It has taken me a bit to come to terms with the weekend and be able to put it into words. The Arnolds Expo is one of the most exciting, invigorating and empowering events on the planet. The atmosphere alone is more exciting than a kid at Christmas waiting for Santa to arrive. It is an indescribable feeling that truly is an experience I will never forget.
Some stats for those who don’t understand the volume: 4 Day Weekend, Over 18,000 Athletes, 80 Host Hotels, Over 200,000 Attendees, $51.4 Million dollars in economic impact and over 80 Countries represented. Hard to imagine those stats and it all goes off without a hitch. I can only imagine the amount of volunteers and man hours that goes into planning an event of this magnitude. Kudos to all involved, a job well done.
I have competed at the Arnold’s in previous years at the XPC Finals full power, a Kettlebell competition, but this year was different. This year I competed on the Main Strength Stage in the “21 Deadlift Salute” and let me tell you this event was epic. The announcer sounded like he was announcing for an MMA fight and that made it that much more exciting. It was an honour to be invited and be strong enough to step on this stage amongst some of the best dead lifters on the planet. Did I mention I am 55 years young?
The best part is I got to lift with my Iron Sister, my coach, my idol and my friend Molly Headley. Also lifting were some fellow Teamelitefts members, Matt Ladewski & Bryan Doberdruk (who took 1st place with an amazing performance) and some friends and fellow Canadian lifters, Jeff- Big Boomer, Al, Justin and Adam.
My training leading up to this event was nothing short of ok. I had a few setbacks and if you follow my blogs you will know what they were. I won’t get into those here but in case you want to have a read here is my link.
This blog is about my day on stage!
We arrived back stage right on time, 11:30 a.m. and it was a chore just getting there trying to herd through thousands of people making our way miles to the event. I had to visualize the stage and where I would be lifting so I took a few minutes and watched the “Big Bench Bash” imagining myself up there. I had to pinch myself, this was really happening wow. I was anxious I’m not gonna lie, I could hardly breath. I remember Matt Ladewski telling me to calm down and breath. He said you need to save that shit for the stage!
I revised my goals half way into my training cycle. I tried not to set any big goals and put too much pressure on myself going into this event. With the way my training went and my “Destroyed Meniscus” I would have been happy to pull a meet PR. This was also the first time lifting in a suit. Working in gear is a whole new animal and it’s hard to learn and master in such a short period of time.
So my plan going into this event was to have fun and do the best I could do under the circumstances presented to me at the time.
Warm ups felt good until I got to 400 lbs, then I said to Ken, geez that felt heavy but I still kept my opener at 430 lbs. I think I was just nervous, I have pulled 400 lbs a million times before.
“OPENING CEREMONIES”
They announced all 20 lifters. We paraded out on stage in front of thousands of people, I thought I was going to cry, my throat kinda closed over and wow what a rush. This Video Ken took tells the story, amazing memories, thank you Ken for being back stage to handle everyone and take videos for all of us. These memories we will cherish forever.
“OPENING ATTEMPT”
My opener was 430 lbs. My best opener previous to this event was 407 lbs at the WPC Worlds. The weight flew up, it felt light and I was happy with that, whew I’m in the meet.
“SECOND ATTEMPT”
451 Lbs on the bar (This is my barrier weight, this is my mental block where I know I have to clean up this weight and not scoop my knees under the bar and not get called for a ramp)
Up, up and away, I pulled it and honestly thought I had it but as I walked away I heard “NO LIFT”, Those two little words every lifter hates to hear. I was upset with myself, I could do better and I knew better. That blew my chances of trying my third at 470 lbs which I knew I could pull. Ok Sheri, get yourself together, you can do this. Ken tried to talk me off the cliff, Matt helped calm me down even though he was dealing with his own attempts. Molly gave me an awesome tip and that is all I thought about when I went out to try again.
“THIRD ATTEMPT”
451 Lbs on the bar, all I have to do is clean it up, stand up straight with the weight and not scoop my damn worn out knees under the bar. I am strong enough I can do this. I can hear people yelling at me once I got the bar moving, hips, squeeze your glutes, all the while I was just thinking about Molly’s tip “ just pull up your pants”
“GOOD LIFT = FIST PUMP”
An 11 Lb all time meet PR I will take it, as I shook the Judges hands at the end I was so grateful for the opportunity and the fact I could overcome my second fail attempt and come back and nail it.
Wow what a rush, now to watch Molly pull her all time PR of 485 Lbs, that was something else. Team Elitefts really represented on this stage, checkout this video of me, Molly, Bryan and Matt!
The weekend was so busy, we arrived on Thursday afternoon and as always when we hit Columbus our first stop is London Ohio, the Elitefts Compound to visit our second family. A stop at Westside Barbell is always in order as well. Friday was also super busy, weigh ins for Ken, the Expo for Jaynie and Grove. We also attended the Compound on Friday night for team training and helping the attendees. You will always find me in the Kettlebell section on these events, someone always asks me for help with bells. #passiontrumpseverything
Saturday was a full day of watching and helping Ken and the geared lifters compete in the XPC Finals. You don’t realize how much all this takes its toll on you leading up to your own event. Saturday Morning both Ken and I woke up sick with colds and heavy chests. Really bad timing on this when Ken is about to attempt a 1,000 lb squat.
All in all, this was one of the most incredible experiences of my life.
What’s next: I’m going to take a break from heavy lifting for a while. I have been going hard since my shoulder surgery recovery a year ago. My Dr. is recommending I give my body a break. I go see my surgeon on March 15th to talk about knee options.
My immediate plan is to start doing more Kettlebells and get my conditioning back in order. I plan on dropping some weight and leaning out. Don’t get me wrong I am still going to be lifting, just not maxing out my CNS on a weekly basis. I am coaching some ladies in Powerlifting and Kettlebells which also keeps me very busy as well. Who knows what the future holds for me, this is not the end but the beginning of a new and improved me.
First thanks go to my Hubby and biggest supporter, Ken Whetham. Your desire to help others is impeccable. Without your help this day would not have been possible for me, thank you xo
A huge thank you to those who helped get me platform ready Clint Darden, Molly Headley, Dr. Ken Kinakin, Matt Ladewski.
A huge thank you to our friends who travelled with us for support Jaynie and Grove and for the amazing photo’s Grove took for us.
A huge thank you to our “Outlaw Crew” for help training, spotting, loading and just being a really fun group to be part of, too many to name.
A huge thank you to my closest friends, supporters and Iron Sisters, Sue, Shantel, Carri, Andrea, Jaynie, Chanel, Christina and my Kettlebell girls.
A huge thank you to Dave and Traci Tate and team Elitefts for allowing me to represent “Team Elitefts” and being a part of something so great.
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A huge thank you to Dan Dague, Gene and Aimee Rychlak for a well organized fun event.
Last but not least, thank you to my entire family who continually supports and encourages me.
#teamelitefts #21deadliftsalute #passiontrumpseverything #strongher #teamoutlaw
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