| EliteFTS

Last weekend I competed on the elite day of XPC Finals, and finished in 4th place with an 1850 total - It wasn't my best total, but all things considered coming into the meet (I'll discuss a little more below), I was happy getting a total back on the board in a big meet at the Arnold Classic and also get a bench PR (530lbs).

Training Leading into XPC Finals

Leading into XPC Finals I trained using a conjugate rotation, typically using 3-week dynamic effort waves, and on max effort days alternating between max effort singles and 5x5 submax reps. For my dynamic squat/deadlift days I traveled to the elitefts S4 Compound to train with Matt Smith and Bryan Dobernuk (my other days I trained at Ohio University's Recreation Center where I work). I got the idea for alternating 5x5 with max effort work from Matt, who did that rotation when he trained. We also did a 3-week Circa Max squat wave before the meet, followed by a 2-week deload. We also did squats in full gear down to chains (versus a box) 3 times leading into the meet on max effort day.

You can read through my more detailed training logs here, but overall training was pretty rough leading into competition. On the positive side, I think I made some strides with improving my back strength, speed, box squat technique, and mental approach to challenging days like Circa Max training. On the other side, my struggles with insomnia, anxiety and depression really made training and recovery from training difficult. I constantly felt burnt out, couldn't sleep for days after a max effort lift, and was really struggling at work and socially. I go into these things more in an article that will be out shortly, but they definitely took a toll on training. These issues, along with tendon problems in my hips (it sounds like a garbage disposal when I externally rotate) made things tough going into the meet. The hip issues, along with my suit being pretty loose were affecting my squat, and my lack of recovery from mental issues was affecting my lifting as a whole..

Meet Day @ The Arnold

This was my first time competing on the elite day at XPC Finals, you can read my full meet report on the day went here as well check out my lifts in the video below. It wasn't my best total but overall the meet went well (all things considered) and I was happy to get a total back on the board in a big meet and get a bench PR as well:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZUHJs67gXc]

Gameplan and Training Changes Moving Forward

Over the next 4 weeks I'm doing a 3-days-on, 1-day-off bodybuilding style split consisting of a lot of machine, dumbbell, and single-leg work. I won't be doing any barbell squatting/benching/deadlifting during this time to give myself a break. In general this 4 weeks is to work on building some muscle, conditioning some of my stabilizer muscles that have been neglected, and give my nervous system a chance to recover.

After the 4 weeks I'm going to transition to doing a variation of 5/3/1 with low training maxes to begin rebuilding my raw strength base. I've always had success with using a linear wave like 5/3/1 for the main barbell lifts, and while I may still use a conjugate rotation leading into a meet in the Fall (when I plan on competing next), I'm going to play around with some ways to incorporate my gear and competition lifts into 5/3/1 and see where that takes me. I have some ideas, and I'll be sure to outline them in my logs as I move forward. I think doing more submax volume and less max effort work may be the way to go for me in the future if I organize it correctly. I've made some great improvements incorporating things like good mornings and box squats into my training recently, and I'll be finding ways to incorporate them in my new structure over the next few months.

Technique-wise, my bench is moving in a good direction, and I've made some strides with setup on the squat. The biggest thing I think I've realized is that I may need to bring my squat stance in from the width I've had over this past year. I've always had tight hip joints (and issues with the capsule itself), but after these past few training cycles the amount of grinding and popping in my hip is getting pretty bad. When I first began training in gear I kept my stance narrower, and was actually squatting some pretty decent weights (I think I had squatted up to 755 that way), but then in an effort to move my stance out to get more out of my gear, I think it has just been beating up my hips. I'm going to try keeping a more moderate stance and see how that goes, I think it will prove to be a good decision after some adjusting. My bodyweight was also 214 at this meet, so I'll be looking to put on 8-10 pounds over the next few months to fill out the 220 class, and that should help with my suit fitting better. It's been loose on my hips and even with my straps cranked I can hit rock bottom depth pretty easily with light weights.

My squat has been the one movement that just hasn't "clicked" for me, and I haven't felt like I've found my strongest technique/positioning to maximize my strengths. Part of the upcoming year will be working to conquer that weakness.

As I train with various elite-level lifters and coaches my personal training philosophy is continuing to evolve, and I'm excited to see how some changes I make affect things moving forward! (keep an eye on my log to find out).

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