I'll go through the training that was done first and then talk some about the trip...

Saturday - Squat day

Squat

  • 150 x 10
  • 260 x 5
  • 350 x 2
  • 460 x 2

Added Ace briefs.

  • 550 x 1
  • 640 x 1
  • 730 x 1

Added suit - straps down.

  • 780 x 2

Knee wraps - Frey calling depth.

  • 820 x 1

Straps up

  • 850 x 1"

The most I've had on my back in a year.

Done for the day. Frey didn't want me to deadlift since we're still trying to keep my lower back healthy and I have a tendency to hurt my back when pulling after squatting and a bit fatigued. Obedience...

Sunday - Bench

  • Treadmill
  • Internal & external rotations

Bench

  • 135 x 15
  • 185 x 8
  • 225 x 5
  • 275 x 3
  • 315 x 2
  • 365 x 1
  • 455 x 2 - 2-board

Added shirt.

  • 495 x 2 2-board then 1-board
  • 545 x 2 1-board
  • 585 x 1 1-board

Moved okay.

  • 605 x 1 1/2B a.k.a. 10 pound plate

Moved slow.

Called it there. Things were much less stressful having Frey there to call my next weight and the rep scheme. My head hurt a lot less than it would have had I had to figure it all out on my own.

The Trip

I first want to thank Dave, Rachel, Ronda, Matt, Zach, Traci and all of the people that made this come together. You all did an outstanding job and busted your ass to do so. Well done! A special thanks to Dave for having us out to begin with. It's an honor.

It started out interesting because I was upset and giving some old lady in front of security some shit because she had a ton of jewelry on and didn't take it off and left her shoes on, all while trying to walk through the metal detector. It was like all of the security measures were put in place the friggin' day before and she had no clue. So of course karma got me and I beeped when I went through the detector and therefore had to stand in the plexi-glass box waiting for someone to come wipe my hands to see if I was a bad guy. Then, while on the airplane, the less than manly flight attendant said, "Thank you, dear," to me when I handed her/him my trash. Schwab really got a kick out of it. Haha! Karma's a beotch.

Made it to Columbus just fine and went to get our rental car. While standing there at the counter with Schwab, a guy went up to the counter next to us and was obviously trying to figure us out and asked if we were there for some kind of weightlifting thing so we told him it was for a type of strength seminar. The next question he asked me was, "You natural?" I quickly responded with a "Nope." I got a deer-in-headlights look from the guy and all he had was, "Whatever works for you." The conversation ended there, thankfully because Schwab had the keys and it was time to go. I mean, who asks a stranger that? It's pretty stupid in my opinion. We laughed about it all the way to the car.

While at "The Compound" as I like to call it, I got to meet a lot of the new team members like: Amy Wattles - a very nice person, Chris Vaughn - cool and strong, Andy Deck - strong as shit and a laugh that sounds as if it is from Mount Olympus, Jon Taylor - a great kid, Steve Pulcinella - told me not to worry about being a dad with three girls and then told me stories that made me even more worried than before. Thanks, buddy! They were a wonderful bunch of people and great additions to the team. Also, Chris Carter. Met him last year, but he's an intelligent guy with a great sense of humor, very slick too. He gave up his seat to Schwab so that he wasn't in the line of fire from Wendler. Dirty rascal!

The training was amazing as well. Getting to train with these guys always makes me feel as if I'm at a meet. I get nervous and such and much more fired up to lift. I got to train with the likes of Driggers and Carroll. Although I've known them for years, I never got the chance to do so before. Caslow, Pegg, Geeting, McMillan, Frey, Mo Edwards, and Toalston always make it more fun. I enjoy being around them and seeing their enthusiasm for the sport. It makes me proud to be a part of it all.

I think the best conversation I had all weekend was with Mo and Ted. They are great people and have come a long way. I think we sat together and talked for a good 2-3 hours on Sunday. I look forward to seeing them do well at their meets and watching them become amazing lifters.

The trip home was much less eventful. No male flight attendants hitting on me, no problems at security, but Schwab did get body scanned, and the attendants on our last flight home were pretty damn nice ladies to look at, so it made it much better.

Looking forward to the next UGSS.

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