This past weekend I competed at the 2015 IPA Grand Prix Nationals in Columbus, Ohio. I opted to do this meet as a tune up to lead into the 2016 XPC Finals in March. I really did not want to go an entire year without competing, and this meet put me a little over the 6 month mark. I wanted to make sure my training was going in the right direction, and thank goodness I chose to do this meet. This was one of the best learning experiences for me on the platform.
My training leading up into this meet was looking very promising. I knew my performance at the 2015 XPC Finals was going to be a tough one to beat, but I felt that I did leave a little bit on the platform and that progress still could be made. I only missed one lift all training cycle and hit some pretty decent PR's all throughout the training cycle. It turns out, some of those paid off, but just not enough to get me a PR total.
The Meet
Thursday: I woke up on Thursday after doing my typical water load and was about 7 pounds over, right where I wanted to be. I knew that by the time I got into Columbus I would only have a few pounds to go. After arriving to Alycia's to rest for the evening, I opted to hit the sauna and get within half a pound and sleep the rest off. This was one of my easiest cuts to date, and I know this is from my dedication in the off season to decreasing my body composition to a lovely 7 percent. The water weight came right off after just a few sessions in the sauna. I was surprised and how fast I was actually able to get it off. I attempted to sleep that night, but I never sleep well before weigh ins.
Friday: I "woke up" and decided to make the trip over to Westside for the weigh ins. I showed up early so that I could be one of the first to weigh in. I was right on weight, and then followed my typical rehydration protocol and made my way over to Molly Edwards' place to finish that off. After getting my fluids back to where they needed to be I went to local coffee shop that was known for killer breakfast food and began to reload up on carbohydrates and more fluids. After that, I made the trip over to Elitefts to spend the day with the staff. My hotel room wouldn't be ready until 3pm, so I got some good time in with Jordan, Josh, Goodwin, and briefly saw Dave (I think Meadows tried to kill him). Goodwin took us all out for lunch at a local Mexican place which was awesome.
After all of that, I made my way back to my hotel and immediately got my Epsom Salt bath to relax and then took a good solid 2 hour nap while I awaited Renea to arrive to the room. We then traveled to Red Robin to have some burgers and fries and just catch up and be our goofy selves. We went back to the room to relax until Mario showed up, while I continued to rehydrate and eat even more food. I then called it an early night and got some really good sleep.
Saturday: I woke up pretty early compared to the other two to make my way down for the free breakfast to get some coffee, lots of carbs and some healthy fats to fuel me up for some squats. We then checked out and headed over to the convention center where we ended up basically walking a marathon before getting to the actual meet site. The meet was held by a teen cheer competition or something, but seeing huge ass grown men and tiny teenagers put fear in the parents eyes, which gave me a good chuckle all day long.
As for the lifting..
Squat
Warm Ups
65x10
155x5
245x3
295x2
335x1
385x1
425x1
475x1 - add Maverick Wraps
Opener - 510, Miss
I came in hitting 510 over a half a dozen times during prep, but something just wasn't clicking with my squats and I pitched forward and lost all my tightness in the hole. I went back and looked at my film and saw that my stance was too wide and that my upper back tightness just SUCKED. I talked with Matt and Mario and decided to keep the weight the same.
Second - 510, Good
Retaking the weight was a good call. After bringing my stance back in where it should have been and having Matt cue me to keep my back tight, the weight came up pretty well, just like it had all training cycle. I though I'd make a moderate jump up to put me in a good position.
Third - 540, Miss
I don't know what was wrong with me, but my set up and stuff just reverted right back to how I missed my opener. I really had no excuses other than I didn't execute and keep my head out of my own ass. I wasn't too please with this, but just take from my mistakes and learn from it. I knew going into the rest of the meet I would have to make really smart attempts on bench and deadlift to get a PR total. Not the end of the world, but not where I would have liked to be.
Bench Press
Warm Ups
50x2x10
100x5
140x5
190x3
210x2
230x1
250x1
270x1
Opener - 295, Good
After the dismal squatting, warming up for bench I felt pretty good. My training cycle in terms of my bench press was one of the best I've had. My opener was really smooth and easy. The head ref thought I had a soft hand out, but like nearly every ref I just need to tell them that it's part of me setting up good considering I can't even unrack the bar by myself if I even wanted to.
Second - 315, No Good
I stuck with what I had planned to be my second attempt, but I got 2 red lights for my hips leaving the bench. I talked with Elitefts alum Christian Mello and he told me that my set up just wasn't as strong as my opener. I talk with Mario and he was telling me I needed to set up closer to him (something Dave has barked at me for, which REALLY needs work in training). We decided to make a gamble and go up. The weight moved really easily, I just needed to set up stronger and squeeze the bench with my adductors to keep my hips down. I figured if I wanted a PR total for the day, I would need to go up for a PR bench press, which I certainly felt was there.
Third - 325, Good
I took all the recommendations from Mario and Christian and it panned out for a 5 pound PR on bench. I might have had 330 in me, but this was a good call. I didn't really like being 3/6 going into deadlift, and I knew what was needed at this point. But momentum was in now finally back into my favor.
Deadlift
Warm Ups
135x2x5
245x3
295x2
335x1
385x1
415x1
445x1
Opener - 480, Good
Warming up for deadlifts, I could tell that my deadlift was feeling really good. The rest after the training cycle was finally coming to fruition, and I just felt that I was going to have a good day pulling, but just would it be enough to get me out of a rut from my poor squatting. This flew up off the floor and I felt a good rush of confidence.
Second - 510, Good
I had planned this to be my second attempt from the training cycle, despite it being a 5lb PR attempt. I knew that I left weight on the platform at XPC, so I wanted to solidify this. This weight also flew up and gave me a 1345 total, 15 pounds off my best. Not bad for the day I had been having, but now I knew it was time to try to get a PR total on the third. It's what third attempt deadlifts are made for...the total.
Third - 530, Miss
The way that 510 moved, I knew I had the strength to pull 530, the question would remain, could my tiny ass hands hold on for dear life. The way the weight broke the ground and moved, you would have swore it was an opener, but sure enough after the weight flew up to my knee, my right knee collapsed and pried open my right hand at the last second. I'm pretty sure my right leg was even locked out because it collapsed so hard. I dropped the weight. Initially I was a bit bummed, but deep down I was proud of my resilience to nut up and take this weight no matter how many times my hands had failed me.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWvqKXi0y0w]
Wrap Up
At the end of the day, while I did not hit a PR total, I still managed a 5 pound PR on bench press and a 5 pound PR on deadlift. Just getting my final squat or pull would have put me in PR total territory. It really just boiled down to some minor technical things and being a bit smarter. I'll be sure to make some adjustments from this meet to help me out at XPC Finals. I know I'm capable of so much more, but I'm still very happy with my performance.
This is where I would like to say that, this is a meet where I was actually more proud of myself than even my XPC performance. Sure, I didn't have near as good as a day, but I put myself in some very mentally challenging positions all day long, and I stayed mentally strong and finished the meet with PR's and set my self up for success at the end of the day. Now I just need to attack some certainly qualities in training and I can apply these things that I learned. I had some of the best people and friends supporting me all day long and helping ensure I kept my calm and reassured me that all of my hard work still paid off. I had a GREAT time with some of my favorite people, didn't get hurt, finished the meet, and still hit PR's. So I'm still very happy with my performance, even though the numbers may indictate otherwise.
I want to give a HUGE thank you to Mario and Renea for their support and handling me all day long. Not only did they take care of me, they helped me forge some amazing memories that I'll never forget and helped me realize why I really love competing...the relationships and time spent doing what we love. They took their time out of their schedules and weekend to help me, and I can't ever thank them enough.
I also want to thank Matt Smith for helping me with my squat, even though it didn't show up. He really probably saved me from bombing, Also thank you to Jenn Petrosino who showed up to show her support and helped me keep a level head going into bench. It really paid off, and it was just good to see her again.
Thank you to Dave, Traci, and all of Team Elitefts for the constant support and education that you continue to give me. You do nothing but believe in me but at the same time push my ceiling and hold me to a high standard. I'm honored to represent such a first class team and company.
More thanks to Mark Glazier and NutraBio for the supplements and helping fuel my recovery and hard training. So much of what he provides me with goes into helping my training, recomposition after weigh ins, and just staying healthy and performing at a high level. I'm very thankful to represent the best supplement company that is truly changing what a supplement company is all about.
And finally I would like to thank my parents and family. I put a lot of time and dedication to something and to many it doesn't mean anything. But they have come to understand what powerlifting has meant to me and stand by my side regardless of what I have going on in my life.
Also, thank you to the IPA, Shawna, and Dave Hoff who put on a TREMENDOUS meet. This meet was kept tight, on schedule, fair, and consistent judging across the board. The meet venue was phenomenal and I could not have asked for a better platform to compete.
Needs Analysis
While it wasn't my best meet in terms of numbers, here are my needs analysis for the up coming off season training cycle:
Squat
- Consistent Set Up / Keeping Stance Narrow
- Upper Back Strength and Driving Head Up Out of the Hole
- Ab Strength
Bench Press
- Keeping Hips Down and Squeezing the Bench
- Added Tricep Work
- Setting Up Closer to the J Hooks
Deadlift
- Continued Grip Work
- Increased Hip Development (especially the right hip)
- Mid Back and Lat Work
Looking forward to continued improvement!
Live. Learn. Pass On.
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