This meet prep has been the most frustrating one yet. Adjusting all my lifts and making it feel like I took 10 steps back going into this meet. The most challenging part is breaking old bad habits and being patient with the process. After a month of being an amateur about it, I'm finally appreciating the changes. Learning and being more aware of my body. Appreciating the little victories and taking criticism lightly. I'm not exactly where I want to be with my lifts but they are definitely improving little by little; and being able to maintain my numbers and more is huge.
That wasn't my mentality at first which is upsetting because I should know better, right? It's easy to be the coach but when we become the student, the learner, we become hard headed and confidence sometimes goes out the door. I get it. You were repping your max and now your back to square one with just a plate on the bar.
In order to get better, we have to crawl before we walk, walk before we run. Every meet prep is going to be different. Every outcome will be different. It's a matter of learning different ways to train in order to utilize what really is best for you. The process is a pain in the ass but the hard work is really worth it. I think of Casey in this instance. He got injured about a year ago and it's taken him a YEAR to get back to where he was. Progress doesn't happen overnight, it happens over time, and that's what I needed to get my noggin to comprehend. We compete 1-2 times a year and the other 363 days, we're training and recovering and learning what our bodies can and cannot do. We do what we can until it doesn't work anymore. So we adjust.
Christian Anto, Molly Edwards and Casey have been a huge help through the process. Time is valuable and they make themselves available willingly and answer all questions I have.
The Lexen meet is approaching and will be a qualifier for the Arnold. I have to total 835 to qualify which are numbers I can do on a bad day. My ultimate goal of totaling 900+ will soon come and hopefully will accomplish at the Arnold.