Me Lifting

Me racking 225 on bench after a set. Also on bottom a picture of me squatting 315 (supposed to hit 90 degrees but the picture didn't take).

The Last 20-time Blog

Overall 20-time has been a great project and learning experience. I intended to become a better, stronger, lifter to help me avenge both of our losses from midland last year in football. I have made great steps that will help me accomplish my goal of becoming a stronger lifter to help me on the field. My 20-time will not end until the final whistle has blown and I am celebrating a win with my brothers on the field. The impact I have had on my team and my self is almost immeasurable. I am making a positive change for both myself and my team. Not only do I benefit in health, confidence, and strength but I am also becoming a better player and captain which will in turn help my team. I ran into road blocks but none of which I didn’t expect. In lifting you hit plateaus where you seemingly cannot add weight to your lifts but I persevered and still had many positive gains. What I learned in 20 time was key to muscle growth. I learned about the best times to take protein, lifting regimens, and new supplements for faster recovery. All of which helped me to get one step closer to achieving my ultimate goal. The thing about this kind of learning that works best for me is I actually have a passion for the topic I am researching. The thing about this kind of learning that is a challenge for me is remembering to take pictures in the weight room because I am too focused on my lifting to remember to take pictures. I would consider my project a success because I have gained a significant amount of weight in all my lifts which was my original goal. I estimate that I spent 8 hours a week on my project 7 of which were in the weight room and the other one was for research and my blog. Something that I believe really helped me with the IB learner profile is to be an inquirer. Because 20-time was a project that I actually enjoyed I asked more questions because I wanted to learn more about the subject that I am passionate about. It also helped me to be knowledgeable because I was always looking for new tactics and strategies to get stronger. What I learned is relevant to English because I learned to have better written communication when I had to transfer what I have been doing to the blog for everyone else to also learn from. This helped me a TON with new technology because before this I didn’t even know what google blogger was or how to set up a google account. There isn’t much advice that I could give for teachers running 20-time in the future the only thing I could possibly think of is having the presentations at school because I believe that more students would show up. To all the students doing 20-time in the future my one big recommendation is just to make sure you pick a topic that you are VERY passionate about. If you pick a topic you are passionate about it will go a lot smoother and you will enjoy the process a lot more than if you didn’t enjoy your topic. I will most definitely continue with my independent learning because I love lifting and hopefully in the future I can be a successful power lifter.

Positive Gains and Methodology

The method i have currently been using is mapped out by the football program. what were are doing is going in 4 week cycles in which our lifts are approximated. The goal of the method is to slowly build up to a max in week 3 of the cycle. The 1st week is light week where we do three sets of 5 for bench, squat, deadlift, and push press. Week two are the same lifts but heavier. Week three is the week that we max out and do sets of 5,3,1 this way we work towards failure to see if we have mad any significant gains in our goals. This week was the max week for football and i experienced success and i am getting close to reaching heights that i have never met before for lifting. My bench improved to 275ibs for 2 reps and i also attempted 290 but was not able to lock it out all the way. My squat stayed the exact same as before. My deadlift showed signs of gains when i did 475 for 2 reps and almost broke a huge landmark for powerlfters at a 500 pound deadlift. Unfortunately i wasnt able to lock it out all the way. Just gotta keep pushing to reach my goals!

PROTEIN TIME

Lately i have been trying to answer the question when is the best time to take in protein? The fact is it all depends on whether or not you would like to gain weight. Personally i am an undersized lineman so i would like to gain some weight. The recommendation for gaining weight is to eat every 3 hours to keep your metabolism working throughout the day. Perhaps the biggest helper in trying to gain muscle mass would be to drink 2-3 protein shakes daily. Each shake should contain about 50 grams of protein so you can eventually take in 1g for every pound of body weight. I will drink at least one of these shakes after my lifting session which is critical because your body needs it the most after a heavy lift. My mentor (my dad) has been giving me advice on protein intake a lot lately. A good way to find protein is in lean meats like chicken which is why most powerlifters eat chicken throughout the whole entire day. My dad is a reliable source for information because he used to powerlift competitively winning numerous competitions throughout college and later in life. I will post pictures soon and i hope to continue gaining weight on my lifts to reach my goals.

the value of protein

Protein is by far the MOST beneficial supplement to take while weightlifting. Protein repairs torn tissues which is what happens when you lift. This torn tissue is in need for immediate repair and needs time to recover. Without enough recovery time and protein your body can actually decrease in strength because the body will not have enough time to build the tissue back up. There are major benefits to taking protein it is the quickest way to increase muscle mass which will in turn help you to boost your lifts. The amount of protein you take is crucial. If you take too much you will gain fat but too little and your muscles will not get the correct amount of nutrients. Studies suggest that you take 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day. For example I am 200 pounds so on a heavy lifting day I would want to take in no less then 200 grams of protein after my workout. Due to hard training, my workout regimen, and my daily intake of supplements I have experienced recent success in gaining weight on my lifts! This week was my heavy cycle and I had PR's in both bench and squat. With my bench I have reached a significant landmark for a powerlifter reaching 275 pounds (25ibs away from goal). My squat also went up 10 pounds to 445 (10ibs away from goal). Powerlifters strive to push their bodies to the limits and there is no better feeling then being able to put up more weight then before! I will keep posting updates and hope for more success in the weeks to come!

the benifits of glutamine

Lately I have been researching the benefits of a substance called glutamine. Glutamine is an amino acid (natural building block for proteins) which helps to distribute the proteins throughout your body. Glutamine is also the most abundant amino acid in the body making up about 60% of skeletal muscle. The substance is a source for fuel for your body which can increase your energy this not only helps you build protein, but also provides more energy for your lifts. After lifting glutamine is a necessity.The body is depleted of this amino acid and if it is not replenished recovery, strength, and stamina as prolonged. After finding out this information I tried out the product and found it did have some very crucial benefits. Before I started taking glutamine I would be sore for a 2-3 day period. The soreness was due to the fact that lifting causes micro tears. These micro tears after a while re-heal and make your muscles stronger. Mine were just simply not healing quick enough. Immediately after starting to take glutamine I noticed a difference in muscle recovery, my 2-3 day recovery period went to being 1-2 days instead. In lifting this is a big benefit because I was no longer sore when working the same muscle group after a two day break. Because of these effects I'm hoping to see some gains coming soon I will continue to post progress.

blog #1

Over the course of the remaining months of school i will be looking into the area of weightlifting/powerlifting and how to make substantial weight gains. Weight gains are the most important part of lifting. Lifters strive to lift the maximum amount of weight they can. Just like any other sport lifting poses numerous challenges, in it there is nothing harder then increasing your max by even a weight as small as five pounds. In my journey to make significant weight gains i am going to be researching different substances, diets, and methods to achieve my goals. Not only will i research them but i will also try the methods first hand to see if they work. Current max lifts bench: 265ibs squat: 435ibs deadlift: 465ibs Goal bench: 300ibs squat: 455ibs deadlift: 500ibs