It’s been about three years since visiting the compound and Seth had a long break from school so we decided to take a road trip up to London, OH. At three weeks out, I wanted to dial in my technique and Seth is just getting back into multi-ply. I have only ever been to the compound for seminars or UGSS so it was a bit of a different vibe in the gym, but much easier to focus on what we came for.
I had already been sending Dave videos of some of my lifts to get his opinion on what I needed to be working on before getting to Ohio so he had an idea of what to watch for. He knew my biggest barrier was confidence or the mental aspect of lifting, which has always been a barrier for me. The longer I’m in this sport the more I realize how important confidence is. We’re always analyzing technique and weak points, but often the deficit falls between the ears.
We got in and did our usual warm-up. My pulls were moving better than usual, I felt like I was wedging into the bar really well. At three weeks out, Brian has me take my opener straight weight, then my second and third attempt with reverse minis.
135x5 225x4 275x2 315x1 350x1 390x1 - Reverse Mini band At this point, Dave decides to leave to call my coach Brian and doesn't let me pull till he gets back. I was able to run the mono for most of Seth's speed squats here. 425x1 - Reverse Mini band
SO the long story of this is that for the majority of this training cycle my perceived 1RM was set at 425. I struggled with deadlifts the majority of this training cycle and decided the week prior to coming to Ohio that I should lower my deadlift attempts. Dave and Brian both thought this was a confidence issue, and frankly, I agree. Dave sat me down and talked me through visualization (Video at the bottom of this log) before taking that 425, and it made a huge difference. I felt calm and focused instead of mental chaos.
GHR 2x10 1x6 That last set of six was because Dave came to tell me that I was cheating by not lengthening at the bottom. I did it the 'right' way and only managed six before my hammies cramped Seated row 4x12 Pull down 4x12View this post on Instagram
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After reviewing her training videos and reading her texts I had a pretty good idea what her barrier was. Tonight in the gym her program called for overloaded reverse band pulls after her dead’s. Before her top pull I called her coach to see if he agreed with what I thought and I asked what he felt she could pull (not what was programmed). I wanted a weight that would test her confidence so I could show her a couple ways to enhance it. She hit a BIG PR but more importantly, beginning to understand she has more power and control than she thinks. A post shared by Dave Tate (@underthebar) on
