I have to thank Dave Tate and Justin Harris for helping me keep my weight on
better this time. I ended up incorporating more sodium into my diet, and even
loading with sodium tabs, which did wonders in preventing me from losing my
fluids. Also, thanks to Mitch McMahon, the Flesh Family, Rich Gregg, Big Mike
Lacombe, Jim Lynch, Sheila, Ashton, and, of course, my wife Trinity for helping
out and cheering us all on.
Here's how everyone else did:
My long time training partner Greg Godwin had a little trouble with his openers,
but hit them on his second to go 644-424-545 for a 1614 total in the Open AAPF
198’s. Not bad for a guy who's 52. One of our newest additions, Sam Wahnish, had
a great day. In only his second full meet (the first he's made it through), Sam
went 644-424-551 for a 1620 total and Elite in the Junior 165’s.
Ronnie Paras had some trouble in his squats, but ended up going 810-573-567
for a 1950 total to take the OBB top spot in the open 198’s. My training partner
Kalin Chester finally hit a big goal of his in his last meet as a member of
Orlando Barbell (he's moving back to Tampa but will always be a member in our
hearts). Kalin squatted 633, finally hit a huge 600 bench!, and pulled 501 for a
solid 1734 total in the open 181’s. We'll miss you Kalin.
Although I've still been sick, my day went pretty well. I weighed in right at
165 and was able to hydrate and hold my weight at around 175 by the time I
lifted, which was ideal for me. Here's how my lifts went:
Squats:
766 Opener: I brought my stance in and opened light to make sure to get
one in. I ended up leaning forward more than I would've liked, which prevented
me from going as deep as intended, but it was good for 2 whites.
810 2nd attempt: I widened my stance back out to what I was
comfortable with and stood up for a solid 3 whites.
826 3rd attempt: I went for a PR, came out of the hole, but
stalled. Just didn't quite have it in me today.
Bench:
567 Opener: Opened with a looser denim to get one in and did.
606 2nd attempt: Put my tighter shirt on and went for a PR,
but brought the bar too low and ended up pressing straight up instead of back. I
got it about halfway and stalled.
606 repeat 3rd attempt: Took it even lower this time and it
didn't budge. I think being a little heavier may have hurt me here. I'm going to
have to work out these shirt issues for the next meet.
Deadlift:
573 Opener: I've been working on keeping my hips down and head up which
seemed to work out great. This one went up pretty fast.
622 2nd attempt: A little tougher, but it was good for a full
meet PR and a solid 2,000 total.
633 3rd attempt: Was out of gas by now and barely broke it off
the ground.
Although this is the first time I haven't hit a PR total in a meet, I'm happy
with how I did. I did exactly what I said I was going to. I made it through and
got one PR. I feel much more confident now after coming back from bombing at the
Worlds. I honestly think that the true test of someone's determination is not
how many times they can win or stay on top, not how many times they can PR, but
how well they can come back from failure.
As I've posted before, Rocky said:
"You, me or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you
hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you
can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!
Now if you know what you're worth then go out and get what you're worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers sayin' you ain't
what you wanna be because of him or her or anybody! Cowards do that and that
ain't you! You're better than that!"
Q&A:
Can you give an overview of your deadlift training?
I pull out of the rack every other week on ME day after the ME squat
exercise. On the opposing weeks I pull against green bands on DE day, gradually
increasing the percentage, just as you would with dynamic effort squats. Here's
an example of what I would do leading into a meet.
Week 8 - rack pulls off #3, max doubles
Week 7 - Pulls against bands w/55%
Week 6 - rack pulls off #2, max doubles
Week 5 - Pulls against bands w/57.5%
Week 4 - rack pulls off #1, max singles
Week 3 - Pulls against bands w/60%
Week 2 - pull off floor with opener
Week 1 - Pulls against bands w/50%
Meet Week
I pulled 615 at my last meet, which was a full meet PR, and I felt like I had a
lot more in me. My training partners have made dramatic improvements as well.
Can you explain what “Schwabs” are, and how to do them?
Here’s a video of how I do the Schwabs. As you can see, it's a very limited
motion with the primary purpose of isolating the triceps through a heavy, safe
movement.
You have a ton of experience in setting up and hosting meets. Do you have
any tips on how to do this?
I do have quite a bit of experience holding meets. I started hosting meets at
the YMCA about 6 years ago, before I had taken any steps to opening Orlando
Barbell. Hosting a meet is a difficult, but rewarding task. Just like opening a
hardcore gym, you do it for the love of the sport rather than to make a profit.
My best recommendation is to plan as far in advance as possible. Some of the
most important factors you have to think of are:
-Do you have an adequate available location that is willing to let you hold this
kind of event? Do they require for you to provide your own liability insurance?
(Make sure you put a decent liability waiver on the entry form).
-Do you have all of the necessary equipment as well as the means of getting it
to the location (at least 2 monolifts, 2 benches, 2 platforms, 2 squat bars, 2
power bars, 2 deadlift bars, a deadlift loader, 4 weight trees, 8 100’s, 15
45’s, 4 25’s, 4 10’s, 4 5’s, 2 2½’s, competition collars, chalk, bleach, brush,
cleaning supplies, etc..)
-Do you have enough people to load, spot, judge, expedite, announce, keep score,
and watch the door? (You're looking at around 15 people who are willing to work
for nothing just to help you out).
-Do you have a location or website to order awards and an estimate of how many
you'll need?
-Do you have enough lifters interested in competing to cover the costs of the
meet?
These are some of the pointers I could think up off the top of my head. The best
way to market would be to make fliers and drop them off at all of the local
gyms, post the information online, and email the information to as many people
as possible.
I hope this helps. It should give you a good start. Let me know if you want any
more information.
