Well, if you stay after it long enough, things are bound to change. I went into the meet with the goal of winning the AM 242 and totalling 2100. Won with 2080. I'll take it.
Squat - 765 no lift - I didn't pull the legs up on my suit. I go by feel and when it locked up I came up. Puke said it looked like 135 and it certainly felt like it so I pulled the legs up and went for a PR.
815 - easy PR
850 - easy PR - I told Jim to give me a verbal que of upper back when I took the lift. As I was descending I could feel it starting to crush me and Jim yells "UPPER BACK!!!" I tightened up and stroked the lift. No sticking point. No struggle. No strain. That was freakin' awesome! Definitely had a lot more in me. I used the black Metal wraps on the last attempt and they sucked compared to the Inzer Z Wraps. Won't do that again.
Bench - 555 good - In the game. I didn't push back and had to be patient to drag the bar back to lock it out.
585 PR - Took a while to lockout and I had to tell the head judge I was locked because he was holding me forever. Time for some shirt pimpage.
600 miss - JJ gave me some retarded pimpage but the arms on my shirt were so loose they turned as I was moving to lock it out. Blew the weight up but couldn't get the last 1/2". Not real happy because I drove to Long's to get my sleeves tightened on Thursday and ended up forgetting the shirt at home. Dumbass.
Dead - 605 good - PR total and 2K club
645 PR - easy lift
660 miss - JJ tightened my straps up and when I started my new flex technique, the bar came off the floor way before I was ready or in position. I stayed with it and knew it was going. As soon as I broke my knees I slammed the hips forward and the acceleration pulled my right hand off the bar. I thought I needed this for 2100 but it would have been 2095. In retrospect, I think I am really onto something in the dead. If the bar broke before I was ready, what's going to happen if I put another 50lbs on the bar? I'm going to be in position before it breaks. The weights all felt easy in the pull and I know my grip strength is killing me here. Plenty strong enough to pull 700.
Total 2080 PR To say I am happy is an understatement. I finally got my shit together and lifted confidently with a purpose. I told my wife I needed get my old game face on about a month out and that's what I did.
Everyone that has a good meet thanks their training partners and this is no exception. All y'all at BA know that I have been struggling mentally and you all forced me to shift. Individually, Rockman and Peebles got me to stop being afraid; BDR got me to believe; Stew supported every bit of my training and served as my eyes (this took a lot of interaction and coaching and a ton of Stew's time); G-Rex helped me develop and manage my program, regulate the training, and most of all got me to settle down and focus; Sarah The Terminator stayed on me with the verbal cues I needed to make everything secondary and was a huge source of inspiration; and Peterbilt never stopped reminding me that he squatted 881 (ok, that one was a joke).
I know there were people that didn't think I could put it together for this meet but I had to. For me this was do or die. I took something Jim said to me and used it as my get over it point to make it happen. He told me it wasn't a choice, it was a decision. I didn't have a choice. I had to do it.
Special thanks go to Southside Barbell for their help in the warmups; my handler JJ Thomas of Detroit Barbell for being exactly who I needed him to be at showtime and setting me up for success; my friend John Bott of EFS for being available for whatever I needed; my buddy Jim Wendler of EFS for being a great friend, supporter, and helper; and my wife for putting up with my shit, keeping me well fed, and supporting this crazy idea I had about opening a powerlifting gym!
Now I finally get my freakin' picture on the wall!!!
*Random meet highlight. I'm walking up for my 2nd squat and the meet announcer says "Check out this guys belt. It says 'Big Pimpin'. I guess we know what he does in his spare time."
