Posts Tagged ‘powerlifting’

Zack’s 100% RAW Follow Up

Written by Zack on March 29th, 2010

I don’t know where to start with my recap…it was quite a day.

I guess I’ll start with I felt very good going into this contest.  I had my diet spot on, and I dropped from 283 3 weeks out to right at 275 the day before the contest.  Josh and I had gone to the gym 3 times that week just to stay loose and limber.  I noticed at the beginning of the week I had a slight cold, but I wasn’t worried about it, but instead of getting better it got worse!  The night before the meet I slept about 3 hours and felt horrible, but I’m not the type of guy that cares much for excuses so I knew I would just have to fight through it.

Squats – I felt really shakey starting out with a 573, but I got it easy. Next was 606 and then I finished with 628! A huge 23# PR for me.

Bench – I had very low energy after a long break.  I opened with 440, then got 463 for my second.  Staying with our program I went for something I’d never attempted  – 479.  It went down good and I got it 6 inches off my chest, but I couldn’t lock it out…I should have had it! – My only miss of the meet.

Deadlift – After bench I did some eating and I had more energy for deadlift. As a matter of fact – I felt great! and Strong!  I changed my opener from 595 to 606 – smoked it.  Next was 633 – I struggled a bit with it.  Last lift of the meet and I was going for 650! I was amped up and I wanted this lift bad!  I went up to the bar, grabbed, pulled, and got to my sticking point when I could feel my arm tearing.  I knew that I was hurt and that it was too late to put the bar down so I struggled through and got the lift!  A big PR for me!

So in the end I had my best meet ever.  I won best lifter for the 3rd year in a row, hit 2 PRs and increased my ELITE total.  BUT – the tearing I felt on the deadlift was bicep tendon.  It is 80% ruptured and now I’m preparing for surgery and recovery.





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100% Raw – Follow up

Written by Josh on March 22nd, 2010

After it’s all said and done and you’ve trained 12-16 weeks for a specific contest and you come up short… there’s no choice but to feel disappointed. I chose to do this powerlifting meet because after the Omaha Open in November, I felt I was capable of more. Well, after this meet I still feel I’m capable of more.

In general this was a good meet. I hit all of my openers with no problems and all of my 2nd attempts with no problems. Then I was stuck with a choice on all of my 3rd attempts. Do I go ahead and pick the lighter weight where there’s a real good chance I’ll get it but it wouldn’t break my PR… or, do I go ahead and try a heavier weight that I’ve never lifted before? On all three 3rd attempts, I did the later – and on all 3 lifts I was about 2 centimeters from breaking my sticking point.

So yes, I’m disappointed. But, I still feel good about going for weights that I’ve never done before. That’s the reason why I did the meet in the first place and I stuck to it. I guess all I can do is get back at it, push myself harder, and try and do more… after taking a break of course.

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20 Days Out

Written by Zack on February 28th, 2010

Josh and I are a little less than 3 weeks out from our contest.  Training is still going good, we’ve started to work on 3s, 2s, and 1s.  I think my body is recovering well, but my mind is a little fried.  Doing that 5-3-1 for 2 months took a lot out of me…which was good, but it required a lot of focus.  Now back to working with heavy weight requires even more focus.  I think things will work out fine, we’ve hit some really good numbers this week.  Josh had a 405 squat, 435 deadlift and 325 bench.  I had a 565 squat (just missed 595), 630 deadlift and 435 bench.

On a side note, my fatass program has sadly come to an end.  I topped out at 287 this winter and now it’s time to clean up the diet and do some cardio.  I’m resumming my nationals diet which was unlimited protein and very little of anything else.  I’ve also started doing some stairmaster and incline walking.  I will make 275 for the RAW meet and I hope to be back down in the 250s by May or June.

zack

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Written by Zack on January 31st, 2010

As Josh said we are taking a different approach to the upcoming powerlifting meet, is it the right one? That remains to be seen. I do know that this program (I believe we are in week 10?) is kicking my ass. Not only physically by making me rep heavier weight than I’ve ever done, but also mentally by thinking all these heavy lifts through. We started this journey in hopes of better, heavier lifts and I think we are on our way.

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Sticking with the program

Written by Josh on January 30th, 2010

I believe this may have been the longest Zack and I have stayed on a set program. I think it has really helped to stick with the program. We’ve been able to keep track of our numbers and watch them go up week after week, month after month.

However, with sticking with the program – and this program in particular – we’re kind of putting our trust in the program. We are training for a powerlifting meet at the end of March – and we haven’t, and won’t (necessarily), one rep max before the contest. This is a little different than how we’ve trained for previous meets.

The way we’ve trained for previous meets was heavy, heavy, heavy – and we’d literally wear our bodies out. Usually about 6 weeks before a meet we’d start benching twice a week, one time light (7-10 reps), and one time heavy (1-3 reps). The training program we’re on now we might get close to a one rep max only about every 3 or 4 weeks.

We’re also only lifting about 4 days per week right now, which usually gives our bodies enough rest time. I’m anxious to see how our numbers will turn out in March.

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