Let me start off by saying that I will never cut more than 8 pounds ever
again within this sport. Let me explain:
I started my diet/water/sodium manipulation on Friday of the week before my
competition. Everything with that was on track. The following Thursday morning
is when I started my cut, 24 hours before weigh-ins. My bodyweight at that time
was around 258 after a small meal in the morning.
Throughout the day I mostly stayed dormant, taking a hot bath once before I left
for the competition site to stay overnight at a hotel before weigh-ins. I got to
the hotel around 7:30 PM that night, weighing around 251. I got into a hot tub
around 8:30 for 30 minutes to sweat some of the weight off. I also took some
magnesium citrate to help clean out the bowels and lose some excess weight. This
was a mistake.
Let's skip ahead to around 4:30 in the morning. I had slept for a bit and been
on and off the pot for awhile. I was at around 243 with shorts on at this point.
Around 4:45, I sat down again to get rid of some more weight when the cramps
started. Before I knew it my entire body cramped up on me as I laid on the bed
in my hotel room. Now, I must say I have never felt that much pain before in my
life. My hands clenched up, my traps, lats, my entire core – everything was
cramping and I couldn't do anything about it. After about 10 minutes of this,
and of talking my wife out of calling an ambulance, I finally stopped cramping
at that time. At this point I told myself I didn't care how much I weighed, and
that eating and drinking fluid were more important than any competition.
So, I started drinking electrolyte-infused Gatorade and Pedialyte mixed with
water, and I took vitamins such as magnesium, calcium, potassium, and some
sodium – as much as I could tolerate at that point. My wife had to do this for
me since I wasn't able to move for fear of cramping up again. This went on for
the entire morning.
I didn't weigh in at 9:00 AM. I was still unable to move, and I didn't care how
much I weighed anyway. I figured I would just be in the 275 class and call it
good.
Well, around 12:30, I decided it was time to get up and get to the weigh-in and
see what was going to happen. When I got there, Bill Carpenter knew what was
going on with me, but asked me to strip down anyway just to see where I was, So
I went down to my drawers and weighed 243. I hadn't put any weight on with the
fluid I had taken in. So, basically, my scale that I brought with me was
weighing in heavy and I had actually cut lower than 242. I went to the bathroom
and pissed and sat as long as I could to get anything out that I could. I came
back in and stripped down to nothing, making the 242 class. Needless to say, I
was relieved, but extremely worried as well.
I hadn't put much weight back on. I continued to eat and drink cleanly from here
on out. I stopped cramping by 8:00 PM that night, and had a good night’s sleep.
I got up the day of the meet weighing in at only 251, 11 pounds shy of where I
needed to be. I started eating and drinking as much as I could again, but only
made it to 255 with clothes on by the time the meet started.
Needless to say, I'm not going to be doing a cut like this ever again. I tried
doing everything right this time, with loading up nutrients, eating right, and
drinking all my fluids. It didn't work, so I'm done with cutting anything over 8
pounds. I promised my wife I wouldn't do it anymore with this last cramping
episode, and I need to stick with it.
If you remember, the same thing happened to me back at the IPA Pro-Am last
August. I cramped a ton and didn't get my weight back on. Never again.
So what’s the new plan then? I'm going to lean out and stay around 250 so that
242 will be an easy cut. I'm going to make sure that this will not affect my
gear by making the cut slowly over the next 7 weeks.
Friday Meet Report
I was able to attend the Friday session of bench-only lifting even with all
the cramping going on with my cutting incident. My brother was lifting, as well
as another individual that lifts with Team Carpenter.
As always, Bill ran a great meet. I've been to the WPO before when it was at the
Arnold, and I must say I've never seen anything better than that except for
Bill's meets. The venue was huge and nice – huge warm-up area with plenty of
equipment, an awesome stage, and video of the lifter displayed above the stage
so that everyone can see the lift even if they can't see the lifter themselves.
If you haven't been to one of Carpenter's meets, you’re truly missing out. Trust
me, just because I bench with Carp doesn't mean I get paid to say these things.
It really is a great meet.
One of the lifters I helped on Saturday was Amanda Quatrochi (probably spelled
that wrong...sorry!). She is in the teen (16-17) division, 123 pound class. I've
been helping her with training. She did great, opening with 165 on the bench,
which she smoked. She missed her second attempt of 175 due to a shirt issue but
came back to hit 175 on her third attempt which is an American record for her
age and weight class. She has great dedication and it's a true pleasure to be
able to work with her. Great job Amanda.
My brother also competed in his first-ever competition. He did bench only for
this meet but will be going full power next time if I have anything to say about
it. For his first meet he did awesome, going 3 for 3 on his lifts. He opened up
around 495 and smoked it. We went 523 for his second. Again, smoke show. I took
him to around 545-549 for his final attempt, and he took it for a ride as well.
For his first meet this is awesome. He has only been training for it for a
couple of months now, and will be doing the UPA Nationals in April. We'll be
getting him to around 600 by that time. The shirt he wore wasn't all that good,
nor did it fit him all that well, so things will be changed and he'll get over
the 600 mark.
Saturday Meet Report (Some Lifters of Note)
Let me start off by saying congrats to a few of my buddies I train with as
often as we are able, which for one isn't often at all.
Josh Edwards is the head strength coach at Loras College in Iowa. We graduated
and worked together at Central College when we were both undergrads. We also
competed and lifted together back then. This was his first meet back since 2003.
He went in the 242 men's open, same as me. I'm not sure of his numbers right
now, but he went 3 for 3 on his squats, I believe finishing with over 700. He
went 1 for 3 in the bench, getting 540, which is nowhere near his strength
level. He had some trouble with his butt leaving the bench. He finished with the
deadlift, going 2 for 3 and missing 615 at the end. For his first meet back this
was an awesome day for him, placing second. Congrats Eddie.
Chris Carter is also another guy I've worked with in the past, and he is
currently the assistant strength coach at Illinois State University. On the
squats. he went 2 for 3, getting in a 727 squat and just missing 749. He went 2
for 3 on the bench, achieving a 523 and just missing 551. He also went 2 for 3
on his deads, getting in a 584 and just missing 628. This was a pretty big PR
for him, and it was at a leaner body weight. He competed in the 220 division and
placed first. Great job man, but you have so much more in you.
I want to say congrats to Dick ZenZen of ZenZen Barbell, and also send out my
thanks and hope for a quick recovery. Dick had a great day but ended up tearing
his bicep on one of his deadlift attempts – I believe his second. I can't begin
to tell you how great of a guy he is. The entire meet, he kept coming up to me
giving me encouragement, advice, and feedback on my lifting. And the thing that
stands out the most is that he took the time to come over and say, "Give them
hell" on my last deadlift attempt before he left for the hospital. He could have
just rushed off without saying a word to anyone, but he took the time, even
though he was in pain, to say good luck to me. That is an awesome guy and I'll
never forget it. Thanks Dick, and have a quick and safe recovery. You ever need
anything, don't hesitate to ask.
Eric Lillebridge, an 18 year-old 275 pound stud, totaled something like 1934
pounds RAW. That is just freak. Congrats Eric. It was great watching you lift,
and you'll have a great future in the sport.
My Meet Report
Okay, on to how things went in my world. If you read how much I cut and the
complications I had, you would know this was not shaping up to me having a good
day. I got up in the morning weighing 251 when I should have been somewhere
around 262. Not a good way to start a meet. I had the shakes from a dextrose
overload, and I felt drained, but my body was full of fluid and somewhat
bloated, at least enough to fit into my gear.
Squats:
Dynamic Warm-up
Foam Roll
barx5
145x5
305x3
455x2
added briefs
615x1
745x1
added suit, straps down
855x1, really hard
Warm-ups took forever. For some reason, everyone in the group that was going was
taking their time, so we needed an extra 10 minutes between flights. Couldn't
tell you why, but it was what it was.
Everything felt heavy. After 855 I thought there was no way my 940 opener would
go. I was very shaky, even though you couldn't see it visually. It felt like I
had no pop, drive, or anything.
Got on the platform and took 940, smoked. Okay, I'm feeling more confident. I
went to 1003 for my second, still feeling shaky but not showing it. Took it to
the hole but got forward at the bottom and had zero drive. Miss!! In the
process, I strained my adductor again, bad – but it was just something I would
have to endure. It mostly hurts after the lift is complete since the gear gives
good support.
I stayed with 1003 for my third attempt, took it into the hole and smoked it up.
I finally sat back very well and loaded it right. You will see in the video
where I get forward at the bottom on my second. You see my knees go forward an
inch, and I get stuck. With sitting back on the third, I was able to get my
crease in the suit to hit the plane of my knee a lot faster. This is one reason
why it is so important to sit back. The more you can the more pronounced your
crease is and faster you reach depth.
Bench:
barx20
135x8
225x4
315x1
405x1
455x1
added 58 Ace
545x1 2-board
645x1 1-board
Bench went well. I opened with 718, smoked, not a problem. I went to 771, again
not a problem, just a little lack of support at the top. I jumped to 804 for my
third. I went ahead and put on my 56 Ace since my bodyweight was down and my 58
shirt was fitting a little big. I didn't jack the shirt down at all, fearing
that touching might be an issue. It wasn't. I brought it down no problem, and
drove it just shy of lockout, losing it into the rack. In the process, I smashed
my left hand into the rack. If I would have just jacked the shirt down a little
bit, I believe it would have gone, but if I wouldn't have lost as much weight as
I did, I don't think I would have had any issues anyway. I'll never know. I just
ran out of gas by the end and couldn't finish off 804.
Deadlift:
135x4
225x2
added Ace suit, adductor was killing
365x1
455x1
550x1
655x1
I opened with 733. I smoked it without an issue, but got forward with it. I
didn't know if it was due to the platform or not, so I just stayed the same
weight for my second. Took 733 again, this time sitting back without a problem:
smoked. The thing was that I still wanted to fall forward. I was leaning, but I
could just feel the sensation. I noticed that every time they set the bar down
after loading it would roll forward, so I asked them to move it back to the back
half of the platform for my last attempt. I went 804 knowing it was what I
wanted to get – over 800. I didn't have any problems this time with being
forward, but it was a grind. I locked and held it at the top, even longer than I
was asked to, just to make sure everyone knew I had it locked out. This was all
I had left in me after the day and the cut the night before. My adductor for the
most part held up. I basically just took Aleve and went after it.
Thoughts
So, I ended up with 1003, 771, and 804 for a 2578 total. Overall I'm okay with
how things ended up. Don't get me wrong here. I had 4 PR's on the day: a 17
pound PR on squat, a 31 pound PR on bench, a 5 pound PR on the dead, and an
overall 87 pound PR on the total. I am happy with this when I look at it this
way, but I’m pissed because I know if I didn't make the cut, my day would have
ended up differently. Whose fault is it? My own. I never should have let my
bodyweight get up around 265. I shouldn't have taken any diuretic to help cut. I
should have been smarter with my dieting. Next time things will be different.
For now, you live and learn. It's just that when you train for five months, come
through an injury, and get ready for that one day, I'm so angry that I put
myself into a position that didn't allow for me to be my best on that day.
What's next?
I decided a while back (2.5 months ago) that I would be traveling to Big Iron
Gym for their meet on March 21, before all the hype ever even started. I never
said anything about it, nor did I address the issue because I go one meet at a
time. I don't look ahead to something I'm not training for at the time. I look
forward to going up against the best out there.
Jim Grandick was a guy who back in 2005 I honestly looked at as a blueprint I
wanted to follow. I feel honored to be able to compete with a guy of his
caliber. Brain Carroll is a great guy whom I have a lot of respect for. He's
strong as hell, gets it done on the platform, and to me has been nothing but
polite and respectful. Greg Panora is the man out there right now to beat. I
don't know much about him, but I respect what he does. I feel extremely honored
to be lifting with these guys, and there is nowhere I would rather be. I'm going
to do everything in my power to get recovered as fast as I can and be ready in
seven weeks. I'm not going to let my adductor be an excuse for not showing. I
wish all those guys good luck with their training, and I'll see you all in
March.
Meet Video
Here are all my attempts from the meet.
I was informed that even with these videos not being posted, I've already
received some flak about the squat not being deep enough. Also, from what one of
my buddies told me, the person who said this also wondered what my thoughts were
on my 1003 squat. I normally don't indulge myself in forums or addressing
comments of others I don't even know, but I figured I would give my thoughts on
this one.
Here's the deal and how I simply think about this. Trust is everything here.
1) I trust in my brother, who usually calls my depth on the squat. If I
didn't trust that he would call me as soon as the crease of my hip broke the
plane of the top of the knee, I would constantly second guess him doing so, and
when you have a load of over 800, 900, 1000, you don't have time to second guess
anything. You better have trust that your depth guy will make the right call and
not screw you over.
2) I trust in the judges that sit in the chairs. Now, I'm not saying that
judges don't make mistakes – we know they do from time to time – but all I can
do is trust that they will make the right call based on what they see. If I
didn't trust in their ability to do their job, then I'm just asking to get red
lighted left and right. It's not my place to question the judges; all I can do
is get to my depth, hit crease to top of knee and squat. I get whites, it's
good. If I get reds I need to go deeper.
When I got red lighted at the IPA Pro-Am, I didn't throw a hissy fit. I asked
the judges afterward where I was at, and what I needed to do next time to make
sure this wasn't an issue. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't necessarily happy, but
mostly not happy with myself. All I can do is rectify the situation and move on.
If you think I looked good, great. If you think I was high, great. I'm not going
to debate this and second guess the judges or my depth caller. If they said I
was good then it was good. If the judge had told me it wasn't, then I would take
it for what it was and get deeper next time. I respect the judges, especially
ones like John Bott and Bob Youngs. These are the two that red lighted me at the
IPA Pro-Am, but were willing to give me advice as to what I needed to work on.
There is not much more to this. If you've ever been a judge, which I have, it's
not always easy to get the best angle and see all. They do the best they can
based on the situation at hand, and I trust they'll be fair and make the right
call no matter who you are or what you are lifting.
