RPS Backyard Bash - 6/8/13 Meet Recap

There was a whirlwind of different variables surrounding this meet. The two most significant were certainly that it was my first meet in over a year (stupid pec) and that it was the first time I ever competed at 220 and therefore the first time I would be doing a significant water cut. I came up a little short of what I had hoped for heading into the meet, but overall I was very pleased with the way the meet turned out.

Finished the day with a raw 1705 total, and went 7 for 9 on my attempts. Good enough for first place in the raw 220 division and second best overall by coefficient. David McLeod put up an impressive 1900 lb raw total at 242, that included a 740 squat and a 520 bench, and took best overall by coefficient, and with it a direct birth to XPC Finals at The Arnold next year. The direct birth to The Arnold had been my ultimate goal heading into the meet, but regardless I am happy with my performance.

My lifts were as follows:

Squat:
565 good
615 good
640 miss

Bench:
370 good
400 good
415 good

Deadlift:
625 good
675 good
705 miss


I felt great for the most part the entire day, despite cutting 11 pounds of water in a little over two hours on Friday to make weight. However, during my squat warmups and squat attempts was the only time I felt a little off. The first thing I noticed right away during warmups was that my center of gravity seemed to be off when I was squatting. This feeling improved throughout the day as I continued to lift and by the time bench and deads rolled around I felt incredible. I believe this had to do with my water cut and the following rehydration/refeed phase, but I'll discuss this further in another article when I outline my water cut.

I breezed through my 565 squat opener. On my second attempt of 615, I let my weight get too far forward and essentially turned the squat into a heavy good morning. Luckily my lower back was strong enough to keep the weight under control, but the lift was much more of a grinder than it should have been. The 640 miss is the only miss of the meet that I was pissed about. I knew going through this training cycle that I had a 640 squat in me at this meet, but it just wasn't there Saturday. Setup and technique felt solid, but the strength just wasn't there. Not sure if it was the water cut or if it was just me, but I do know that 640 will be an easy opener or second attempt next meet!

By the time bench rolled around I was feeling 100 percent and it showed as I managed to break my previous best of 410 that I had done at 242, by benching 415 at 220. The lift was an absolute grind, and I did get out of my groove, but I stuck with it and was able to eventually grind it out. Bench was the one lift I was worried about when I decided to do this meet, so I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out.

Deadlifts felt terrible throughout training leading up to this meet, but felt surprisingly good at the meet. 625 was a cake walk and 675 was nice and smooth. I'm sure I could have pulled 690 or 695, but I decided to go for 705 and try and break my previous best of 700. The last couple months, I have been having some issues with my setup and loading sequence, and it had been causing me to essentially straight  leg all of my pulls. I think I have figured my loading sequence out and I can't wait to get back to training so that I can finally blow past the 700 lb barrier.

I have to give a big shout out to my amazing wife Shauna who is by my side throughout this whole process. From going to the gym with me night after night, to putting up with my crazy eating/dieting, and supporting me throughout everything. Not to mention being my personal photographer and loudest supporter in the crowd.

Also a huge thanks to my South Carolina Barbell team and family who help push me night after night, and who drove up to the meet just to help out and show support. Big congratulations to the other team members who also lifted this weekend, Desi, Brett, and John, all of whom kicked ass.