I have to thank Dave Tate and Justin Harris for helping me keep my weight on better this time. I ended up incorporating more sodium into my diet, and even loading with sodium tabs, which did wonders in preventing me from losing my fluids. Also, thanks to Mitch McMahon, the Flesh Family, Rich Gregg, Big Mike Lacombe, Jim Lynch, Sheila, Ashton, and, of course, my wife Trinity for helping out and cheering us all on.
Here's how everyone else did:
My long time training partner Greg Godwin had a little trouble with his openers, but hit them on his second to go 644-424-545 for a 1614 total in the Open AAPF 198’s. Not bad for a guy who's 52. One of our newest additions, Sam Wahnish, had a great day. In only his second full meet (the first he's made it through), Sam went 644-424-551 for a 1620 total and Elite in the Junior 165’s.
Ronnie Paras had some trouble in his squats, but ended up going 810-573-567 for a 1950 total to take the OBB top spot in the open 198’s. My training partner Kalin Chester finally hit a big goal of his in his last meet as a member of Orlando Barbell (he's moving back to Tampa but will always be a member in our hearts). Kalin squatted 633, finally hit a huge 600 bench!, and pulled 501 for a solid 1734 total in the open 181’s. We'll miss you Kalin.
Although I've still been sick, my day went pretty well. I weighed in right at 165 and was able to hydrate and hold my weight at around 175 by the time I lifted, which was ideal for me. Here's how my lifts went:
Squats:
766 Opener: I brought my stance in and opened light to make sure to get one in. I ended up leaning forward more than I would've liked, which prevented me from going as deep as intended, but it was good for 2 whites.
810 2nd attempt: I widened my stance back out to what I was comfortable with and stood up for a solid 3 whites.
826 3rd attempt: I went for a PR, came out of the hole, but stalled. Just didn't quite have it in me today.
Bench:
567 Opener: Opened with a looser denim to get one in and did.
606 2nd attempt: Put my tighter shirt on and went for a PR, but brought the bar too low and ended up pressing straight up instead of back. I got it about halfway and stalled.
606 repeat 3rd attempt: Took it even lower this time and it didn't budge. I think being a little heavier may have hurt me here. I'm going to have to work out these shirt issues for the next meet.
Deadlift:
573 Opener: I've been working on keeping my hips down and head up which seemed to work out great. This one went up pretty fast.
622 2nd attempt: A little tougher, but it was good for a full meet PR and a solid 2,000 total.
633 3rd attempt: Was out of gas by now and barely broke it off the ground.
Although this is the first time I haven't hit a PR total in a meet, I'm happy with how I did. I did exactly what I said I was going to. I made it through and got one PR. I feel much more confident now after coming back from bombing at the Worlds. I honestly think that the true test of someone's determination is not how many times they can win or stay on top, not how many times they can PR, but how well they can come back from failure.
As I've posted before, Rocky said:
"You, me or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!
Now if you know what you're worth then go out and get what you're worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers sayin' you ain't what you wanna be because of him or her or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain't you! You're better than that!"
Q&A:
Can you give an overview of your deadlift training?
I pull out of the rack every other week on ME day after the ME squat exercise. On the opposing weeks I pull against green bands on DE day, gradually increasing the percentage, just as you would with dynamic effort squats. Here's an example of what I would do leading into a meet.
Week 8 - rack pulls off #3, max doubles
Week 7 - Pulls against bands w/55%
Week 6 - rack pulls off #2, max doubles
Week 5 - Pulls against bands w/57.5%
Week 4 - rack pulls off #1, max singles
Week 3 - Pulls against bands w/60%
Week 2 - pull off floor with opener
Week 1 - Pulls against bands w/50% Meet Week
I pulled 615 at my last meet, which was a full meet PR, and I felt like I had a lot more in me. My training partners have made dramatic improvements as well.
Can you explain what “Schwabs” are, and how to do them?
Here’s a video of how I do the Schwabs. As you can see, it's a very limited motion with the primary purpose of isolating the triceps through a heavy, safe movement.
You have a ton of experience in setting up and hosting meets. Do you have any tips on how to do this?
I do have quite a bit of experience holding meets. I started hosting meets at the YMCA about 6 years ago, before I had taken any steps to opening Orlando Barbell. Hosting a meet is a difficult, but rewarding task. Just like opening a hardcore gym, you do it for the love of the sport rather than to make a profit. My best recommendation is to plan as far in advance as possible. Some of the most important factors you have to think of are:
-Do you have an adequate available location that is willing to let you hold this kind of event? Do they require for you to provide your own liability insurance? (Make sure you put a decent liability waiver on the entry form).
-Do you have all of the necessary equipment as well as the means of getting it to the location (at least 2 monolifts, 2 benches, 2 platforms, 2 squat bars, 2 power bars, 2 deadlift bars, a deadlift loader, 4 weight trees, 8 100’s, 15 45’s, 4 25’s, 4 10’s, 4 5’s, 2 2½’s, competition collars, chalk, bleach, brush, cleaning supplies, etc..)
-Do you have enough people to load, spot, judge, expedite, announce, keep score, and watch the door? (You're looking at around 15 people who are willing to work for nothing just to help you out).
-Do you have a location or website to order awards and an estimate of how many you'll need?
-Do you have enough lifters interested in competing to cover the costs of the meet?
These are some of the pointers I could think up off the top of my head. The best way to market would be to make fliers and drop them off at all of the local gyms, post the information online, and email the information to as many people as possible.
I hope this helps. It should give you a good start. Let me know if you want any more information.