A Taste of Cherry, Part IIIThe MeetBy Casey S. RusbridgeFor www.EliteFTS.comWelcome back everyone. This is the final installment of this “exciting” saga! The drama mounts. How will it end? I’d like to thank every one of you for reading these articles, and I certainly hope you pull something from them. After all, that is the whole point of this series. I will include a “journal” of the day of the meet and will try to close with some kind of a “beginner’s guide” for your first meet. But first, the final weeks of training! Week 9: Afternoons DE bench Shoulder warm up Hip swings SP bench: bar X 10 X 2, 95 X 5, 135 X 3, 155 X 3 X 4, 185 X 3 X 4 Shirt: 225 X 2, raw 275 X 1, 315 X 1, 335 X 1, 355 X F B.S. push-ups: body weight X 15, body weight X 10 X 2, 18 inches off floor, body weight X 8 X 2, 12 inches from floor B.S. scarecrow: body weight X 8 X 4 Notes: · The shirted work felt great. I missed 355 lbs at around my 3-board height. No big deal. · This wasn’t a crazy session. It was kind of a routine. I tried to externally rotate every rep on the push-ups as the reps got harder. The rationale behind this—I don’t want to ever teach myself to internally rotate when the pressing gets hard. ME squat Hip swings Med. good mornings: bar X 8 X 2, 95 X 8, 135 X 5, 185 X 5, 225 X 3, 275 X 3, 315 X 1, 335 X 1, 315 X 1 X 5 Romanian deadlifts: 135 X 5, 225 X 3, 315 X 3 X 3 T-bar row: 90 X 10 X 2, 135 X 8 X 2 Standing abs: blue X 10 X 4 Leg curl: purple X 10 X 3 Notes: · This wasn’t a bad session, but it reminded me of how much I miss good mornings. And by “miss,” I mean I hate them. Seriously, they aren’t my favorite, but I need to get to work on these to increase my squat and deadlift. · The leg curls were done with two bands, one per leg. This was a nice change but isn’t going to add 600 lbs to my lifts. ME bench Shoulder warm up 2-board: bar X 10, 95 X 5, 95 X 5, 135 X 5, 185 X 5, 225 X 3, 265 X 3, 305 X 1, 335 X F, 335 X F T-bar: 45 X 10, 90 X 10, 135 X 10, 185 X 10, 135 X 10, 90 X 10 Face pull: green X 15 X 3 Up rows: purple X 20 X 3 Notes: · Yeah, I missed 355 lbs twice. That sucks big time. The first rep felt like I fell out of the “groove,” but that’s no excuse. I was hoping this would be my third attempt at the meet, but I’m not sure now. · I love high volume on the T-bar rows. Once, I remember going for about ten sets with four plates with an “occasional” training partner when I was at the Y in Ottawa. I did these by using two D-handles and wrapping a chain around the bar. DE squat Jump squats Hip swings Box squats: bar X 5, 95 X 5, 95 X 5, 135 X 3, 225 X 3, 245 X 2 X 10 Box with Viking suit: straps down 315 X 1, 365 X 1, 405 X 1; straps up 455 X 1, 515 X 1 RC abs: body weight X 15 X 2, 25 X 15 X 2 Notes: · The Viking suit is so much stronger than the regular Metal Poly. I can’t believe it. There is a bit of a learning curve, and I felt like I was being pitched forward a bit. Perhaps this is because the straps are a bit tighter than my other suit. Jim reminded me that this is the point of a stronger, tighter suit. Fortunately, he didn’t call me a pussy when I whined about not being able to handle this suit. Hitting depth on the box was incredibly hard, but this will become easier as I break it in.
Week 10 DE bench Shoulder warm up Hip swings High knees SP bench: bar X 10, 95 X 5, 95 + 30 lbs chains X 5, 135 X 3, 155 X 3 X 7, 185 X 3 X 3 4-board: 225 X 5, 275 X 5, 315 X 5, 365 X 1, 385 X F X 2 T-bar: 45 X 15, 90 X 12, 135 X 12 X 4 Shoulder traction, RH only X 2 Notes: · 385 lbs: On my first attempt, I almost locked the weight out but failed. For my second attempt, I thought a hand-off would help. Well, this proved to be a bad idea. I called my brother in to the garage, and he did his best. Unfortunately, he pulled the bar too high and pitched it forward. I had to fight to get the bar back into the start position and failed again. As soon as I got the weight onto the safety pins, my right shoulder tightened up. I think it was my subscapularis or teres or something. It just starting throbbing. Obviously, I tried to get a little stretch and blood flowing back there and called it quits. Of course, the Injury Fairy decided to visit so close to the meet! As a precaution, I cancelled the rest of my sessions this week and did a few rehab movements while trying to rest up. Week 11: Week of the meet/midnights rotation DE bench Shoulder warm up Scap shrugs with EFS blast straps SP bench: bar X 10, 95 X 5, 135 X 3, 155 X 3 X 3, 185 X 3 X 3, 225 X 2 Shirt: 275 X 1, 295 X 1 BS push-up: body weight X 10 at 25 inches body weight X 10 at 18 inches body weight X 10 at 10 inches with feet elevated on EFS box squat box Pull-ups: body weight X 6 X 3 Notes: · This was a simple session after sitting idle for a week. My shoulder feels fine, and I can’t complain. The 295 lbs should be my opener, and I smoked the weight. Yeah, it isn’t a big lift, but we all start somewhere. ME squat Body weight squats Hip swings Jump squats High knees Squats: bar X 5, 95 X 5, 135 X 5, 185 X 3, Viking briefs, 245 X 2 X 6 Squats: 315 X 1, 365 X 1, 405 X 1, straps up Sp. deadlifts: 135 X 2, 225 X 2, 315 X 1 X 2, 315 X 1 X 2,* 405 X 1, 405 X 1,* 495 X F, 495 x 1* RC abs: body weight X 20 X 2, 25 X 10 X 5 Notes: · Again, I felt like I had to do SOMETHING and certainly needed to break the Viking suit in. The 405 lbs felt much better and setting up under the bar was much easier. · I did things a little differently today and tried to do a modified sumo/conventional stance. I’ve NEVER used this stance before, and the asterisks indicate when I used a Metal V-Type with the straps up. The pop off the floor was absolutely RETARDED. I’ve never pulled in a suit before, and I couldn’t believe the change. I swear 315 lbs felt like 135 lbs from the floor! I think that with practice this could become my competition pull. · I did more ab work today out of fear that my stomach might not be strong enough for my squats. Yes, I can admit a lack of confidence. Things felt good on a whole, and this is my last session before the meet. Saturday, April 14, 2007 I took Thursday night/Friday morning off from work to transition back to a regular schedule so I can be awake at the meet. I feel well rested and had zero sleeping issues this week! My body weight, according to my scale, is at 230 lbs. Everything feels great. 5 a.m.: I am up and having a light breakfast. I’m not having anything too crazy because squatting with a full stomach just isn’t fun. 6 a.m.: I’m on the road. It’s a two-hour drive to get to St. Thomas from my place, and I'm trying to keep myself calm and not burn up too much energy. My nerves are starting to mount. 6:45 a.m.: One of the virtues of living with supportive parents is that they are not only willing to come to the meet but are driving me there. I popped Chuck’s XXX DVD in and tried to watch his squats. I wanted to start getting fired up. I ended up throwing “Rocky Balboa” in instead. 7:55 a.m.: We’re there. The venue is at a hockey arena in one of the multipurpose rooms. There are at least twenty chairs set up and a balcony full of seats above. There are two squat stands in the warm up area already and about 500 lbs of weight beside each rack. Two benches lay face down waiting to be set up. A row of tables acts as a partition between the seating area and the warm up area. It is a beautiful arena to lift in. 8 a.m.: Contestants start pouring in, and I sit back and wait for the weigh in. I’m feeling good, but I’m nervous as hell. My brother sits with me and helps me stay sane. Some of the dudes are pretty thick, and I’m surprised to learn there are about eight female lifters today! 8:30 a.m.: The weigh in starts and so do the equipment checks. I sit back and watch because I’m in the third flight of lifters so I won’t be on the scale for a while. At this point, I find out that one guy is going for his elite today. I watch everyone get prepped. 8:50 a.m.: I’m weighed in at 100.8 kgs, just over 220 lbs! My scale is full of shit! Had I known this, I would have dropped the two pounds and come in at a lower class! Shit, I’m really not impressed. After this, I move to get my equipment checked. A guy in line, Sam, introduces himself. He’s going for a master’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Waterloo and moved to Ontario from the east coast. We chat for a bit. It’s his fourth meet, and he’s still jittery. For whatever reason, he helped calm me down, and I proceed to get my gear checked in. A ridiculously stacked blonde checks her gear in ahead of me, and I check all of “that” out. Booyah! For whatever reason, I misread the IPF rules about the height of my socks, and they fail “regulation.” The sock must come up to and partially cover the knees. The judge feels sympathy for me, and because it’s my first meet, she let’s them pass. The only issue that I had was that my EFS belt was “slightly” large in one area and almost failed her measurement. I’ll sand it down next time, whatever. 9:05 a.m.: There’s a quick lifters’ meeting on the squat, which I missed. They went over the rules regarding depth and judge commands. This is what I get for being anti-social and trying to calm my nerves by blasting some Hatebreed.
9:25 a.m.: The meet begins, and I watch the first flight as they run through. Glynn Moore goes on to set a Canadian record in the squat. That was amazing to see! 10:27 a.m.: Now my nerves are shot, and the second flight is starting their last attempts. I get my gear on to warm up and pretty well screw up my squat. I worked up to 365 X 1 and felt better as I went along. Instead of starting with my Metal V-Type, I threw on my Viking and let it rip. This wasn’t too bad. My brother, Miller, is my handler today, and he did a hell of a job tending to my princess-like needs—“iPod! Water!” First attempt: 455 lbs I stepped up and tried to psyche up, but I was still jittery. I was red-lighted for depth, but I felt like the weight wasn’t a bad choice for an opener. So back to the warm up room…I did everything possible to get centered and prep for the next attempt. My head is still spinning for whatever reason, and my stomach is rolling. Second attempt: 500 lbs This time I felt a bit better. I unracked the weight and brought it deeper. The weight came up easily, but I was red-lighted AGAIN for depth! Shit, that’s 0-2! At this point, a guy named Jerry Marentette pulls me aside and offers some advice. He was an IPF world champ back in the late 1970s and squatted wide like I do. For whatever reason, today is the day I forgot to turn my toes out during the squat. As soon as he told me this, I almost punched something. I can’t believe that I forgot to do this! Jerry explained that this would help me hit depth. He reminded me that I was strong enough to hit the weight. I just needed to get my toes right to go lower. He even took the time with me to make sure I practiced the move and could hit depth. Third attempt: 500 lbs repeated As I stepped up to the rack, I saw my back spotter, Canadian bench champ, Sean O’Halloran. This dude is an absolute monster and has competed in the world championships. He told me to get pissed off at the weight, but I couldn't shake the “fish out of water” feeling I had. I popped the weight out and waited for the squat command. I went low, and Sean kept telling me to go lower and lower. Eventually, when I hit depth, he told me to start back up. I thought I was going to die. This is way lower than I’ve ever taken a max weight, and I came to a dead stop at mid-range on the lift. I kept grinding that bastard out and was given three whites! On to the bench! 1 p.m.: My aunt, uncle, and grandmother arrived at the meet just after I made my squat. They came over to say hello. I was still breathing deep and said hi. The nerves were gone, and I felt much better now. It was time to get something light to eat and rehydrate. I can’t believe how much that squat took out of me. Between the set-up break and the first flight, I was more social and shot the shit with a few lifters. I HIGHLY recommend doing this if you’re lifting by yourself or have some spare time. First off, it will help calm you down, and you can learn a bit. Besides, it can never hurt to network a bit, and you can always learn something or pass something on. Bench warm ups: Now I felt better, more like myself. The jitters were over, and I prepped for the bench. During my warm ups, I tried to help with some hand-offs and shot the shit with a few guys. I did my final warm up of 275 lbs in the Viking Presser. It felt fast and strong despite my shoulders feeling jacked. The only problem I’ve encountered with the Viking V-Type is that I have trouble setting up under the bar and usually carry the weight higher on my shoulders. First bench attempt: 300 lbs Although my nerves were calmed, I wasn’t able to get psyched up. The weight touched, and I pressed it with ease. However, I ended up with three reds because one of my feet wasn’t perfectly flat like the IPF rules stipulate. The weight was fine so I got cocky and called a higher weight for my second attempt. Big mistake. I still felt gassed from the squat. Second attempt: 335 lbs I tried to get psyched and had a few people yell at me to bring out the “rage.” The liftoff was good, but I couldn’t press the weight beyond my 3-board height! There was no quitting for me, and I struggled with no luck. It was obviously a fail, and the spotters grabbed the bar at the ref's command. Back in the warm up area, my aunt came down and told me that I had to make the weight. Clearly the pressure was on. I couldn’t lower my attempt and had to make this weight or be out of the meet. My energy was dropping off quick, and I tried to psyche up to hit this weight. Third attempt: 335 lbs repeated I went out and gave it my all—and failed. At least I got the bar a little higher this time, but it was still a clear failure. That was it. I was done and going home early. Post-meet I was bummed out to say the least. Not being able to pull was the worst feeling. It’s my favorite lift, and I knew I could have at least had some retribution for my weak pressing. Walking out early hurt and I had to hold back a few tears. Maybe that wasn’t manly to admit, but after training hard and receiving so much support from family and fellow lifters, I was feeling really low. Being cocky and trying to jump the weight on my second attempt were rookie mistakes. Had I played it cool, I could have at least had a 300 lbs bench and been able to make a decent pull. Instead I went home with a 500 lb total. Reflections Although it’s tough to be positive right now, I was completely blown away at the camaraderie of all the lifters. I knew no one but walked away feeling as though there was a huge sense of community. This was a great meet to enter. It was well run, and there were a ton of novice lifters. My handler, my brother Miller, did an amazing job, and I couldn’t have done it without him. Jerry’s advice was fantastic and made me realize that I needed to focus on what I have to do instead of just getting in there and lifting. So this part of my article serves as a big thank you to everyone in attendance and to everyone who helped me. Although I consider this meet a failure, my aunt and uncle summed it up best—it was a great experience and a chance to learn. First meet cheat sheet I figure this is something that I ought to include. Consider this a “do and don’t list” of how to prep for your first meet. DO learn and practice the rules of your federation. Unless you are a seasoned vet, you cannot jump in and learn the rules on the fly. I had to tweak my bench set up to conform to the IPF rules and will have to practice pressing with commands to further my technical training. DON’T be nervous. Talk with EVERYONE! I guarantee you’ll meet some very interesting people at the meet and will certainly pick up something useful. If you’ve never competed, why not take five minutes and learn from the guys who have been there before. Hell, talk to the novice guys too. You can share common experiences and perhaps glean something that you left out of your preparations. DO experiment with proper hydration/meals. I think had I been a little smarter and ate properly between the bench press and the squat I wouldn’t have gassed so quickly. While there may be a science to this, we’re all individuals. I will admit to using Cytomax as a quick carb source, and I chugged a Gatorade with some Spike early in the morning. One guy, Glynn Moore, was eating pizza after his bench attempts. Experiment until you find what works best for you. DON’T be afraid to attend meets and learn how a meet is run. I’ve been in an amateur push/pull and attended one IPF meet last summer. Had I been more involved with supporting and viewing the meets, maybe I could have been better prepared for my own meet. How many lacrosse players don’t go to watch games both professional and amateur ones? Football, soccer, and baseball athletes all love their sport and support it. Perhaps there’s a correlation between attending events and skill development. Think about it. DO plan your openers and practice them. I had a very clear idea where my squat was going and had to adjust after my second attempt. Had I planned my bench better, I would have been more successful, but this comes with experience. My deadlift would have been solid. I had no questions about that. Plan your opener as something you can kill and feel confident about. After that, be well prepared to adapt to whatever may come your way. DON’T buy your gear too late. Practice in it! Our sport is now one of skill and pure strength. Anyone who disagrees is living in the past and doomed to a piss poor total. Buy your gear early and practice in it. Although I had used my Viking V-Type a few times prior to the meet, I know that there is a larger learning curve that requires lots of work. I'll be cocky and say that the Viking Presser really has a short learning curve. Just get in there and start pressing! DO mentally prepare for failure and success. This isn’t a final exam on advanced biochemistry. It’s a powerlifting meet. I think that perhaps I had psyched myself up and out of the meet a bit. But again, I chalk that up to experience. Relax, enjoy yourself, and have fun! After twelve weeks of preparation, you’re going to show the world what you worked so hard for. Don’t leave anything on the platform. Although I blew all but one of my attempts, I would rather bomb out than puss out. DON’T let failure scare you off of the platform for good. Although I didn’t meet my expectations or my potential, I have accessed my result and am developing a new plan that will lead me to success. Evaluate, educate, and raise your expectations. You can’t retire from the sport without at least giving it your all. For example, I can’t accept a 500-lb total as the pinnacle of my powerlifting total. My father always told me that, “Perfect practice makes perfect play.” Train hard and you will succeed eventually. Don’t ever give up! DO seek out stronger, more experienced lifters and train with them. This is perhaps one of the areas in which I need to focus the most. If you’re already with an established club of lifters, try to bring the best out in each other. Nothing breeds success like success. You’ll get stronger as individuals, and the carryover effect will bring you all forward. Westside isn’t a legend because of one man. It was built upon compound successes. Find people and train with them! The next step Well, where do I go from here? After the meet, one thing became brilliantly clear. I’m weak as piss and will require tons of technical work in order to make improvements. My new plan of attack is to add as much body weight as I can to really make a stab at the 242s. This means more repetition work and a hell of a lot more food. Another area I need to improve is my shoulder girdle strength. I also need to do good mornings until I die. My ME squat work will be done on a lower box height to improve my power out of the hole as well as my technique when coming up from depth. To everyone who has read these articles, I want to thank you and hope that you will step up onto the platform and prevail. Learn from my experiences and do your best. For all my family and friends and the guys I met at the meet, thank you for everything. I’ll come back stronger and will redeem myself at the next meet. This sport is about longevity. It isn’t a sprint. I also give my thanks to Dave, Jim, and the EFS crew for giving me this opportunity and for all that you do for the sport. Without question, you’re successful in your desire to be in the PR business. Quit reading this article and get out there and train! Casey S. Rusbridge is a post-graduate with a bachelor’s degree in film studies. He is a novice powerlifter in the IPF and currently trains in his garage facility outfitted exclusively with EFS.com equipment. Casey encourages every reader to step up to the platform and test themselves—regardless of the outcome.
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