Maxing Out After 10 Weeks as a TSAthlete!

My first block of powerlifting training as a TSAthlete is all wrapped up as of last week, and I finally got a chance to get under the bar for some honest max effort attempts to base my new training cycle around. We structured my max effort day similarly to a meet day, giving me three attempts at each lift before moving on.

I was incredibly nervous during all my attempts because this is the first training cycle that I did not train very close to my maxes. 

Now onto the numbers (in lbs).

Squat

1st attempt: 250 - Pretty easy

2nd attempt: 270 - Struggled a bit

3rd attempt: 280 - Easier than my second

I still had more in the tank after squatting, but we took into consideration that I had two other lifts to focus my efforts on, so we stopped here. Depth looked great, well past parallel on all of the lifts, which has been my main focus this last training cycle since my meet squats have notoriously been red lighted for depth. 

Bench Press

1st attempt: 130 - Easy lift

2nd attempt: 140 - Flew up, lifetime PR

3rd attempt: 155 - Failed :(

4th attempt: 145 - Went up slightly grindy, lifetime PR

I was a bit bummed to miss my third attempt, but that was just impulsive attempt selection, since the 140 flew up so easily. We made a mental note to be more conservative next time, and Coach Hani decided to give me a fourth which I obviously wouldn't get at a meet, but for setting up my next training cycle I think 145 is a fair number. 

Deadlift

1st attempt: 315 - Felt off, saw stars.

2nd attempt: 335 - Felt okay, went up fine

3rd attempt: 340 - Solid max effort lift, PR

My deadlifts definitely aren't advancing as fast as they used to, but I'll take a 5lb PR any day. I'm really happy about having 8/9 successful lifts, although you never really know if those lifts would have passed at a meet until you're actually there being judged. We finished out the day with a 760 total, or 765 if you count the fourth attempt bench press. 

I'm very happy with where I am with my lifts. I'm confident that most of these would have passed on the platform, and a lot of that has to do with the smart attempt selection by my coach. I'll be participating in the USPA Camp Pendleton Open again in 2015 which falls on January 10th, and I'm hoping to work up to a solid 800lb total by then. 

We are officially 10 weeks out!

Until next time!

The Importance of Good Coaching

Everyone likes to think that they know best. We live in a society that breeds narcissism. The modern selfie has become an ego's necessity; 100 likes later, your sense of self returns to homeostasis, but make sure you post another one within 48 hours, or else you'll go hypo-selfiemic.

Hey, it's me! 

I've dubbed this the #melfie. 

I like to think it's clever; it's probably not.

This makes it hard to admit that you need some proper guidance. After all, you've been making progress, right? You've gotten stronger, more muscular, leaner, and you're able to do things that you weren't able to do a year ago. But now that you've flown past the newbie stage of lifting, you find that your progress has stalled, you're spinning your wheels, and the gains don't come as easily. How can you face instagram knowing full well that you have nothing new to show the interwebs?

Not to worry, that's what a coach is for. And I'm officially announcing that I've taken the plunge.

I've been pretty apprehensive about hiring someone to do my training and nutrition program. I've had very lackadaisical coaching in the past, and with the amount of free information out there, I didn't feel that it was necessary to pay someone to tell me what I *think* I already I know.

The more I researched, the more I realized how little I actually do know. And the more I realized that the progress I'm making can increase exponentially with proper guidance and a good eye along with a caring heart.

The trend that most intrigued me in my research for a coach, is that most coaches have coaches. To me, this means that even though these individuals know their field well, they still find comfort in having another set of eyes watching them and not allowing them to slack off. If a coach truly believes in the value of coaching, then it only makes sense that they lead by example.

I'll be posting update videos for my coach on YouTube with some general stats every week. It should turn out to be a fun little mini-series transformation. The goal is to lose roughly 18 lbs in 18 weeks while maintaining or increasing strength. My current competition stats:

@148lbs

Squat: 242

Bench: 126

Deadlift: 336

Total: 705

There is a USAPL meet that I will consider doing in February of 2015. I'm confident that I can add 45lbs to my total by then, I just need to fix my form. I'm training to go deeper with every squat, and I'm working on paused reps with my bench press. And since USAPL has different rules for benching than I'm accustomed to, I will have to switch from benching on my toes to benching flat-footed. Goodbye, arch gains! Yikes!

>> Subscribe to my YouTube channel here! <<

Until next time.

The Metroflex Classic

The USPA meet this past weekend at The Metroflex Gym in Long Beach was a great event to compete in, as well as to spectate. The event was separated into two days, with a cap of 60 lifters each day to make the event go smoothly and more quickly than single-day events. This was the most fun I've ever  had at a meet, mostly due to being surrounded by friends and family who really showed their support. I'm very appreciative to everyone who came out!

 Strength Society at Metroflex

 Tina Daneshmand, top female raw lifter in 105lb class

Greg Khoudikian pulling 705lbs at 220lbs

CT Fletcher showing support at his home gym

Now let's get down to the numbers:

Squat

1st attempt: 242. Two white lights. One red for depth. Got my first attempt on the board so I'm happy!

2nd attempt: 265. Two red lights for depth. 

3rd attempt: 270. Two red lights. One for depth, the other for up/down movement.

It was a bit disappointing to miss both my second and third attempts, but I was happy that I didn't fail any of these squats. My squat training hadn't been going well over the last several weeks, so squatting 270 was a gym PR at this body weight. My previous meet PR was 259@165, and 165@148. This meet gave me a 77lb PR at 148lbs.

Bench Press

1st attempt: 115. Easy. Three white lights. We're in!

2nd attempt: 126. Two white lights! One red for up/down movement. This was a major grinder.

3rd attempt: 132. Three reds for up/down movement. Locked it out, though!

I've had a bone to pick with the bench press for quite a while now. I was so stoked to get all of these lifts in, even though I got redlighted on my last attempt. To be honest, that second attempt should definitely have been redlighted as well, since there definitely was up/down movement looking back at the video. But sometimes the judges make unfair calls that go both ways. It was such a grinder that I didn't even want to take my third attempt, but surprisingly, the third went up way smoother. This was an all time bench press PR of 11lbs at 148.

Deadlift

1st attempt: 319. Three white lights. Went up like buttah.

2nd attempt: 336. Three white lights! Form was way off, but I completed the lift.

3rd attempt: 348. Three reds. Failed lift. Sadface!

Looking bad at the footage, my deadlift form was way off, which is something I'll need to be working on in the upcoming months. 336lbs is an all-time meet PR for me, but I was really hoping to get that 348 which would have been a CA state deadlift-only record.

At the end of the meet, I got 5/9 successful lifts. I learned a lot, and got to see some really strong people push some incredible weight! I finished it out with a 705 total, which has been a long term goal of mine.

In the next several months that I take off from powerlifting, I will be working toward becoming a better lifter and smarter competitor before stepping on the platform again.

Until next time!

Powerlifting & Figure Competitions!

Since the Camp Pendleton Open, I had decided to focus my efforts with my diet and training toward bodybuilding so I can get down to a weight that will help me be stronger pound for pound, as well as give me the opportunity to step on stage as a figure competitor some time in late 2014 or early 2015.

But as always, once you're bit by the iron bug, it's hard to shake it, so I am now officially 9 days out from my third powerlifting meet. This time we're back at Metroflex in Long Beach, where I started my journey.

I felt a bit obligated to do this meet so that I could have a sense of closure from this year's training. I didn't even break 600@148 at my first meet, so it would be nice to close off the year by breaking 700@148, which is a decent amount to have added to my lifts in these past 9 months. My main goal is going to be to hit all of my lifts. Nothing fancy, just going in, getting the experience, and enjoying myself. I'm not planning to compete in powerlifting for a very long time after this meet.

One thing I've been trying to do leading up to this meet, is to really hammer in bench technique. My bench press is my weakest lift, so it's been really important to get in and just press over and over until I found my groove.

It's been really tough, but what I found to help was to use my leverages to my advantage, try to get a deep arch, and set my grip wide so that I have a shorter range of motion. This way I'm moving the weight a shorter distance, for less time under the bar, which will help put weight on the bar.

As always, I'll post an update after the meet with the numbers I put up, and hopefully I'll have some videos to go along with it.

Until next time.

Camp Pendleton Open

Strength Society

My crew had been working hard for four months leading up to this meet in Camp Pendleton. Everything had gone according to plan, except for the fact that I was fifteen (15!) lbs over my competition weight, and I got deathly ill the week leading up to the meet, all the way through meet day.

But that wasn't going to stop me.

I had decided early on that I was going to go up a weight class, but that I was going to go into the meet as light as possible. After losing only a pound in the sauna the night before weigh-ins, I decided it would be healthier for me to be sipping on pedialyte so that I would have some chance against whatever flu has been going around.

At a body weight of about 156, I entered the competition excited to hit some PRs.

I was one of the first flights up. There were two competition platforms, so a few of the guys were also up first on the next platform over. The nerves were getting the best of me. I was pale as a ghost, nauseous, and could not focus on my lifts, so after a not-so-successful final warm-up set, Tyler, who had been helping me all the way up to the meet, decided to drop my opener down a bit to get my first lift in.

Squat

1st attempt: 225. Redlighted for depth

2nd attempt: 225. Two white lights. Knees not fully locked out at start of squat

3rd attempt: 259. Three white lights. Woo!

So then we waited around a bit, grabbed a bite, found a change of clothes. I told the guys to give me a call once warm-ups started for bench press. Somehow we lost track of time, and I found myself walking into the gym as they were calling me up. No time to warm-up, had to drop my opener down.

Bench Press

1st attempt: 110. Three white lights. We're in!

2nd attempt: 132. Three reds. Couldn't get it up.

3rd attempt: 132. Three reds. No lift. 

Without a proper warm-up, I realize now I should have been a bit more conservative with my attempt selections on the bench, especially seeing as that's always been my weaker lift, and I wasn't doing so well in the health department. Still in the game, though! Waited around for deadlifts, decreased my opener once more. Better safe than sorry.

Deadlift

1st attempt: 297. Three white lights. Phew!

2nd attempt: 325. Three white lights! Time for a PR...

3rd attempt: 341. Two Reds. Hitched at the top. No PR. Sadface!

At the end of the meet, I got 5/9 successful lifts. I learned a lot, and got to see some really strong people push some incredible weight! I finished it out with a 694 total which got me 2nd place in the 165 class, which isn't bad after such a giant screw up on the bench. I was a bit shy of my personal goal of 700, but I know I'll get it. It's just a matter of time. There's still a lot of room for improvement in my methods as well as my attempt selection. 

I'm really proud of my team. We came in strong and took home four medals. After all this hard work, we've gotten a lot closer, and we've become like family. 

...But Winter will pass, and Summer will be here before we know it, so it's time to get shredded. 

Here is a vlog update on what I think of the strength program I followed leading up to the meet, and what my training will look like in the future. 

Until next time!

Countdown to Camp Pendleton!!

COUNTINGDOWNTO.COM

Squat Progress

This past Sunday marked the end of the first half of my Madcow 5x5 training cycle. I've been making good progress on my lifts, and the squats on Sunday felt really easy so I went for a PR with a bit of coaxing from the team. Here are some videos:

180x5

210x3

A bit dark, but here's my PR vid -- 235x2

Aiming for a 700 lb total at Pendleton in January.

Strength Training

Here's a rundown of my current programming:

Last week, I started my strength training cycle in preparation for a powerlifting meet in the beginning of next year. I decided to go with Madcow 5x5 which is designed for intermediate lifters like myself. It starts off pretty slow the first few weeks using weight we're already used to moving, but once the second month of the program comes along, PRs get smashed weekly.

Taken from: http://stronglifts.com/madcow-5x5-training-programs/

Here are some numbers from my gym max effort lifts vs. meet lifts:

Squat: 230 vs. 165

Bench: 120 vs. 115

Deadlift: 285 vs. 297

Yeah, my squats completely bombed. That's nerves for ya. 

I'm currently doing my working sets at 180x5 for squats, 100x5 for bench, and 240x5 for deadlifts. By the end of this 12-week cycle, I expect to be doing 235x5 squats, 130x5 bench, and 320x5 deadlifts. I'd be ecstatic with a ~700lb total at the meet.

Set goals and crush them.

Dabbling in Powerlifting

This year has been pretty rocky in terms of programming for my personal nutrition and training. I’m still relatively new to the fitness industry with less than two years under my belt, but have such a strong passion for it that I want to experience all it has to offer as quickly as I can.

What ends up happening to people like me is that we enter a competition blind, thinking we can win with our hearts, and end up being blown out of the water by people who have the time and experience under their belts.

I was fully cognizant of this when I decided a few weeks ago to submit my late application for the USPA SoCal Open Powerlifting meet that was held this past weekend at Metroflex in Long Beach.

It was an extremely tough 10 days leading up to the meet.

My shaky programming had me coming out of a 20 pound weight gain, so I needed to diet down hard to make it into the 148 (67.5 kilo) weight class. I used carb, water, and sodium manipulation to shed those 10 pounds. Oh, and a sauna. That definitely helped too. I felt like absolute hell every minute I was in there, but as soon as I made weight, 10 lbs in 10 days didn’t seem to matter anymore.

The day of the meet, I was greeted by an influx of conflicting emotions. I wasn’t nervous, just incredibly unprepared for what the day would bring. Confusion, excitement, disappointment, exhaustion, and elation were just a few of the many sentiments I experienced in the 12 hours that I was at Metroflex.

The highlight of my day was meeting all of the incredible people there who share my passion. It was such a positive, supportive environment, and you cannot help but feel uplifted from being around so many great athletes who are so committed to their sport, and determined to be better every single day.

I’ve learned so much from my experience this past weekend, and I can’t wait to start training for my next meet. I definitely would advise anyone to go ahead and at the very least watch a meet and see how all of these amazing athletes interact with one another, and how supportive and positive everyone is. It’s truly infectious.

Congratulations to all of the amazing ladies and gentlemen who hit PRs and broke records. I admire everyone who made it out there on Saturday, and I am very thankful for Steve Denison and the USPA for hosting these events.

Until next time.