Kev

You’ve seen vloggers and fitness websites doing these types of lists at the gym… ya know, talking about different types of people you see at public gyms. I’m just going to do my version of what I’ve seen at the gym. Yes, I’ve seen all these types of people at the local gym that I go to in my hometown.

Here is the list in no particular order so I hope you all enjoy:

• The Half Repper: At all gyms you go to, you will always see half reppers all over the gym. It’s amazing to me how many people do half repping instead of full range of motion. I always workout with full range of motion which is important if you want to get that full contraction. Half repping is horrible form. So many guys do it all over the place. Why do they half rep? It’s because they just want to show off that they can lift heavy and impress everybody in the gym. There are some people who say that partial reps actually helps but I don’t think so. Half reppers in the gym are annoying for sure.
• Casual clothes wearing people: Instead of wearing appropriate gym attire like shorts, sweatpants, t-shirts or tank tops you’ll definitely see people wearing clothes that you wear everyday. I’ve seen people working out in tight jeans and nice flannel shirts and I’m like, WTF? You’ll see this in every gym too.
• The chatter: You know these chatty people who talk a lot. They talk for a long time in between their sets and that’s not good for the muscles. I’ve seen people chatting for like 20 minutes or so in between their sets. Just chatting, laughing and bullshitting. The gym is not really a social place. Don’t get me wrong, I like talking to people at the gym but when someone tries to talk to me in between sets, I just say simple things like, “I gotta get back to my workout”. Don’t want to waste a lot of time in between sets. Not good for the body.
• The cell phone user: Texting and checking your social networking in between sets is very annoying. People would even talk on the cell phones during their workouts too and I’ve seen all this. Crazy. Shut your damn cell phones and gadgets off and worry about that after your workout for the day. Sheesh.
• Men trying to chat with the ladies even during their workouts: I’ve seen this a lot at the gym I go to as well. A young pretty lady working out and then this guy tries to go over and talk to her. She gladly starts chatting with him. A lot of single men claim they don’t use the gym to pick up the ladies but you know that’s a lie and you know what they’re going for. I like chatting with the ladies at the gym too sometimes but NOT during workouts. Usually after is a good time to start chatting with the ladies.
• The Unsolicited Advice Giver: I get this from time to time. I’m doing a workout and some dude comes to me to say I’m doing it wrong, you do it this way. You’ll get this a lot at all gyms too. Be aware of this.
• People who don’t respect the gym: Gym etiquette is real and it’s important too. There’s just people who don’t care about gym etiquette. Ya know, people don’t care to put weights back where they belong. They leave all kinds of trash behind like water bottles and crap like that. It’s terrible. People don’t have any respect for the public gym these days.
• Ego-lifters: Guys lifting heavy weights they can’t even handle is becoming a problem and I see it all the time. Like they all say if you can’t lift it, don’t do it. Earlier today at the gym, I tried to dead-lift a 215 lb. barbell and I couldn’t even do it so I immediately stopped and dropped the weight down a little. I’ve seen guys that if they can’t handle a weight at all, they continue to lift it anyways. Just insane.
• The protein shake and supplement guy: Can’t you do this stuff at home? I’ve seen guys with these protein thermos things and they would even drink these things in between their sets at their workouts. I think it’s pretty nuts that they do this.
• The big water jug people: Nowadays you see men and women bringing in these huge water jugs and they would take it with them at every workout they do. They would take a big drink of water after every set. Um, I believe all gyms should have drinking fountains. If you feel the need to drink water during workouts, how about buying the smaller water bottles you can buy at your local sports stores? I bought one of those even though I hardly ever use it. When people bring in these big water jugs full of water, I think it’s an ego thing. Just to show off to people that they work out hard and stuff, ya know? To me, I don’t even drink water during my workouts ’cause that’s cheating. I like to save the water drinking after I’m done for the day.

There you have it. Enjoy.

Kev

Leaving a powerlifting contest meet with trophies or medals maybe cool but that’s not exactly what I got into powerlifting for. I got into powerlifting ’cause I wanted to build more strength quicker and I figure powerlifting would be good for that. My plan in life is to do a combination of both powerlifting and bodybuilding. Build more muscle and get more strength.

On the bench press, while I’m able to bench 90 lbs. for one rep… I can’t bench 90 lbs. for 10 – 12 reps yet. I need more strength in order to do that. Doing powerlifting will give me more strength to bench the heavy reps more which is the goal. For now I can bench 70 lbs. for 10 reps and 4 sets each.

I really want to get more strength and hopefully to get bigger in size too. To get bigger in size, I need to eat more. I’m gonna do more research on powerlifting nutrition ’cause I’ll probably have to eat more calories in order to get bigger, though. I’ll still need to eat clean and healthy, eat a lot of protein… just need to eat a lot more probably. There’s a misconception out there that powerlifting doesn’t make you bigger and just gives you more strength and that’s it which I find a bunch of bullshit, really. Weightlifting is weightlifting. No matter how you do it, you always build more muscle and strength.

I’m already am kind of big in size but could be a lot bigger, though. It just takes time to get there and I’m not gonna rush.

Powerlifting comes with a lot of great benefits. Not only does it gives you a lot more strength and makes you feel stronger, it’s also the best fat burner and it gives you more bone strength too.

Thing is a lot of people in my life get worried about all this heavy lifting that I do and some say I shouldn’t over do it and calm down on the weight lifting. They want me to go easy on the lifting, I’m so sick of it! No freakin’ way! I do things my own way in the gym and do whatever the hell I wanna do. Lifting heavy is the name of the game in bodybuilding and powerlifting, ya know? Train like a fuckin’ real lifter. I want to prove the doubters wrong that I can lift heavy and it’s working pretty much… posting all those videos on instagram. People are always telling me to be careful and go easy on the weights but again, no fucking way. I’ve been lifting for like a decade or a little over and there are always people acting like that I don’t know what I’m doing. It’s annoying really, lmao. I just do my own thing and just ignore everybody.

I also got into powerlifting so I can tell how exactly strong I am ’cause I can’t tell my own strength. I’m already am pretty strong really but could get a lot stronger but working on it. I can bench a 100 lbs. and I can deadlift 210 lbs. so I would say that is pretty strong. I even surprise myself.

Another reason I got into powerlifting is ’cause I wanted to get into a sport on a professional level, ya know? Over the years, I couldn’t play sports like baseball, basketball and football ’cause of my scoliosis but weightlifting I can do.

The question is, would I try out other powerlifting competitions around the NY State? Yes, I’m definitely going to try other powerlifting federations but I’ll stick with Albany Strength aka ASPF for now. Would I one day do one of the bigger competitions like some of the ones you see on TV? Who knows. Anything is possible. I only did one powerlifting meet and gonna do more of them hopefully in the future.

I do hope one day to make it on the USA Powerlifting meets at Arnold’s Sports Festival where the big pros do their thing: https://www.arnoldsportsfestival.com/sports-and-events/strength-sports/usa-powerlifting/. That would be pretty cool.

On top of all this, another reason I got into powerlifting is to do something fun, challenging and different. I want to feel like a sportsman and become an athletic person. Powerlifting is amazing. It’s an easy and safe sport too. Doing powerlifting is not dangerous as it looks.

Kev

Here is my latest deadlifting lift. This is me attempting to lift a big 210 lbs. which was a successful lift.

Admittedly I’ve been still trying to get the form down perfectly. Somebody once said I needed to bend my knees more which I did here and somebody once said I needed to line my shoulders up with my shoes so my arms can be perfectly straight on the bar which I also did here. Next time I do deadlifts, I’ll film myself sideways to see if I got the form down.

I’m still trying to get the form down by watching deadlift tutorials through youtube. Perfect form in weightlifting is vital. It must be taking very seriously and I’m trying.

Enjoy the video. I love deadlifting. It’s the best barbell workout for sure, in my opinion. Benching would be my second favorite barbell workout, squats would be my last. I’m trying to like barbell squats more, it’s hard to get into but I’ll get used to it.

Kev

Ya know, one thing I’ve noticed about bodybuilding over the years of my life is that the bench is a pretty debatable workout. The bench press definitely does have a love and hate relationship with everybody. You either like it or you don’t. The bench press maybe the king of all workouts but it isn’t for everybody, I guess. For some reason there are a lot of people that like to bash the bench press and at the same time there are those out there that love it too.

There are lifters on bodybuilding forums, blogs and websites who loves to criticize the bench press. The most common arguments they make about the bench press is that they think it’s overrated and they also make claims that the bench doesn’t give you a strong chest development. I think the reason that I avoided the bench press is because admittedly, I was a bit naive and fell for the critics bullshit about the bench press. They also don’t like the bench press ’cause it gives them injuries a lot and shit.

So they claim that the bench doesn’t give them bigger pecs. Well one reason for that is bad genetics and they could be doing the bench wrong. If you do the bench correctly, you can hit the chest pretty hard. I’ve gotten back into bench pressing full time and been doing it for a few weeks now. I got back into benching ’cause of my first powerlifting meet that I did on Aug. 31st. So for that reason, I’ve gotten back into benching full time.

People think that bench can give you a lot of injuries well, you can get a lot of injuries with all other workouts too. The bench can be easy and safe as long as you know what you’re doing. You can still do bench, you don’t have to lift heavy all the time. Just lift the weights that feel comfortable for you and you don’t have to lift to failure to ensure that you don’t get injured.

Yeah, I know that the bench got a lot of negative flack over the years but it can be a great workout. I’ve grown into loving it. I have felt my chest getting stronger and getting little development.

Ya know, that’s the thing with bodybuilding. Some workouts are gonna get some haters — mostly the bench and the smith machine. I have no problem with the bench and the smith machine. There’s always gonna be crybabies and haters in the bodybuilding industry so just ignore them and do whatever you want to do in the gym.

I think the bench is great now and I think it will help improve my chest greatly. I do want get a big giant chest and the bench could help get me there for sure. Those that trash the bench just don’t know what they’re talking about. Usually lifters who trash the bench don’t have a great chest themselves so just ignore them.

If you want to bench then do it. I’m guilty of talking negative about the bench in the past but no more. I love it now!

Kev