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I wasn’t on PEDs although I understand why that would be an assumption, anyone I’ve ever talked to with a background in this straight up told me I’m a weird outlier in terms of bone density, including my childhood doctors.
Took me a better part of two years to achieve that training 3-4 times a week.
I was also pretty laser focused on getting my deadlift as high as possible, and started off my powerlifting journey with high lower body strength as I had formerly trained as a cross country runner, and was an avid cyclist and amateur martial artist (kickboxing).
It’s really amazing what you can achieve when you’re consistent and keep your goals very narrow.
Huh. Interesting. I’m happy to believe you, but yeah, that makes you a weird outlier.
So does achieving that kind of deadlift in only two years, especially with a former endurance background. That makes it gaining strength harder, not easier, as you’ll have turned more muscle fibers into Type I fibers. All the same, good for you! I wasn’t built to deadlift; my proportions are wrong for it. Bench press and squat were better for me. That said, I got my strength total as high as I wanted it. After a point, powerlifting felt not worth it any more for me. My body hurt, and I didn’t want to keep bulking to become competitive at my height.
Do you still deadlift or lift competitively?
No, shortly after I hit my max deadlift of my life I got married, spent a lot more time working and started a family. I had a lot less time to train, so I just hit the gym as much as needed to stay reasonably strong and have a good QOL.
I feel like we have opposite proportions, as even at my strongest o could barely do more than my body weight on the bench. I always preferred shoulder presses but it’s quite a bit harder to press heavy. I had a decent squat but nothing to write home about. Clearly, I was born to deadlift.
Nowadays I mostly just do novice level Mountain biking and keep my Muay Thai skills alive, go on the occasional long hike or bike ride. I’m still decently strong for someone approaching middle age with a desk job, and I go on a lifting tear once or twice a year for a month or two just to keep the fire alive.
I have the feeling I’ll get back to it when my kids are grown.
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