Prepping for the APF-AAPF Orlando Barbell Florida State Meet - February 28, 2015. Qualified National Strongman competitor and will be competing this coming October, 2015. I am here to live, learn, and pass on.
I hadn't deadlifted since hitting 350 at UGSS in the beginning of January, so I was interested to see if I was able to hit near or around that same number. As I was warming up, everything felt light, so I was contemplating whether to open up with 275lbs or 295lbs and then hit my second attempt with 335lbs. I usually don't make big jumps but every attempt felt smooth and explosive.
Quick finish up because it was late:
- Conventional pulls with 225 lbs - 5 x 5
- DB Rows - 3 x 10
- Hyper - 3 x10
So here's a story:
As I'm getting to The Battelaxe (mind you it was pretty late and I didn't expect multiple bodies to be there) I saw a girl I hadn't seen before deadlifting. This excited me because I'm thinking "yes, more girls to train with!" Fast forward a bit, we introduced ourselves and started talking about lifting, what our goals were (as far as hitting numbers we wanted), etc. I told her I just hit a 350lb deadlift PR, something I've been chasing for the past year and a half and how great it felt to finally set a new goal for myself. She said "I want a 400lb deadlift pretty bad." In my mind I thought she was a competitive lifter because that's a pretty solid number to shoot for. Turns out she's never competed but has always wanted to. I asked her "what's stopping you?" She basically wanted to get a stronger foundation before competing because she didn't feel strong and confident enough about competing against other girls. Similar to how I felt and dealt with starting up powerlifting.
This was the moment...to guide this talented girl to the dark side (sort of sense); and this is what I and all the girls here at EliteFTS advocate about. It doesn't matter who you are, where you are starting from, the important thing is to start and not be afraid! It's about setting a goal for yourself and surpassing that goal and then some. And what's most rewarding about it is sticking to that goal that may feel like an eternity to get and you end up accomplishing it -- through the crappy training days and setbacks, you pushed through. It is such an empow(her)ing feeling and I wanted her to experience that -- that it wasn't about "other people" but about herself.
Easier said than done but you wouldn't be training 5 days a week, beating up your body, and emotionally draining yourself for something you sort of want to do, right? Think about it.
Here's Alaina doing some sumo deadlifts, too, and working on her technique. I hope you find a meet that you are ready to do very soon! You live in Ohio, the powerlifting state, so no excuses!
Thank you for being a part of my journey. Suggestions and comments are always welcomed!