Good job at the meet. As far as the other lifts, you never know till you try.
KM, I’m on top of the world. I wanted my first meet to be a good experience, and boy, did I get it.
User, I’m aware of my current bench, which isn’t much, and my squat is under repair. However, the best part of the meet is that is gave me hope. Suddenly, lifting good weights doesn’t look so impossible.
Unfortunately, until I get a new job, can’t plan anything. Might have to move, hate that.
Had a workout the day after the meet, felt really strong. Bet it was the all the hi volume / lo intense I did before, letting the body recover. Will keep doing volume for some while, body seems to thrive on it.
Had some personal problems in the past couple of days, stress was dreadful. I lose my appetite when stressed, not good when trying to maintain strength. Sure enough, yesterday’s workout was rough. Then last night, I was flat on my back from heart palpitations - the worst in a year. At least it proved stress is the major factor.
Left shoulder still twinging a bit when inclined bench - is there an epidemic on this site?? Did rows instead and tons of rotater cuff stuff.
Box squats seem to going well, up to 95 lbs, feeling good. Will post some vids.
Great work Cav, I still haven’t done a meet, and its great to see that you enjoyed it. I would not push too hard after the personal drama, just recover from the meet.
MJ, if you’re thinking of doing a meet, I’d like to share my thoughts. Been thinking about why my 1st meet went so well. Another guy in my gym entered for his first meet also, but had a lousy time. He benched 225, more than I can, yet was miserable. What was the difference?
GET ADVICE. You can’t have too much advice. I had a trainer check my DL. I asked meet officials how things would go. And everyone on this site has been generous with info. Even Jim McNeil, whom I just met, offered me tips. Result: there were no surprises. Everything went like clockwork, and I nailed every attempt.
The other guy, however, didn’t seem to know much. He missed two lifts, got the 3rd. Should have got the first two, but tried racking the bar himself instead of waiting for the judge’s signal.
GET SUPPORT. It’s true, you really can’t do it by yourself. It’s no fun to look at the list of people in your flight and realize everyone pulling the same weight as me weighed half as much. No fun to stand around the benchers and realize everyone is twice my size. It helps so much when people tell it’s OK, go for it, don’t worry, you deserve it. I stayed calm, and calm is good.
SET REALISTIC GOALS. Your first meet, and you’re going to set a world record? Don’t bet money on it. I knew my lifts would be modest, so don’t try for too much. My first goal: just go through with it. That’s all - just say I had done it. Second goal: get white lights. I chose the weights and made sure form was impeccible.
“But I can’t lift enough to do a meet!” Watch a meet. Everyone wants success, not failure, no matter the pounds. A scrawny grandma lifts 100 lbs perfectly and the crowd goes wild. She jumps for joy and her friends congratulate her. Then a huge guy tries a world record. He struggles, the bar falls from his hands and thunks on the mat. The crowd is silent. He slinks off, head hung low, and his friends say “Well, uh, you tried…” Who’s the winner and who’s the loser?
PREPERATION IS KEY. People told me to take it easy the week before. So I did heavy weights 2 weeks out and switched to low weights volume. 135# DL over and over until I could do them in my sleep. Rehab squats. Lots of stuff, no heavy weight. go home, eat and sleep. Eat and sleep. Eat and sleep.
It worked. On the day of the meet, I felt strong as a bull. Things were as good as they could get.
The other guy, though, pushed hard up to the last day. Straining, straining, so frustrated. Don’t know if he was worn out, but I would have been.
KEEP A SENSE OF HUMOR. I love how people on this site tease good-naturedly, it really cuts the tension. As Pogo said, “Don’t take life so serious, it ain’t nohow permanent.”
Interesting reading your post-meet advice. Sounds like your confidence is soaring. I hope the stress dissipates. And quickly.
A workout the day after a meet? Umm . . . can’t relate to that one.
Great job at your meet. Very exciting and very motivating.
[quote]kpsnap wrote:
Interesting reading your post-meet advice. Sounds like your confidence is soaring. I hope the stress dissipates. And quickly.
A workout the day after a meet? Umm . . . can’t relate to that one.[/quote]
x2 I still havn’t been back to the gym yet…but I am a lazy bastard…
[quote]kpsnap wrote:
Interesting reading your post-meet advice. Sounds like your confidence is soaring. I hope the stress dissipates. And quickly.
A workout the day after a meet? Umm . . . can’t relate to that one.[/quote]
All I did Sunday was a few warmups and only 3 working reps. Why would that wear me out?
[quote]cavalier wrote:
[quote]kpsnap wrote:
Interesting reading your post-meet advice. Sounds like your confidence is soaring. I hope the stress dissipates. And quickly.
A workout the day after a meet? Umm . . . can’t relate to that one.[/quote]
All I did Sunday was a few warmups and only 3 working reps. Why would that wear me out?[/quote]
Your meet wore you out and youir body realized it on Sunday!
Some coaches don’t let thier athletes get back to it for a month after a big meet. I know that 3 times now I’ve been out of the game for a good while after…
Umm, soldog, the meet was Sunday. Some warmups backstage and 3 reps on the platform. Monday was the workout. No heavy weights, but the exercises felt really good. Oh, and I had a terrific sleep Sunday night.
[quote]cavalier wrote:
Umm, soldog, the meet was Sunday. Some warmups backstage and 3 reps on the platform. Monday was the workout. No heavy weights, but the exercises felt really good. Oh, and I had a terrific sleep Sunday night.[/quote]
my mistake - how did you feel Tuesday?
Pretty good - had another workout. Miscellaneous things, lo weight. Personal problem resolved, felt better, did some rehab box squats, light stuff. Today stayed home, not because didn’t want to go to gym, but got a call from staffing firm about an opening and worked on my resume. Wasn’t going to work out, but then discovered that if I kneel down and hook feet under the bed, it makes a great GHR. So much for not working out.
Actually, the personal problem was much tougher on my body than the workouts.
If I’m doing something wrong, why isn’t my body losing strength?
[quote]cavalier wrote:
Pretty good - had another workout. Miscellaneous things, lo weight. Personal problem resolved, felt better, did some rehab box squats, light stuff. Today stayed home, not because didn’t want to go to gym, but got a call from staffing firm about an opening and worked on my resume. Wasn’t going to work out, but then discovered that if I kneel down and hook feet under the bed, it makes a great GHR. So much for not working out.
Actually, the personal problem was much tougher on my body than the workouts.
If I’m doing something wrong, why isn’t my body losing strength?[/quote]
I would’t say you’re doing something wrong, we all react differently to work load on the body. My meets have all been full meets that last a lot longer and I’ve always failed at one or more of the lifts. Failing a lift takes much more out of you.
Enjoy your good response and forget about all I’ve said…
Very sorry I’m late but, Congrats!
For some reason I just thought this was the greatest,
over 50, 220 lb . . . first place
novice, 220 lb . . . first place
50 years old and just starting your competitive career. Outstanding.
Cavalier,
A little late but nice job on your meet. Hope you’re feeling better. Keep at it.
Just found your log and read through the last few pages, excellent work on the meet, very inspiring. Keep up the good work.
I suppose a one-lift meet might be different.
But for me, trying to max all my lifts on one day really wipes me out. When I first started competing, it didn’t. But I then realized that I had no clue where “max” really was. A lot of times where we think our max is is just a psychological barrier. I also learned the concept of straining and staying with a weight. I didn’t do that early on in my lifting, although I didn’t realize it then.
My coach prefers that I take ten days off after a meet. I usually do a week. Also, I don’t do scheduled de-loads, so my body really needs a break after a meet.
Hey, thanks everyone, latecomers welcome.
Harry, you did notice my comment that I was the only contestant in the Grandmaster 220# and Novice 220#? Technically, my plaques are little more than Participation Ribbons. What I took away was 1. I did it, and 2. by my standards, I was a f$*%@ing bull, pulling better than I dared hope. So I consider it a success. (Oh, and I’m 54. Does feel strange, like things are just beginning.)
Snap, good point. I was on such a high it didn’t occur to me most people take it easy after a meet. A few thoughts. First, I could have lifted at least another 10# on the last lift, so possibly wasn’t enough to wear me out. I felt absolutely great afterwards - amazingly, my back had no pain or twinges whatever. Second, I’m still doing modest weights in the gym, volume and lo intense, so it might not be as brutal as it seems. Third, when I started many years ago, I was so puny that every single exercise was a max effort. In high school, the warmup calithensics in PE were gut-busting, teeth-gritting intense. So I got used to it as a way of training, probably throwing me off on how to react to max work. I’ve been watching others in the gym work without driving themselves into hysterics and trying to learn how to train without landing in the ER. Your advice is always welcome.
No they aren’t.
If you had bombed out you would not have gotten a total and would not have won your division.
[quote]JoeGood wrote:
No they aren’t.
If you had bombed out you would not have gotten a total and would not have won your division. [/quote]
Joe, you lost me. What aren’t what?