Hi Kara,
First of all, congratulations on your weight loss. Believe me I know how hard it is! I’m trying to lose weight and I was hoping you could help me out with a couple of questions I have about dieting and protein.
I’ve done no-carb and low-carb diets and lost a lot of weight on both. The problem is I couldn’t stay on them and I eventually gained all the weight back. I felt great at first, but then I started really missing carbs and not having enough energy for my workouts. Is there something I can do to get similar results that can also be long term?
The other question I have is about getting enough protein. Well it’s really two questions. First, how much protein am I supposed to eat a day? Next, I had trouble eating so much meat and eggs for protein when I dieted before. I don’t always have time to cook and sometimes I only get a few minutes between classes to eat. Do you think protein shakes are ok?
Thanks in advance,
Pondering Protein
Hi Pondering Protein,
I’ve found when I do very low carb diets I do lose weight quickly but my energy level takes a big hit. The plan that seems to work best for me is the Zone Diet
To determine how much protein you need daily check out BodyBuilding.com’s protein calculator. I know it can be hard to get in enough protein especially when you’re busy and don’t have time to prepare multiple meals for an entire day. Protein shakes and bars really come in handy here. When I’m on the go, I usually carry a protein bar and shaker bottle with a few scoops of protein powder so I can just add water and have a protein shake ready at any time! Protein bars and powders have evolved so much and actually taste pretty good these days. You can go to GNC or a local health food store and get single serving sizes to try out flavors and see what you like. A lot of grocery stores carry protein products now too. After that you can buy a big tub of powder and box of bars. BodyBuilding.com has a HUGE selection and great prices.
I also recommend checking out the Anafit Forums. Craig and I both keep training logs there. Anafit has been around for a long time and is filled with so many knowledgeable and helpful people. It’s really one of the best online fitness communities you’ll find whether you’re just starting out or a veteran looking to exchange ideas with like minded peers.
Feel free to ask me any other questions and keep me updated on your progress.
Kara
Hey Kara,
I’m trying to decide whether to pull sumo or conventional. My strength training background is mainly Olympic Lifting like yours and all the deadlifting I’ve done is Olympic pulls. Have you tried both sumo and conventional? Which is your favorite? And is there anything other than personal preference which can help someone pick whether they do one technique or the other?
Thanks,
Deciding Deadlifter
Hi Deciding Deadlifter,
So funny you mentioned doing Olympic pulls. That’s almost ALL I do and ever have done for my deadlift training…even for sumo powerlifting deadlifts! Heavy snatch and clean pulls. When meet time gets close I’ll do a couple of sessions sumo with and without the suit, just to get used to the technique, but my training is almost exclusively Olympic pulls.
I have tried both sumo and conventional deadlifts and weight wise raw I’m not far off with either. I’ve never pulled conventional in a suit so I can’t compare there. It’s my lower back that keeps me pulling sumo. It takes such a big toll on my lower back to grind out heavy conventionals, plus as you know…when we Olympic pull we keep such a flat back and I find when the weight gets really heavy I have a tendency to start rounding which my lower back isn’t very fond of.
As for picking one, personal preference is definitely a big factor along with leverages and strong and weak points. Some people are just built to pull conventional, some sumo. Unless you notice a HUGE number difference between one vs. the other, just pick which ever you’re more comfortable with and enjoy training the most. Either one you choose, be sure to experiment with different foot and hand placements to see which you feel the strongest with off the floor all the way through to lockout.
Also, don’t be afraid to train both lifts even if you are only going to use one style in competition. Many top sumo deadlifters are known to do conventional training and vice versa.
Keep Pullin’ Heavy,
Kara
Hey Kara,
I just started competing in powerlifting and was able to qualify for the USAPL nationals with a raw total from my first meet. I don’t currently have gear, but was thinking it would be a good idea to get some and learn how to use it before that meet. My coach was telling me you have some pretty impressive numbers in the various lifts and might be able to give me a few tips on where to look for powerlifting gear and if there are any tricks to using it.
Any help you can give is appreciated,
thankx!!
M
Hey M,
That’s awesome that you qualified for USAPL Nationals raw! Good stuff. I’d be glad to help you out however I can with Powerlifting gear.
I’m not sure I can be tremendously helpful with suit tips because I never really did master them. I come from an Olympic Lifting background so I’m used to squatting and pulling completely raw. I just squat in a pair of briefs and a singlet in most federations, but briefs aren’t allowed in the USAPL so I use a loose suit when I compete there. Since you’ve been lifting raw for a while I definitely recommend getting suits that aren’t overly tight…especially the straps. You can ALWAYS alter the suits and make stuff smaller as you get more acquainted to gear.
Also, for now you can probably get away with wearing the same suit for squatting and deadlifting…particularly if you pull sumo.
Now bench shirts…I can definitely help there. I do tons of raw benching and even more overhead pressing, but for whatever reason I never felt uncomfortable in a bench shirt the way I did in suits. Once you get a shirt we can get more into training technique, ways to tweak the shirt to get more out of it, etc.
As far as to look for gear…sometimes you can find stuff on ebay. I’ve always worn Inzer gear so definitely check out Inzernet.com. I’ve tried every bench shirt imaginable and my favorite one is still the Inzer Rage X which is single ply and USAPL approved.
For suits the the Inzer TRX squat suit and Inzer Fusion deadlift suit are two of my favorites. Both single ply and USAPL approved. Don’t let the fact that they’re single ply fool you…these suits are extremely supportive and can provide great carry over to your raw lifts when used properly.
Like I said earlier…the suits are quite similar so you can really get away with wearing one for both the squat and deadlift. This is just my personal preference but I like the Fusion deadlift suit for both squatting and deadlifting after trying both for each lift. The legs are cut a little shorter and more straight across and the straps are a bit narrower than the TRX so it just feels a bit more natural. You can’t really go wrong with either though since they’re both great suits.
All the equipment I’ve mentioned is also VERY easy to alter which is great. I’ve done ALL my alterations myself on a $55 bottom of the line sewing machine from Walmart and I can’t sew worth a crap lol. The material is very easy to work with and hold alterations well. You can always just take the gear to a tailor too of course as you get more adjusted and want to tighten things up.
I know the stuff is expensive but it lasts forever. I’ve worn the same Rage X bench shirt for every single meet and training session I’ve done since 2006 and it’s still good as new! I’ve also worn it in competition at 165, 148 and 132 just altering it along the way.
A few final thoughts…since you are used to lifting raw, switching to equipment is going to be a big adjustment. I definitely recommend not ordering your gear overly tight so that the transition isn’t too drastic. As time goes on you can alter your gear accordingly.
You will also notice the lifts feel much different in equipment. Your leverages, strong and weak points, sticking points, and technique may all be affected. You may want to look into some specific exercises and routines for equipped powerlifting lifting. I actually have another question to answer on that topic so check back here soon!
Keep me posted,
Kara
by 
