Meet Prep

Coach Hansen

Results
After setting the stage with my RAW bench post, I'm sure you are all dying to know how my bench meet went… well, I will tell you: not that great. I did hit my opener of 402. On my second, 424 came halfway up and then stalled. I tried to grind through, and felt something funky going on with my right pec, decided that discretion was the better part of valor at that point, and passed on my third. Given how the pec felt I doubt I would have gotten it anyway, and if the mind doesn’t believe it, then you sure as heck aren't going to get the rep and ‘surprise yourself.’

Warm-ups
We arrived in Dubuque at exactly noon, since this was the latest you could weigh in. Fully dressed, I came in at 398lbs. Heavier than I would like, but I'm addressing that at the moment. We then headed to some weird restaurant to get some food, and based on the cuisine I mainly just tried to stay away from anything ‘off’ that would have given my any issues. Like many others, I get a nervous enough stomach from just competing, let alone what would happen if I ate the mystery-meat breakfast sausage that had been sitting out for 7 hours… so, off to the hotel room to relax for a few hours. We arrived back at the venue around 4:30 pm, as the rules meeting was at 5:15. After shooting the breeze with a few guys, and taking some empty-bar warm-ups on the bench we would be using, I decided to head over to the warm-up area for the rules meeting. It was here that I learned you couldn't use the thumb loops on wrist wraps; not a big deal, but any little change can affect your lifting, and it illustrates the point that you need to know the rules of the federation you are lifting in going in, as sometimes even the smallest ones can make a big difference.

I took my usual warm-ups: bar x10, 135x8 and 6, 225x6, 315x2, and then 365x1. I tried to space these out about 5 minutes apart, but that was a bit difficult as we only had two warm-up benches and lots of lifters. I hit the 365 about one minute before the first lifter went on stage, so the timing was right on as far as I was concerned. I found a chair close to the stairs, and waited for my name to be called. I will admit that I was quite nervous, as this was the first meet I had done in about 3 years, and by far the biggest. We were on a raised stage, in a large auditorium, in front of lots of people; I even had several friends who had come to see me lift and many more back at the gym wanting updates. None of this, based on my recent period of inactivity, helped my nerves.

Impressions
As I said, I was nervous, more so than I usually am, and it definitely affected me. It seemed that I could not get a real tight arch, and the weights just felt ‘off.’ We used the very thin, competition-certified Ivanko kilo plates for the comp lifts, and normal pound weights for the warm-ups. At the Gold’s, where I have been training for this meet, we train with these huge rubber weights that sit way out on the bar. As I said before, even the smallest things can make a big difference, and I think that not only did the odd appearance of the bar play into my nerves, but the fact that the weights were so close to the center of the bar actually made the balance feel a little different, and between mind and matter things were feeling unsteady as I Iowered my opener. In a perfect world I would train with the same (sized, at least) weights I would be using in the competition, and in the future I will be sure my grip location is centered spot on, so that there is no chance of feeling any lateral shakiness due to the more ‘dense’ load-out.

Programming
In the end, would I call this meet a success? Yes. It was my first meet in three years, and I did hit my opener and get on the board. As everyone at GMAAC is always cramming down your throat, the only way to get better at competing is to compete, and I lived to tell the tale. More importantly, having a definite metric to shoot for and a deadline date when the meet would be held, it forced me to put together a few months of good, consistent training. I now also know what to expect at a much bigger, ‘regional,’ meet. When considering that at this time last year I couldn't bench an empty bar without pain, I feel I have come a long way back. When I started training for this meet I was only benching a very shaky 365, and that was without a noticeable pause. So, 402 with a LONG, IPF-legal pause is progress. I definitely need to work more on my shoulders, as well as the upper back and triceps. I am a firm believer that if you fail in the bench press, it is usually one of these smaller, accessory muscles that fails you. Some more paused reps are in order as well.

What Lies Ahead
As stated, I do plan on slimming down a little; how this will affect my power remains to be seen. There is another meet at the same venue on December 3, so right now I think I will compete there to establish another benchmark. Leading up to that meet, special attention will be given to the lats, upper back, triceps and shoulders, and as they get stronger the RAW bench numbers should climb. Continued rehab/prehab on my still-aching, though not injured, shoulders is a must. After I get the details ironed out, I will update my program for the world to critique.

Thanks for reading, and happy competing! We’ll see you on the platform.