As I mentioned in my previous post the transition I am currently going through is difficult. The levers I am comfortable with using are changing, my body is starting to take a beating from it. The most frustrating part is again, taking something I though I understood and flipping it upside down. This weekend I didn't necessarily have a game plan as far as dynamic or max effort goes. The goal wasn't to put X amount of weight on the bar but to be able to execute the lifts with more control than previously.
7/18
This seemed to be everyones squat day as every single monolift was occupied. On one end Ted and Lily and Dave on the other with Joe and I occupying the two middle monos. Using the buffalo bar to a box 1' above parallel I ended up taking a total of 7 work sets of double and singles with plenty of warm up sets. Between the buffalo bar and the kilo plates that were on the rack I used I genuinely have no idea what the bar weighed but it was irrelevant. I knew it wasn't going to be over 60% of my max if I even got to that. Joe coached me and really helped improve things on my squat. End of the day I was the happiest with my last single. Finished off with 3x1 deadlifts with straight weight at 425. Pretty taxing day overall but a great atmosphere with everyone working independently on their squats.
7/19
Today was bench. I worked in with Matt, Joe (different Joe), Chuck, and a visitor who is a client of Elite. It was a great environment to train in. We worked up to some heavy singles with short light bands. I was happy with how things had improved since last session but they are still not as smooth as I would like. Messing with a lot of technical things that I will solidify during my next dynamic session. After I hit some assistance work with Chuck.
This past week was a huge learning experience for me. When learning a new skill, you can't have any expectations. You must be a receptive sponge. Don't just listen to your coaches, actively think about their advice and apply it. Expose yourself to as many different coaches as you can and have them critique you, form everything together so you can develop the best technique for you as an individual. Last week it was very frustrating, this week, I am embracing it. I am thankful for the opportunity to be reduced to a beginner because I have so much to learn. Being an eager student will allow for exponentially more progress than being a frustrated egotistical lifter.
Andrew Triana is a Springfield College student studying Applied Exercise Science. He competes in Strongman.