It is cold and snowy in Boston now.
We just got walloped with about 800 feet of snow and there is more on the way. Seriously, we got over 6 feet of snow in the last 2 weeks!
It is so bad the snow is almost up to the 2nd floor of the gym.
That's not stopping anyone. The gym is packed. We've got a bunch of people getting ready for some big meets including the Arnold.
Lodrina Cherne is going to be there powerlifting, and Brittany Diamond will be at the Strongman contest.
We also just had a kid win the 198's at RUM8. Carlos Moran of TPS took 1st there.
We launched a new program about 4 weeks ago after a virtual demanding from gym members.
The TPS Method for Powerlifting is running strong(her).
This program is designed to get the new lifter or someone who has never done a meet involved in the sport ready to, as Vincent would say, SFW. It is also for those who want coaching and have some experience.
We have a team of 9 ladies prepping for their 1st meet coming in March. 8 of them are first timers and one has done a few meets. After only a few weeks, they are training like a team and working well together.
They'll all be lifting at the RPS meet in Connecticut on March 28th.
If you are in the area, come on by and watch some great RAW lifting from them.
Jane Stabile, the World's Strongest Granny, is also getting ready for another meet after lifting at APF World's a few months ago, and she is also going to SFW!
So, it's been a while since you all last heard about my training.
The last time was in the 44 and Broken series.
I was pretty beat up and had just decided to formally retire from lifting and focus on getting healthy. This was one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made. Training with no real goal other than being less beat up was tough. I had no direction and spent a lot of time figuring things out.
What I did was completely lose the singular focus on limit strength and did my best on getting to a point where I could move freely with little to no pain.
I knocked the weights down, locked up my P2 belt and lifted raw for about a year or so. I focused on getting my hip freer, not relying on any supportive gear except wrist wraps, and finding exercises that did not hurt yet still had carryover to daily life.
I trained on a Conjugate system replacing the Bench with the Press, as the Bench Press jacked my hip more than anything else. I also added in a lot of conditioning work at the end.
A sample week looked like this:
MELB:
Max Effort: Raw Squats, Good Mornings or Pulls 3-5
Assistance: Lunges, Walking Lunges, Power Runner, Power Squat
Accessory: Done as a circuit: Kettlebell swings, GHR, etc. along with ab work.
Then some form of Met-Con. I worked up to 40/20 circuits for up to 18 minutes daily.
MEUB:
Max Effort: Presses, Incline Presses 3-5
Accessory: DB work or dips
Assistance: again, done as a circuit, which consisted of rows, pullups, presses, flyes, lateral raises. You know, swole stuff.
All followed with more Met-Con.
Dyn. LB:
Speed Work-Weightlifting
I focused on Power Cleans and Power Snatches from blocks for a long time eventually getting to pull from the floor. This was done with 30-45 seconds rest and for sets of 1-3 reps, waved from 8-12 sets. From and technique was the goal, not weight.
Assistance: Overhead Squats, Front Squats and various pulls and muscle snatches.
No accessory work done this day except Farmers Walks.
Awful Met-Con after.
Dyn UB:
Speed Work-ALWAYS Push Presses done with 30-45 seconds rest for 8-12 sets.
Assistance: Presses, Pushups, DB Work
Accessory: Same as MEUB. Bodybuilding stuff done as a circuit.
This was also followed up with Met-Con.
I used a 9 day week instead of training 4 days a week so it looked like this:
Monday: MELB
Wednesday: MEUB
Friday: Dyn LB
Monday: Dyn UB
Wednesday: MELB
Friday: ME UB
and so on.
I did this for about a year and it was cool, but I got bored. I wanted to LIFT.
In the next post, I'll go over how I adapted my training once I started to feel and move better and where it has brought me now.
Thanks for reading.
Vince vel Mori
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