My meet didn’t exactly go as planned. I had some really high expectations and felt very on target for a 2000 or higher raw total. My preparation in the weight room went great, and I managed to screw it all up three days out from the meet. The good news is now I know exactly what I did wrong and what not to repeat for the next meet. This being said, the meet wasn’t a total bust because I was able to hit a decent bench and do what I had planned to do two-and-a-half months ago, when I started benching after tearing my bicep tendon.

Well, a few days out from the meet I was at a 260 pound body weight and feeling good. I was getting ready to water load Monday through Wednesday, and then begin my cut Wednesday at 7 PM to make weight by Friday at 9 AM. Since I've been running off of 100 grams of carbs per day for the last month, I decided that the last few days I could eat some carbs and not be too concerned with it. Boy was I wrong! In two days I gained nine pounds and I went from cutting 18 to a whopping 27 pounds. I didn't realize this until I stepped on the scale Wednesday morning. Let’s just say I looked at the scale in the morning and said, "OH F*&%!" Okay, that was an understatement. Knowing it was going to be a long shot, I went for it anyway. I began my cut Wednesday night and hit the sauna Thursday. With fasting and sauna trips for two hours, I cut 17 pounds. I felt like hell, but hey - saunas do that. I decided to bag the day and go home and rest. I planned to sleep, then get up at 5 AM to go hit the sauna for the last 10 pounds. I was optimistic until 11 PM rolled around and I still couldn't fall asleep.. My heart rate was so elevated, I ended up staying up all night watching T.V. and listening to my heart beat through my chest. So, 5 AM comes around and I head over to the sauna. I can barely drive, as I haven’t slept in 24 hours, but I manage to make it just fine. I get to the gym and load on all my gear to get my sweat on. I walk into the sauna and its fucking cold. I scramble for an on button and can’t find anything. I go to the front desk to get an idea of how long it takes for the sauna to warm up and I learn that the sauna is down today for maintenance.

MAINTENANCE?!?!?!?!?

After he told me that, I just turned around walked out the door straight to McDonalds and put on ten pounds in one meal. I didn’t even change out of my sweat suits. Luckily after that meal, I feel asleep for a few hours and just decided to go weigh-in anyway to get it over with. I ended up weighing in at 263 pounds. I ate and ate and by meet day, I was up to 269 pounds.

Meet Day

After this blunder, I was still in high hopes for a good meet. With personal unequipped bests of 750, 505, 750 and a 1980 total, I was very optimistic for five pound PR’s on my squat and deadlift. For my bench, I hoped to get 475, which would be a post-injury PR. The most I had done in the gym thus far was 470. Squat warm-ups started and the writing was on the wall for me.

135

225

315

405

545

All felt heavy. Each set, I began to cramp up more and lose speed. I opened with 650 pounds and this felt hard. Considering I did 650 for 5 this cycle, I knew this was a very good pick for an opener. The cut just wore me out and my legs felt empty. After 650 felt so terrible, I went right to 755. I don’t care if I squat 700 or 745. I do meets to get better. The only way to do that is to lift more weight. I unracked the bar for 755 - a modest five pound PR. I was stapled. I took it one more time for a third, came out of the hole, but lost it midway. I wasn’t pleased, but I also didn’t let it ruin my day. Six more lifts to go.

Going into the bench, I was nervous. My first meet since my tendon tear and things could go very wrong. I at least wanted to bench more than the 55 pound token opener I took in November. I opened with 425 and things felt okay. I jumped to 475 pounds and it was a success! I opted out of a third, as this was a PR and it hurt like hell. After the PR, I felt very relieved and finally believed I could bench again for the first time since healing. This is a very good feeling for a former bench-only whore. As for the deadlift, I knew history would repeat itself. I warmed up to 500 and it felt heavy. I opened with 650. It went up, but felt slow. Again, I jumped to 755 for a modest five pound PR and missed. The bar may have come to mid shin. It may not have. I just know I 100 percent missed it. After that, I skipped a third attempt and shut it down. I ended up with 1775 and a lot of cramping.

My meet didn’t go as planned - that’s for sure - but I did learn what not to do and I’m glad that I blew it at a small meet instead of a big one. My prep went great for six months and I blew it in three days! That just goes to show you that the gym portion of this sport is only half the battle. I'll continue to focus on the weight loss, but I'll begin to eat for strength again. Carbs should be my friend. I'm considering looking for a meet in the June/July time frame, but I may just hold off until November. I guess I was due for a bad meet. I did just have three meets in a row full of PR’s.

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