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

[Meshuggah]

Fuck all that shit! I'm so thankful for my garage gym. I will not comply with any of their socialistic bullshit.
Stay Strong Mark and Happy Birthday!!

[Mark E. Hurling]

Couldn't agree more Shug. But the facility and it's equipment make it hard to pass up. So I grit my teeth and endure. Thanks for the good wishes.

Today I did rounds of *speed bag, *recumbent bike, cable rotations, medicine ball slams, Jacob's Ladder, *rower.

*These were done in areas where the mask nazis don't patrol. No mask.

[skid]

Couldn't agree more Shug. But the facility and it's equipment make it hard to pass up. So I grit my teeth and endure. Thanks for the good wishes.

Today I did rounds of *speed bag, *recumbent bike, cable rotations, medicine ball slams, Jacob's Ladder, *rower.

*These were done in areas where the mask nazis don't patrol. No mask.

Good for you Mark, and Happy birthday as well! Hope you have great success at worlds too!

[Mark E. Hurling]

Thanks Skid.

I've got four personal and one non personal objectives to accomplish at the IPL Worlds. The first two are slam dunks, set world records in the bench press and the deadlift. It's only a question of how much I'll break the current ones.

The third one is a little dicier. It's getting a world record total for all three lifts. My squat sucks, but with a little luck and lot of courage I might be able to manage 303 lbs. (dang metrics) in it, and with what I know I can bench press (235 lbs.) and deadlift (at least 375 lbs.), I will be well over the needed poundage for a world record total.

Number four is to finish 2021 in 4th place in the Powerlifting Watch world and inter-federation rankings. I know I'll never beat the nthe ext three rankers, they have at least 100 lbs. in their totals more than I'll ever manage.

The last objective is to use any recognition for these other achievements to promote Special Olympics. It's the main reason I took up competing again a couple of years ago. Coaching got me back to the 2019 Summer Games. Between a deep inhalation of the free ranging testosterone at the powerlifting meet I coached in for it, my addiction kicked in again. But inspired with a purpose beyond my own satisfaction.

I am feeling creaky, even after the deload sessions. Good thing I took it easy. So, off to the chiropractor it is this afternoon, leaving some more lifting until next week. Then on the coming Monday I may try a mock meet to test my squat capacity.

Today I did rounds of SciFit, speed bag, plate halos, elliptical, heavy bag, crunches.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Ball Cap.jpg

Feeling much better after the frame realignment by the bone cracker yesterday.

Some more Jujitsu via Zoom. The session lead off with 6 and 8 part club drills transitioning to yawara drills using shorter ranged strikes and thrusts. Then a counter to a lapel grab where you shove the attacker's elbow downward and inward across their body at a 45 degree angle with a knuckle strike to the neck. The shove on the attacker's elbow draws them down and toward the defender putting them weak and off balance as well as facilitating a close range strike to the neck.

From there we were shown how to get control of someone on hands and knees on the ground. It may seem counter-intuitive, but that is a difficult position to get control of someone from. The first technique has the neck getting pushed diagonally down and across which weakens the rest of the body's ability to resist. Then the wrist is grabbed and the arm pulled back and around, causing the person on hands and knees to face plant. The other technique was very simple. You step and roll your foot from heel to toe across the ankle of the person kneeling. They collapse forward to relieve the pressure and pain.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Well that was less than stellar.

I decided to test my lifting attempts and top lifts as a mock meet this morning. There were mostly grim results with a few redeeming things.

Squat: 45-5, 95-3, 135-1, 185-1, 225-1, 275-1, 305-0. I knew the 305 was a reach but I had hopes of success. I hit depth, but couldn't rise far out of the bottom. I had to bail and let the safety racks save me. The bar hit the safeties with a resounding CRASH!

Bench Press: 45-5, 95-3, 135-1, 185-1, 225-1, 231-0. Got the bar off my chest, but failed at the usual place for most lifters, halfway to lockout where the triceps take over. sigh.

Deadlifts: 135-3, 225-2, 315-1, 340-1, 375-0.

The good news is that I would still make world records in the bench press and deadlift. But I would fall far short of my objectives to make a world record total or place 4th in the cross-federation rankings. Ah well.

All things considered, my failures are likely the result of not waiting long enough between attempts. But DB and I had volunteered for some administrative support work later this morning and I didn't want to be late for that. Add to that, having to bail on the squat did nothing for my back when it came time to deadlift.

[BrooklynJerry]

Rushing is never a good thing.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Indeed not. Also, my failed bench press might likely have been the uncalibrated 45 pounders in the weight room. Because even the 225 felt harder than it should.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Last week's lifting with the Special Olympians got the kibosh because of the exposure of Jereth and Kaydee to someone with covid and they had to isolate for a while. Then Jacob tweaked his back. So, no lifting.

But today Jacob and Lena were ready to lift again. Jacob, with some caution because everyone wanted to make sure he wasn't rushing recovery of his back. They have both gotten their form and technique down to the point I can let them lift without too having to hover too closely over them. Jacob didn't squat because of his back but he has the bench press and deadlift wired. I kept the weight very light for the deadlift to make sure he didn't tax his back too much. Lena likewise, although DB and I worked with her deadlift form to keep her centered on the deadlift bar and to begin the pull by extending her knees rather than her back. This has proven to be the cause why the bar drifts out from her shins.

Both of them had a little trouble with the top set in the bench press. But a slight reset next week at a lower weight will fix that.

[Mark E. Hurling]

It's easier to describe what doesn't hurt today, so I'll stick with that. Everything below my knees and shoulders feel OK. Everything else? Oh, not so much. Always happens after max efforts.

So I took it relatively easy with speed bag, medicine ball tosses, recumbent bike, and heavy bag.