I’ll post some more details in my training log, but here’s the meat of it:
The goal going into this meet was solely to qualify for the Arnold in March. I last competed at RUM in February and the long layoff was due to some minor injuries and extenuating circumstances. And I’d be lying if I said I was looking forward to this meet. I had lost some confidence over the last few months. My training partners were laughing at me when I told them that every attempt I took, I walked up to the bar and thought to myself “if I can’t do this I don’t deserve to compete at the Arnold anyway.”
The meet was run efficiently, spotters were great and supportive of all the lifters, and judging was fair from what I could see.
So onto the numbers...
At 242 I needed to total 1820 to qualify for the Arnold…a solid 270 pounds under my best total from 10 months before. So the plan going in was 650-500-670. I warmed up the squat as I normally would with Matt Smith showing up to help. For the squat I opened 600 and it felt fine. Then went 650 felt the same. I had no intention of taking 700 that day but everything felt good and I needed to build my confidence back. Keep in mind my opener at RUM was 740. I took the weight, lost a little tightness in the hole which admittedly was from a lack of focus, but the weight flew up and I felt like I got my balls back.
Onto the bench…
My bench felt great this training cycle. I hit the easiest 510 in training that I’ve ever done, so I thought with some rest 500 should be no problem. I opened 450 with no problem and then went 500. Everything was great until the last 2” above my chest I dropped the bar onto my belly like a shirted bencher. I turned it into a grinder and my back cramped up worse than it normally does. All I could do was laugh at myself because of my stupidity and lack of focus. Fortunately my cramping eased up after laying on the ground and whining for about 20 minutes.
And the finale…
At this point I needed a 620 pull to qualify. My opener was set at 650 and I left it there. Like I said, if I can’t pull 85% then I don’t deserve to go to the Arnold. I would deserve a beating at that point. So 650 felt great and moved fast. I wanted to take one more deadlift because I like even numbers and what not, so 700 for my second and final attempt. It was slow. Watching the video I didn’t like my positioning- I may have my hips a little bit too high.
It was a fun day. I didn’t put a lot of pressure on myself and just tried to be a spectator for once. Obviously that’s not what you want for a big meet, but today was a day to just kick back and have fun.
I was fortunate to meet some guys that follow my training logs (who I won’t list here because I know I’ll leave someone out or butcher someone’s name). I met Duke of Duke’s Iron Zoo where some mutual friends train or have trained. He’s a stand up guy and has really been great for the sport of powerlifting. He takes young guys under his wing and does a great job teaching them the ins and outs of the sport.
I also met Jason Pegg. I didn’t think he was real, but I was wrong. Great guy. We only talked for about 30 seconds before my deadlift and then I couldn’t find him again but it was nice to put a face to the name.
I can’t thank my training partners enough: Paul, John, Brian, Kat (who competed at her first meet and did great!) and Joe and Jon who were unable to make the trip with us.
And thank you to my teammates at EliteFTS for their continued support and advice along the way. I’m blessed to be a part of this team and I wouldn’t be the lifter I am today without them. So thank you guys and girls, and particularly Dave and Traci Tate for trusting me to represent EliteFTS with class and integrity.
