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Thread: Geezer's Long March Toward the Elite Sneaking Up On the Finish Line

  1. #4791
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    May 2010
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    Murphysboro, IL
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    • starting strength seminar april 2024
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    Rounds this morning of speed bag*, crunch, prowler, medicine ball toss, SciFit, and stretching.

    Training John this afternoon. I briefly entertained thoughts of entering the meet myself, but concluded that it would have been a distraction for giving some good coaching support to John. I get too amped up when competing to deal with externalities. Hell, I had a hard enough time dealing with them when coaching John alone at the regional qualifier and Summer Games meets. So, no meet for now.

    *Oh frabjous day! The swivel for the speed bag was replaced. Such a cathartic release. I don't quite want to pound the heavy bag as yet until at least two of the three fingers of my right hand get feeling better. I may have to accept the discomfort of my middle finger as something chronic.

  2. #4792
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    Trained John this afternoon. He was stoked and fired up for the meet.

    Sadly, during his second work set in the squat, he got the bar badly on his back and said he had a pinched nerve below his neck. He froze halfway up during his 2nd rep and I helped him rack the bar. To me, his bar placement looked fine, but we agreed that it the set was over and he had the willies for the 3rd set. So, on to the bench press which he did fine. He stopped on the 3rd rep of his second set of deadlifts with an unchallenging weight, but came back to finish his last two reps. He pointed at his right outer quad and said it hurt. So we declared that over too.

    His parents are in Chicago today, and he was under the care of some family friends. I told them about his issues and they will be passed along. I will follow up just to make sure everything got reported as I saw it. It was his right leg that caved during the deadlift at the Summer Games, so maybe a look by the doc is in order.

    Lena was there tonight and asked for some deadlift coaching. So after watching her lift, I advised her to keep her hips higher, her feet closer together, and the bar closer to her shins. I had also told her not to turn out her feet so much, but she insisted they would turn out when she lifted. Which they did. So I told her to use the foot position most comfortable for her. She had an ongoing problem with letting the bar drift out from her legs, and she admitted it hurt her back when it came out. She'll come around. I am confident.

  3. #4793
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    Today was more speed bag, with elliptical, rower, and stretching.

    After some review of the USPA site, I've decided to take their coaching certification. It's 16 hours of instruction compared to 8 in the USAPL's and seems broader and more comprehensive.

    Also, after looking over the status of the drug tested Raw lifting division in my age group (65-69) and the weight class I intend to compete in (242 lbs.) the prospects look pretty rosy. I can set another state record in Illinois, along with the two I set in California. In order to qualify for Nationals, I need a total of 769 lbs. and for the IPL Worlds a total of 875 lbs. My current gym lifts are 230 in the bench press and 340 in the deadlift. Assuming I can't eke out 5-10 more pounds in each lift, that means I need to get my squat up to 200 for Nationals and 305 for Worlds. The first is easily doable. The second may take some time to get back to. My best squat in competition was 319 a few years back. With luck and determination I think I can compile the required total for Worlds one way or another. The next USPA meet in Illinois is in Chicago July 27. That should be a cake walk.

  4. #4794
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    Squat: 45 for 3 sets of 5, 95-5, 135-3, 185-1, 200-1, 225-1.

    Hammer Curls: 105 for 3 sets of 5.

    Stretched.

    I decided to do 3 warmup sets with an empty bar to mobilize my shoulders. As usual, they loosened up to allow a better low bar position on the spines of my scapulae after that, and the bar got a little lower and better settled. I only had to make 200, but decided that unless that felt really hard to go for the two big wheels a side with 225. So I did. I can check off that box of a near certainty for Nationals and now onward and upward to qualify for Worlds. I am still not completely sure I was making depth. I had the safety rails set to position 4 after the guy who spotted my depth last week said #5 was iffy in terms of depth. I banged the rails during the warmups to get a kinesthetic sense for depth but didn't bang off during the work sets. Another spot is in order.

    My back has felt creaky since yesterday so I belted up for all my sets. Just to be safe.

  5. #4795
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    Apr 2016
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    I'm finding your logs quite instructive. Thanks. There may be hope for me yet!

  6. #4796
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    Hey thanks!

    Instructive how?

  7. #4797
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    No beginners tonight, but Ken and Ethan were there. So we worked on blue belt 2nd degree techniques. They are coming along on remembering them. Mostly. Unsurprisingly, they need polishing in their execution in a few instances. Many of the techniques at this rank are not complex and are instinctive in response. A few are more complicated strings of component movements requiring precise footwork and hand movements. But they listen and improve with each iteration.

  8. #4798
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    Man does getting old blow!

    I spent all day yesterday moaning and creaking around from round 2 of back problems. Those squats probably didn't help. OTOH, my quads don't feel so burnt today. A trip to the chiro after the gym cured that though. My index and little fingers are healing and better, but still yelping.

    Despite those issues I pummeled the speed and heavy bags with no markedly ill effects, along with arms only rowing and SciFit with medicine ball tosses crunches and stretching.

    This return to competition is not without it's hurdles to clear. The Chicago meet is already full up, so I may have to resort to reserve listing. Which sucks because I wanted to lead off with a state record. My fallback is a meet in Indianapolis in August. No other USPA meets in Illinois in 2019. So, next year, if I can't get in on the wait list. I've got the USPA coacing class coming up which has the benefit of getting annual membership with the price of the course. A nice little savings.

    My weight has stayed constant around the bottom of the 242 weight class, but I had to drill another hole in my 10mm belt this morning to get it tight enough. That's 5 holes so far, and the last one may not be the last. Even that one left the belt a skosh short of the level of tightness desirable.

  9. #4799
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark E. Hurling View Post
    Hey thanks!

    Instructive how?
    Well you're about my age, and you have a lot going on, like other activities, injuries, and you move things around depending on what you're currently facing.
    Having done this a while, you have a pretty solid notion of what to expect, and what is realistic.
    You get style points, in an area where I struggle.

  10. #4800
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    starting strength coach development program
    Being retired helps a great deal in elements of the moving things around part. As for the rest, the Fitbit has really opened my eyes to just what the value and contribution various activities and training has to offer when one is compelled to improvise, adapt, and overcome.

    As for my realistic expectations, I had only the vaguest notion prior to starting this log. Witness my opening paragraph in my first log post:

    I'm turning 60 next month and just found out about Lon Kilgore's age adjusted strength standards. Looks like all I have to do is show up (80% of success) and keep lifting and I'll amazingly be at elite levels for some of them. Because of some low back issues that are no doubt just a function of age and some old shoulder injuries from competing a little too hard in judo tourneys in college, I dropped some exercises from my lifting over the years.
    Absent Kilgore, I'd no doubt still be wandering in a wilderness of mirrors relying on the muscle comics and internet Silly Bullshit for information that didn't apply to me in the first place.

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