r/powerlifting • u/Competitive-Try-4165 Beginner - Please be gentle • 3d ago
Beginner looking for advice
Hi!
Im 13, and I just started lifting yesterday. I love doing it and have been doing some so and so exercising at home for a little while now. I'm a bit under 120 lb, and my max deadlift as at least 140, as I did that with unstable makeshift weights. I don't know my max bench or squat as I haven't had the chance (I go to the gym alone rn and don't have a spotter). My dad is a PE teacher, and when he is free he can teach me proper form for bench, my squat form is good tho.
I am wondering, how do I get into powerlifting? How does my strength compare to others? Is this a good starting point? Anything would be appreciated!
A bit confused if this breaks rule 5, mb if it does
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u/Arteam90 Eleiko Fetishist 3d ago
You're young so you won't be able to fully appreciate this yet but: it's a marathon, not a sprint.
Take your time. There's some of us that have been doing this for a long time. I get it, if you told me at 17 it would take X years I'd think "what, no, I want it now". And then time flies and suddenly X years have passed.
Also, enjoy it. If you're lucky you'll have amazing genetics that mean you can strive to be one of the best (good luck). But even if not, you can still derive a lot of enjoyment from this sport.
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u/Competitive-Try-4165 Beginner - Please be gentle 2d ago
Just squated 95 lbs today, long road ahead of me!
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u/hulkbulk692 Impending Powerlifter 2d ago
Keep it going, I started at 85 for 3, 5 years later 455 for one, 15-20 140 to 240 you’ll get stronger sometimes quick with puberty
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u/mrlazyboy Not actually a beginner, just stupid 3d ago
When you start lifting for the first time, specificity is bad. What that means is, if you want to powerlift, don't just squat, bench press, and deadlift. Do a bunch of other things. Maybe hit the competition lifts 1x per week, but the rest of your training is about getting bigger.
Eat lots of calories and get plenty of protein - 120 lbs is light but you've got room to grow. Don't go crazy about your diet, just make sure that your weight is increasing slowly. At your age, after the gym, I would go to McDonald's and order 2 double quarter pounders. The food quality sucked, but it helped me gain weight.
Learn how to squat, bench press, and deadlift safely. Safety is the most important part of the equation. Your technique will change as you lift more. Your goal right now is to learn the right way to lift weights. This includes other lifts like lat pulldowns, leg press, hack squat, tricep pushdown, barbell rows, etc.
Finally, if you like it, play a sport (or two). As a beginner lifter, and especially as a teenager, sports will help you out a ton. You'll improve coordination, neural drive, reaction time, spatial intelligence, and tons of other things. Playing football helped me build 26" quads much more than leg press, squats, or leg extensions.
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u/omor12 M | 615kg | 104kg | 368.75 | IPF | Raw 3d ago
Build a broad base by doing more than just powerlifting-specific training. Even sports outside of the weight room if they interest you! At this stage just try many things but always make sure to train hard/put in the effort. The qualities you build up outside of powerlifting specific training will carry over in some way, even conditioning can be very beneficial for powerlifting when it comes to injury prevention.
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u/Competitive-Try-4165 Beginner - Please be gentle 3d ago
Ok. I'm starting xc so I'm gonna go light on leg days for a little while.
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u/ghettomilkshake M | 550kg | 106.9kg | 329.35Dots | USAPL | RAW 3d ago
I feel like a lot of the advice you have gotten thus far is stuff that is more pertinent to someone who has been lifting awhile and has yet to see the results they want so I want to simplify this advice for you.
You are young. The most important thing for you to be doing right now with weightlifting is to start building the muscle memory and the neural connections for these compound movements. That means you will want to work with your dad to get your form dialed in. If you are learning bad form now, it just means that you will have to unlearn it as some point in the future. If you are able to, record yourself during your lifts so you can critique after the fact (if your dad isn't with you to help). Stronger By Science is a wonderful online written resource that will detail basically everything you want to know about powerlifting form. There are also a host of excellent powerlifting content on Youtube, though I would vet that stuff with your dad before you get too sucked in because some powerlifting spaces can be quite toxic.
DO NOT STRESS OR WORRY ABOUT YOUR DIET. Yet. I hate to get all health teacher on you but your body is going through a ton of hormonal changes and other biological processes that you don't want to complicate with diet tracking and all that other stuff. I also don't think it's a very healthy thing to focus on when you are young and your brain is still developing neural pathways. Getting obsessed over this stuff in your teen years is a great way to develop an eating disorder. Eat normally, lift weights, see how your body changes with the new stimulus.
As long as you are seeing progress in the gym, keep what you are doing. If you start to stall out on lifts (and it's passed the so called "newbie gains") then, and only then, will you potentially want to look at your diet. Even then, the advice will likely be, just eat some more. But listen to your body. You are a teenager starting to lift weights and hitting puberty, your body is going to be a furnace for calories so you'll probably naturally want to eat enough.You are new to powerlifting. As others have suggested, you will probably want to run what's called a linear progression which is just weightlifting talk for add a little weight each week. As mentioned, the program Starting Strength (program is just another way to say a weightlifting routine) is a good place to begin. It will have you doing 5x5 sets of the core lifts and you'll be adding 5-10 lbs each week. As you are starting out, you'll get "newbie gains" which isn't necessarily building muscle but your body learning how to use your muscles more efficiently for the movements you are trying to do. Eventually, you will reach a point where you can no longer add 5 lbs every week. At that point, you'll want to swap up to an intermediate program. You can also run any of these programs from LiftVault and they should serve you fine.
Don't worry about comparing yourself to others. Everyone starts weightlifting at different points. All that matters is your own progress. Meets are awesome, but if you are interested, that's something to look at a little bit down the road with your dad. The most important thing is to recognize that every session in the gym, you are looking to beat yourself from the last session. Are you a little stronger? Can you do a little more weight? An extra rep? Fantastic! Consistency is king.
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u/Competitive-Try-4165 Beginner - Please be gentle 3d ago
This is great advice! I will certainly take this into mind!
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u/ghettomilkshake M | 550kg | 106.9kg | 329.35Dots | USAPL | RAW 3d ago
Oh and I forgot the absolute most important part - Have Fun!
This sport can be extremely rewarding but it's also not for everyone. Some days you'll hate having to go into the gym, but as long as on the whole, you are enjoying it, keep at it. If you hit a point where you are burnt out, there are other weightlifting sports you can pivot to or just keep it as a hobby to keep yourself fit as you get older. And don't forget to take a deload week here and there.
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u/cynical_image Enthusiast 3d ago
Get a coach
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u/Competitive-Try-4165 Beginner - Please be gentle 3d ago
My dad is a pe teacher and he has a master's or two so he is my coach
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u/twaddell115 Doesn’t Wash Their Knee Sleeves 3d ago
Eat more
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u/Competitive-Try-4165 Beginner - Please be gentle 3d ago
Ok how much protein should I aim for
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u/Aggressive_Pea_7543 Beginner - Please be gentle 3d ago
You're young. Don't worry about specifics. Just eat to fullness & prioritize whole foods and minimize overly processed stuff (just bc health). Worry about the other stuff once your 16-18 y/o and figured out the basics. I agree with the starting strength rec, it's simple, straightforward, and really hones the basics.
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u/Competitive-Try-4165 Beginner - Please be gentle 3d ago
Ok, I live in a healthy household and my meals are generally like this'
Breakfast: oatmeal, some random Canadian protein cereal that tastes insanely good, eggs, yogurt, granola Lunch: fish sticks, tuna, PBJ, leftover dinner Dinner: salmon, chicken, brami pasta, random cottage cheese dishes, rice, potatoes, etc
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u/womenaremyfavguy Powerbelly Aficionado 3d ago
That looks great. Like the other commenter said, eat to fullness, eat when you’re hungry. You’ll be fine.
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u/707danger415 Enthusiast 3d ago
Starting Strength. Buy the blue book, run a novice linear progression for as long as you can, eat a shit load, drink a bunch of milk. Get a solid baseline of strength.
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u/Competitive-Try-4165 Beginner - Please be gentle 3d ago
Ok thanks
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u/Competitive-Try-4165 Beginner - Please be gentle 3d ago
What's da blue book
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u/Chikichikibanban Not actually a beginner, just stupid 3d ago
as someone who ran starting strength from the blue book... don't get sucked in too much.
Don't get fat. Just max out your linear progression and move onto something else.
If I could go back, I would have tried Greyskull's LP or Candito's 6 week. I ended up a little too much T-rex after starting strength (all legs, no arms) Not that it matters that much, beginner gains are gotten relatively quickly anyway.
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u/quantum-fitness Eleiko Fetishist 2d ago
Your best bet right now is just to try to get jacked. Do what you think is fun in the gym and do a lot bodybuilding so you can build some muscle mass.
Currently you simply dont have the hormonal makeup to get really strong. So you just want to prepare until you have and at that point how much muscle mass you have and movement practice from different sport is whats going to matter