Paul's Quest into first Pro Qualifier

[fltallpaul]

Saturday March 10th, 2012

Well the final weekend before contest prep begins and I went out with a bang, or a slap. After performing so poorly at the meet I did in November I wanted to redeem myself to prove I could rebound. I had set a few goals that I wanted to reach before starting contest prep and that was a 400lb squat and a 500lb deadlift. Going into the meet I had hit the DL once but squats just seemed to elude me. Still I trained hard all the way through and did manage a 385 squat a few weeks prior to the meet. I went in with good expectations but wasn't sure how I would fare. To make matters worse I spent Sunday night in the Tampa General Hospital because my GF's mother was ill. We were there from 4pm until after 10pm so I didn't get to weigh in on Friday. I had to arrive at 7:30am to weigh on before the meet. I had planned to weigh in around 233 or so but because I had to eat all my large meals on Friday night I weighed in at 238. Still well under the 242 mark so it really didn't matter. We made plans to stay at Layne's which was a blessing since he was so close to both the hospital and the meet. After watching Layne play some Mass Effect(freaking sweet game!) I got to bed and arose very refreshed. I stopped lifting early in the week after hitting squat and DL openers on Monday and bench opener on Tuesday. This rest stategy worked very well for my first meet.

After arriving early and finding out I was in the first flight with the big boys I found out I was the opener for the flight on squats at 350. Beau Moore Opened at 670 I believe...yeah lol. As I warmed up I felt really fresh. The squat was loose and easy and I started to feel confident I would get a PR. Layne had arrived around this time and was helping me prepare. I hit my opener with ease, my second attempt at 385 went up with a little less speed but still I handled it fine. I decide to try 400 since that had been my goal, having never tried it before I wasn't sure how I would feel. I was so focused on my form and exploding out of the hole that I never really thought about how much it was. When I unracked the weight it felt manageable, as I descended I was getting more confident. As I began to drive it up I knew the half way point was going to stick a bit but I managed to power through and after getting the call to rack it I had a new PR. I was pumped.

Bench was up next and after the hard part being done I was excited to see how bench felt. I had not been doing well on bench in recent weeks since my left shoulder had been stiff a lot. I had to back off alot of my pressing other than bench so my numbers had not improved. In fact i had failed a few times during the last couple weeks with numbers I had done plenty of times. I got my opener of 345 without any problem but noticed the speed was not where I wanted it. After getting 365 for my second I knew I would not be able to match my PR of 380 in a meet. I put 375 on the bar and felt pretty good but did get stuck in the middle and failed. Still I was happy that I was well on my way to a meet PR total.

My DL Opener was 450. I kept this relatively light because my long term goal of 500 was well within reach. 450 flew up so fast it actually shocked me. When I stepped up to get 500 I was very confident. As I pulled it off the floor I was again shocked at how fast it felt up. As I set it down I was already thinking maybe 515 0r 520. I walked over to Layne and he said...535. I did a double take and he told me that would be a 1300 total. Admittedly that sounded nice but I thought it was a bit over zealous since I had never done more than 500 in the gym. Still I had a bit of confidence since the weights were moving pretty well. Layne got me really fired up with a few hard slaps to the back and I stepped up not knowing if the weight would even move off the floor. As I began my pull it did come up but it got very slow for a moment and I actually that I was done. Oddly enough the bar kept sliding up slowly until it got into my comfort zone and from there I locked it out with confidence. I was pretty damn excited. I am still actually really feeling it today and not sure how I managed that much of a jump. I guess all the training and rest paid off.

So now its time to start contest prep and I am wasting not time since I have so much stuff coming up in the near future. Here is a video that Robert Fahey's wife took from the meet edited together.

[FrmrHoss]

Oh, it's right there... jumped the gun a little bit, reading now

[FrmrHoss]

Man, that's got me pretty amped for my meet coming up. You absolutely smoked that 500 and hell, even the 535 was relatively quick. I'm sure it was one of those things where everything slowed down a little bit, but watching the video it looks like 500 could have been your opener, and 535 your 2nd .

Congrats on the 1300.

[fltallpaul]

Man, that's got me pretty amped for my meet coming up. You absolutely smoked that 500 and hell, even the 535 was relatively quick. I'm sure it was one of those things where everything slowed down a little bit, but watching the video it looks like 500 could have been your opener, and 535 your 2nd .

Congrats on the 1300.

Perhaps but having never done more than 500 I was shocked when I got it.

[FrmrHoss]

Oh I'm by no means questioning the strategy on the lift selection, just commenting on how easy you killed those pulls.

[mogs1111111]

Good stuff man! I've been following your log for a while and to see you overcome knee troubles and squat 400 is pretty cool. Awesome deadlift as well!

[fltallpaul]

Oh I'm by no means questioning the strategy on the lift selection, just commenting on how easy you killed those pulls.

Yeah its funny how they look easy in the video but I thought I was on the verge of failing...perception i guess.

Good stuff man! I've been following your log for a while and to see you overcome knee troubles and squat 400 is pretty cool. Awesome deadlift as well!

Thanks alot. Actually getting the 400lb squat is more important to me than the big DL. That is something I have been working on for a long time. I hope to continue the journey to 500 after contest prep is over.

[MASSMADETOLAST]

Way to go on the meet Paul, very nice work!! What a way to kick things off for 2012, and now you get to join in on the fun of contest prep

[Vytis]

Outstanding performance Paul! Good on you.

[fltallpaul]

Way to go on the meet Paul, very nice work!! What a way to kick things off for 2012, and now you get to join in on the fun of contest prep

Yes I am super excited and already hit up some cardio last night. Full Steam ahead for 2012!

Outstanding performance Paul! Good on you.

Thank you for that!

[fltallpaul]

I had a great first week in the gym for the 2012 contest season. My diet was a bit of work to get where I want it. I had to update fitday and add some foods but overall it was really good. We got back into some higher rep training and I was sore after every workout. My shoulder and knee are feeling good and I have a good feeling about the coming weeks as we start to press harder. With 26 weeks until my first show targeted I am very happy. I will get some update pictures soon enough, so far there is nothing special too see. I started this week at 231, so I know I am already leaner than I was at the beginning of my last prep.

[robertfah]

I had a great first week in the gym for the 2012 contest season. My diet was a bit of work to get where I want it. I had to update fitday and add some foods but overall it was really good. We got back into some higher rep training and I was sore after every workout. My shoulder and knee are feeling good and I have a good feeling about the coming weeks as we start to press harder. With 26 weeks until my first show targeted I am very happy. I will get some update pictures soon enough, so far there is nothing special too see. I started this week at 231, so I know I am already leaner than I was at the beginning of my last prep.

26 weeks...locked in for the ride!

[ehlisl]

Glad to hear things are starting out great Paul! Congrats again on the meet, now its time to get them there glute striations

[GHOSTN]

Start up that new thread Paul.. Its on!

[fltallpaul]

26 weeks...locked in for the ride!

Yeah slow and steady wins the race.

Glad to hear things are starting out great Paul! Congrats again on the meet, now its time to get them there glute striations

I will be getting the leanest i have ever been this year, that's a fact.

Start up that new thread Paul.. Its on!

I still have a few things in the works with regards to my new thread, once they are done I will begin posting.

[acm807]

awesome lifts at that meet! congrats on that squat!

will follow the new thread!

[fltallpaul]

Sorry for the lack up updates. I was on a mini vacation over the weekend but still hit my numbers and got my workouts in. Everything is going really well right now. be on the lookout for the new journal soon!

[fltallpaul]

Sorry for the lack up updates. I was on a mini vacation over the weekend but still hit my numbers and got my workouts in. Everything is going really well right now. be on the lookout for the new journal soon! !

Workouts are going great this week. i hit a new low this morning and will refeed today for back and legs tomorrow. Things are going well...although the contest is so far away I am already narrowing my vision!

[NaturalPursuit]

Glad to hear its going good!!! Keep killing those workouts man! Your gunna look INSANE!!

[fltallpaul]

Sorry for the lack of updates. My training partner has been off getting married while I was left to hit the gym alone. I have had some great workouts and my knee and shoulder are feeling great.

I have also been busy with my prep business getting really busy of late. I will post a monster update soon as prep is underway and moving along quickly already. I am down to 226.5 as of today with tons of time to diet so I am excited. I will get some current pics and stuff posted once Adam and I get back in synch. This weekend looks great for getting my site finished and everything lined up for 2012 to kick ass!

[jdarndt]

Glad to hear things are going well, Paul. Really looking forward to the prep update and new log!

[fltallpaul]

I have moved into a new neighborhood!

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=143873801