Although local meets may not be the most competitive ones (there's usually only a couple multiply guys), they are by far some of my favorite competitions to compete in. I was sharing the platform with some of my closest friends while some of my extended family came out to cheer me on.
Competing at the OSI Summer Showdown meant a lot to me considering this may be the last meet I compete this year. With plans to pursue my paramedic and fire certification, training will have to take a back seat for a little while. That being said, I didn't want to close out 2016 without getting my 2000lb total that I missed at the XPC Finals at the Arnold Classic. So between competing with a bunch of badass lifters, my closest friends and going for my biggest total, I was anxious to finally feel the knurling on my back again.
Around nine weeks out from this meet, I had a little change up in my training. I reached out to a guy that I have deemed, "Sensei". Back in fall of 2014 and spring of 2015, I would travel either by myself or with my buddy, Bruce Mason, to the Elitefts S4 Compound to try and learn more from Todd Brock. If you ever meet Todd or see him in the zone while coaching, you can see how analytical and technical he is. The smallest little change could make the biggest difference. This is why I reached out to Todd for some help with this meet. I chatted on the phone with him about how much this meet means (being it may be my last this year so I wanted to go out with a bang), and how he does his training and programming. Two days later, I get an email with a document that had every single exercise he wants me to do leading up to August 6th. The way Todd peaked me was different than I have done in the past. It was incredibly simple, yet effective. Most importantly, I didn't feel like total dog shit during prep. The one rule Todd had for me before starting was to have great communication. Videos of every main lift, feedback on training, how my body was feeling...the whole nine yards. This way he could make small adjustments if need be. Through his coaching, Todd helped me achieve a 98lb total PR with only 8 weeks of training. I definitely look forward to our next meet together where I can have both off-season and meet preparation training programs. TBstrengthtraining.
Every workout went extremely well with no failed attempts in any main lifts. My confidence in all three lifts has been solidified, the only thing I had to worry about was making weight. Augie from Old School Iron Gym helped me with my cut since I'd rather have someone with experience guide me along. I started cutting from around 230 and had probably the easiest cut I've ever had down to 219 for weigh ins. Joe Schillero ended up staying the weekend so naturally all we did was eat. We literally had Bob Evans, bag of candy, Red Robin, movie popcorn, fruity pebbles, Olive Garden, more candy...I made the bloat back to 229.8ish before bed time.
I had the opportunity to have a competitor in my weight class at this meet which made everything that much better. Michael Welcheck and I had very similar numbers going into this meet and we were
both anticipating hitting some big PRs. Friendly competition will always push a person to do better so I was excited for the chance to compete against him. I expect to see big numbers from this guy in the future.
After smashing a quick bowl of cereal Saturday morning, Joe and I headed up to the meet a little early since there were so few competitors (around 22). I took my time warming up, using some of the warmups Dr. Brent Pekarski (DPT) gave me throughout my meet prep to keep everything moving properly. My squat warmups were moving fantastic. Bruce said everything looked dialed in perfectly so after my last warm up of 690, we went to wait for the next flight to start. I opened with a conservative 755 to make sure I get in the meet and keep my confidence boosted. I see people open way too heavy all the time and get mentally fucked for the rest of the meet if their opener was slow as molasses. Open "light". Get in the meet. Build your confidence. Half of competitions are mental. We decided I go for a small 6lb PR on my second attempt to 826 since my opener felt like an empty bar. BOOM. I flew up out of the hole almost as fast as my opener. I decided to say fuck it and go for an 860 squat since the 826 kept me on pace for 2000. If I succeeded with 860, I'd have a chance to erase Augie's 220 gym record off the board. I unracked 860 and didn't settle at all. I came out of the hole fast but once I got to the top, lost my balance and fell forward. I learned I need to work on being more patient under the bar and waiting until everything is SETTLED! I finished squat 2/3 with a 6lb PR.
About 20-25 minutes after squats, I started warming up for bench. As I mentioned, this meet was flying. We finished squats around 10:30am and there was no slowing down. My warm ups felt a little heavier at first but once I got the blood moving, all was well. I worked up to 500 for my last warmup to a one board then waited for my flight to start. My opener called for 525. It was a little tough getting down but I had no problems with this attempt at all. A 550 bench kept me on pace for 2000 so that's what we called for my second. On my second attempt I got a little loose towards my chest but the weight came up with ease. I called for 562 on my third for a little padding going into deadlift. White lights. I finished bench 3/3 with a 33lb PR.
Going into deadlifts I was confident that 2000 was there. I only needed a 612 pull to seal the 2k which I planned on taking for a second attempt. So I had an opportunity to add some bonus points with my third attempt. I opened with an easy as shit 578. I jumped straight to 612 for my second attempt. Boom. Easy. My deadlifts haven't felt this good in fucking years and I was pretty pumped about. So now that I hit 2000 and have to take a third attempt I debated on taking 630-640 and Joe came up to me and said, "Fuck it dude. Do 650. You already got your total." You know what I said back? "Fuck it. Let's do it." I've never pulled over 622 and Joe has seen me fail at 630 more times than I care to remember in training. If he was confident in it, then I knew I was good. I was honestly surprised at how fast 650 moved. It wasn't the speed of light by any means but if you've seen my many failed lockouts, you'd know what I mean. I started to lose my grip at lockout but was able to hold on. Jill does come in handy sometimes (see what I did there?). I finished deadlift 3/3 with a 28lb PR.
I ended up with a 2038lb total PR at 220 which was a 98lb PR total for me. My buddy Sev who I competed with had over I believe 150lb total PR and Joe had a 54lb total PR too. We all came into this meet ready to smash some weight and damn it, we did. Can't say enough how proud I am of these guys.
Huge thanks to Brent that helped me with all of my warm ups for meet prep as well as the meet. Todd for peaking me perfectly and setting me up for a big PR total. My family and friends that came to support me. To Bruce! Wouldn't have been able to do it without you having my back. My beautiful girlfriend, Christa, for always being my rock. And of course to the best company and sponsor, Elitefts, who allows me to use their platform to help Live. Learn. and Pass On in this crazy sport of powerlifting.