Let's kick off the series with one of the two men tag team, Phil and Nick, who competes in the USPA. Nick Whitsel is prepping for a meet along with Phil and given their past meet performance, I know they are going to do some serious damage and I am sure we all want to know what he does leading up to his meet. My questions will be in bold to help make the reading easier.
Hello Nick, let us start by telling everyone where you are from and how old are you now, your current body weight as well as the gym you train at.
I'm from Mcconnellsburg, PA, I'm 20 years old and currently weigh about 205lbs (93kg for us kilo folks). I train at A&M fitness in Mcconnellsburg as well as the Penn State Harrisburg.
Can you tell me what are your numbers for the most recent meet/best meet as well as your best gym lifts (all time as well as coming into the meet)?
My most recent meet was on June 7th, it was also my best meet, my numbers were 160kg(352lb) bench, 192.5kg(424lb) squat, and 272.5kg(600lb) deadlift. My best lifts going into the meet were 300lbx5 bench, 345lbx5 squat, and 455lbx5 deadlift.
At what age did you started powerlifting and how long have you been powerlifting for? What got you into powerlifting?
I first started lifting weights for aesthetics in January 2013 at 18yrs old, then around December 2013 I started training for powerlifting at 19yrs old when I started looking at powerlifting records for my age and weight division and saw they were reachable goals. Ever since I've been training for strength but keeping a lean physique.
What is your current training program/training philosophy? What were you doing before to get you to your current level and moving forward from here, what are your plans (this can be goals/numbers you want to hit on the platform etc.)
I haven't tried any popular programs yet, I've just been listening to my body and seeing how it responds, I've been and still am since I started, switching between reps of 8 and 5 for my bench and squat, for deadlift I mainly stick to the 5 rep range but will switch to 8 reps and 3 reps on down the road. I try to train one muscle group per day if I can, my current lifting routine is Mon -shoulders, Tues -off, Wed -squats and lats, Thurs -off, Fri -chest, Sat -deathlifts and biceps, Sunday -triceps. Once I start to plateau in my lifts I think I'll try a program of some sort. I'm hoping to compete the end of May-beginning of June, and I'm hoping to be squatting 550, benching 400, and deadlifting 650-675.
What is your favorite lift and how do you train for it?
It would probably have to be bench press, although not my strongest lift, I love the pump you get on chest day. I usually start on flat bench and I'll do 5 sets at reps of 5, followed by 4 sets of dumbell presses in the 8-10 rep range, then I'll go to an incline dumbell press for 4 sets of 8-10 reps as well.
What are some of the toughest obstacles you faced as a lifter or in life (if you don't mind sharing) and how you overcome them? (These can be injury related or a lift that is stalling)
I think one of the biggest obstacles I've had in my lifting career is trying to learn proper form on the big 3 lifts. Besides Phil, there's isn't really anybody at our local gym that could help critique my form, as a result My bench form was not the greatest and I had a minor shoulder injury from it. Luckily it was minor. I find the best way to keep an eye on your form is to video some of your lifts each day and critique them yourself to see what you can do to better your form. Form is key.
What are some advice you would give to your younger self should you be able to go back in time or to other young powerlifters?
Not to be redundant lol, but I would advise all beginning powerlifters to really hone in their form as best as possible from the get go, and worry about weight later. I feel alot of guys go to the gym and are afraid to put on "light" weight because of the fear of being judged and learn good form, instead they put on heavier weight without proper form. In the short run you may gain faster, however the short road will eventually lead to injury. I'm guilty of this. I would also tell myself not to skip leg day and deadlift day like I did for about a year until I actually started powerlifting lol
Hobbies/life outside of gym? (other commitments because we all know that we are not in the gym 24/7 or are we? LOL).
Outside of the gym I enjoy working on cars, fishing, hunting and (saving the best for last) EATING.
Thank you Nick for your time, we wish you all the best for the up and coming meet and you can follow Nick's progress on Instagram @whitsfitt
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