Dave Kirschen began powerlifting competitively in 1998, and has since reached pro totals of 1901 in the 181-pound class, and 2075 in the 198-pound class. He has also bench pressed over triple bodyweight in three weight classes at full meets. He trains at Apollon Gym in Edison, New Jersey, and coaches a powerlifting team out of EVF Performance in New York City. A 20 year veteran of the fitness industry, Dave holds a degree in Physical Education from SUNY Cortland. Kirschen lives in New Jersey with his wife Liz and son James.
I’m not gonna subject you to a bunch of “back in my day” bull crap. Assuming you’re at least somewhat interested in gear, and instead of playing the middle as I’ve always done, I’m gonna give you the truth.
After being officially diagnosed with sleep apnea, it was time for the CPAP machine to arrive. Let’s just say I felt like a cross between a giddy kid on Christmas Eve and as reluctant as Darth Vader probably would’ve been in the bedroom. Little by little, I’m feeling better, thanks to the supportive gear for my lungs.
I bet you thought you’d seen the last of me and my logs. And… in a way, you might have. But at the very least, I wanted to update all of my readers and followers here on my life before I start a social media blackout so I can get back into training.
Because it’s a sleep study, and not, say a cat scan, I didn’t expect my doctor to get all solemn, take a deep breath, and ask me to “sit down” before delivering the news.
In recent months, my fiancée noticed long pauses between breaths while I’m asleep, followed by gasping for air. Not good. If it’s like everything else in my life, this major CPAP milestone should make for a good story. Plus, my readers really seem to enjoy it when I suffer.
Sometimes rather than serving as an escape from real life, our obsessions can become a source of something that everyday life cannot always provide. Here’s how it’s worked for me.
Overall, I feel really good, and although I'm not quite as strong as I'd normally be at 8 weeks out, I feel like I'm gaining it back quickly, and the extra rest will serve me well as training intensifies.
Like most powerlifters, I’ve always bought into the old adage “weight moves weight”, and as my numbers grew, so did my ass. No matter how fat or out of shape I got, 40 was gonna be the turning point.
The 705 felt good in my hands. My lockout was a little uneven because I didn't do a great job in keeping my upper back tight, but I did get both elbows to lock.
I worked up to a single with 505. It was tough. I may have had a small jump in me but since I'm not training at full intensity yet, I decided to leave it be.
I'm extremely proud of everyone, and grateful they've let me play this small part in their development as lifters. As always, watching my guys crush it has made me even hungrier to get back on to the platform myself.
If I had a lot riding on this lift before, everything was riding on it now. Making it would be the highlight of my powerlifting career. Missing it would probably be the beginning of the end.
When you simply need something, you might or might not have the motivation necessary to take action. But when you need something AND you've just f*cked up, it creates a sense of urgency that you will rarely develop otherwise.
Sometimes the biggest challenge in training is knowing that programing is cyclical, and just because you're a mess right now, doesn't mean you still will be when it counts.
Being in the game as long as I have, I know that I have plenty of time to recover, and if I play my cards right, I can show up to Columbus stronger than I've ever been in my life. But right now, this sucks, lol.