CPU Nationals – March 31, 2014

Woohoo! Just got back home from Ontario and I finally have time and energy to write up a blog post 🙂 

We flew out the Saturday early morning before the meet, and I weighed about 49.7 kg that morning, but I knew I was pretty bloated and whatnot. Was still waterloading a bit that day. For the whole week I drank about 6-7 liters of water, so I cut my water in half on Saturday to 3L, although I’m not sure if I even hit it. I was about 49 kg when we got off the plane, woops, and didn’t eat very much for the rest of the day. Just some chicken, seeds, calorie dense stuff. Went to bed at about 49.

Sunday I woke up about 48.5 kg, which was better than what I was aiming for. Went out for a few hours, came back to the hotel and weighed myself only to realize I had lost just .3 kilos. At my previous meet, I woke up at 50 kg and quickly dropped to 48.5 so I was expecting to drop down below 48 kg easily! I figured I had kind of dehydrated the day before so I wouldn’t be losing much more water weight. At around 6 pm, shit got real and I knew I had to squeeze that last kilo out somehow 😦 but I really wanted to avoid having to sweat it out because that made me feel really weak and my muscles felt like jello last time I did it. Sooooo instead I sucked on a pound of candies and half a pack of gum on and off for a few hours and lost those 1.2 kilos from spitting. It was terrible, and I’m pretty sure I got some cavities that day, but it was a relief to FINALLY see 47.0 on the scale. I spat til I was 46.8 so I could have a bit of dextrose and water before, and to swallow melatonin which was SUPPOSED to help me sleep. Normally it’s hard for me to fall asleep before a meet and that night was no exception, especially being in an unfamiliar place. I went to bed at 10 pm, and didn’t fall asleep til 3 am… it was awful and nerve-wracking. 

Monday, woke up at 46.7, had a bit of water + dextrose + BCAA, and went to weigh in. I felt like 1000x better than I did after I weighed in for my last meet. Openers were 87.5, 52.5, 125. Warming up for squats, they weren’t going as easy as I expected them to feel but smoked my first attempt and that really helped boost my confidence. Went to 92.5 for my second attempt and got that, although it was quite the grind. I lost tightness at the bottom, which tends to happen when I get nervous, but went for 97.5 anyway because I had done that for doubles a couple weeks ago, and I was expecting to hit at least 100 on my squat. The first two lifts, I got 2 whites 1 red because I would kinda pop my knees at the top of my squat after the head judge said the squat command and I guess that’s not allowed (upward bar movement?), even though I got away with it at a local meet. I hit 97.5 but got 1 white, 2 reds, because of the pop thing and also for depth. That reeeeally sucked because I actually managed to keep tight on that one and it felt better than my second attempt… so THAT should have been a second attempt.

Bench press, I figured I had to make up for the missed third squat since I was really counting on a decent squat to help my wilks. 52.5 flew off my chest, for 2 whites 1 red for bum off bench. 57.5 felt really solid, no grind but was tough. 2 reds 1 white for bum off bench 😦 I was STUPID AND DECIDED TO GO FOR 60 EVEN THOUGH I HAD JUST FAILED 57.5 WHICH WAS THE DUMBEST DECISION EVER. Yeah I can’t think very logically when I’m at a meet. I got buried by 60. They also just changed a rule where you can’t change your attempt after you’ve submitted it (except openers and last deadlift) so that also screwed me over. Anyway, confidence was shattered after bench press and I didn’t even want to pull my deadlifts anymore, since it was obvious my wilks was going to be garbage regardless.

Warming up for deadlifts, I hit 110 and it felt REEEEALLY heavy, felt more like what I was opening with. I changed my opener to 115 (I think?) just to make sure I didn’t bomb. But yeah, that was a really crap feeling. My form was completely off for all my deads. I pulled waaay too much with my back and kind of just muscled up all my attempts, which was stupid and useless, as you can see from the lack of deadlift PR’s. Went for 125 on my second, that one was easy. Then 130 after a face full of ammonia and a huge slap on the back, that one was a bit of a grind. What a relief when that was all over. 

I ended up with a 370 wilks, which was extremely disappointing as I hit only really small competition PR’s, and was expecting at least a 400 wilks. The one good thing is I made weight…? Although looking back I should have just said fuck it for the last kilo. I’ll be competing in BCPA Provincials in June, to redeem myself hopefully. Am going to be shooting for that 400 wilks and 135+ pull. I will most definitely NOT be competing in 47 this time around, and maybe ever again if my wilks is better in 52, even as a light 52. My competitions PR’s seem to have stalled and I’m thinking it’s time to move up a weight class. It’s been a year since I’ve been trying for that solid 3 white lights 300 lb pull and it just hasn’t happened, GRRRR. Just gotta learn from this competition and make damn sure I don’t repeat my mistakes again (and thank goodness this isn’t my last year in Junior)! I even told myself before the cut, to just say screw it if the weight wouldn’t come off, but obviously the lack of carbs made me lose all logic. 

Training: March 17, 2014

http://instagram.com/p/lq3b0uTUOq/

Finally a not terrible day at the gym. I did my 3×3 on squats, surprised myself with the weight I was able to handle despite the squats feeling pretty crap. I felt solid during my 185 and 195 triples but 205 my legs felt like jello and I couldn’t keep tight. My hip also cramped up a couple times during my sets which was odd, it’s never happened before during squats. It’s cramped during bench before but not for a while.
The weight cut couldn’t get much worse. Have been on really low cals the past month and fairly low carb too, yet I’ve lost like a pound, maybe 2? I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong. Same thing has happened at my last two meets – might as well not have even gone through a “cutting” cycle since I never seem to lose anything. It’s really frustrating working my ass off and feeling like crap most days for nothing 😡

Back squat – 205x3x3
Bench press – 115x5x2
30 min of low intensity cardio

Training: March 6 & 8, 2014 + Physio apt

http://instagram.com/p/lOqHV1TUH2/

Thursday was deadlift day, and despite being fatigued like crazy and carb depleted (or at least it felt that way), I managed to get through all my sets without missing any reps, woohoo!! My first two sets felt great, and speed was good too. But towards my last reps, bar felt like it was slowing down and of course, my back took over because it likes to do that with everything… even bench….

Yesterday was a rest day and I visited the physio again to figure out my shoulder/bicep/elbow problem(s). It seems like before, when my shoulder was popping, I was shoving my elbows under the bar and completely unflexing my lats. The physio also said my traps/rear delts are not big enough to provide me a good shelf for squatting. Yes, I was told I’m too small. DO I EVEN?! As for the elbow bicep thing, widening my grip out by an inch and going over how to properly flex my lats seemed to help lots. So now I have lots of rehab work to get those muscles firing properly and to strengthen them as they are super weak.
Today was heavyish bench, light squat day. Missed a ton of reps and weight for my bench. Was supposed to do 120x5x5 but ended up going down to 110 after only getting 3 at 120, 4 at 115, then had to swallow my pride and lower the weight even more. Felt like total garbage today. Actually, that sounds just about like every day lately. Stupid cut. And despite the high intensity cardio and pretty much halving my carbs I haven’t lost any real weight. It’s just so wonderful… At this point, I’m still about 3 kg above my weight class, and I refuse to water cut any more than 2 kg or whatever comes off the day before. I WILL NOT sweat in a hot bath again. If I need to, I guess I’ll just lift as a “light” 52 kg… so disappointing. I just had a bit of a carb load today, hence why I’m competent enough to write a post that kind of makes sense.

Thursday:
Deadlift – 240x5x5
Deficit deadlift – 185x3x5
Curls with floss bands
HIIT 10 minutes, 30 sec sprint, 1 min walk

Saturday:
Bench press – 120x1x3, 115x1x4, 110x3x5
Safety squat bar – 160x6x2
Bench with mini bands, help me stay tight on the descent – 3×5
Bench negatives, same goal as bands – 115×1, 125×1, 135×1, got crushed by 145 lolz.

Training: March 4, 2014 –

http://instagram.com/p/lJrrm_TUMJ/

I switched to squatting with the safety squat bar, probably until after nationals 😥 It sucks training squat in a style I won’t compete in, but it’s all I can do for now, and better than not doing anything. Monday, I tried back squatting with my wrists completely straight to keep my lats better engaged, and it really messed with my elbow, and my biceps felt very similar to how they felt when I ran smolovs. This time though it’s really bad and in BOTH biceps. I also tried benching, which was a terrible idea as it just irritated my elbows again, after getting through my safety squats without any problems!!

Safety Squat – 165x5x5

Lats, abs

Training: March 1, 2014

http://instagram.com/p/lBk5ZqTUDr/

Did heavy bench and form work for squats today. Bench was a bit of a struggle. Last week I got buried by 115 ( on the first rep D: ) so I figured to go for 5×5 instead of my original 6×6. Was only able to manage the first set for 5’s, but at least I didn’t get crushed again. My descent felt very off. Wasn’t able to keep my lats tight at all so the bar was kind of just falling down. Good to know I can muscle up 115 a few times 😉 I started doing pull ups between each set, which I think helped a bit, because each set felt better and better, despite getting fewer reps lol.
Squats felt really good too. Was able to keep my lats and upper back really tight throughout each rep. BUUUUUTTT…. there’s always a but… my elbow/bicep is really aggravated again and it’s still kinda hurting the day after. A very dull pain in my bicep. I guess keeping my lats really tight forces me to keep my wrists really straight and elbows less flared out, which I think really irritates my elbow/wrist. After each set my wrists felt like garbage, and had to roll out my bicep to get it to feel normal. The exact same thing happened when I was running Smolovs last year. Hopefully the physio can help me figure out how to fix it.

Bench press – 115x1x5, 3×4, 1×3
Pull ups – 4×3
Back squats – 185x6x2

Training: February 24-26, 2014

http://instagram.com/p/k6QfK_zUMO/

Ooops looks like I’ve been falling behind on blogging.

24th – Squats + physio:
The physio figured out that I tend to completely relax my lats when I squat, when the weight gets really heavy. I worked really hard to try to overcome that habit, so I can protect my shoulder. Imagining bending the bar over my back really helps. I’ve heard that said many many times and I always thought I was doing it right… apparently not. Struggled through my sets. They all felt like I was half squatting them. I filmed a set and they were surprisingly to parallel.
Back squats – 5×5

25th – Bench:
Ugh this was my worst bench day ever, no exaggeration. It was like a I time traveled to 3 months ago, when I could barely bench 115. I’ve done 115 on my worst days, and recently did 115x6x4. So I was supposed to do 115x6x2 as a form day…. yeaaah that didn’t happen. The weights were feeling heavy, but I didn’t expect I’d get buried by 115. Like it didn’t even move off my chest. This was a very disappointing day.
Bench press – 105x6x2

26th – Deadlifts:
Today I trained later than usual which might have contributed to my extreme exhaustion when I lifted? Also, the fact I was actual fairly strict with what I ate over the past weekend. The weight cut is getting serious now! Anyway, at least I got through my sets – but with a lot of struggling.
Deadlifts – 225x5x5

Physio and pinched nerve (?!)

Visited the physio today about the popping in my shoulder. She thinks it’s from tightness in my shoulder, on the back part of it, I forget the name :S so now I need to take til Monday off. . UGHHHH I hate going to the gym and watching people lift when I can’t 😡 This entire week has pretty much been a write off… 5 weeks before nationals…

Oh and to make things better (NOT), I was doing some light stretching for my hips and decided to roll my lower back like I usually do, and now I think I have a pinched nerve. I went to stand up after rolling and it felt like someone was stabbing me in the low back and I was going to collapse.. Stupid… I hope it gets better by tomorrrow.

Tuesday’s lame training:

Front squats 115x2x5, 125x1x5

RDL

Training; February 17, 2014 – Squa…Deadlift I mean D:

http://instagram.com/p/kjC4BETUFK/

So I was supposed to squat my 185x6x5 today, worked up to 175×5 and my shoulder popped midway, and it kind of hurt/tingled after that. I tried wrapping my shoulder with voodoo floss, which somewhat helped, but after the second set I decided to leave it for another day, after I’ve seen a physio 😥 … blegh ruined my training plans. But I guess plans were made to be ditched…
I was very frustrated and pulled my first 245 triple in a semi-rage hehe… I don’t like to lift mad but it seemed to help this time. 245 for triples has never felt easier, so of course I couldn’t stay mad for long! Randy dug into my scapula area, and I think it’s super tight/really knotted because it’s pretty tender, which I know in other parts of my upper back has usually meant some crazy knots I need to work out. I REEEEALLLY hope that’s what it is.

Deadlift – 245x3x3
Deficit DL – 185x2x3, 185x3x5 (STUPID GYM, NOT ENOUGH SPACE TO DO ALL MY GOD DAMN REPS. JEEZ PEOPLE, DON’T COME HERE JUST BECAUSE YOU FEEL BAD FOR BINGE DRINKING ALL READING BREAK)
DB Rows – 40x3x8
Lat pull downs, curls, cardio (how embarrassing)

Training: February 13, 2014 – Deadlifts

http://instagram.com/p/kYpPiJzUET/

Did a very easy 225x4x4 for my deadlifts today 🙂 I’m really happy with my speed, although I feel like I’m still using my back a bit more than I’d like. My back is always very very fatigued after my sets, even though I consider the amount of set/reps I did today on the low end! Randy said to keep the volume for my deads considerably low so I can do more volume for my accessory work. I started doing deficits, as my sticking point now seems to be off the floor… which sucks. I liked having a higher sticking point as it doesn’t mess with my confidence as much.

I cleaned up my diet this week (yay Quest bars!!), started carb back loading which is actually very easy right now due to my desk job, and started doing some boring as eff cardio, 15-30 mins each day after training, low intensity steady state. I started at about 9 pounds over my weight class, about 112, so I’m hoping to get down to 108 and water cut the rest. This is the heaviest I’ve ever been… ugggghhh. I swear everytime I do smolovs, including smolovs junior, I’ve gained like a permanent 2 pounds. I need to remember to weigh myself after the gym, or when I get home from work on rest days, because I know I’m bloated in the mornings from all the carb/salt I eat before bed 🙂

Deadlifts – 225x4x4
Deficit DL – 185x3x5
RDL – 165x3x8
Pull ups – 3×3
Power shrugs – 205x3x5

Training: February 12, 2014 – WTF my shoulder is popping during squats?!

http://instagram.com/p/kWFVzdzUMq/

Ok so squats were feeling AMAZING today, I got through all my sets/reps beltless, and with decent speed and good form as well! ….THEN my shoulder start popping midway through my sets. It wasn’t painful or anything, but it just felt weird and it’s never happened before. It would pop for each rep (except my first one) as I came out of the hole. I did narrow my grip on the bar today, but it wasn’t uncomfortable or anything. The bar felt so much more stable when I narrowed my grip. And I tried widening it out, but the popping still happened! So weird…. I reeeeeeally hope it goes away the next time I squat. Anyway, after that I did some light front squats. Light enough not to fatigue my legs too much, but heavy enough to work my core and teach me to keep upright. I find front squats have worked miracles on my squat form. Since I started seriously incorporating them into my training, I have stopped failing from falling forward on my squat 🙂

Back squat – 185x6x4
Front squat w/ 1 second pause – 95x5x5
Chest supported DB Rows (?) – 25x3x12
Abs