Hi! Thank you for that!
I do have squat shoes but I am so hyperflexible that they tend to not help me that much. ATG is eeeezzzz lol. But I may just actually try them again just for the heel height. Good thought!
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I need more flexibilityā¦ Iām old, on the downhill slide lol
Nice belt btw, Inzer?
yeppers. but, though Iāve worn it for several meets, I think I want want just a tad bit less tall /less height. I wear mine high, and it really digs.
( LOL flashbacks to when it was brand new and I was having a hard time getting it undone by myself and was having hyperventilation because I couldnāt breathe and it felt like it was going to be stuck on me forever. 
)
And my sbds. Love them they feel like cheating, but I only wear them for 1rm. Really only wear the sleeves and belt for max attempts. Wore my squat shoes back when I could lift 2 big boy plates on each side, now, it would be sad and embarrassing.
Do you powerlift? Whatās your favorite gear?
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I only power lifted in principle, never competition. I didnāt get serious about lifting til i hit 40, decades of really heavy drinking before that. Now i have arthritis in my ac joints and some tears in my rotator cuffs so i like my slingshot.
I wish i wouldāve been serious about it in my youthā¦ i love what i can still do now though.
Itās awesome that you compete, fill us in how you do in your meets if you donāt mind. 
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I havenāt competed since 2019. It was actually March of 2019 lol. I still remember them scrambling to try and figure out:
- should we quarantine them should we put the people watching in another locationā¦ And then they were just like fuck it just go back to normal-
How I do? As in my max lifts?
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I was just figuring what place you took if you were at a meet. I probably put my max lifts here somewhere but they are nothing special. I fell short of all my goals on my main 4 lifts.
The base of the program Iām running right now is Wendlers but as a 8-6-3. I just came off of hernia surgery a few months ago so Iām still feeling stuff out.
Well fuckā¦ Iām pretty sure the other side let loose (inguinal hernia) deadlifting today on warm up sets (like 225). I thought it may have started letting go shortly after my last surgery but wasnāt sureā¦ still not sure but it feels really weird, different than the other side but i had the other side bad for like 10 years. Good news is any surgeries for the rest of the year are free lol. 
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When I first started competing I was competing against people in a federation that was not drug tested. I knew I had no hope. When I saw people 3 inches shorter, 20 pounds lighter than i was, lifting three times what I could lift, I knew it was pretty much pointless to hope to place at those meets. But I always continue to better what I had done the time before. Now I am competing against people that are my same age, which is not that young, and Iām, well, itās like shooting fish in a barrel because theyāre just there for recreation and I am highly competitive.
Best meet totals (squat, bench, DL)
@ 142 pounds (148 class): 247, 147, 295
@ 132 pounds (132 class): *, 125, 215
@ 122 pounds (122 class): *, 130, 225
the asterisk means that the meet did not have a squat component. It was weird, but the organizer didnāt want to deal with the increased length of time it would take to add a third lift.
I truly hope you did not injur yourself. I was out for almost a year when my SI joint got loose and I said, oh just ignore it. Ha. That pain was worse than having a baby, literally (and I had home births!)
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Those are some really good numbers! Looks like you preform the best in the 148 class (especially DL). Itās impossible to compete against people doping. Being super competitive in something healthy is a good thing
Lol, same boat here. Out-of-pocket max has been met, so letās get slicing and dicing!
But do hope you donāt have to, and feel better.
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Thank you. They are ok numbers. Always looking at the percentage of bodyweight lifted.
Stopping drinking + cPTSD is apparently the best weight loss program there is /sarcasm, but I am small-boned and 122 fits me. I wonāt force myself to eat like I used to do to weigh 148. So just gotta get better at 122
How are you feeling this a.m.? Any improvement?
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I still feel weird but Iāll probably bench today, weāll see how it feels with leg drive. Iām gonna drop weight too, Iām sitting close to 200 right now and Iām kinda fat lol. I feel like i lift the best at around 190 but Iām still pudgy there too. Ideally Iād like to check it n out at like 180ish and see.
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How you doing my friend?
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Easier to get in/out of bed, transition from sit to stand and vice/versa.
Can walk a fair bit without my walker, but canāt be on my feet long enough to cook a meal for myself like Iām so accustomed to doing. Been living on protein smoothies (gotta get that fresh fruit and veg somehow) and overnight oats, mostly. Canāt bend much, but Iām not supposed to these first 2 weeks anyhow. Lotta of ice and heating pad time, since I canāt get back to stretching yet either.
So - not terribly comfortable, but also small and noticeable improvements each day. All I can ask for!
Thanks for checking on me bub.
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Your discipline is much better than mine, i just got fat eating like shit after surgery 
. Iām glad to hear youāre noticing improvements, thatās HUGE for the mental game. Youāll be crushing it in the gym again before you know it!
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Really looking forward to trying to maximize the neurological connections to the muscles, see what Iāve been missing and what I can get back. As I said before, I havenāt really been able to get stronger for the entirety of this whole thing. 4 years stuck around 165 lbs - regardless of changes lifting routines, caloric intake, time of day workouts, etc.
Would love to tack on like 15lbs of muscle when I can get back at it. Gonna try my damndest.
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Youāre young enough, youāll be able to no problem if you get that mind muscle connection back with the legs. Legs pack on mass fast, even at my old age .
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T, youāre simply an inspiration. Your commitment to your health is phenomenal, and your fitness & nutrition is no doubt aiding in your recovery.
I have an upcoming renal surgery (which doesnāt even touch the complexity of your surgery) but your post is super inspiring. Iāve been slacking in the physical activity lately with the chaos of life (excuses!) but after reading this, I immediately jumped back on my rowing machine 
Hope youāre doing well in your recovery! 
(hashtag back goals)
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Good for you! Love swimming and getting into a meditative rhythm while doing laps.
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