Joey Smith - 44 Years Old
IPA Flex Lewis Classic
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
October 13, 2018
Even after 25 years of competing I still have goals in this sport I want to achieve. I have competed in over 75 meets in a multitude of ways; raw bench only, raw full power, multiply bench only, multiply deadlift only, multiply push pull, and multiply full power. I take much pride in being a diverse power-lifter in this sport and doing things that take me out of my comfort zone. I am definitely always trying to find new ways to challenge myself.
In the past 12 months I have competed more frequently than I have in years. Maybe its because I think that my window is closing on my power or maybe I just love to fucking compete. 12 months ago I competed in multiply bench only in a weight class that I have never competed in. I had no problem moving into this weight class because I allowed myself to eat my way in to the super heavy weights, a weight class I had never competed in multiply bench only. I benched 735 lbs in that meet and that allowed me to check off one of my bucket list goals and that was to bench 700 lbs or more in 4 different weight classes throughout my career. I am not 100% certain on how many lifters have achieved that in the history of powerlifting but from what I know it is not many.
In March of this year I decided to come out of my 10 year full power raw retirement. Up to this point I had only done 3 full power raw meets. In those 3 meets 10 years ago, I achieved my open Elite total in my first meet and had decent numbers at the time for a bench only guy with a 750 lb squat, 500 lb bench and 615 lb deadlift and the best total of 1840 lbs. I was curious if I could duplicate getting an open Elite total again in a full power meet in a different weight class even though I had not been training for it but I felt like I had a really good shot at achieving this goal. I was still holding onto my super heavy weight body weight since the multiply bench only meet so it was easy to transition into super heavy weight for this meet. Unfortunately I didn't have the meet that I wanted number wise but I did achieve my primary goal of hitting an Elite open total in raw full power in a super heavy weight. My numbers for this meet was a 720 lb squat, 425 lb bench, 605 lb deadlift and a 1750 lb total. Nothing to jump up and down about compared to the raw totals that are going up these days, but for my old, beat down gear whore ass I was still pretty happy to achieve my primary goal and come out unscathed.
Fast forward to now. Since the raw full power meet in March I have been training exclusively in multiply again. Full power mutiply that is. A bucket list lift of mine that I still want to go after and achieve is a 1,000 lb squat in multiply. As I gradually started training in multiply again this summer I knew that it would be sometime before I could take an honest stab at a grand.
I started talking to some fellow teammates that were using the new Metal canvas squat suit after seeing success that several of them were having using the new squat suit and I decided I needed to jump into the fray and see if this new canvas suit would work for me as well. I had never trained in canvas before and I knew it would be very difficult for me to learn how to use it on my own but I figured I would give it a try anyways. Up to this point I had only been in Metal poly suits and in my 4 multiply meets that I had competed in. My best squat came 2 years ago with a 900 lb multiply squat. So I knew going into this that if I wanted a decent total to add to my resume one day that I needed to learn how to use this Metal canvas squat suit and at the next meet that I decided to do put up a respectable mid to low 900 pound squats to boot.
Once I received my new Metal canvas squat suit and started using it week by week I instantly fell in love with this thing. I felt like this squat suit was made for me. I loved how it felt, I loved its stopping power and I loved the pop that it was giving me out of the hole. As weeks started turning into months of getting allot of practice using this new suit, my confidence was growing and I was starting to feel that I could do a meet at the end of this year and start chipping away at the 1,000 lb squat that I desire and a bigger total that I need to have.
As any veteran lifter knows, especially one with some age and multiple surgeries like myself, you start to realize that your body at any moment will start letting you down. You just accept it at some point that aches and pains and the brutality of this sport is just going to get worse and make you hate life earlier that you would like. But we all know what we are getting into once you get into this sport. There is no money, there is no glory but your own and nobody outside the sport of powerlifting that neither understands what your doing, why your doing it, or really even gives a fuck. The great thing about that last statement, I don't give a damn about any of these things. I do what I do for me and only me. I knew what I signed up for a long time ago and I am good with that.
As I started up my new training cycle three months ago, I based my projection squat number off an obtainable number. Something realistic. That number was 920 lb. Nothing gargantuan, nothing record breaking but something realistic. A number that would give me a pr and show myself that I am progressing toward that number that I desire most. My multiply squat training is probably different that most in multiply. We use at our gym what we call the reverse band method, or in the pop culture these days the future method. This method has always worked for me throughout the years and I have obtained every multiply squat and multiply bench goal I have set using it. I am definitely from the old school adage that if it aint broke don't fix it. So what is this mysterious reverse band method that you speak of Mr. Smith? Well its actually very simple, not complex and I will write it out step by step on what I do. So hold your breath here we go:
Week 1 - Use Elite FTS big black bands x insert projection number here, for me this is 920 lbs. Now at the beginning of this training cycle I was overloading a little bit more with 940 to 955 pounds instead but 9 times out of 10 I stick with my projection number only. I work up to a this weight doing singles each set.
Week 2 - The next week after each multiply squat week I always do straight weight, raw or brief only squats. Now this is for me. My body cannot handle squatting in full gear week after week. So this allows me to have a little bit of a break. My volume is more (2 TO 3 reps on work sets) than my multiply squat weeks which are only heavy singles.
Week 3 - Use Elite FTS blue bands x insert projection number here. I will work up to my projection weight or a few pounds over depending on how I feel. These will all be singles, from warm ups to projection number.
Week 4 - Again raw squats or brief squats with multiple sets and my volume consisting of two to three reps. I know what your thinking here. What are you basing numbers off of on these raw/brief weeks? Well I have an answer for that. To not get all scienceY and technical about it, I take my best raw squat and project something 10 to 20 pounds higher and use percentage based numbers for these squat weeks. So my projection number for these weeks, this training cycle was 760 lbs with different percentages used every other week. My sets and volume will change from week to week on these weeks.
Week 5 - Use Elite FTS gray bands x projection number. As the bands decrease, I can really start to get a good feel for the weight that I am holding every other week in full gear. I bet I know what your next question is. Do you do straps up or straps down on these sets? Here is the answer: For myself each week I am lifting in full gear, I take at least two warm set singles with straps down then my last warm up set before my work set with straps up but very lose and then for my projection weight. I adjust my straps with a medium tightness as to what I feel is good for myself at that weight. During these first few full gear squats I am using a non aggressive knee wrap such as elitefts green knee wraps.
Week 6 - This is our dreaded deload week. I am sure all the tough hardcore guys don't have deload weeks but we do. During this week I do primarily supplemental work or as some call it accessory work. This consists of in no particular order: leg press, leg extension, leg curls, glute ham raise, super squat machine, back work, ab work, and stretching and rehab. I know what your next question might be. Do you do any sort of accessory work on your multiply squat weeks or raw briefed squat weeks? Yes I do. Those weeks consist of a variety of accessory work that I implement on what I feel I need. This deload week only consists of accessory work with lighter weight and more volume to get blood flow and to feel jacked.
Week 7- Use Elite orange bands x projected weight. This is the week that I know deep down in my heart when I am using this band if I am on track for my projection weight or not. I try my best not to deviate and only use my projection weight. That way I am getting a true indicator of what's going on and how that weight feels. Also, each and every week that I am using full gear I am squatting to depth, proper depth that is, so that I am not fooling myself not being sure If I am "there" and I am not. This is very important for a multiply lifter, you should always make sure if possible that you have the same person that knows what the hell they are doing calling your depth each of those weeks.
Week 8- Raw or brief squats. Now that we are getting a little closer to the meet, the sets and reps on this week become less for me. I actually just do singles with a certain percentage. The next question you might have is that am I using knee wraps during this week or just sleeves. For me I always use sleeves till I get to a certain weight and then usually my last two sets are with a light knee wrap. I don't lift in federations that just use sleeves and I also don't walk weight out so I use knee wraps when I feel it is time in my heavier sets.
Week 9- Use Elite FTS green monster mini bands x projection weight. Now this is when shit starts getting real. I know for certain when this week comes whether or not I have a shot at this projection weight or not. With 920 lbs on my back and only a green band being used I do realize that I am getting a little bit of help out of the hole but not a whole lot. On this week I like to use our best knee wraps that we have in our arsenal. These would be what we call the Elite FTS big blacks or the heavy duty blacks. There is not another knee wrap that exists on this planet that if wrapped properly "like the way we wrap knees" that will give you the support and pop out of the hole that these bad-ass knee wraps will give you. These knee wraps are by far the most coveted and loved wrap at our gym. We use these exclusively for a pr and third attempt at training/meets.
Week 10 - Raw or briefs This week is almost a duplication of week 8 except I will squat using my highest percentage up to this point of these raw/brief weeks. I am taking my heaviest raw/briefs singe of this training cycle. What you might be asking here is way do you keep listing it as raw or briefs. This depends on a few factors. If we are discussing myself it really just depends on how I feel that day. If my hips are feeling good and I am feeling good I will go full raw, but for me this week I will normally use briefs since I am going for a heavy single with straight weight in just briefs. For my other lifters at the gym I usually keep them in briefs on each of these weeks so they are constantly getting used to their gear and not breaking technique.
Week 11 - Use Elite FTS red mini x opener. We are two weeks out from the meet. At this poINT if the green band went as planned then I defiantly know things are falling into place and I am on track. Normally I will always work up in warms ups on this week with no band like I would at a meet in the warm up room. All of the weights that I do today and the amount of sets, I will duplicate meet day in the warm up room. The only difference is that I will use a red mini on my opener this week. Now your next question might be why even use a red mini? Well, I have used every band in our repertoire in this training cycle. It may be because I have OCD but I still have one more band hanging on that wall that needs to be used, so we use that red band for our opener weight. From time to time, from a coaching stand point I may deviate from lifter to lifter on whether or not we take a second attempt on this week. This depends on so many different things I can't even begin to list them all. For myself during this training cycle my second attempt weight will be a pr lift. Second attempts at at a meet at our gym are always pr lifts and my second attempt will be 920 lbs. I will take this weight with a red mini and cut it about an inch high. Your next question may be why even do that, you have been going to depth every week in full gear? why change that now? Here's my reason, I always use a one board to hit my opener on when I bench. It's not full range and I know this but it has always worked for me. So taking my second attempt on the squat with a red band and cutting it about an inch high is my one board so to speak.
Week 12 - Raw or brief squats x deload. You are really taking another deload week Joey? As a matter of fact, yes I am. After my squat, bench and deadlift openers are completed I like to have about nine days of no main movements being done and only accessory work with light weight and limited reps with tons of recovery work being done up to three to four days out from the meet. This is how we have trained our multiply squats and multiply benches at Team Nebobarbell for almost 15 years. Its a method and a training cycle that we have tweaked and worked on for a long time that has worked out for our team time and time again. Myself and Mike Schwanke devised this plan many years ago and we have worked it to perfection. I have never really put this down in writing on how this process has worked until now. I wanted to give some insight on what two boys in the middle of nowhere came up with many years and what also continues to work many years later for myself and the new lifters at Team Nebbarbel1.
That was a bit wordy and lengthy explanation on how my squat training went this training cycle, but I thought this was as good of a time as any to explain in full how I train when preparing for a full power multiply meet. In short I hit all of my numbers each week during this training cycle for my squat. Same goes for the bench and my deadlift.
I have somewhat been eyeing this meet for quite some time, but I was not sure with everything going on this training cycle and how my body was going to hold up if I was going to have a legitimate shot at getting through the meet. I had explained earlier in one of my training logs that my left hamstring was not feeling right, the prognosis was either I had strained my hamstring or over stretched the tendon between my glute and hamstring. Either way my hamstring has not been 100 % for a few weeks during this training cycle. This hamstring problem does not bother me when I squat or when I bench and my deadlift sucks anyways so I didn't think two out of three was going to be a big issue.
My bench projection for this meet was 730 lbs. I hit all of my lifts every week that I benched in my shirt with no issues. I actually worked on touching more than I ever have during this training cycle just to make sure that I had my shirt dialed in. So all in all I was feeling really good about my bench. Both of my shoulders are about shot after all of the years of punishment that I have put them through and my left shoulder has a labrium tear that has needed surgery now for four years but I did get two injections in both shoulders a few months back and that has alleviated some if the pain that I have been having. Even with all this shit going on I was for certain that a 920 lb squat would be there, a 730 lb bench would be there and something in the low to mid 600 on the deadift would be there.
Three weeks prior to this meet we took nine lifters to the IPA World Championships in Gatlinburg TN and we easily had forty total people in attendance ranging from family, spouses, kids etc. If you read my training log and keep up with it you will see that my teammates absolutely killed it at this meet. Nine gold medals, nine first place finishes, tons of prs, best overall lifter championship belt, and we won best overall team championship belt. A pretty damn good day! I was very inspired by ever ones kick ass hard work and everyone kept telling me how much the believed in me and wanted me to do the IPA Flex Lewis Classic three weeks later. I felt like I was ready and felt confident that I could go after the numbers that I was ready to hit.
A week out from the IPA Flex Lewis Classic my primary goal was to rest, do some rehab, eat good and get plenty of sleep. During this week we were dealing with the hurricane that was hitting us in NC and the tons of rain that it was bringing into our area. My dads basement at the house was getting flooded pretty bad one morning because of all of the rain we were getting. I wasn't aware of it until I got up and ready to leave for work that morning. I went down to check it out before I left for work and there was about a foot of water that had already accumulated in the basement already. For whatever reason the sump pump was not working properly, it must have had debris of some kind clogging it up and the water was rising pretty quickly. I started panicking and ran up to the garage to get some tools, as I was running back down the staircase I slipped and fell about three feet down head first trying to catch myself. Once I hit the bottom I just laid there in the piss pouring rain wondering if I had broke a bone in my body or anything worse. I seriously laid there for about 10 or 15 seconds and mustard up enough strength to get my old clumsy ass up. My shoulder was hurting and I was bleeding a little bit it seemed like from everywhere. My biggest issue though was my left wrist felt like it was broken literally. To make a long story short I missed work because my body was hurting so damn bad but I did get the pump working properly to get the water out of the basement. I laid iced up and Alieve became my friend for the next few days.
For the next several days I contemplated pulling out of the meet because my left wrist was hurting so bad. It was swollen, bruised and hurt like crazy. So I did what I always do, something stupid. I said fuck it. I am doing this meet hurt wrist or not, hurt hamstring or not, I am a man I will suck it up, overcome this shit and get these numbers. To make another long story short, I made the decision and off to Murfreesboro, TN I go to compete in the 2018 IPA Flex Lewis Classic!
If you have never been to the Flex Lewis Classic you are missing out on a great event. It has really grown in the past three years. The crowds have continued to grow as the contestants for the body building show has continued to grow. The powerlifting meet has really garnered a huge following at this event. So much so that the venue room for the powerlifting meet itself is definitely one of the biggest and nicest that I have ever been to in my life. Bobby Betts and his crew that run these IPA meets in TN are doing a fantastic job. The judging, the music, the atmosphere, the trophies/hardware given out, the spotting and loading, the venue, the warm up room and platform equipment are truly second to none. Bobby goes out of his way each and every meet to put on one hell of a meet for the lifters and I am sure everyone that attends these meets would agree with me. Something else that makes me happy is that Bobbys meets are resurrecting multiply lifting in this area of the south again. This meet was no different with 15 full power multiply lifters in one flight.
When I arrived that morning for the meet, I stretched and got warmed up just like I do at my gym. Nothing changes. As I am going through my squat warm ups, everything is feeling good and the weights are feeling light. The only problem I am having at this point is the extra body weight that I have put on (I weighed in at 314 lbs at this meet by the way so I could be a SHW). My briefs have already gotten my legs turning purplish during warmups so I knew when it was time to put my squat suit on it was going to be trouble for me. Here's how my squat attempts went at the meet:
First attempt - 880 lbs - good lift
Second attempt - 920 lbs - good lift This was probably the best squat I have ever made in my life but when I came up from under the rack, I knew I couldn't physically handle another lift. My legs were purple and I couldn't even feel my feet. I hated to do it but I had to pass on my third attempt. I really, truly, honestly felt like 930-950 lbs was there on a third attempt and I would have gotten it but I will live to fight another day for that number.
Third attempt - passed.
I debated for the last several days on what I wanted to open with on the bench, wondering if my wrist was going to hold up on the platform or even through the warm ups. So I chose to do something that I didn't want to. I felt that it would be best to do, for that just in case something happens. So I opened with 135 lbs raw. I know what you are thinking, If your wrist was hurting that bad why even do the meet? Because this is who I am. I have overcame many adversities throughout my powerlifting career and I believed that I could over come this. I was wrong this time and choosing that 135 lb opener was the smartest thing I could have done to solidify my squat and keep me in the meet because as you will see my second and third attempt did not go my way.
First attempt 135 lbs good lift
Second attempt 700 lbs missed lift. On this lift it was not necessarily my wrist that was giving me problems, I think for a moment I completely forgot how to bench in a shirt and I almost cut my head off. This tends to happen from time to time in multiply benching and Lord knows I have done it more than once in my life. Thankfully I have a third attempt left to try and salvage this bench debacle that I have put myself in.
Third attempt 730 lbs missed lift. Unbelievable is all I can say. But the fear that I had became a reality with my wrist. My set up was good, my arch was good, the hand off was good, my decent was good, and my press upward was good. It just all fell apart at lockout. My wrist just wasn't having it and I tried my best to hold it for as long as I could but it just wasn't good enough. I truly sucked today on the bench press. I felt like I let my team down, my friends that came and myself. Its not like it was a surprise that I was gambling with my wrist but I really thought I could fight through it, It is was it is, on to the deadlift.
I honestly felt like when I was warming up for the deadlift that all my passion and desire had just went out the window. I know that is a shitty way to look at it but man I was fucking pissed. Deadlift warm-ups were feeling heavy, I was feeling sluggish and I guess I was feeling sorry for my damn self. Not the way a leader or champion should be acting at this moment. I sucked it up the best I could and moved on. Here's how the deadlifts went:
First attempt 540 lbs good lift
Second attempt 600 lbs good lift. This is where I shut it down and was done for the day. My hamstring told me pretty much, if you take another lift, something is either going to break or tear. I knew that my total wasn't there and there was no reason to try and pull a deadlift pr so I bowed out for the day.
1st Place Men's Open Multiply SHW Class
1st Place Men's Master Multiply SHW Class
1st Place Men's Open Multiply SHW Class - Bench Only! I know right!
1st Place Men's Master Multiply SHW Class - Lol!
Now that I have had enough time to look back on this meet and its entirety. I see it now for what it was. For one, it was a learning experience. Sometimes you have to practice what you preach and realize when you are hurt you are hurt. So dont compete and risk yourself for further injury. Lesson two for me was my squat has continued to progress and if my dumb-ass would not have put on so much weight I would have had enough life in me to have taken a number bigger that my projection, that I 100 % feel like I would have gotten. I left weight on the platform. That is a good thing to know going into my next training cycle as I continue to chip away at that 1,000 lb squat. Do not get me wrong. I don't regret doing this meet. I wish things would not have went the way they did with the bench, but in the big picture of things this has made me hungrier and made me work want to work harder so that when I achieve these goals it will taste even sweeter.
I want to take some time to give some thanks to allot of people in my life that have helped me, believed in me, loved me and supported me to get me to where I am. First off I want to thank my beautiful wife Melissa Smith for always supporting me, treating me like a king ans supporting me like only she can. I love you Mrs Smith and with out you I am nothing ,I want to thank all my teammates/family members at Team Nebobarell for believing in this old man for supporting this old man each and every week that we train together. The support that each of you give me means more than you can ever know. I am honored and blessed to have each of you in my life. We have something special at Team NebobarbeI and I want to continue to see that grow. I want to thank Dave and Traci Tate for giving this old redneck a chance many years ago and supporting me all the way through. I cannot thank each of you enough. I want to thank each of my Team EliteFTS Teammates for always inspiring me and pushing me to want to be better. I want to thank Team USPLabs for providing the best supplements on the planet to keep me operating at full capacity, training session after training session. I want to thank all the friends and family at Team Nebobarbell for bringing the largest crowds to support our team each and every meet everywhwere we go in the country. Lastly I want to thank the IPA, Bobby Betts and Press Fitness for putting on another spectacular meet. The judging, the spotting, loading and the venue were 100% on point. Thanks to each of you for bringing real powerlifting meets back to the southeast.
Thank you to everyone that read this and that supports me and Team Nebobarbell. I promise you this, you have not seen the last of me and that 1,000 lb squat will be mine one day!
By the way this is defiantly the longest post I have ever made! BOOM!
