SPF 2nd Annual Lifting for a Miracle
First off, this was an absolute blast. Easily the most fun I’ve ever had competing in anything.
2 Days Out:
-Woke up weighing 228.5. Drank less water and ate less food than normal.
The Day Before:
-Woke up weighing 224.8. Decided I’d go for it and try to get into the 220s.
-Drank a cup of black coffee and 4 oz water. That’s all I had until about 5pm, when I weighed in.
-Weighted in at 221.8. I was pretty much out of fluids at this point. Went into the sauna and tried to sweat for 15 minutes at 115 degrees. Weighed in again at 221.4. Fuck it. I’m in the 242s I guess.
-Lots of fried chicken tenders + fries
-Half gallon of Gatorade + ~25g creatine
-Lenny’s Philly cheesesteak + chips
-A banana + ZMA
-Sleep at 11:30pm
Meet Day:
-Woke up around 6:45, drove to McDonalds to blow out their toilet and for egg McMuffins.
-Only ate one and realized I wasn’t very hungry.
-Supplements: DMAE, Vinpocetine, Fish Oil, Glucosamine, Aspirin, and Caffeine (200mg before, 200mg before deadlift)
-Food throughout: Half gallon of Gatorade, 2 bananas, Chex Mix, Protein + Creatine
Squat:
Warm Up: BARx???, 2x5x135, 3x185, 2x3x225, 3x275, 1x315 (Add Single Prong), 1x365, 2x1x315, 1x365
Warm ups didn’t feel very good at this point. I knew I’d get 405, but 365 felt heavy on my back.
Opener: 405
-Good! Smoked it. Back feels good.
2 Attempt: 455
-Good! Speed work.
3rd Attempt: 500
-Good! Awesome. Hadn’t hit over 475 in like 8 months or something. I buried this really deep too. One of the judges told me later that he wanted to red light me on depth just as a joke. lol
Bench:
Warm Up: BARx???, 5x115, 5x135, 2x3x225, 2x1x275, 1x315
My left pec was bothering me a lot. I’m worried about it at this point. I’m considering just doing my opener.
Opener: 345
-Good! Didn’t hurt it anymore than it already was.
2nd Attempt: 365
-Good! This was a super long grind in the middle. Left thoracic extensors were cramping from the moment he said “press”. I’m surprised I got it. Passed on the next attempt.
Proceeded to try and Rumble Roll my now fucked up extensors.
Deadlift
Warm Up: BARx???, 5x135, 3x185, 3x225, 3x275 (Add Spud Belt), 1x315, 1x365, had some delays, 1x315, 1x365
I felt better on these than the other two warm ups.
Opener: 405
-Good! Speed work.
2nd Attempt: 495
-Good! Another easy one.
3rd Attempt: 555
-Good! This was a 10 lb. PR for conventional and a overall match PR! Also probably the fastest PR I’ve ever gotten on any lift.
I went 8/8 and totaled 1420 in my first meet. Very happy.
There were about 25-30 lifters at this meet. I won a little 1st place medal for the 242 junior class.
This was fucking awesome. The whole thing lasted about 5 hours once we started lifting, but it felt like 2 hours. Everyone there was really helpful and nice. I didn’t expect anything different, that’s what everyone says. Also, I used liquid ammonia for most of the lifts and it seemed to help a good bit. But then again, it was probably more the atmosphere and the crowd than the ammonia.
As amazing as this was, it was also really damn confusing. I hadn’t lifted heavy in 4 weeks because of my back. Last Saturday was the first time I free squatted and pulled 405 since the injury, and neither of those were as easy as 500 and 555 respectively today.
Anyway. I’m very happy with how I performed and I’m super excited for my next opportunity to compete, which may be September. I want to get into the 220s next time and total 1500 at least. Just gotta be healthy.
I’ll put up a video of the lifts tomorrow if I can get out of bed. I’m sure my nervous system is ruined.
