The fine peeps at Kingspoint held a mock meet today for charity. It’s been over 2 years since I did a meet and this was a perfect soft landing.
I didn’t get brave, thus the 3 white lites (sheets of paper!) on all lifts, but they all felt really good so I did add a little extra than originally planned for the last deadlift. I was only 5 pounds under my (meet) best squat two years ago, 4 pounds more than that on benchpress ... and a whopping 45 pounds short on deadlift. While that’s been the most problematic this year, it did move pretty good, even with conventional stance, and I know that it’s just a matter of doing the work. Of course, today has got me thinking about numbers for the October meet. Target in KGs - squat 80, bench 60, deadlift 90
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I have registered for a meet. The London Open in October. Yay! We started meet prep Monday and finished the first week today. Friday’s are going to be all three lifts, doing a set of 5 of increasing weight until it’s the max. So since today was the first of that, it seemed like a good benchmark of where I am starting off this round, and so I am saving it here. It was July 2016 for the first meet. I’ve done another , but because I am starting over a bit (not all the way over, but certainly not as ready as 2017) I am looking at that one as a reference point too. My squats are about the same now as they were when we started prep that year, so while I have a lot of work to do, it is DO-ABLE! My bench is already close to my best. Deadlift is no where even close to 2017.
Oh, and I’ll be a weight class up. But I tell myself it’s practise only, for a competitive entry in 2020! The chart mostly speaks for itself. But I also told Jerimiah that I'd really like to be a bit brave on a last attempt in 2018. Not that the last on any of these above were guaranteed, but they had been done before a few times.
And we aren't currently setting a date target other than "next year". We'll just work on progress and keep checking in and when it seems within reach, sign up for a meet and to a 3 month (probably) prep cycle. I said the same last year, but by November was desperate to get signed to a meet to have it firm. I'll try to exercise patience and remember that more meets are added regularly and I won't miss out. Then I can try to be a bit more organic with the planning, which may be helpful given my travel schedule can be hard to have any long term insight into or control over. HERE WE GO!!!! Here are my results (in kilograms). I am super proud, super tired and super sore. #Squat- opened with last year's best for a result of 70, 75, 77.5 ⚪️⚪️🔴 #Bench- last year's meet best was 47.5. Today - 50, 55, 57.5 ⚪️⚪️🔴 #Deadlift - last year's meet best was 90. Today 95, 100, 105 🔴⚪️⚪️ I will have more to say later, but for now, it's enough. It's plenty. It's almost here! I knew after last years meet that I'd do it again. And I narrowed it down to a few events in November, and have been prepping for the Apex Summer Showdown since January. And now it's less than 2 weeks out, and I am getting the prep emails and reminders..... it's HERE! I will have a buddy going to her first meet (Daphne) , which makes it a little more exciting. I'm hardly an old-hand, but having a bit of experience makes me feel like I have something to offer her as she goes on this adventure. It's such a great community, and I have received so much encouragement from it: it's nice to be able to support someone else who's taking it for a spin. I have (mostly) gotten over the stress of not competing in the same weight class as last year. Maybe a tiny bit sheepish, but nothing that will hold me back from giving it my all, and putting some good numbers forward. .... on which to build my next year worth of progress. Deadlifts and I struggle to get along. Always. I did have a 13# PR in July...at 198#...and was overjoyed. Hugs were even squished out to Jerimiah. But it was months before I got even close again. Partly it was just the way the programming block was built. But then even at the end...it was still basically the ceiling. Squeezing out 200# 5 months later gave me mixed feelings. Yeah, it was more. But the smallest amount. And that was really all I had in me. Was it that going to be it? And if it was, then what!? And then at the beginning of February I threw my back out...doing deadlifts, of course. We were doing reps (and reps, and reps) and the fatigue was building and I lost form. It was pretty bad. Tears. Doctor. Meds. Physio. So I didn't train for a bit, and then did but ensured NO stress to back. I missed squats but didn't miss deadlifts one bit. I felt like they had met me down. Or I had let me down. Well, we started up again, and I screwed up my optimism and told myself to just do the work and trust the process. It was hard. It was a few sessions of back to basics and changing things up. I was all awkward AND had low numbers and didn't have the excuse that I was a #newb. But I kept at it ....with a slightly wavering faith that it would build up to...something different. And it did. A 5# PR at 205#....With maybe a bit left in the tank. Evidence! Finally a little translation into the actual lift. Let's be honest: even at twice the increase in the previous 5 months, its a tiny increase. But it's the encouragement I needed to remind me that trusting the process is not about blind faith, but rather about relying on what you know and who you trust ...and sticking it out. I'm elated about the result, but even more so by this little gift of the encouraging reminder that progress comes ....as long as you keep at it. I have quoted Seth Godin (his blog, more specifically) hundreds of times, but none more than this: I've probably already referenced it in my blog. Sometimes, I am quoting it to try to encourage others to MOVE ALREADY! And sometimes, I have to speak it inwardly to do the same. This time it's a bit different... it's the convergence of two things. ONE is this. Last year I set some goals, and posted them here. Suffice it to say... it's the end of Q1 soon, and I didn't get there. But I did get a lot closer, and while I have this lingering disappointment, I can also remember when setting these targets that they were do-able, but very hard. And yet here I sit, pretty darn close to being able to pull off the squat and bench numbers. TWO: is this: I registered for my next meet. So I haven't reached my goals for Q1, but I registered for a meet anyway. WHAT GIVES?! Well, frankly... I'm perfect. Perfectly ready. Perfect enough. Not enough to win. Not enough to qualify for anything. But that's not why I went last time, and I LOVED IT. And while there is a little part of me that cries at the thought of being at the bottom, I'm not going to let that stop me from taking hold of the experience. And if I won't let anyone else steal the joy and magic of this discipline from me, I certainly won't do it to myself. Therefore, no matter what my numbers are; I am perfectly ready. After firing of a killer back spasm 2 weeks ago, I am back at it. Well, not ALL of it. I did air squats on Saturday. Very light weight on Sunday. A bit heavier, but still light on Monday. And today went back to a regular(ish) load. Still it's 10# lower than where we left off, so I have lost (arguably) the 2 weeks, plus another week to get back to that weight. First blush that didn't make me happy, but it's a quick head-space adjustment to realize that 3 weeks is really not that much. I had some fear, but really focused on the balance between listening to my body, but also remembering that it sometimes is lazy and lies. So a reasonable weight, and long rests, no rushing. Feels like JUST the thing to get over the nagging apprehension. I am still going to skip deads on friday (or do block pulls instead). The 3 weeks progress lost is OK, but the crappy week in a back spasm... not really something I want to repeat. And I have a business trip starting Sunday, so that means no real deadlifts for at least another week. Then I should be golden! I was on a charge in January, and really enjoying it. Until...(wait for it...) a less than perfect deadlift. Thankfully, it's not an injury per se. But my lower back went into spasm and has been very very painful, tight and at times totally immobilized at the bottom.
2 massages helped. Then an attempted row made it even worse. DOCTOR! Muscle relaxant, anti inflammatories and Advil. And physio therapy. I have had some pain-free moments but 8 hours on my back tighten it up quick so I think it will be a bit before I am back in good shape. Sadness... My husband ends all of his sessions with Jerimiah by saying "I think he's trying to kill me!". And now I would say the same (tongue in cheek, of course).
We are back to hypertrophy. 10 reps....and my heart felt like it was exploding out of my chest. And it's not that the speed made it cardio; just... whoa. 153 BPM is a lot for me unless I am doing sprints (bike or treadmill), but I officially achieved that squatting. I was so sure that it was more like torture than usual that I checked to see if we had done 10 reps before, and indeed, last hypertrophy cycle we did. A bit less weight, of course, but essentially same deal. So at least I know I'll get over it quick, since I could not remember and it was just September. :) I am really tired, but my head feels energetic, so that’s good. And I was a bit nauseous after, actually. And really hungry. And sitting down is basically just a small bend at the hip and then letting go (as my hamstrings are also rather sore, and don’t really want to be holding any weight in a bend). And yet… still happy. Go figure. |
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