Meet day write-up.. Great day 8-for-8.. 1680 PR total

Meet day went great. Need to appreciate it, and enjoy it when it happens.. because there are plenty of times it doesn't. Everything clicked well and I made every attempt. Now its time to take a few days off and recover before heading into off-season to attack my weaknesses and grow for October.

Attempts:

Squat: 550, 600 (PR), 630 (PR)

Bench: 460, 480, 500 (PR)

Deadlift: 510, 550 (PR), pass



Assorted:

Getting a hotel room close by was such a big help. Got to sleep by 9:30, woke up at 6 refreshed, grabbed breakfast and headed over. No rush.

Usually I make a 1 hour drive on meet day and it really kicks the shit out of you.

Also had a bunch of guys I train with show up and handle. This was key as well. Not just wrapping and stuff, but also helping make smart decisions and keep me on track and reminding me to rest and such.

Huge thanks to my training partners Fred Mackinnon and Tyler Linster. I can honestly say I wouldn't have had this success without them.

Squat:
Smartest thing I did was open here with a true "last warm-up".. 550 was a joke and really got me feeling good to attack the 600 and 630 pr lifts.

My setup was totally comfortable here. we've been training on a monolift since moving to my garage gym, and it was key to having my setup perfect.

3 big things i needed to remember today was knees out, arch hard, and make sure my first move out of the hole was into the bar, and not rising with my hips and throwing me forward.

Maybe had another 20lbs here to 650 or so, but I'm happy. This was without briefs, and the suit is kinda big since i sized it to work with briefs.

Bench:
Real surprise here. My pre-meet bench touches went shitty quite honestly. Only 3 successful touches in the meet prep cycle.

What did I focus on?
Bend the bar, keeping it on my lats, being patient on the way down and letting it touch instead of forcing it, and I also kept my head planted. I didn't lift my head. I think that helped keep the shoulders set. All 3 lifts flew up, and I think this lift has the greatest opportunity for gain in the coming month. Finished up with 500, but I think 520/530 is in the near future.

Deadlift:
Like Brian Carroll always told me, you gotta know yourself and pull for a total. Here's the deal. I'm 43 years old. I'm a 2 deadlift guy. I just don't have 3 heavy pulls in me right now.

I opened with a light 510 just to get in a total, then went to 550 which was a 5lb pr over last meet. 570 would've given me 1700 but it wasn't there today. I knew it. why risk injury and ruin a good day. 8 for 8.

Here's something strange that happened on deadlift:

In training, I never, ever have a problem with my deadlifts getting out in front of me. I drag that shit up my shins and drive my chest back...

On BOTH deadlifts (the opener 510 more than the 550 because I realized it and tried to fix it).. not sure why..but about mid-shin the bar drifted out front.. I'm wondering if something was pre-exhausted from the squats/benches and causing a weakness somewhere and making me go forward on my pulls.. anyhow.. its something for me to work on.

In the coming off-season I want to really hammer my deadlift, especially now that we have a GHR at the gym. Also, I think I am going to try geared sumo pulls and see how I do. Right now I still pull raw conventional.

October we are chasing 1700/1800 ...

3 days out.. boring week

Just a few more days til the RPS NE Revolution in Sterling, CT on 3/28-3/29.. I spent this week resting up and eating well. Usually I pretty much take the week before a meet completely off except for some mobility work.. this cycle I did a little super light training on sunday and wednesday.. nothing heavy.. some floor presses 3x6 with 135lbs just to stay loose, then some 80lb dumbbells for sets of 20 .. some band flyes and band tricep pressdowns for sets of 100.

Tomorrow I do some mobility work and foam rolling.

Yep.. this is kinda boring stuff. Stay tuned for Sunday night/Monday morning meet write up! If all goes well, I'll have everything up sunday night.. If the meet goes bad.. well.. monday or tuesday hahahahaha!

I feel good .. attempts are planned and reasonable.. right now looking like:

Squat:
550
600
630-650

Bench:
460
480
500

Deadlift:
510
550
570

See y'all on the flip side!

First reverse sled pulls of the spring season! 7 days out

Todays training session is 7 days out of meet for me, so its was some really light stuff just to stay in the game.

Safety Squat Bar: (to give shoulders a rest)
185 x 3 sets of  6

Deadlifts:
315 x 3 sets of 3

GHRS:
40 Reps

Reverse Sled Pulls:
4 x 100 Yards

With the sunshine and 30 degree weather, we decided to break out the sled and get some reverse sled drags in.. first time we've been able to do this due to weather since mid-December..  Sled work hits in ways that nothing else really can.. so between the new GHR and being able to sled drags again, I'm excited for the upcoming off-season after this meet.. I'm looking to make some good progress both in raw strength and technique in my new multiply Metal gear.

Our new GHR machine.. The latest equipment addition to "The Dungeon" ...

I've been keeping my eye open for a used Glute Ham Raise machine for our gym since we opened.. its a key training tool in any powerlifting gym. Westside Barbell in Columbus, Ohio has been promoting its use for years.. you don't see many of these in the commercial "Globo Gyms" as most people aren't that dedicated to building their posterior chain and hamstrings in particular. Working hamstrings kinda sucks, is painful, and not real glamorous... but GHRs work.

We plan on including the GHR as after-training accessory work in nearly every squat and deadlift session. Nothing builds your posterior chain and a strong squat and deadlift like a GHR!

To quote Louie Simmons, "600 reps per month on a GHR is just maintenance work".. Here's a photo below, as well as a couple of videos from Westside Barbell and Elite FTS explaining how they work..

10 days out.. Last heavy bench day before 3/29 meet

Like I said in an earlier post, this new Metal Jack gear is taking longer to learn/break in than I originally thought. 10 weeks just isn't enough for meet prep and learning the gear. At this point, this is only my 3rd successful touch in the new shirt, and I've adjusted my opening weight down to something 99% reliable - 460lbs. My planned attempts will be 460-480-500. There is so much more for me to learn in the shirt and technique to refine.. theres a lot more weight to come for october, but its going to take a lot of trial and error and getting better in this shirt. Right now I'm keeping the collar really high so I don't get handcuffed in the shirt, but I may pull it down just a little bit as I move for the final 500lb attempt. We will see how things go on meet day.

Bench:
Bar x 5
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 1
315 x 1
405 x 1 (Shirt, 1 bd)
455 x 1 (Shirt touch)

Flat Dumbbell Press:
80s x 4 sets of 10

Band Flyes : 100 Reps
Band Tricep Push downs: 100 Reps


Fred Mackinnon is not doing this upcoming meet, so he did some reverse band rep work with 405 to build his tricep lockout and condition his CNS for working with the heavier weights.

2 Weeks out - Last heavy squat/DL session

Had a great turnout today of lifters today.. some of us worked on our heavy squats and pulls, while others worked on some close stance squats and good mornings to hit some weaknesses.

Fred hit some nice PRs with some solid Reverse Band squats up to 585.. depth was really good and squats were stable and fast!

I Worked up to last warmups/light openers on Squat and DL. Last heavy session before meet.

Squat:
135x5
225x3
315x1 (Straps down)
405x1 (Straps down)
500x1 (Straps up)
550x1 (Straps up, knee wraps)

Deadlift:
135x2
225x1
315x1
405x1
455x1
500x1

2 1/2 wks out - Last warmups / light openers

Worked up to last warm ups on both the Squat (550lbs) and Bench (455lbs) tonight. This was the first clean touch and press in my new Metal Jack shirt, so I'm happy with that. Squat was a tad high, but I didn't have anyone to call depth so I came up too soon. I feel good about these weights as confident openers/last warmups for upcoming meet on 3/29.

I was having trouble touching and pressing in the Metal Jack bench shirt.. something seriously different/wrong was going on between the 1 board and the touch... looking back, I was trying to belly up too excessively that last 1 inch or so, and that was unhooking my shoulders and throwing me out of press position. Also, I was trying to touch too high on this particular shirt.. so for this set, I focused on the "Bend the bar" cue to activate my lats and keep that bar out front, and on my lats.. then as I lowered it, I kept riding the bar path towards my feet, and instead of bellying up excessively, I just locked my belly up at the un-rack and rode it patiently down to the touch. I'm real happy with this 455. Felt in control and fast.

My plan at this point is:

This coming Sunday:

• Squat to 550 again - make sure I have depth
• Go to 600lbs (2nd attempt) reverse band to feel the weight
• Deadlift to 500/510 opener

Next wednesday: (Last heavy day before meet)

• 455lbs again to a touch
• Take another run at 500lbs if 455 feels good

Then rest up and stay sharp for the next 10 days into the meet.