Originally Posted by
Mark E. Hurling
Hot off the presses. (so to speak)
More learning took place yesterday as well as some humbling experiences. We arrived at the Metroflex Gym at 10:30 with me havng already donned my WFAC T-shirt and singlet with an Old Guys Rule patch emblazoned on the front. It was noisy, crowded, chaotic, and hot. Really hot that got much hotter as the day wore into the afternoon what with only fans to get air moving in the place. It took me 45 minutes to filter out and get acclimated to the chaos and determine that my flight would start squatting at around 12. But not being certain, I warmed up immediately. Which, since I was not sure about timing, had me work in with someone who already had 185 on the bar. Which I lead off with for 5. Then 225 for 4, and since I was opening with 275, I decided to stop. But I did get another guy to check my depth which he said was good. The judging looked tough and it proved to be exactly that once on the platform. There were a lot of red lighted lifts even on 2nd attempts that didn't require rescue from failed reps.
Squats
275: 2 red lights. Not deep enough. No doubt because of my rushed warmup and my bad reaction to the heat. But I stuck to my plan.
305: 2 white lights. I thought at that point that I had gotten the range and gotten my head and hips into the game. So I went with 319, because of the vagaries of metric to Imperial conversion.
319: 2 red lights. I walked off the platform realizing I was going to have play catch up to make 1000 or accept a lesser total. Steve Denison, President of the USPA, said to me as I passed him that I had gotten to parallel but failed to break below it. This impressed me quite a bit, because I am small potatoes in this outfit and a newbie. He could have let me slump out of the pit and said nothing. A class act that I won't soon forget.
I reviewed the video of this last lift and I think I see the problem. I come out of the rack with my head and neck in the squat model looking down. The I look up making eye contact with the official giving the command to squat. Then I squat without having reset my head and neck in neutral re-asserting the model and cues.
Bench Press: 3:30 Command official was the venerable Gordon Santee. Heat felt like a Louisiana bayou in August.
220: EZ-PZ.
242: Also solid, although with 1 red light. I know why too and nearly crapped myself. At the lockout, my right arm wobbled back slightly and I thought "Shit, another failed lift for having anticipated (or appeared to) the rack command." One judge certainly agreed. Probably the one on my right.
253: Nailed it with a triumphant kiai at the lockout and 3 white lights. I wanted 255, but was getting smoked by the heat with the next metric bump being 259. As hard as that rep was, it was a good decision. So I broke my own state and American record in that lift of 250 in Santa Barbara in April. I also beat the bench press curse that nearly DQ'ed me back then too. So more room for improvement.
Deadlift 7:45 and the heat had subsided to merely unpleasant.
360: Much harder than it should have been. The day had taken it's toll on me. But I thought I could dig deep and I stayed on plan.
390: 2 red lights and very hard, but I had some more in me. As I locked out at the top, I felt my right foot to a toe to heel bobble first to the front and then me compensating by pulling back. I'd swear both feet stayed planted but either one of them moved or the referees thought I had hitched the lift. I asked later to determine what I had done, not challenge the call and the consensus was that it looked like a hitch. Shit. But I stayed on plan with a hope and a prayer to at least exceed my 970 total in April.
419: I just had run out of gas. I could only get it half way up, stalled, tried to fight it to lockout, but didn't have it in me.
Total: 920.
Even so, I still took first, I broke my own record in the bench, and held on to my state and American first place in my age and weight group. I also got a 3rd place in the Men's Open Raw Division by being crossed over into it. So while I was bitterly disappointed by the end of my 3rd attempt in the DL, I managed to cobble together some consolation.
Lessons Learned
Don't compete in un-airconditioned venues if you can't take the heat. I knew this was a risk for me and now have had it hammered into my forehead. I went into that meet at 257 and weighed 252 this morning despite a lot of water and gatorade. Couldn't find the stuff you recommended shug.
Don't warm up too soon and make sure you do it thoroughly. I kept repeating this mistake for the other two lifts.
Be prepared for a long day. I averaged 3-4 hours between the squat, bench press, and deadlift. It went on for 12 hours from arrival to awards. It also takes a toll on your supporters. Dearly Beloved is more whacked than I am today from having all that time in cheap folding chairs. She is taking a nap as I type this.
Be prepared for possibly dire after events. I got a cramp in my left hamstring while sleeping that woke me and I nearly screamed from the sudden shock.