Sorry, i know their are folks tired of my schtick "i quote." One of my old powerlifting buddies stopped by. Man i miss the comradre, i miss the challenge, i miss being relevant. I pretty sure back in the day i could walk into any NFL camp in be one of the top srongest guys. Slow, unathletic, but strong.

My buddy asked me to come back and coach. At some point you need to be able to perform to be crdible. I cant perform. Im no longer credible. It sucks. Wish i was still relevant. Just sucks as all. I struggle to feed myself and wipe my ass. Just wish i had something to give like i used to.

Thats enough of self pity. Thanks for letting me vent

Is your story typical for the elite level powerlifter, or did you do it in a way that you look back and think you could have done it differently but still get the same strength?

Its funny if you look at it from a genetics perspective. It is humbling. But should you not eke out everything you can? Naturally im a 450 lbs bench presser. With help, i think i could of been 700lbs. I never would have beeb able to sniff 1000 like scott mendelson and donnie Thompson did.

I never could be 7'2 like Shaq.

The thing is, i thinke there are few people who push themselves to their genetic max. At some point you realize your genetic max isnt good enough to be great. But isnt there something to be said about reaching that pount?

AggieOO.. you been there. It sucks but what is more human than that?

The thing is, i'm not elite. I was good. My bench press is 400 lbs from elite... think about that. My squat is 200 from elite. I got everything i could and more out of my body. There are so many people who are so much more gifted.

This is something I struggle with, having only got back into fitness later in life…I will always have to wonder what I left on the table when it comes to my body's potential.

Don't get me wrong, I'm going to push the limits. But I feel like I'll always wonder how much easier it could've been 10 years ago.

I hear what you say about your genetic maximum. Despite being Scandanavian, I didn't acquire the world strongman genes... I struggle with wanting to get stronger but stay lean which as you know is hard to get "strong" without gaining some bad mass. So my goals are get down to 12% bf (which would get me to ~200lbs at 5'10", currently 215 and 18%) but keep my bench at 300+, 400+ squat, and 450+ dL. When I was in powerlifting 20 years ago, I knew 160 lb guys, that weren't short, that could do those numbers with ease and they obviously had better strength genetics than me. I certainly struggle with just wanting to get strong, but I do feel good that around the office, or general public, I'm top level (although these days isn't hard to do...it's gross walking around the mall this time of year and seeing the general population).

Hoosegow said:

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Wish i was still relevant. Just sucks as all. I struggle to feed myself and wipe my ass. Just wish i had something to give like i used to.

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Hoose, this may not be helpful but wanted to say it anyways.

You're obviously experienced and have put your body through a lot. I think you have a ton to offer, it may just not be in stuff that you realize is helpful to others or in things that you consider personally valuable.

The information you are sharing about your genetic potential, reaching it, the sacrifices it takes to get there, the psychological aftermath of a lifting career, etc. are all things that I think can be hugely valuable to lifters at many different stages of their journeys.

Now, you know as well as I do that most young guys won't care about 75% of that and only want to hear how they can add 200 pounds to their lifts, but that doesn't make the information any less valuable. It just means they need to hear it often enough that it either finally soaks in or they hear it at the right time in their journey.

Hoosegow said:

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Sorry, i know their are folks tired of my schtick "i quote." One of my old powerlifting buddies stopped by.
At some point you need to be able to perform to be crdible. I cant perform. Im no longer credible. It sucks.

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But do you to be a coach? You have performed. You know what it took to get there. You know what this looks like done properly.

Do you not have the credentials to offer something to lifters?

Seems like you do.

The best coaches I know had to work hard to overcome physical limitations. The.naturals are so natural they can't relate to someone having to work at things they don't have to think about.

Tex117 said:

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Hoosegow said:

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Sorry, i know their are folks tired of my schtick "i quote." One of my old powerlifting buddies stopped by.
At some point you need to be able to perform to be crdible. I cant perform. Im no longer credible. It sucks.

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But do you to be a coach? You have performed. You know what it took to get there. You know what this looks like done properly.

Do you not have the credentials to offer something to lifters?

Seems like you do.

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I agree. Some of the power lifting coaches I have seen over the years at my gym are guys who look like they don't lift seriously anymore but can tell they have some mileage on them and know what they are talking about.

I don't think Olav Aleksander Bu has ever trained let along attempted a triathlon yet he coaches two of the worlds best triathletes.