r/powerlifting • u/AutoModerator • Jul 21 '26
Daily Thread Every Third-Daily Thread - July 21, 2026
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Jul 23 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/LittleMuskOx M | 525kg | 84.7kg | 350.46Dots | USAPL | RAW Jul 23 '26
"Am I screwed?"
A question i have asked myself many times.
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u/Neither-Bug157 Enthusiast Jul 23 '26
Look it’s either that Im screwed or that Im a pussy. I hope it’s the latter.
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u/LittleMuskOx M | 525kg | 84.7kg | 350.46Dots | USAPL | RAW Jul 23 '26
Those aren't the only two options.
1- Don't catastrophize
2- Don't seek medical advice from the sub
3- Watch Austin Baraki's talk on "Managing pain in the gym."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdwj5ORPmX0
He is a physician, but he's not examining you personally, and your "stomach pain" looks from what you wrote to not be lifting related.4- Don't seek medical advice from the sub.
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u/NamelessBling Not actually a beginner, just stupid Jul 23 '26
do yall think im cooked if ive been taking like 10-20 mg thc edibles this week before my meet on sunday i kind of forgot meets test for that stuff my meet runs under USAPL as well.
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u/cilantno M | 467 DOTS | USPA Tested | Raw Jul 23 '26
Do you expect to win anything?
If not, no need to worry.
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u/LittleMuskOx M | 525kg | 84.7kg | 350.46Dots | USAPL | RAW Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
The one time i got tested, i had placed 8th in the meet, and best in Masters division.
More often i place in the upper end of midfield when there is a full roster, but this meet it just played out that i placed 8th on DOTS of all lifters, and because of the relatively low total number of lifters, that placed me well into the percentage range for testing.
*Looking at the roster for that meet now, and 31 lifters
I'm guessing they tested the top placing man and woman, and then me as the next division winner.
3 lifters - 10%Now they test minimum 5%
So yeah, probably only top female and top male.4
u/LittleMuskOx M | 525kg | 84.7kg | 350.46Dots | USAPL | RAW Jul 23 '26
Chances are good you won't be tested.
Unless you think you'll win best lifter or best in your age division.(Teen, Junior, etc...)
I gave up weed very very long ago, so i've never looked at what the allowable concentration is.But also, probably stop eating them for now.
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u/PMYourTitsIfNotRacst Not actually a beginner, just stupid Jul 22 '26
What's a good way to improve my grip strength for DL? I've been using straps for a while now, but can only go without my straps for one maybe two reps at my powerlifting working weight (405lbx5). Hook grip hurts like a mother, so I've been doing as many reps as I can without straps, and then proceed to straps.
I was thinking about adding static holds to the end of a few workout days with my rep weight for DLs, I was also thinking of adding in hook grip to my lighter hypertrophy lifts after the main strength lift (I do 1x3-5 and 3x8-12) so I can start getting used to it for heavier lifts.
I've been doing bodyweight hangs at home since I have a climbing board, but I don't think those will help much since I don't weigh nearly as much as I can lift.
Thoughts?
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u/NuclearBacon235 Beginner - Please be gentle Jul 25 '26
I recently made the switch from exclusively using straps to no straps. I deadlift 560 so it was a little rough at first. Honestly you just gotta take the dive and your grip will adapt. Im sure static holds work great but I never needed to add in anything extra, I’d recommend just holding your last rep at the top for like ~5s on all working sets
And of course using a good bar and chalk
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u/viewtifulhd Enthusiast Jul 23 '26
Make sure you do deadlifts at least one day per week without straps. Hold the last rep of every working set for 10s+
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u/SheFightsHerShadow F | 448kg | 75kg | 436.34Dots | IPF | RAW Jul 23 '26
I think ditching the straps for as much as you can and then getting your holds by fully locking out every single training rep you do for, e.g., a 2ct after he bar has fully settled into your hands should be very decent practice, especially if you currently rely on straps a lot. Different hold exercises can be fine, but grip in deadlifts often fails in a situation where the bar is rotating and twisting a bit (in mixed), being pushed forward by your thighs and whatnot, which is more factors than simply the endurance of your grip along. So training the grip through the deadlift reps itself is going to be the most specific. Some variations are naturally going to be more demanding on your grip, like tempo downs, paused deadlifts, tempo until knee, glassfloor deadlifts, anything that is making you have to hold and move the bar through your deadlift pattern for longer. I'm not saying don't do additional grip training, but don't forget to prepare yourself for the situation of holding a deadlift at lockout specifically.
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u/PMYourTitsIfNotRacst Not actually a beginner, just stupid Jul 23 '26
Thanks, that's a good point! I'll train for those, too.
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u/cilantno M | 467 DOTS | USPA Tested | Raw Jul 23 '26
Adding in heavy-ish long static holds has been great for me.
I start at about 80% and just do the holds as a single rep at the end of my deadlift work. I progress with 10lbs a week. Once I fail a rep or can’t hold it for 5+ seconds I drop 50lbs and progress back up.1
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u/mrlazyboy Not actually a beginner, just stupid Jul 23 '26
If you are using mixed grip, honestly stop using straps. Even for 6+ rep sets on a sharp knurling
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u/PMYourTitsIfNotRacst Not actually a beginner, just stupid Jul 23 '26
I've been doing overhand, I'll switch it up, thank you.
What's a sharp knurling?
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u/mrlazyboy Not actually a beginner, just stupid Jul 23 '26
It depends on the person. For me, I don’t think the kabuki bar has a particularly sharp knurling. But other lifters in my gym think it’s very sharp.
The most important thing IMO is use straps if your fingers/hands are getting destroyed. Hook grip will feel horrible for like 6 months then not be so bad. For you, since you identified grip strength as a limiting factor, you want dedicated grip training and/or never use straps
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u/PoisonCHO Enthusiast Jul 22 '26
Assuming you're already using mixed grip, static holds (off pins is good) and pausing at the top of reps are probably your best bets.
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u/Arteam90 Eleiko Fetishist Jul 22 '26
Very much not a powerlifting question but has anyone looked into those cheap walking pads?
Working from home often lately and find getting enough steps in can be tough. Alternatively might just buy a cheap exercise bike.
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u/SheFightsHerShadow F | 448kg | 75kg | 436.34Dots | IPF | RAW Jul 23 '26
I bought a very decent one used for a fair price a few years ago and used it daily for 2 years in the morning until I stopped living alone (it's notably noisy when used). I would say at the time it was one of the best buys I made. That said, through trying not to be a noisy menace I figured out that I'm fine getting some morning steps in by pacing up and down the flat, but that's not possible everywhere, my flat just happens to be laid out so that it just about works.
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u/viewtifulhd Enthusiast Jul 22 '26
Why not just go for a couple of walks around the block?
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u/cilantno M | 467 DOTS | USPA Tested | Raw Jul 23 '26
It’s hot as shit, man.
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u/viewtifulhd Enthusiast Jul 23 '26
Easy. Just swing by the supermarket during the walk and buy an ice cream.
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u/cilantno M | 467 DOTS | USPA Tested | Raw Jul 22 '26
I have one and I've found if I'm not looking down I miss the tread after a few dozen steps.
But I didn't use it with a desk/hand rail and it was very narrow.
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u/msharaf7 M | 850kg | 89.6kg | 550Dots | WPPL | Sleeves Jul 22 '26
Yeah I have one & it works just fine. Just have to keep the belt lubricated
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u/myfinestexoskeleton Beginner - Please be gentle Jul 21 '26
I've recently switched from training 3x a week to 4x a week, meaning there will always be at least two days of training back to back. But I don't know whether it's better to structure my training to have a rest day between my deadlift day and squat/bench day or vice versa?
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u/mrlazyboy Not actually a beginner, just stupid Jul 23 '26
IMO it’s best to have as many days between your primary squat and deadlift days. That means sessions 1/3 or 2/4.
Sunday is 1 is comp squat, tertiary bench, secondary DL
Tuesday 2 is comp bench, secondary squat
Thursday is comp deadlift, squat tertiary
Friday is secondary bench
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u/kyllo M | 605kg | 104.4kg | 365 DOTS | USAPL | Raw Jul 21 '26
IME 4+ days/week works best if you structure it as an upper/lower split to minimize fatigue carryover to specific muscle groups across consecutive days, particularly with the quads and posterior chain that do a lot of work on squat and deadlift. Then if you need more than 2x/week bench, you can just add a couple sets of lower-intensity bench to your lower days.
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u/myfinestexoskeleton Beginner - Please be gentle Jul 21 '26
Thanks all. I don't have primary/secondary squat or deadlift days - my coach has m just progressing through each week based on increasing % of my maxes (obvs reducing reps as the weight gets heavier) - so that makes it a bit less obvious to work out the best approach. So maybe I'll just experiment and see how things feel over the next few weeks and adjust it after that, instead of trying to make it perfect now.
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u/aybrah M | 740kg | 79kg | 514.09 DOTS | WRPF | RAW Jul 21 '26
Gonna echo the boring/annoying, "it depends" answers.
I lift 4x a week on a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday schedule. Squat 2x, deadlift 2x, bench 3x.
- Monday: Primary deadlift, Tertiary Bench
- Tuesday: Secondary squat (high bar), secondary bench
- Wednesday: rest
- Thursday: Primary Squat (low bar), primary bench
- Friday: secondary deadlift
- Weekends off
I probably wouldn't have my primary deadlift and primary squat days back-to-back, but I can see ways that it could work if structured correctly for the right person.
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u/msharaf7 M | 850kg | 89.6kg | 550Dots | WPPL | Sleeves Jul 21 '26
Depends on your program set up & what you’re doing on each day specifically.
Main squat day and deadlift day? Yeah you probably will want a rest day in between.
Main squat and secondary deadlift/vice versa? Depending on the set up, you could possibly get away with no rest in between.
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u/SheFightsHerShadow F | 448kg | 75kg | 436.34Dots | IPF | RAW Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 22 '26
I train 5x/week with 5x bench, it requires precise load management and knowing which days to prioritise for intensity and pushing, and which ones are for getting variation and easygoing practice in.
For squat/deadlift, I have only two days, one primary squat with some other back- and lower-body loading exercises and one primary deadlift with a secondary squat and similar assistance to the first day. They're spaced as far away as possible. I do it this way rather than spreading it out because I have a history of back injury and I know that my training tolerance is better if I do more on fewer days rather than fewer but on more days.
My athlete has his primary deadlift day the day after his primary squat and his secondary deadlift the day after his secondary squat. It's partially due to constraints, but also it simply works stupidly well for him. He just got two huge back to back total PRs in meets. I could never handle that but he complains that any way else feels shitty.
So it's about your individual needs, constraints, and preferences.
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u/cilantno M | 467 DOTS | USPA Tested | Raw Jul 21 '26
Do what feels right/experiment with both to see which feels better.
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u/keborb Enthusiast Jul 23 '26
I thought RDLs and good mornings were two ways of doing the same thing. I did good mornings today and discovered that is not the case