I've started this blog with the intent of detailing my progress with powerlifting. This won't be updated very often, as I'll mostly be posting either just numbers or thoughts when they come. In addition, I'll be using this blog to detail my thoughts on training, science, and my philosophy to fitness on a whole. It should be interesting to see how that changes. My other blog (http://pkna-animus.blogspot.com), Animus Parkour, will remain my general training blog (which is more GPP than Parkour these days).
So, why powerlifting? Ever since being introduced to Joe DeFranco's manner of training athletes, I've been fascinated with real strength and power. The way I see it, traceurs lack this significantly. In the US, due to the influence of APK, more and more traceurs go into CrossFit with this idea of "be great at nothing, but decent at everything." I think this is absolutely the wrong way to go about things. Many of the CrossFit-focused traceurs do happen to be much stronger than I am, but it's closing into the point where their weight advantage is responsible for it more than pure strength. Suffice to say, I intend my training to be specialised, and the longer I train in this way, the further ahead I will get compared to the CFers out there. One thing I see with CFers is that they tout Olympic lifting as the absolute best way to develop explosive power, and they just might be correct! But think about this: Olympic lifts are explosive completely bilaterally (you don't explode from a split-jerk, but into it). Yes, this will transfer to Parkour, but how often do we really explode bilaterally? Traceurs make it a point to not punch the ground. Under DeFranco's program, there is both bilateral explosive exercises and unilateral (sled sprinting). From what I've seen in Toronto, I think this is by far the best way to approach power.
I still haven't really answered the question at hand. Well, I favoured the DeFranco system so much that I began to delve further and further into powerlifting culture. I read Dave Tate's articles, Louie Simmon's, etc. etc. Yes, mostly the Westsiders, but that's because I firmly believe that the Westside program is the absolute best for athletics. I've met powerlifters who don't believe it is the best for raw powerlifters, but.. suffice to say.. More elite lifters come out of Westside Barbell than any other gym in the country (and possibly world). That speaks for itself, I think.
On my quest to develop true explosive power, I became more and more intrigued by strength. After all, the development of strength is what facilitates the development of power. For my height and weight, my lower body strength became pretty impressive rather quickly. And, at some point, I said, "Just once in my life, I'd like to compete at a powerlifting meet. Just to do it." Well, I want to work toward that now.
I have started from the position of DeFranco's modified Westside program for athletes. I've already begun to tweak it to incorporate some of the original Westside stuff geared more toward powerlifting. And I'll be making tweaks along the way until I have something that I feel works best for my body. I want to develop a program, based off of the template of Westside, that is clearly my own and that shows what I believe to be the best way to develop raw strength and power for Parkour, as well as powerlifting. So this is the beginning of this journey.
As it stands, I am 5'6" and 155lbs. My lifts are 295 squat, 195 bench, and 305 deadlift for a total of 795. Paltry for now. We'll see where I go from here.
