For those of you that have been following my training log, you will know that I have been in meet prep for the RPS Lexen Spring Fling. The meet was held at the Ultimate Sports Center in Columbus, Ohio. I went into my first meet lifting multi-ply, and went bench only at 148 pounds.
On Thursday afternoon I met up with Purdue Barbell members Renea and Hannah. Renea would be competing at 132 raw with wraps, and Hannah was there to help handle and just be an awesome help all around. We met in Indy and then made our way over to London, Ohio where I booked our room. We met up with Mario D'Amico who would also be competing at 198 in multi-ply. Renea and Mario had to watch weight, so me and Hannah hit some dinner and then went back to the room to chill for the evening.
Friday morning we all woke up really early, and sadly Renea and Mario were a little over weight, so we had to venture to the sauna to help them get on weight. Once they were on, we went to breakfast to smash some food, and then headed over to Westside to hopefully meet up with Louie. Sadly we got there later than we intended and Louie was already gone, but we still got to hang out with Molly Edwards. After being at Westside for about 2 hours, we went back to London to get some lunch. I then made my way to Elitefts to catch up with the staff and spend some time with them and talk shop. I then went back to the hotel to shower up and go to dinner at Texas Roadhouse with Renea, Hannah, Mario, Joe Schillero, Alycia Israel, and some other people from Purdue Barbell that came to help out for the weekend. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to hang out and crash for the evening.
Saturday morning we all woke up to get in some breakfast at the hotel and make our way to the meet site. I took the time to help with squats since I wasn't squatting, and everyone did fantastic with PR's across the board. After squats we got going into bench...
Benching...
I'll be honest that my warm ups were just dumb. Point blank. The meet was going so fast that I wasn't honestly used to being that rushed. I still got a solid warm up in, but definitely not what I had been hoping for. I managed to make the best of it though, and here's how things went..
Warm Ups
45x10
95x5
135x5
185x2
255x1 - add Metal Black Catapult
315x1 (air board) - add Metal Jack
365x1 (air board)
Opener - 395, Good
With the amount of weight I put on from not cutting my shirt was fitting tighter than ever. I still didn't have any issues getting in it, but being rushed I was a bit worried whether I would even get this to touch the way 365 felt. Ted did an awesome job of helping me set the shirt. The bench was also just way to high for how short my arms are. This was a problem all day, but we still managed to get things to work. I was having a hard time getting the weight down to touch but as soon as Ted told me to belly up, it was just enough and I got the press command. Smooth and easy, just like it had been all prep.
Second - 425, Good
I opted to stick with my planned second attempt, and it was a good decision. Things felt much better after getting my opener and I got this to touch much easier and the whole rep was just much smoother. Plenty of speed and a good press.
Third - 450, Good
I talked this attempt over with Ted. He knew my goal was to bench 450 so we went with it. It felt heavy, but once I got it down under control I knew I'd have no problem getting the press, could I just keep my technique. I did a good job keeping my lats tight, and the press looked much faster than it felt. I was probably good for another 30 pounds or so, but I accomplished my goal of a 450 bench press and 3x bodyweight coefficient.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGA82248dyw]
Wrap Up
After I benched, I took the time to help Mario, Joe, and Renea pull. I'm incredibly proud of these three, as Mario and Joe qualified for XPC Finals and earned their elite totals. Renea barely missed her elite total to get to XPC Finals, but I think she will make this qualifying total before the year is over. However, she still had a PR day and she did an excellent job!
As for myself, I managed to walk away going 3/3 and hit all my goals for the day. This bench press also puts me #1 on the current bench press rankings for 148 and best bench press of the meet, so I also got some icing on the cake.
This was probably the best learning experience I have done in powerlifting to date, and I took so much away to learn and apply to my training (both raw and equipped).
As for what is next, I am uncertain, but I do have some ideas on the back-burner that I will toy with more seriously after a couple of months off. For my immediate future I will have a few weeks of more volume like bodybuilding stuff, and then back to some serious off season training.
Thank You's
I want to thank Dave and Traci Tate for all their support and passion. Without them I would not be in such a great position to excel. I also would like to thank Mark Glazier for the best supplements on the market and helping me refuel and recover for such a tough sport.
A huge thank you to my training partners, Kyle, Kirk, and Trey. Being in a shirt for the first time was a hard thing to do, and without you guys I probably wouldn't have a face and wouldn't be able to push myself the way I want. Thanks!
I also would like to thank Ted Toalston, Molly Edwards, Todd Brock, and Vincent Dizenzo for helping me from near and far. You guys made my transition into a shirt so much easier, and without you guys I wouldn't have even been close to do what I did on meet day. The progress I saw over the 8 weeks of training was incredible, and I couldn't have done it without your guidance.
Thank you to Purdue Barbell members - Renea Andrzejewski, Hannah Hayes, Joseph Tanner, Josh Lytle, and everyone else that has helped me. You guys were awesome.
More thanks to Bruce Mason, Mario D'Amico, and Joe Schillero for pushing me to get into gear and being there to help me for my first meet. You guys are great friends and it was just the thing I needed.
And last but not least, thank you to my loving family and girlfriend for always supporting me and pushing me to continue to go after my goals and sticking with me when I'm putting training ahead of a lot of other things in life. It takes a special support group like that to still be behind me.
For programming and coaching inquires, please email SmitleyPerformanceSystems@gmail.com
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