[John Strangeway]

I may be crazy but I don’t think I’d enjoy the journey as much if someone showed me a more scientific way. I’ve evolved a lot as a lifter, from back when I was 16, lifting 3 sets of 10 on everything possible, leaving the gym and walking across the street to the corner shop for my post workout feeding of a pint of milk, two bags of square crisps and a ripple to these days where I train less lifts. Use percentages in a cycle and lie to myself and say I’m not going to max out on the events during Saturdays training lol (the diet is still the same).

As ET mentioned, life happens. My left shoulder was bad since I was in my teens (doctor said there was nothing wrong) and I only found out my rotator cuff was tore all that time a few years ago after I tore my right. Before then I just lived with it as a weird thing I had. My mother has never lifted, was a stay at home mum and now has arthritis in her neck and bad hips. This is always my Ace in the hole when she tells me I’m lifting too heavy and will be hurting when I’m older lol.

Bodily toll is inherent to being alive so I disagree with Dan that whatever injuries you’ve experienced that set you back are due to poor training practices. I also disagree that age is not a factor, and that an increase in age does not increase the chance of injury. That would be like saying the 20th time a VHS tape has been recorded over the quality is still the same the first.

I have no better suggestion on the formula though, other than now that I’m 40 lets reduce a members total by 1% per year under 40 for using youth as a PED.

[John Strangeway]

Good post RJ!

I am 40 this year and just back from 4 years off due to multiple surgeries. I am new to the USAWA and doing pretty well in the comps. I attribute this to the years of strongman competing.

So I am curious if the formula, when first created was for an average person lifting or for someone who has been in the strength game throughout the years and are now just “older?” Fair for someone new but an advantage for someone experienced?

To be honest I like how you don’t know who is winning, I find it makes me focus more on what I’m doing rather than trying to keep score with everyone else and risk adjusting my numbers. I have my numbers figured out before the meet with the goal of the last attempt being a PR. Some play is done on the day depending how the lifts feel but I have goals in mind and if I get them I know its all I could do, win or lose.

[John Strangeway]

Some ideas

Could the first step be to go through the rule books and identify those lifts that are ruled identical to IAWA. Maybe have a coloured highlight before the lift using a colour coding system in the next update, eg Green (international ie same as IAWA) Red (US rules) or add “International lift” after the lift title.

Step two
To introduce our lifts they don’t have into the IAWA and vise versa. The rules for these lifts will be identical, Green.

Step three
Discussion between the two groups about which rules can be changed to the other without much impact to the lift e.g. the paper issue. Thus turning the lifts Green.

Step four
If there is a rule which DOES impact the dynamics of the lift thus making previous records easy to break for the new rule followers e.g. having feet on a bench and not in the air on bench). Possibly add the others lift as a generation two lift.
e.g. in the rule book
BENCH PRESS, FEET IN AIR USAWA.GEN1 (how we do it)
BENCH PRESS, FEET OFF FLOOR USAWA.GEN2.IAWA (how they do it)
Since it would be unfair to those who had them in the air. The IAWA would have the choice to adopt the USAWA.GEN1 or if not, it becomes a sole US lift.

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