Wolf's Log: From Cub to Direwolf

[wk105]

PRs all round! Very impressive, especially in those conditions. Well done.

[Walter Palmer]

Congrats on the PR's! Sounds like a very solid performance in less than ideal conditions. And, no injuries! That is huge and means you will be chasing those bigger numbers the balance of the year. I see a 1,655 for you in December, I think. But, remember the Chinese years run into January so you still have some time on the YotW.

[HamptonMike]

18lb PR on the DL after your back issues sounds pretty good! Nice grind on the bench as well. YotW indeed

[Mark Edward]

"Oh no! I only did better than I've ever done before! I was horrible!"

Jelly of that bench and deadlift.

[Michael Wolf]

Thanks Chad, Will, Walter (Still more time for YotW!), Mike, and Mark.

So I was thinking about this last night and today. You never really hear the people who we consider true champions complaining about the conditions in which they competed. They take the burden on their shoulders and bear full responsibility for their performance. We often even see this in team sports, where a game's outcome is influenced by factors beyond that one superstar's performance, yet the star still takes responsibility for his entire team and doesn't make excuses.

So on one hand, I wonder if it's lame to even discuss meet conditions. They'll never be ideal, anyway, and it's just a cop out.

On the other hand, I think of things in a very logical, rational way and the fact is that both physiologically and mentally, the conditions in which we all competed in yesterday were sub-optimal in a way that went beyond the normal fluctuations in comfort level and perfect conditions you usually deal with at a meet. I suspect my 2.5 hours sleep probably affected me more than any of the other stuff, but waiting 20+ minutes between attempts, and then nearly 3 hours between one lift and the next, all in brutally hot, humid conditions definitely took some toll as well. This is all completely aside from the issues that arose in the last few weeks of training and the back tweak of two weeks ago that, in all honesty, I didn't feel at all yesterday, but was certainly noticeable and present to some extent even still on Saturday.

So I'm trying to think of it this way: I meet PR'd everything, and I squeezed as much as I could out of what I had that day. Under better circumstances, I think I had a good bit more in me; my estimate is 20-30# on squat, 5-10# on bench, and 30-60# on DL. I will have to compete again and add the gains I make during my next cycle to them. This isn't meant as an excuse, just acknowledging the conditions of the day. So, I haven't yet shown that I am beyond a 1585 total, but I'm pretty damn sure I am.

I actually don't think a 1700 is out of the question in the next 6 months or so. I wouldn't quite expect it, but it's certainly within the realm of possibility if training goes well and I compete in normal circumstances. That's also with a deadlift bar. I am considering moving over to USAPL, in which case my DL expectations would be lesser. But I do all of my training on a 29mm stiff bar anyway, so it's not like it would change anything I do. It's just that I know I'm not capable of pulling 700 on a stiff bar right now, whereas on a DL bar on a good day, I'm pretty confident I could.


So, we will see. Waiting to get some vids from Rori and I'll put together a meet vid.

[idlehands]

RPS annihilation in october. EH? EHHH? EH? Where are the USAPL meets in new england? Albany, Pine Bush, and NJ?

[Michael Wolf]

October is a busy month for us. Coaches' conference and SS Seminar in Brooklyn. Even if it's not a conflicting weekend, I can't take another weekend off work.

USAPL does a meet in New Brunswick every October, I think. The first meet I was going to do was going to be a USAPL in Pine Bush in May, 2012, but they cancelled it on short notice, as I recall. That's how I ended up doing RPS meets, actually.

[Dwayne_KONG_Wint]

There's always the InsurreXtion if you like the CFSI venue. Its much cooler in the fall. LOL.

You did a great job Wolf. Wish I could've seen you guys' deadlifts. That bench was a fight but well worth it.

[Rob Israel]

I was in the middle of the long reply about meet dates, and hit the back button. Maybe later.

In the meantime I just wanted to say nice job at the meet and congrats on the PR's. Sure under better circumstances you could have had more (and maybe you left a good bit of weight on the platform for the DL) but all things considered, you went 9/9 and PR'ed the shit of the meet. Hopefully the stars will align next time and you'll really able to shine and put up that huge total you are so hungry for.

Great work!

[Michael Wolf]

There's always the InsurreXtion if you like the CFSI venue. Its much cooler in the fall. LOL.

Honestly, I really don't like CFSI for meets - at least not meets the size of RPS meets. It's a great place to train and the owner is such a great guy, but the bathroom situation and size of the venue makes it less than ideal for meets with more than about 30 lifters, IMO. ~65 lifters (including bench only and ironman) in one session on Sunday was out of control. Lifting with the team is awesome, but I've preferred every other RPS venue I've been to in terms of having proper size, changing areas, bathrooms, etc. It seems like RPS is the only show in town on Long Island, so I expect every meet they hold there will be over-sold out. Not sure I want to deal with a situation like that again. Rip certainly thinks we shouldn't.

You did a great job Wolf. Wish I could've seen you guys' deadlifts. That bench was a fight but well worth it.

Thanks man. It's funny how 360 and 385 looks like warm-ups, literally, and 405 was an all out grind.

In the meantime I just wanted to say nice job at the meet and congrats on the PR's. Sure under better circumstances you could have had more (and maybe you left a good bit of weight on the platform for the DL) but all things considered, you went 9/9 and PR'ed the shit of the meet. Hopefully the stars will align next time and you'll really able to shine and put up that huge total you are so hungry for.

Great work!

Thanks Rob. I'm hungry for a total that I feel really reflects my training progress. I'm glad I got a 100# meet PR, but I'm not satisfied because I didn't feel I was able to express the progress I've made in training. I'm very hungry to do that.