Missed 2nd and 3rd Attempts on Squat

Training Powerlifting
1

Ok this is my very first postâ??ï¸?

Last weekend I didn’t do so well at the meet. I ran a 10 week cycle and my last inject was 2 1/2 weeks before. I thought I would be able to hold onto my stregth for 2 weeks but this was not the case. 2 weeks prior I hit a PR on squat 495lbs @196lbs. Over the next 2 weeks I cut down to 181 and my first attempt on squat was 455… Felt heavy but nailed it. Next I went for 480 and then wanted to get 500 for my last. Unfortunately I missed 480 then tried again and failed even worse! I ended up benching 340 and pulling 500 but was super bummed about squats.

For my next meet I was thinking about running a 6 week cycle of test C. And run Var with it for 3 weeks leading up to the meet (the meet being on the 6th week) any thoughts on this?
2

I have never ran a cycle but seriously, cutting 15 lb is a fair bit regardless of going off cycle. Additionally, did your form change between the gym and the meet?

3

Losing 15lbs in 2 weeks might explain 97% of it. I am not sure about the other 3% though. That has me puzzled.

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[quote]arramzy wrote:
I have never ran a cycle but seriously, cutting 15 lb is a fair bit regardless of going off cycle. Additionally, did your form change between the gym and the meet?[/quote]
No, form was the same. I felt confident with the weight on my back but on the way up I completely ran out of steam. The strength was just not there anymore. In the future I don’t plan on ever wanting to lose that much weight again haha I’m staying pretty constant at 185 now so if I can hold that till my next meet in April I shouldn’t have to worry about losing that much weight off my total.

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Extreme weight loss changes leverages (particularly 15lbs in 2 weeks). Could be a strength loss issue from cutting. Combination of both.

Have you tried to cut this drastically before and had success?

Lack of water is also an issue - dehydration

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TC, I went through a very similar transition as you, going from 202 to 181 to hit a 501 squat on my third attempt, but I cut that weight over 3 MONTHS, not 2 weeks. I don’t have any understanding of how steroids work, but from my experience with simply cutting weight, it has to be gradual so your body has a chance to adjust and retain strength.

Additionally, I dieted down to walking around at about 188 and cut 7lbs of water the day of weigh ins rather than walking around at 181, and the morning of the comp woke back up at 188. It helps to be able to hold as much weight as possible.

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[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
TC, I went through a very similar transition as you, going from 202 to 181 to hit a 501 squat on my third attempt, but I cut that weight over 3 MONTHS, not 2 weeks. I don’t have any understanding of how steroids work, but from my experience with simply cutting weight, it has to be gradual so your body has a chance to adjust and retain strength.

Additionally, I dieted down to walking around at about 188 and cut 7lbs of water the day of weigh ins rather than walking around at 181, and the morning of the comp woke back up at 188. It helps to be able to hold as much weight as possible.[/quote]

Cutting 15 lbs in 3 months is much different than in two weeks. I went from 164, to 145 in about 3 months in early 2012 for climbing but gained lifting strength, then gained back up to a stable 149-151. Can I ask how you dropped the 7lbs of water weight just for weigh in? When i compete in the USAPL bench nationals in august,I have to make 66kg, not 67.5kg. BTW, love your blog, discovered it just a few days ago.

8

[quote]Ecchastang wrote:

[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
TC, I went through a very similar transition as you, going from 202 to 181 to hit a 501 squat on my third attempt, but I cut that weight over 3 MONTHS, not 2 weeks. I don’t have any understanding of how steroids work, but from my experience with simply cutting weight, it has to be gradual so your body has a chance to adjust and retain strength.

Additionally, I dieted down to walking around at about 188 and cut 7lbs of water the day of weigh ins rather than walking around at 181, and the morning of the comp woke back up at 188. It helps to be able to hold as much weight as possible.[/quote]
Cutting 15 lbs in 3 months is much different than in two weeks. I went from 164, to 145 in about 3 months in early 2012 for climbing but gained lifting strength, then gained back up to a stable 149-151. Can I ask how you dropped the 7lbs of water weight just for weigh in? When i compete in the USAPL bench nationals in august,I have to make 66kg, not 67.5kg. BTW, love your blog, discovered it just a few days ago.[/quote]

Thank you for reading the blog, much appreciated.

The gradual weight loss does make a big difference. I was able to hold onto my strength at the end while losing a good amount of fat.

Cutting the water weight wasn’t hard. I took the day off work and wore a ton of layers, with a sauna suit as a base layer. I then sat around watching TV and spitting in a cup while sweating my ass off, and dropped about 5lbs that way. I ended up needing to walk on the treadmill for 45 minutes to get out the last 2lbs, but had I done a better job of layering and breaking a sweat earlier in the day, I could have avoided that. Ideally, when cutting for a meet, I want to do as little physical activity as possible to avoid cramping up and being exhausted. It’s not like when I was in wrestling, I have to conserve all of my strength.

Oh yeah, and of course, no food or water that day until after the weigh in, and the night before I had a liquid meal of protein shakes rather than solid food.