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Showing posts with label Powerlifting competition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Powerlifting competition. Show all posts
More Meet Pics
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| 435 lbs squat at 147.9lbs body weight |
As promised, I posted a few more pics from the meet. Every time I do one of these things, I get a renewed sense of direction. I don't think I'm alone on this one because there are a lot of people that put a lot of time and energy into the sport. It's not for the money because there isn't any. It's not for the fame because it's still an underground sport. So what is the fascination?
2011 Gary Gordon Memorial Meet
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| Overall Winners of the Meet |
What a great meet!
The lifters and the spectators were great. We had competitors from all armed forces branches from as far West as Texas and as far North as Illinois. It was nice to see old friends and make some new ones.
One Last Training Day
My Monday training was short and sweet. Weights flew off the floor and form seemed tight. The icing on the cake is that I didn't have any pain (which has been unusual as of late). Though everything seems to be going according to plan, this is the time when the mental game begins. The weights prescribed for the day were lighter than usual and the volume was significantly less ( the taper is for peaking). It makes people second guess the their strength levels and can make for miserable days prior to the meet. Mind you; there is no money on the table ... just a little pride. This is when we have to trust the training program and just blindly follow it. I've seen it work just as many times as I've seen it fail (due to some tinkering).
Week 2
This week was rough. I was feeling concerned about my speed out of the hole so I added some bands to my squat day. I made sure that the prescribed bar weight was at the bottom and overloaded the top. I had to do it in a different gym and that was a mistake. If you ever want to get a lot of people staring at you with a puzzled look, just do some reverse band squats at your local gym. Bench felt strong and deadlift day felt OK. I did discover that if I over arch even a little on deads, my lumbar tricks out. That was the injury that I only recently rehab'd, so it was important to note. After Friday, I will only have a couple of training days left. I wake up at about 151.8 pounds.
It has been difficult to get a good training day in with my work schedule in upheaval as well. My sleep schedule has been all over the place and if I even hit my openers at this meet it will be impressive. I hope my team members will be able to tolerate me as I quit coffee next week prior to the meet. I've been less than congenial as of late. .
Week Three
Rough weekend and worse Monday training session. All the weight moved but my recent back injury is coming back with a vengeance. I thought I was fully rehab'd, but I guess not. I couldn't arch on the bench press without a good deal of pain. So I benched with minimal arch and the weight still moved. We'll see how deadlift day goes. That will be the true test of whether or not this is just tweaked soft tissue. If I'm careful, I'm confident that I will still be able to lift at the meet. I should have been a little more disciplined this weekend. Shame on me.
Week Four
Here we are less than four weeks out. For those not familiar with contest training, you start from the date of the meet and work backwards. Most lifters need a minimum of five weeks (usually more) to peak for the meet. Today was as close as I will get to max numbers for the remainder of my peaking routine. It was a difficult day on the nervous system because with the Sheiko routine I'm using, I had to do all three lifts up to 95% of max. Of the three lifts, I missed on the bench (my worst lift). I just recently finished my rehab for both my left pec and my back (lumbar injury using bands on squat). I was actually surprised that I didn't miss on the others and I weighed 153 today. My meet should go relatively well.
First Week of Training Results
I was fairly surprised to see this pop up and I felt honored that a soon to be 42 year-old supervisor for America's largest defense contractor could be considered one of the nation's top lifters. This made all the pains I felt from the first week of my five week meet preparation routine seem less intense.
On Your Mark, Get Set ...
So I'm as healed as I'm going to get before the Gary Gordon Memorial powerlifting meet next month. Another few weeks would be ideal, but I should be able to peak with minimal interference from this year's injuries. I will be going to this meet as a guest lifter with Don. He is another one of the few competitive powerlifters that live in Ocala, FL.
Making Weight
Since the dawn of competition, there have been weight classes. In order to divide competitors into weight classes the dreaded weigh in was invented. And since the beginning of weigh ins, there have been methods of "making weight". Some are strange and barely useful while others are down right dangerous. I found out that some schools have even begun to outlaw "fasting to make weight." A couple of wrestlers recently explained this to me and I began to wonder about the logistics of enforcing such a rule. Regardless, I feel certain that many methods of "making weight" are here to stay.
Almost any sport that has weight classes and weigh ins, has either a two hour or 24 hour weigh in. The two hour weigh in is the purer of the two since the purpose is to keep competitors of similar weights in the same class. The 24 hour weigh in has even given way to the 48hr weigh in for some sports. Some claim it safely allows competitors the chance to diet down into their proper weight class with less risk. This is debatable since competitors with 24 and 48hr weigh ins tend to have some competitors dehydrate down to make weight and then gain enough fluids back that they should actually be competing in the next higher weight class. Now don't be fooled. Athletes with two hour weigh ins have been doing this also, but they just don't get as much out of it due to the lack of time to re-hydrate.
It is important to point out that dehydrating is risky and this risk should be weighed carefully (no pun intended). Dehydrating to make weight for a local competition is not a bright idea unless it is just a practice run for a comp that could net you a world championship or a ticket into fully paid college or the pros. In other words, it isn't something to be taken lightly (darn puns). When thoroughly studied, practiced, and implemented as part of an overall strategy, the pre comp regiment to make weight can be the difference between winning and losing. I've personally competed in untested meets and beaten men that were "on" by dropping into the lower weight class by using a perfected regime to make weight. And while it may sound egotistical, there is nothing like beating competitors that are taking everything under the sun and all you had to do was make weight.
So before I go any further, here is the general disclaimer. Under no circumstances am I suggesting that anyone viewing this site should take anything written here as a prescription for enhancing performance. The majority of topics on this blog should only be considered after consulting your family doctor and some things are meant only to illustrate what elite level athletes have done in the past.
So here is the meat.
So before I go any further, here is the general disclaimer. Under no circumstances am I suggesting that anyone viewing this site should take anything written here as a prescription for enhancing performance. The majority of topics on this blog should only be considered after consulting your family doctor and some things are meant only to illustrate what elite level athletes have done in the past.
So here is the meat.
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