So-so feels at the gym today. I thought we were testing, but we are still working up. Kept missing on depth on the squats. Despite being heavy, it felt good. Just not deep enough. And failed out at bench. But it was at 115# so I suppose as we get closer to the top, I'm more likely to crap out. I'll try to remember how I felt HERE, and that this is my week of putting it all out it there.
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Was at a conference this week. It was a beautiful venue and really also put me into the Christmas spirit. There was a bit of over indulgence, ... I will spare you the details, but I have had my fill of sushi for a while. A long while. Like... forever. And also, not enough sleep. So too much of one thing, and not enough of another. Just for the record, it does NOT balance out (plus/minus). But I still felt pretty good in the gym today. We didn't do anything overly difficult, but it was not super light either (a single 150# squat followed by some doubles @ 140# , as well as some paused benching at 95# and 100#). I have a vacation day tomorrow, so can take a little extra rest in the AM (sleep in til 7 AM!), and don't train until 11 AM. It's Deadlifts, so will be a bit tiring, and I am out with the Mavens tomorrow night, but at least I won't start at a deficit. And there's always the weekend for a little nap. :) I'm no social scientist. So if you want to read about Maslow's hierarchy of needs try Wikipedia. But there was an interesting reference to it in a book I am reading for work. I'll spare the back reference (but the book is called "Beyond Engagement" - Brady G. Wilson, if you are interested...)... but it quotes someone who ran the Boston Marathon as saying;
"After I ran the Boston Marathon, I had no motivation whatsoever. My diet and my training schedule went to pot. I need to set another goal for myself before I fall apart." Oh, Snap. ....And I do kinda remember that feeling after the London meet in July. I have continued training, but I know for sure that it's a slightly different feeling than training towards prep for a meet. Which is OK. I think actually that may be one of the things that makes Powerlifting the sport for me. There is ALWAYS a goal. Because it's not a specific event at which you measure your progress.... well, of course it IS, if you go to a meet, but also... it's not. Every few months you cycle through the program and BOOM! PR baby! I found my magic. My girlfriends is yoga. I can imagine that it might be much the same. My goal tomorrow: Just one squat at a time. Just one more. My goal for January - test and new PRs for all 3 (Squat, Benchpress and Deadlift). And then we'll set them again, AND schedule a meet! I know it's called a "Meet" because people... well, they MEET. But I am going to think of it as just the place you meet your goals. Only squats and bench this AM, and both were sad, sad, sad.
Last night it was SCREAMING. So at least pain vs PAIN is progress. It was almost out of nowhere, although I was reminded (pain does that) of the same (lighter) feeling a few weeks back on benching.
So what happened last night was....I tried to push off 35# dumbbell for benching, and ...nope. Didn't break off the chest at all. And it hurt a bit. So I went down to 25# (which should be easy), and.... yep, I got it up, but it hurt ALOT. I stopped. And then I could not raise my arm. Uh-oh. I was talking to the Mavens last week about long term goals with powerlifting. And I told them what I am about to tell you. I want to qualify for nationals in 2021. It's a long way away, I know. But I will be in the next age group up, and I figure I can improve at least for 2 more years... (I don't really improve in any great leaps, but I think it's reasonable to make some small gains for at least that long). and then even maintaining, for the year I would be Master Level II, the standards should be do-able.
I think it would be an amazing experience, and if I can't do it by then, well, it's unlikely I'd ever be able to do it. So I am setting the bar (pun intended) for a meet around my 50th birthday with PR #s. Now I just have to do the work, which I enjoy anyway! I was in my first powerlifting meet yesterday. I hesitate to call it a competition; I pulled less weight than anyone. Well, except the guy that bombed out on his three benchpress attempts and didn't get to finish.
And I finally get the concept of only competing against yourself. I never understood it when golfers talked about it. And to be fair, I'm pretty sure a number of them (golfers and powerlifters) care a lot more about competing with the other participants than it being only about beating your best. But, I'm really not worried about the low weight, or my missed third attempt on bench. In fact, I'm really proud I tried for the 115# BP. I've never been able to do it in the gym before with the pause, & I was feeling really good. And maybe I could have gotten it if I was just a bit slower. But I actually tried something that had a goodly chance of failure ..... In front of a bunch of people. Because nobody wanted me to miss. It wasn't a competition at that moment; not against each other anyway. Just me and the bar. And everyone got it. And now I have numbers. A very clear place from which to improve. To measure progress. I was impressed by a lot of people yesterday. But I don't remember their numbers. Just their resolve. Me. The bar. It's so simple that it's hard to understand how I didn't get it before. But I do now. And that's progress too.... |
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April 2021
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