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| The Master's Check List for Peak Lifts! I was already to blow away my all time Masters Bench press in the 54-60- 308 class in the WABDL World Record breakers in Pasco Washington in May...Yes, the same meet that Ryan Kennelly benched 768 as a guest lifter...The same contest where George Nelson came down to the 242's and still hit 518 ..Another beautifully promoted contest By Gus Rethwisch, a perfect place for record setting ..I was really ready in the gym I'd been hitting 445 for easy singles over and over weeks before the contest--in the Hammer Bench press I was doing 6 plates a side, And in my 10 inch partials from a dead stop in the rack I was hitting 405 (shirtless) for sets of 3 reps and 5 sets...I was on fire for this meet --I was learning how to push the bar out..instead of back over my face it was gonna be at least a 462 pr and World Record for me no doubt.... Fast Forward...Meet day... I got 435 and it felt challenging... 446 was nearly there but still not the feather it HAD been in the gym..What happened??? You WANT to know because this has happened to you too and after the excuses like.. "I drove 7 hours in hot weather..and I had lotsa beers the night before maybe I was weakened..I helped other guys before my flight..that made my focus less sharp..I had a stranger Hand off.. the uprights were too high..." after all those excuses fall to the floor like so much dander --You stop and wonder WHEN will I ever be this strong again..how come I blew it? --no excuses..what was it? and what can I do to make sure it doesnt happen again?? CHECKLIST What kind of bench do you use in the gym?? And what kind is provided in your favorite Lifting federation?? -- hmmn--- I lift on a low unpadded bench in the gym..I can really dig in--as a matter of fact the 2 times I've achieved 450 in competition--it's been on LOW hard benches ...and the Day of the "Monster" meet I was on a High very THICK padded Forza bench a beauty of a bench for those who hump the bar and lift their butts..because the 5 inches of padding follows their asses up and daylight is never seen..Where as I'm arching to the sky but feel awkward and from the side I appear to be lying flat cuz I'm drowning in padding...So what do you do ? Boycott your federation because their benches dont suit you?? NOPE !! you start working on the closest thing you can find in your gym that is like your meet day bench..the gym I train in has a high padded (3 inches) bench..It would behoove me to switch to that bench when training for a National or World WABDL meet...because these meets are the best in every way. Hey, I'm hitting 445 every heavy day EASILY?? Wait !! maybe I'm not.... when is the last time I've weighed the plates and bars in my gym..what if my 445 is 430 and I'm deluding myself with gym Pig iron..2 years ago I went to a gym where one of USAPL's best women lifters trains and throws around amazing weights..the day I was there i put 25 lbs on my bench..and I KNOW it was because of light plates...405 felt like 370 ! .But what if the weights are right on?? ---OK when the weight gets to say 420 in a meet..do the loaders use one hundreds?? (Both meets where I achieved 450 --They used 45's) In the World record breakers the plates were Huns' and the center of gravity is moved closer in...so Check list item--train with Hundreds close to the meet to see if that is throwing you off at meet time --be prepared !! Have you run out of some supplement and not bothered to get some more?? --I know I've always been wary of health food store items..we know our Glutamine and Creatine are pretty much "for real" items...but what if up to a meet you're "trying" ZMA -Tribulus-Tyrosine and Alpha Lipoic acid ..and for instance you run out of Tyrosine..and you think --ahh what's the difference..I'm not sure what was working in that arsenal anyway...and this MSM, it's not for making me strong anyway..I'll just 'can it' til after the meet...and for some reason you dont have much zip on meet day...well, by now you know it makes sense to keep doing what's been working close to a meet..you can go off the health food store stuff later --but not near the meet... And if you dont sleep well in hotels and you aid yourself to sleepyland with too much alcohol (or ANY in most cases) you'll find that can take out the "life force" and replace it with laughing gas when you try to fire the prime movers to get that bench or dead going.. The purpose of this article is to not make excuses for why we didn't get the record...It's a map for you to trace what might have happened in your case to make you realize why the the BIG lift didn't go --and what to do so you dont repeat the action again. Be your own detective and train past the pitfalls of training, and examine realistically the hidden causes for weights that go BUMP in the meet ! |
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