No Time to Waste - DJaRiHardstyle's Off Season Log

[DJaRiHardstyle]

^ stealing my anabolic caramel sweet potato idea? NEGGED!




Not srs, but I would love to try that with a quest bar. (if I liked them). Nice job with the squats today brother, 355 x 3 is no joke.

No you loser, I got this from Nunez. And whaaaaaaaat you don't like Quest bars? Didn't know that was even possible.. Cookies n cream and Strawberry cheesecake are Heaven-sent.

[psychodiver9]

Don't do deep tissue if it's your first one. It will wreck you.

Have you been checked for gerd?

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Don't do deep tissue if it's your first one. It will wreck you.

Have you been checked for gerd?

Hmm duly noted. And no but I really need to, it's getting bad.

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Let's just start off with this. 3 weeks from this Saturday, I will be competing in my first ever powerlifting meet. I know the original goal was to go for the Christmas Carnage this December, but I want a chance to get my feet in the water a bit here. I'm still going for the Christmas Carnage and, in fact, that's the meet I'm hoping to actually be competitive in.

Guys, I want to really do this right. I was on a thread where they were talking about the importance of just going with a meet as soon as possible rather than planning one out and trying to set state records or whatever (assuming we're relatively inexperienced and this is our first meet). It hit me that if I hope to do anything impressive at the Christmas Carnage, I can't just be strong, because that's not all this sport's about. I need to be comfortable with the commands, I need to see what works for me diet-wise (carb up, water intake, etc.), and a whole slew of other experience-related aspects. On top of that, this meet just happened to land on the week that Smolov ends for me and I'm supposed to test my max one last time. I had thought prior about just running a mock meet at the gym on that day, to see where my deadlift and bench strength were at, so the fact that there is a meet on that week works perfectly for that.

It's the same fed as the Christmas Carnage (RPS) so I'll also be getting accustomed to their rules and how things generally run at their meets. To make this clear, I'm not going to cut weight, I'm not going for a specific total or even expecting to be competitive in my class. My ONLY goals here are to go 9 for 9, lift as much as possible, and be able to say I learned something from this. I will definitely keep you guys updated.



Typical off day, didn't really do much. Hung out with Angelica and got some Chipotle tonight with a friend, followed by a deep philosophical conversation lol. I've been eating Chipotle constantly these days lol. That was my 12th burrito in just under a month.. wut.

Now I've gotta stretch and foam roll, get in 150g carbs, and sleep to prepare for tomorrow's squat massacre.

[Bnizzle163]

Sorry about the late reply on the digestive shtuff. I found Now Super Enzymes (in capsules) worked the best. I think they should only be used when your stomach is really messed up. I believe that taking them for extended periods of time could mess with your pancreas's natural ability to produce enzymes.

[ErikTheElectric]

Wow!
That is some pretty huge news brother.
Not only do I think you will flourish in this meet, but I think you will prove to YOURSELF that you're capable of climbing the ranks, setting goals, beating personal achievements, etc in a competitive lifting environment. When the spotlight is on you, and it's time to shine.

Honestly man, I'm very proud of you.
You're going to be a force to be reckoned with.
Can't wait to see the results! Keep kicking sad brother.

[psychodiver9]

yessssssssssss

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Sorry about the late reply on the digestive shtuff. I found Now Super Enzymes (in capsules) worked the best. I think they should only be used when your stomach is really messed up. I believe that taking them for extended periods of time could mess with your pancreas's natural ability to produce enzymes.

Ok interesting.. stomach problems have been dying down *knock on wood* but I'm getting more probiotics in now and chit, and getting my sleep, etc. so this doesn't come back.

Wow!
That is some pretty huge news brother.
Not only do I think you will flourish in this meet, but I think you will prove to YOURSELF that you're capable of climbing the ranks, setting goals, beating personal achievements, etc in a competitive lifting environment. When the spotlight is on you, and it's time to shine.

Honestly man, I'm very proud of you.
You're going to be a force to be reckoned with.
Can't wait to see the results! Keep kicking sad brother.

Thank you bro! And lol at "kicking sad".

yessssssssssss

You gonna be saying that if I manage to hit a 315 paused bench before you do?



Okay so my laptop decided to crash today. I knew there was something wrong with it, but we never brought it in and it's had some B-grade protection software on it that doesn't do anything.. plus I've had it for well over 2 years, it was time. What's happening is none of the browsers will open anymore (Appcrash), plus sometimes when I log on I hear someone typing with noise in the background as if I'm on Skype with them, meaning someone has probably bypassed a firewall, which is NOT a good thing. So fortunately my grandparents are rich and happened to have given me a "new" laptop about 2 weeks ago. It's pretty crappy and slow, though, so I'll just be using this for its main functions and hopefully get a new laptop soon before college. Then again, breaking the news to my grandparents that I don't like the laptop they just gave me (at least, that's how it'll come off) is going to feel crappy lol.

So I finally had a good session today. I told myself coming in that I was not going to let this session defeat me. I was so pissed off about briefly giving up after Sunday's session and experiencing that loser mentality, that I basically decided I would be a failure if I left this session without hitting the prescribed reps. It took everything in me but I got them.

Next week, I'm going to cut off accessory work and only focus on the big 3.. well, technically, I won't deadlift until the week after and I'll only be doing moderately heavy singles to reincorporate the movement pattern. I'm also going to take off the sleeves when I squat (I'll only wear them on warm-up sets, as allowed by RPS, since I'm competing in the Raw Classic division). This should be interdasting.

So instead of the banded close-grip speed work I would've done on the bench today, because I've been reading more about the unimportance of speed training in raw lifting compared to geared, I did some mild rep work. Honestly, I just wanted to be under a heavy load a little bit more frequently this week. I know, I'm completely winging my peak for this meet, but, like I said, that's okay, because the goal isn't to hit a specific number or break a state record. I'm coming in here to learn my way around, get experience in that environment, and have meet-certified numbers to work off.

Squat
45 x 10
135 x 5
185 x 4
245 x 3
280 x 3
320 x 3 w/belt
(355 x 3) x 4 w/belt

Close-Grip Bench Press - paused
45 x 6
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 4
225 x 5
225 x 6
225 x 4

Chest-Supported Row - close-grip
(90 x 12) x 2
90 x 10
90 x 8

BB Curl
(70 x 10) x 3

DB Lateral Raises - standing
30 x 11
30 x 12



As mentioned before, all this accessory work is definitely eating into my recovery, especially on a program like Smolov, and that becomes increasingly important as I head into this meet, which is why I'll be cutting most of it out by Sunday. I'll still do my lat pulldowns on Tuesday, but nothing after. On Sunday and Wednesday, I'll still do my calf raises and abs, but probably no leg curls. Friday, I'll ONLY do the squatting and benching. The week after, no accessory work on lower or upper body, but I will be incorporating moderately heavy singles (that's my "deload week" on Smolov, but because of how this is going, I probably won't be lifting at all the week of the meet, so I'll just let that be my deload week) on the squat, bench, and deadlift, as well as working hard on commands.. So, no more loose feet after squatting, I have to stay stationary and show I'm in control. Probably going to get my dad or brother to give me commands, especially on the bench. Also I'm going to have to work on slowing the bar down on the eccentric of the deadlift to show I'm in control.

It's seriously going to be beyond weird to deadlift heavy again. I can hardly remember what it feels like, it's been so long. Because of that, the singles in 2 weeks aren't going to be super heavy. I'm just going to find my groove again.

Now I've got to wait until my money transfers onto my debit card so I can buy my singlet.. hnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng.

[Philip81193]

Next week, I'm going to cut off accessory work and only focus on the big 3

[DJaRiHardstyle]

^lollllllllll



Gonna make this short, cuz I promised myself I'd be in bed at a reasonable time and now it's 2am.

So this weekend and next, my brother and I are staying at my dad's, so today he took us, along with our step-mom and step-sister to his office because none of us have been there, and then out to a restaurant, then out to see Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

Restaurant was pretty good, except stomach problems, so I had to kinda stuff myself to finish it in time for the movie. Had a steak and cheese sandwich and fries, then a popcorn at the movie. DOTPOTA (great acronym btw) was actually surprisingly good. Kinda corny characters and whatnot, considering this was the first POTA I've ever seen, but the CGI and the whole idea kinda got me. I'm a sucker for good plots and although the plot was relatively weak, I was pretty hooked. That said, it definitely could've been shorter. Wolf of Wallstreet was like a whole hour longer and yet that felt like half the length of POTA.. Only comparing the two cuz I saw one after the other.

Ok I'm rambling and it's night time. I'll update you guys after tomorrow's killer squat session, where I finally squat w/o sleeves.

[ErikTheElectric]

^ Squatting without sleeves? Dangerous man is dangerous...

Hope you had a great weekend brother.

[DJaRiHardstyle]

^ Squatting without sleeves? Dangerous man is dangerous...

Hope you had a great weekend brother.

They're not allowed in the Raw Classic division.. so I've gotta get used to squatting w/o them

[DJaRiHardstyle]

And the last real week of Smolov is here. Just in time, too; I seriously don't know how much longer my body can take this. I feel as though my ability to recover is slowly diminishing, my legs and entire posterior chain are constantly sore, my joints are now starting to act up, and the program in general is just really pushing me to my limits. I've always thought I pushed myself hard in training, but this really taught me a lesson or two on intensity. But I think it's getting to the point that I don't have much left in me to pull out.

Today's training went well relatively, but bad on paper (another reason autoregulatory training strikes me as more efficient, IN THEORY). The goal was to squat 340 x 5 for 5 sets, which was also the goal last week, but this week the ramp-up sets were a little bit heavier/more reps. If you recall, last Sunday, going for 340 x 5 x 5, I only managed to get a set of 4 and then a set of 3 and then gave up, and proceeded to contemplate quitting Smolov all together. Today.. well, just let the numbers do the talking.

NOTE: I kept on my sleeves today. I decided to keep them on all of this week, as I'm still pushing myself to my limit frequently, and now is not the time for injury, or even risking not overloading all for the sake of getting used to squatting sleeveless. Next week will work perfectly, because it will mainly consist of heavy singles, but nothing @ RPE 10.

Squat
45 x 10
135 x 4
185 x 4
225 x 2
265 x 3
300 x 4
(340 x 5) x 3 w/belt <-- almost passed out after the last set, like my whole face turned pale and I just felt awful.. couldn't get the last 2 sets in

Lying Leg Curl - hoist
(120 x 12) x 4



That was it. No calves, no abs. That stuff will return after my meet, but for now it's just digging into my recovery, especially on Smolov.

So it's about 11:45pm and about 45 minutes ago, I started feeling really nauseated and it hasn't gone away. I just feel sort of dizzy, a little disorientated, queasy, and almost feverish. It just feels awful. Kinda feels like after my last set today, except much worse. I've been getting in less than 600g carbs every day now, due to the fact that I don't want to risk hurting my stomach further, which sucks because I want to maximize what I'm getting out of the gym, but it's okay.

So that means I definitely won't be stuffing my face tonight, regardless of how many carbs I have left to fill. Just gotta suck it up and move on.

Besides for all that, I saw The Purge: Anarchy this morning with Angelica and it was surprisingly good. Obviously, it had a bunch of corny aspects, but the concept was cool and well executed imo. Definitely would recommend it.

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Was just about to go to sleep until I realized I haven't updated my log or taken my creatine. 2am adventures with Ari, I guess. Decided I'm going to stick with the Conjugate Method for upper body just for these last couple weeks until the meet and then I'll either move into the RTS training protocols or work with a coach.

Besides for that, I basically just spent today resting and recovering and hanging out with Angelica. Easily got in more than 600g carbs today because of how I positioned my meals, so I'm going to stick with this. I'll update tomorrow night.

[jpfaherty]

Great job with Smolov man. You did much better than most!

Who you considering for a coach?

[ErikTheElectric]

How was today, man?

Dunno how, but I got accidently unsubbed ITT. You saw the purge!? I've been trying to convince my girl that she needs to come and see it with me. But she's too scared. I'm mad jealous.

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Great job with Smolov man. You did much better than most!

Who you considering for a coach?

Much appreciated! Hard to imagine that the program is this insanely difficult using 30 lbs. less than my true 1RM lol.

Contacted a few coaches, including Tuscherer and Zourdos. Dr. Zourdos had open spots and told me the price range for 4 months, which is way out of my budget. I then responded with all the questions he asked and he never responded back, so I'm like screw it, I'm just going to do my own programming.

How was today, man?

Dunno how, but I got accidently unsubbed ITT. You saw the purge!? I've been trying to convince my girl that she needs to come and see it with me. But she's too scared. I'm mad jealous.

Not great at all tbh. I see you had a crappy session too.. Hate these kinda days man. In and out of the gym I've just been feeling awful.

And yeah honestly it's not really that scary at all.. more of a thriller tbh. But it really was well done..



Today was my max effort floor press and close-grip bench rep work day. Things really didn't go great at all. I wasn't pumped up at all going into the session. Managed to get 20 lbs. less than I got last week for the same number of reps, at about the same RPE, which is always disappointing.

Floor Press - paused
45 x 5
95 x 5
135 x 3
185 x 3
225 x 2
255 x 2 <-- was hoping to hit 285 afterwards, but this set was unexpectedly tough
235 x 3

Close-Grip Bench Press - paused
(185 x 10) x 2
185 x 7

Lat Pulldown - close-grip, reverse-grip
(150 x 11) x 2
150 x 12
*stopped here because the point, from now till the meet, isn't to take accessory work to failure*



So I certainly wouldn't call that a success, as last cycle I managed to floor press 275 for 2 paused reps. Not happy about that, but there's nothing I can do about it now. Just push harder next time.

Not in a great mood now, because I just found Angelica probably can't come to my meet. Already I know that the only way my dad can come to the meet is if I happen to be lifting in the AM session and he gets the OK to skip my stepmom's co-worker's wedding ceremony (they apparently need to make the reception, so if I'm lifting in the PM session it won't work). Plus a kid I know from Twitter was going to compete in it and he dropped out, leaving no one to help me out during the meet. I'm going to ask a friend I'm hanging out with this weekend if he could come up, because I seriously need somebody there as motivation, but asking anyone to drive up 2 hours to watch me lift is a long shot.

It just sucks. I know this meet isn't the one I had been training for, but it would mean the world to have my dad at the meet. He's always been a role model for me in my lifting and my life in general, and I've stated throughout this log numerous times how much it means to me to make him proud. I love my mom and brother, I really do, but it's not the same. I realize I probably sound like a spoiled brat right now who should just be grateful for having a supportive family willing to do this for me regardless, and I am grateful, just a little let down.

I'll keep you guys updated though.

[Reid456]

If I was still in Virginia I'd go to the meet, unfortunately I have science to do down here in Tennessee. Kind of sucks when you have no one to go with you to meets/shows. I had to convince a friend to go with me to both of my bodybuilding shows.

[jpfaherty]

Try contacting Ben Esgro. He has done some awesome DUP programming!

[Philip81193]

Hey man, is the meet this weekend? I'd come up but I'll be at a family reunion at Smith Mountain Lake down in SW Virginia. When's the next one? I was thinking about doing this one if you're interested in joining - http://www.powerliftingwatch.com/pow...s/raw/2014/ccv

[DJaRiHardstyle]

If I was still in Virginia I'd go to the meet, unfortunately I have science to do down here in Tennessee. Kind of sucks when you have no one to go with you to meets/shows. I had to convince a friend to go with me to both of my bodybuilding shows.

The meet's in Lancaster haha. No worries, man. Funny thing is the kid who was going to compete with me is from Tennessee too. And yeah ikr??

Try contacting Ben Esgro. He has done some awesome DUP programming!

Hm, interesting. Yeah I'm looking much more into DUP Programming now than I was a traditional RTS routine, not to say the two are exclusive of one another. I'll expand more on this in my log tonight though!

Btw props for those new early mornings on the off days man.. that is no joke.

Hey man, is the meet this weekend? I'd come up but I'll be at a family reunion at Smith Mountain Lake down in SW Virginia. When's the next one? I was thinking about doing this one if you're interested in joining - http://www.powerliftingwatch.com/pow...s/raw/2014/ccv

Naw it's August 16, in Lancaster, PA. I live in Northern VA and it's only like 2 hours north of us with traffic. Unless you have Navy training then, it would be cool if you came up.

And haha the next meet I'm doing is the day after that meet you linked and it's in Hellertown, PA. RPS Christmas Carnage. The meet you linked is a little closer to me than Hellertown, but I want to stay in RPS for now because the whole point of doing the Raw Dawg Nationals in 2.5 weeks is to get used to the RPS environment so I can take that variable out of the next meet.

[ErikTheElectric]

I'm sure it must be hard, man. Girlfriend and dad possibly not being able to make it to the meet. What I'd suggest (for now) is to remain as optimistic as possible. Things can possibly change and you never know until you step in front of the bar, if they're going to be there or not. This may be something good for you, you never know.. Sometimes just going into things (like this) truly is a learning process.

[jpfaherty]

People at powerlifting meets are very supportive as well. It's not like bodybuilding. If you need a lift off on bench or something just ask, they will certainly help!

[DJaRiHardstyle]

I'm sure it must be hard, man. Girlfriend and dad possibly not being able to make it to the meet. What I'd suggest (for now) is to remain as optimistic as possible. Things can possibly change and you never know until you step in front of the bar, if they're going to be there or not. This may be something good for you, you never know.. Sometimes just going into things (like this) truly is a learning process.

It sucks man, really really sucks. Btw, she's not my girlfriend technically (really confusing situation lol). And yeah I completely see where you're coming from. No need to stress out over things I can't change.

People at powerlifting meets are very supportive as well. It's not like bodybuilding. If you need a lift off on bench or something just ask, they will certainly help!

That's good news haha.



Second to last day of Smolov is in the books. Today wasn't supposed to be an especially brutal session, as it was basically just Friday's session with easier ramp-up sets. Still the session wasn't easy by any means. This Friday is going to be a madhouse though.... stay tuned.

Squat
45 x 10
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 2
265 x 3
300 x 3
(355 x 3) x 4 w/belt

Lying Leg Curl - hoist
(100 x 15) x 3
90 x 20
*stuck to high rep stuff b/c I'm really only using this to prevent muscle imbalance at this point*



So this Friday, I figure out whether I'm lifting in the AM or PM in the meet. That may determine who can see my show. Sorta hoping PM, because that way my mom, brother, and I could head up Saturday morning ( = no need for a hotel Friday night), pick Angelica up, weigh in Saturday at noon (last weigh-in session), and then I could lift.

If I end up in the AM session (and last year 220 was grouped into this session), we'll need a hotel Friday night so I can weigh in, and I would just have to hope my dad is willing to skip the wedding ceremony to see me lift, in which case he could probably pick Angelica up to bring her to the meet (would be an awkward 2 hour car ride, but it would work lol).

But like Erik said, no need to get down in the dumps about things I can't control. At the end of the day, in all likelihood this isn't even a meet I'm going to be competitive in, and really I'm just grateful I have a supportive family willing to take me to these events, buy me food, etc. My dad has his reservations about competitive powerlifting, but he lifts more than I do and understands the grind. Again, very thankful of everyone around me.

Like I said, session was relatively easy (funny use of the word.... this session was harder than any 5/3/1 session I've ever had, yet relatively easy compared to other Smolov days). Funny how many people turn their head when someone squats 355 at my health club. At any powerlifting gym, nobody would have even noticed, but that's considered big weight here.

Also, I dun goof'd. There's this guy who comes into our gym pretty regularly and does the shortest ROMs on every exercise. You think I'm exaggerating, but I doubt many of you have seen anyone who performs things wrong THIS badly and THIS proudly. I messed up and didn't videotape it for you all and everyone on FB to enjoy. He loaded up the leg press with as many plates as possible and his ROM was SO short, I'm actually pretty sure he never bent his knees. He then proceeded to hyperextend the weight as hard as possible, put the catches down, and DROP it so the whole gym shook. He then walked away with the proudest look on his face. He also did this with the smith machine incline bench (with 365), the Hammer Strength Hi-Row (with 5 plates per side, I kid you not), and more. This guy's middle-aged, chubby, wears a dirty wife beater. Seriously just the most obnoxious gymgoer I've ever witnessed.

Will film next time I promise.

[goosefrabbas]

Vids next time or negs srs

[ErikTheElectric]

Seriously despise people that do stupid, moronic sh*t like that. NO ONE CARES HOW MUCH YOU LEG PRESS BRO!


Anyways, I'm proud of you for getting in and getting sh*t done today. Nice work. Hoping you have a good night man.

[OrcaLifter]

Waitin for the video. This guy sounds like he ranks right up there with "person who uses the machine for a park bench" and "naked old guy drying his junk in the hand dryer."

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Vids next time or negs srs

If I seriously manage to forget again, I probably deserve negs anyway

Seriously despise people that do stupid, moronic sh*t like that. NO ONE CARES HOW MUCH YOU LEG PRESS BRO!


Anyways, I'm proud of you for getting in and getting sh*t done today. Nice work. Hoping you have a good night man.

Thanks man, appreciate it. Friday's session is going to be what counts tho.

Waitin for the video. This guy sounds like he ranks right up there with "person who uses the machine for a park bench" and "naked old guy drying his junk in the hand dryer."

Loled at the second one.. we definitely have those at our health club. Srs, the locker room is just a bunch of 80 year old proud butt naked dudes taking their sweet old time. Pooping in the shower, loud bathroom incidents, and other extra curricular activities that don't belong in a locker room.... Man I just want to join a somewhat more serious gym so badly.



Today was my off day. Didn't do much. Hung out with Angelica, had McDonald's for the first time in forever, Mad Men, pool, what else?? I was supposed to go hiking today with a friend but they bailed on me so that's koo.

Anyways, about the training after this meet, cuz I don't know if that's what you guys think about in this thread, but it's what I think about.... I've contacted a bunch of coaches. The ones that actually get back to me are all way too pricey, and the ones with more reasonable price ranges don't strike me as people with a great enough understanding of programming to get my money anyway. That sounds unnecessarily snotty and it probably is. Don't get me wrong, these guys have had success with clients, but I just don't feel comfortable spending the amount of money they're asking for, considering the simplicity of their programming (from what I've heard).

So until I figure out whether or not I'm working with a coach, I've created a pretty basic template as my back-up. This isn't meant to be the grand roll-out of a program that will secure my placing in the Christmas Carnage by any means, though. It's a simple 4-day split, using DUP principles, rotating 3 variants for each main lifts, cycling between A and B days (so bench and OHP get equal work, squat and deadlift get equal work), etc. I'll show you guys once I complete it, but once again, it's extremely rudimentary and is meant more to be a stepping stone as I learn more about programming. I will incorporate an accumulation phase, intensification phase, and realization phase as well, but, again, my knowledge of implementing these is very limited.



First time eating McD's in a while.... felt good at first cuz I was craving it but afterwards I legit went into a post-McD's coma and napped for about an hour.. Soundest sleep I've gotten since I don't know when. So I'm not sure how to feel about all this. Also the fact that all of this not only fit extremely easily into my diet, but that I still had to stuff my face later to fill carbs.. ugh.

[DJaRiHardstyle]

That concludes the Smolov program for me. I'll be sure to write a full length review on it after my meet, because that test day is going to be the ultimate decider of how well it worked

I didn't get all the reps, and that was sort of what I was expecting. It was a really brutal session, and I brought myself damn near failure just to get 3 reps on those last 2 sets. The goal was 4 reps for all 3 sets. I got 4 on the first set, but it took everything in me.

Also, I took my sleeves off for 225 just because I was too nervous to wait until Monday to try squatting w/o sleeves. It definitely feels really weird and my knees obviously don't feel as protected. Part of me thinks it would be safer to remove this variable and just switch to the Raw Modern division, but part of me is totally against that. True, I'm not going into this meet with the intention of being competitive, but I would still like to look like I know what I'm doing a little bit. Maybe that's overly cocky, but part of trying out a meet is building confidence.

Did a bunch of foam rolling this morning (I never do it as a warm-up, because I feel as though it doesn't allow me to stay tight in the lifts), and then I did an extra long warm-up before squatting, composed of overhead squats with wide and narrow grip (using wooden bar) and a bunch of OLY stuff using that bar*

Squat
45 x 8
135 x 5
185 x 4
225 x 3 w/o sleeves <-- felt strange
280 x 3
340 x 4 w/belt
355 x 4 w/belt
(355 x 3) x 2 w/belt

Wide-Grip Bench Press - paused
45 x 10
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 10
205 x 8
205 x 5
*had no clue what I was doing here.. this is all fluff at this point*



And that was it. No upper back work or other isolation movements in general. No more REALLY heavy lifting before the meet either.. Just light squats on Monday to grease the groove (I'm tapering down from 3x a week, so I need to squat Monday to keep it at at least 2x), and then a couple sets of my deadlift opener - for now - on Wednesday, squat opener on Friday, bench opener on Sunday, and then relatively light work on Wednesday, where we just run through the 3 lifts at no more than 70% and practice the commands.

From now on, no more knee sleeves (unless I realize this takes away from my squat, in which case I'll need to contact the promoter ASAP to switch to the Raw Modern division).

Also, took JP's advice, got in contact with Ben Esgro over at De Novo, and chances are I'll be working with him going into my next meet. More on this later.

Oh and some beautiful Friday night eats.

Shrimp rolls and sushi, which wasn't pictured.. I've only ever had shrimp rolls, chicken rolls, tuna, etc.. so the sushi was new for me.. it was surprisingly good too


Fresh cookies from da bakery.... hnnnnnnnnnnng


Dats it.

[psychodiver9]

Do the meet how youve been training. Adrenaline and nerves will already be a factor. Don't bring another degree of uncomfortability.