#22ndstreetbb

Well, I am officially a week into being a little bit of an emotional wreck.  Sunday I was at first informed and then minutes later told that I will be competing in my first powerlifting meet.  Wes said either compete or he would stop training me! #JawHitFloor

Over the last year I have had a blast training to be strong.  I have felt good throughout the process, learned a lot, met some great people, and love the changes I have seen physically and mentally in myself.  All that being said lifting has became a big part of who I am, but I never saw myself doing a powerlifting meet anytime soon.

The truth is I am just going to have to find a way to come to terms with the fact that I am about to get destroyed in my first powerlifting me.  This probably is the toughest part of the entire process.  Sports is where I have always excelled because I always busted my ass.  But, I will be going up against people who have been doing this for years or have a ridiculous passion for powerlifting and they will dominate me.  Like Wes has said it isn’t about what you lift, but is about the effort you put in.

My 8 week training cycle starts on Tuesday.  I am coming off a solid 1 week deload with a light week before that as well.  Emotionally I have been frustrated not getting to lift because I have felt good and of course after the holidays all I have wanted to do is get back into the gym and work off all the extra treats.  Constantly having to reminding myself to believe in the process.

The next 8 weeks outside of work are going to be focused to training, eating a clean diet, prehab, and making sure I am getting enough sleep.  It really won’t be much of a change for me.  Over the last couple of years I have always tried to be conscious of what foods I put in my mouth, but now it will mean less treats.  I think feeding my body the right nutrients will be the difference between me seeing any gains in the next 8 weeks.  Protein consumption is going to be a MAJOR focus.  Getting to the gym 4 days a week is who I am so there will be no issues with making it their.  Making the lifts and getting through the workouts might be a different story.  

By Tuesday I need to come to the realization that this meet is going to happen and I can either make the best of the next 8 weeks or be a Debbie downer.  Powerlifting is a community and I am lucky to be a part of the 22nd Street Barbell crew, but at the end of the day only one person can move the weight and that is me.  We show up as a team and support each other, but it is up to me to step up and show my strength.

Well after lifting for 11 months today was my first ever real glimpse into what it would be like to compete in a powerlifting meet. It wasn't because I had the itch, but because I was told it was all part of the process. I was put on the Sheiko training program recently without knowing it and that program requires a mini meet.  At least that is what I have been told!

A majority of my training occurs at Gold's Gym, but a couple of Sunday's a month I will go down to the dungeon. It is where the powerlifting crew 22nd Street resides. If you want to get strong this is the place you go in Des Moines no questions asked.

Squat

The difference between lifting weights at Gold's versus the dungeon is night and day.  Lifting with metal plates is noticeably heavier than using the rubber bumper plates at Gold's.  So after I hit 170 pounds on squat for my first rep today they looked over at me and said that is equivalent to what it felt when you hit your 190 pound squat PR at Gold's awhile back.  After that I hit 180 pounds on squat and was called my final attempt because I pitched forward a little bit. It is frustrating when you are moving more weight, but the number you report is lower.  The only people who understand the difference in the weights are those who have experienced it!

Bench Press

Next up was bench press.  My current one rep max on bench is 135 pounds at Gold's and it was a painful grind to get that.  I don't think I will ever forget that day not only because it was the most straining I have ever done during a lift, but because that was the day I could say I could bench with a plate on each side.  Today I successfully hit all 3 lifts and the last was 140 pounds of real weight.  I did have to grind for a few seconds, but once I got past it the lockout came pretty easy.  This would be equal to 145-150 pounds easily at Gold's!

Deadlift

Now to the last lift of the day.  My current PR was hitting 225 pounds for two reps at Gold's Gym a little under two months ago.  Today, my second pull was 225 pounds and it was amazing how much more difficult it was to lift.  REAL WEIGHT was the key today.  I failed 235 twice so my current PR will now be 225 pounds of real weight versus plastic bumper plates.

I will admit that at the end of the session I felt defeated and frustrated.  Defeat and failure are not something I handle well.  Then, I had to remember it is part of the process of training.  When I hit my original squat, bench, and deadlift PR's I weighed about 8-10 pounds more.  So the fact I have been able to maintain and build strength while shedding fat means my coefficient has improved.  Personally there is no powerlifting meet in site for me, but your coefficient is the difference between taking home first and second.

In the end I need to remember to celebrate my successes along the way.  I definitely feel much stronger than I did 11 months ago, 6 months ago and even 2 months ago.  It has been a constant changing process.  I need to be happy with the fact I handled 140 pounds on bench today and I am almost to my goal of benching my body weight!!!