r/powerlifters

Background: I (25F) have been trying to powerlift for the past 5 years, and after going it alone for 4 years, I found a trainer and finally made some strides in my lifting!! Yay!! Until that trainer gave up powerlifting training and I am back to following online plans.

I think around three years ago, I popped my “back” (on the right side on the crest of my hip) on conventional deadlifts and had to take a break for two months. After that, I got better, switched to sumo after some people told me sumo suited my body better, no pain. Last year, after consistently hitting 140kg for reps and perfecting my sumo form, the pop happened again at 95kg. My lower back on the right felt extremely sore with soreness radiating down my right leg. After seeing an athletic trainer and two months of rehabbing and chiropractic work, I returned to scheduled programming and even competed in my first comp. But there was always a nagging, faint soreness that would temporarily go away when I saw a chiro.

Two months ago, I aggravated the injury again on 110kg sumo deadlifts and dialed back the intensity and focused on rehabbing. While trying to work back up, I injured it again a couple days ago on 95kg, and I’m so disheartened. When I get hurt, it hurts to sit, squat down, drive, do normal things. And I’m frustrated because according to others and my last trainer, my sumo deadlift form is fine. Am I doomed to have shifty, faulty hips? I’m going to see a PT finally in a month (waiting lists are out the wazoo where I live), but if that doesn’t fix anything, should I just give up? I am addicted to powerlifting, but I can’t keep hurting myself in ways that affect my daily life. And I don’t want it to affect my long-term health. At the same time, I love the sport and wanted to compete again, and without powerlifting, it will feel like a huge part of me is missing.

EDIT: here is a link to a backdown set, hopefully this works: https://imgur.com/a/Og46AlV

TLDR: I keep experiencing SI dysfunction even with sumo deadlifts that is affecting my daily life, and it is making me reconsider powerlifting. But I don’t want to give up as I love the sport; but I can’t sacrifice my long-term health either.

I haven’t deadlifted in 10 months, I think I retained most of my strength since this is my previous 1rm and I’ve lost 14kg since I did them

But only on a squat cycle obviously.

As the bar reaches or crosses my knees, the weight shifts to my heel rather than midfoot, is my bar placement above the foot incorrect during the start of the lift ? Or something else I should be correcting, I backed off since it was after 6 weeks of volume block and 4 weeks of strength block, I didn't wanted to push more and injure myself, but I don't know if I had this, but left since the form was becoming dogshit. Any suggestions are welcome.

What’s up guys,

I got completely fed up with apps like Hevy or Strong turning into social media clones. I don't want a feed to scroll between sets, I don't want ads blocking my screen, and I definitely don't want to pay a subscription just to track my lifting history.

So I put together a clean, dark-mode tracker called Big3 Logger, on the Play Store. It’s built strictly for Squat, Bench, and Deadlift days with zero distraction.

I built it to include the specific tools I actually use during a heavy session:

RPE-Based e1RM: It uses your Reps in Reserve/RPE to calculate your estimated 1-rep max on the spot. You don't have to take every single set to absolute failure just to see where your strength is trending.

Barbell Plate Visualizer: When your brain stops working after a heavy set, the app literally draws a color-coded Olympic barbell showing exactly which plates to load (Red 25s, Blue 20s, etc.). No math required.

Relative Scores: It tracks your DOTS, Wilks, and IPF scores in real-time based on your body weight so you know exactly how your relative strength is stacking up.

Rest Timer: It has an automatic rest timer with a vibration cue, so you can leave your phone face down and just focus on the next set.

It's completely free. If you're looking for a simple SBD tracker to replace spreadsheets or bloated apps, give it a shot and let me know what you think. Always down to add features that actual lifters want.

​

Primary bench workout

20 kg × 10 reps

60 kg × 8 reps

80 kg x 7 reps

100 kg x 3 reps

110 kg x 1 rep

120 kgs failed

Then I performed accessories

Pure testosterone ( went super saiyan 2 fs)

failed 120 again

Ls:

I rolled my shoulders,

lifted my hip and neck.

Carried some fatigue from warmup sets

Ws:

I could unrack 120kgs by myself.

Wide grip technique.

Chest up.

Good leg drive.

Larson pause press was tough on set 8.

I think I'll hit 120 next sess or next to next sess

I mentally thought I can lift a mountain and that helped.

110 was very smooth.

How can I improve ?

Your leg press pr …..?

140kg single, max ever lifter 160kg, current max around 150kg

It's like 97 degrees where I'm at. I was melting.

lifetime goal for sure lol i remember when i first started, 225lbs was a dream. anyways im looking for new powerlifting athletes to coach if anyone is interested whether you’ve been lifting or you’re brand new, shoot me a DM :)

I’m going to need to adjust to the brutal work the Bulgarians did on my glutes and hamstrings for this block. This is my back off set after my top set went… not great.

Trying to keep up the intensity, I really want to make it to my new walking body weight as quickly as possible so I can add some more fuel to my body.

Deadlift- 365x2x4

…we’re staring this weight cut in a good spot. Just had a whole weekend of Pride activities 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ and I’m tiiiiiired. I’m not doing anything special, just cleaning up the ole food choices and eating a little less and walking a little more. Trying to get from 246 to 225. Anyway, here’s the start of my squat focused block

405x1x4 for a top set.

Hello! Started running Candito’s 6 Week program in hopes of competing this fall in my first meet. Was looking for advice in my squat form/depth. Any advice is much appreciated! 350x3 @ 160