Chitown Showdown Meet Recap

 BW - 215 (100 kg Class)

Squats - 364, 380, 424 (PR)

Bench - 204, 221, 237 (Meet PR)

Deadlift  353, 375, 424 (Meet PR)

Total - 1086 (Meet PR)

Mock Meet

Squat - 175 kg / 386 lbs.

Bench - 110 kg / 242.5 lbs. MISS

Deadlift - 195 kg / 430 lbs. 

No PRs for me on this day.  I suspect I missed my peak by about a week or so.

BBM Peaking Block. Cycle 1. Session A.

sRPE @6.5

BW - 211

Squat - up to 315X5 @7.5

CG Bench - up to 185X6 @~8

Plate Deficit DL - up to 315X6 @7

GHR - BWX12, 12, 12 @~7

Stationary Bike - LISS; 20 minutes

Ended up just taking a 5 day break around the Thanksgiving holiday.  Rather than try to finish out the (already extended) General S+C template, I decided to jump right into prep for a mock meet on 12/31.

After all the lower specificity training the last few blocks, I had to really hold my emotions back and stay calm.  Tried to funnel all the arousal into extreme focus on technique.  In particular, reminding myself that the supplemental lifts can help build technical cues on the mains if I let them.

Meet Report

BW - 222

Squat -
314
336
363

Bench -
205
220

Deadlift -
314
352
380

I wasn't feeling very motivated going into the meet this week.  I didn't have my eyes on any PRs because bench hadn't gone as well as expected the last few weeks.  The result was that I took a fairly relaxed, but workman-line approach to the day.  When I weighed in around 10 lbs. lighter than the March meet, I thought, "well, getting anything around those March #'s would be solid, then."

Squat warm-ups all felt amazing.  All the abdominal and low back issues that have been troubling it seemed to have evaporated.  Took my opener.  It was fast, look it once should have been.  Okay, well the heaviest weight I lifted in the training cycle was 325, so let's go 10 lbs. over that.  Fast. Ooookay...  Well, fuck it, let's see what happens if I jump all the way to the same weight I hit at the meet in June.  Went up a little funky, but it went up.

Like I said, heavies weight I touched in training was 325.

Bench was where I had been hoping to get a PR.  205 opener went up solid, but my 2nd was an absolute grinder.

Watching that video, I don't see much of anything that I did wrong.  This was just a limit set.  Maybe the weight loss is part of it, but it definitely means I haven't gotten stronger on this lift since March.

Deadlift warm-ups felt good like the squats did.  I went out and did 314 with no pain, no discomfort, or anything.  I started contemplating a PR, but I went out and took the same 2nd attempt that I did in March.  It was very easy.  My old coach said, "Good.  Now go get a PR."  So that's what I did.  Went one over my March lift.  Felt tougher than it looks, but it looks great, and felt awesome to get.

That goofy moment at the end is because they were having trouble with the lights not always working, so I was looking around waiting for the side judges to give a thumbs up for the lift.

So losing 10 lbs. on the bench, but gaining 5 on the DL gives me a lower total than March.  Oh well. I was 10 lbs. lighter, and I did my first 5K this month, too, and that was the thrust of my training for 10 of the last 15 weeks.  That's not meant to be excuse making, but rather the path to contextualizing the results.  For sure, some of the things I tried to do to push my bench in that time DID NOT work.  I'll be continuing with the TM team training, but that will be something to keep on eye on.  For now, I ended the meet with a lifetime PR, and that ain't nuthin'.

Hybrid Training. Week 8. Heavy Upper

BW - 225

Bench -
up to 195X3, 3, 3
then 152.5X6, 6, 6

JM Press - 95X5, 5, 5

CG Chins - BWX6, 5, 4

Cable Rows - X8, 7, 7 (straight-weight)

Pretty solid session.  The top sets of bench were moving a bit slow on the 2nd reps, and getting kind of dicey on the 3rds.

I'm signed up for a meet on 9/6.  It's mostly just a practice meet to get another one under my belt before doing my main meet in March.  I have to be careful about pushing the lower body lifts too hard, because I've got a 5K at the end of September, but I should be able to keep pushing the bench, and so there is a chance I could get a small, lifetime bench PR at the November meet.

Meet Report

BW - 229 (in jeans and shoes)

Squat -

324.5X1

346X1

363X1

Bench -

203.5X1

220X1

231X1

Deadlift -

324.5X1

352X1

374X1

Total - 968

Wow, what a long day!  Got to the gym for weigh-in at 8:00 AM, and final trophies were around 7:00 PM.  

Quite tired today, but happy to have hit most of my goals.  In order: Do the meet, don't get re-injured, go 9-for-9, lifetime PR(s) on the platform, 1000 lb. total.

I let my coach put in my attempts for me, and I didn't ask what they were.  With the kilo plates, I couldn't tell by looking.  I trusted that he'd pick well, and all I had to do was execute.  363 ties my lifetime training PR in the Squat.  231 Bench and 374 Deadlift are both lifetime PRs.

I maybe had a little room to go up on the Squat, however the USAPL judges (one in particular) were calling the squat extremely strict.  When I'd done the 363 in training with commands, the gym owner (who was also a judge at this meet) thought depth was borderline.  That's why my coach stayed there for my 3rd.  I got three whites, but I believe that was a good call.

My final Bench attempt was felt like the single hardest rep I've ever successfully completed.  Looks a lot faster in video than it felt.  The bar got half way up and seemed to come to a complete stop.  From there, it was pure willpower and execution.  Keeping the pressure on, and slightly angling the bar back got it moving just enough to lock-out.  Props to my coach for his cue-ing, and to the judges and spotters for letting me finish it.

I don't know what was going on with the Deadlift, but I was significantly stronger on the platform than I'd been at any point in training.  As a result, my coach and I were both in unknown territory.  After my 2nd, he asked me how it felt.  "Great," I said.  "Easy?," he asked.  And I wasn't sure what to say, it did feel easy, but I wasn't sure how easy to call it.  He'd asked me earlier what my lifetime PR on the lift was (365X2), and he ultimately played it safe by just calling for a PR.  The way it felt, I probably  left at least 10 lbs. on the platform with that one.  That's, oddly, a good feeling.

Depending on what goes on in the coming year, I'd be happy to do another meet if it's reasonably convenient.  I would probably go more directly after numbers for that one.  I plan to drop a lot of the fat I put on for this one, so I'd love to get the 1000 lb. total one weight class lower in the 205s.  But I'll have to get well under that, so I can train back up to it, and the timing would have to be right, so we'll see.

Overall, I had a great time.  Hung out with some interesting folks, and got to see some valiant lifts.  My wife came out, and several friends did as well.  I feel very thankful for that.

Texas Method - Week 4 - Volume Day (coached)

BW - 230

Squats -
BarX5
135X4
205X3
245X2
285X5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Bench -
BarX5
85X3
125X2
155X1
180X5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Deadlift -
135X3
225X2
295X1
340X3

Had a busy weekend, both with training and spotting and loading for a women's PL meet at my gym.  Had a great time at the meet, but was totally beat afterwards.  Had to come in for this session the next day.  My coach had also worked the meet, and he thought this would be a good opportunity to back off the volume weight just a touch, as we're also taking Intensity lifts down to triples.  To paraphrase him, "chances are, you won't get substantially stronger between now and the meet.  Now we want to make sure the strength you've developed is there on meet day."

So Volume Squats get reduced 10 lbs., and Volume Bench gets reduced by 2.5.

The 340X3 was heavy as hell, and slow going on the final rep.

Texas Method - Week 3 - Intensity Day (coached)

BW - 232

Squats -
BarX5
135X4
205X3
265X2
305X1
345X5

Bench -
BarX5
95X3
145X2
180X1
210X5

Cleans - up to 144X3

345X5 is an all-around PR in the Squat, and 210X5 is an all-around PR in Bench.  Squats were very strong despite not getting the rebound and having to gut out my 3rd rep, and Bench was heavy but do-able.  Coach says starting next week, we'll keep the weight progression the same, but go to triples on the intensity day for a couple of weeks, and then down to singles for the last couple of weeks before the meet.

I spent Sunday spotting and loading for a USAPL women's meet at my gym.  I wanted to get a feel for what a meet is like, and it was definitely informative.  It was also great to watch a bunch of dedicated women get after it on the platform.