Richard Schuller - Powerlifting Over 50 Mastering the Skills for an Empowered Body and Life

Powerlifting Over 50:

Mastering the Skills for an Empowered Body and Life

By

Richard Schuller

Copyright 2016

All Rights Reserved

Disclaimer

You should recognize that any exercise program involves some element of risk. You should consult with your physician or health care professional to see if this program is something you can do without endangering your health, and for diagnosis and treatment of illness, injuries and for advice regarding medications.

While exercise is normally beneficial, it is important that you undertake knowing that you do not have any health conditions that may be aggravated or damaged by activities in this program. The author and Mid Life Hard Body, LLC shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any damage or injury alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book.

You should never discontinue taking medications prescribed by your doctor without specific consultation with your doctor. You should obtain clearance from your doctor before you undertake any program of exercise as the activities may be too strenuous or dangerous for some people.

Before making any changes to your personal diet and nutrition habits it is recommended that you consult with your physician or health care professional. The nutrition information and suggestions in this book are for informational purposes only. While every attempt has been made to verify the accuracy of information provided in all portions of this book, neither the author, nor any affiliate s/partners assume any responsibility for errors, inaccuracies or omissions.

The information contained in this book is not intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor as a substitute for medical treatment. The nutrition information in this book should not be adopted without consultation with a physician or your health care professional. Use of information contained in any portion of this book is the sole responsibility of the reader. Neither the author nor any affiliate s/partner is responsible or liable for any harm or injury resulting from the exercises, nutrition advice, or personal management strategies.

Copyright 2016 by Richard Schuller

No part of this book may be copied, reproduced, or transmitted without express written permission of the author. This includes any means of sharing, including photocopying, recording, or through any electronic or mechanical means. The only exceptions are portions of the text used in critical reviews or by other means allowed by copyright laws. All rights are reserved.

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Acknowledgements

As I built this book from the first concept to the final words on the page, I got help and support from some very special people.

My wonderful wife Susan helped make the writing immeasurably better. Her gifts as a screenwriter helped me in more ways than I can count. She helped me clarify the most important information to include in the text, she was a skilled reviewer and editor, and she has also been a constant source of inspiration.

I want to sincerely thank Scott Tousignant who kept encouraging me throughout the writing. He was a perceptive sounding board for many of the ideas included in here. He has been my mentor and friend for several years. His help and guidance have been critical for me.

Special Thanks

To Adam Neiffer and the men and women at Cross Fit Fort Vancouver, thanks for all the help in producing this book. Several members eagerly posed for demonstration photographs. Owner Adam Neiffer generously gave me access to the building and equipment on multiple occasions.

After training in different gyms for nearly 60 years I can honestly say that in my opinion Cross-Fit Fort Vancouver is one of the best gyms on the planet. The positive energy and genuine friendliness (not to mention curiosity) of everyone makes it an ideal place to train.

While Cross Fit is more often associated with Olympic style competitive lifting, I found that the staff and members of CF Fort Vancouver eagerly embraced many insights from powerlifting. We have enjoyed a rich exchange of ideas on training, conditioning and life.

Again, my sincere thanks for all your support and assistance in producing this book.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part I The Big Picture: Powerlifting and Fitness

Chapter 1 Powerlifting training over age 50

Chapter 2 - Developing powerlifting unique athletic skills

Chapter 3- Sport specific conditioning: an overlooked factor

Chapter 4- Training for power: Building training plans

Part II Training Programs

Chapter 5- The Squat: King of power exercises proper technique

Chapter 6- Training cycles for the squat

Cycle 1: Foundation cycle

Cycle 2: Partial squats and deep pauses

Cycle 3: Elastic Band Training

Cycle 4: Box squats and front squats

Cycle 5: Peaking program

Chapter 7- Bench Press: THE most popular lift proper technique

Chapter 8- Bench Press training cycles

Cycle 1: Foundation cycle

Cycle 2: Explosive strength I

Cycle 3: Power cage training

Cycle 4: Explosive strength II

Cycle 5: Peaking program

Chapter 9 Deadlift: Pulling monster iron -technique and core assistance

Chapter 10 Deadlift training cycles

Cycle 1: Foundation cycle

Cycle 2: Strength builder cycle

Cycle 3: Elastic band training

Cycle 4: Power max cycle

Cycle 5: Peaking cycle

Chapter 11 Isometrics: A forgotten training method that promotes big gains

Part III Getting the most from your training

Chapter 12 Pathway to success: small steps to big improvements

Chapter 13 Nutrition for power

Chapter 14 Overtraining and injuries

Chapter 15- Supplements and performance enhancing drugs: A cautionary tale

Chapter 16- Entering a powerlifting meet: a step by step guide

Afterword

Introduction

Powerlifting Over 50: A great way to be both fit and strong.

Powerlifting is one of the greatest activities you can do that can give you both serious fitness and phenomenal strength. You can also look great, have a ton of personal confidence and enjoy your workouts like never before.

You dont have to compete, you just train like you were going to compete. You get the benefits either way.

Training for powerlifting has a lot of perks for people over 50 in addition to looking years younger and having the actual body of someone much younger.

The cool thing about the sport of powerlifting is that you can do it at a very high level for an incredibly long time. I should know. I spent 25 years competing and retired at the tender age of 72. I could still do it, but a quarter century of lifting at a national and international level seemed like enough. I was ready for a new challenge.

I can say without the slightest reservation that I loved powerlifting, loved competing and above all loved lifting heavy stuff. I know a lot of people who love to lift heavy stuff who might never want to compete. Still, they want to lift as much as they can.

This book is for all the people who like lifting heavy stuff, who want to maximize what they can lift. It is structured around training for competition, but training that way, in my opinion, is the best way to get in really great condition.

I like to think of this book as being aimed at the lions and tigers over the age of 50. There are some ways that you have to train a little differently than kids in their 20s, but you can still produce monster lifts. You just have to be a little more careful and deliberate about it than someone with only two or three decades of life experience.