I have been competitively powerlifting for over 20 years. Within that time I have competed raw, single ply and multi ply. I hold the highest all time total of 1930 at 148, the third highest total of 2045 at 165 and have broken over 35 world records, over 25 of which I still hold. Through the years in this sport I have learned a great deal from various training methods, met and formed long lasting friends, as well as learned the importance of balancing life, work, and training.
Elitefts accepted me as a team member over ten years ago and I am currently the longest standing still competing powerlifter on the site. I appreciate Dave Tate and Elitefts for giving me the opportunity to learn from and teach others through the Q&A and my training log.
In 2005 I opened Orlando Barbell – a 24 hour powerlifting friendly gym. As well as running Orlando Barbell I designed and sell the Home GHR and Doorway Home Gym, wrote the 12 Weeks to a Bigger Bench EBook, and produced the 12Weeks to a Bigger Bench DVD.
My latest contribution was writing the M2 Method EBook, designed to be the quintessential Raw Powerlifting training manual for beginners to advanced lifters looking to get stronger and prevent injury while incorporating the powerlifts.
As I’ve previously mentioned, I’ve been taking Dexamethasone (a potent corticosteroid with numerous side effects including increased BP, headaches, insomnia, irritability, nausea, abdominal distention, and much much more. Pretty much anything you can think of in fact). I’ve been taking it to combat my random joint swelling (referred to as peripheral arthritis caused by my UC) since before the APF Nationals in June and it finally caught up to me. This past Sunday I woke up at 3 am and felt like I couldn’t breathe. This was most likely caused by my BP being so high. Normally mine is a perfect 120/80 but has been about 150/100 lately. I got up, went out and sat on the couch (the dogs stayed in the bed completely unconcerned), then I eventually took a Benadryl to force myself to go back to sleep while sitting upright. Not having joint swelling is nice, but not being able to breathe is not. I decided it was time to stop taking it. Unfortunately I hadn’t weaned myself off of it enough and am having some pretty severe withdrawal symptoms this week which include fatigue, fever, muscle aches, and joint pain. Other than severe flare ups from the UC or having H-Pylori this is damn close to the worst I’ve ever felt. Normally I can train through being sick, but this is a whole different level of discomfort. I decided to wait a week until it’s out of my system so that can start feeling somewhat normal again. I’ll keep you updated.
I’m a mess.
The M2 Equipped Training Ebook
The M2 Method Raw Training Ebook
The Affordable and Effective Floor Based Home GHR
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12 Weeks to a Bigger Bench EBook
