The road to a 292.5 kg deadlift begins

My success with a 282.5 kg deadlift a couple of weeks ago has made it very clear to me that my next goal is 292.5 kgs.  That number is significant to me because it represents the most weight I've ever deadlifted in my life.  I achieved that deadlift back in 1992 and have yet to match it.  My recent progress has given me great optimism that I will soon be able to match and exceed that lift.

Back in the day, getting on a Powerlifting USA Top 100 list was pretty big goal for me and when I made that 292.5 kg deadlift, I was lucky enough to make the deadlift list at #100.  It was also the one and only time I would ever be on the same page as the greatest of all time, Ed Coan.  In the years between that lift and when I resumed my powerlifting activities in 2008, I had lost the issue with my Top 100 list. Luckily, Rickey Dale Crain through his Crain's Muscle World store had a stockpile of back issues.  Not knowing which issue I was in, I traded about 5 emails back and forth with Mr. Crain and he, very surprisingly, was gracious enough to actually look through his stockpile of  issues to find the one with my name in it.  Being that he was one of my powerlifting idols when I first started lifting, finding out he was so willing to help a powerlifter with a mid-life crisis really impressed me.

I'm #100 on the deadlift list, way behind #1  ED COAN

Anyways, today's deadlift workout was the first "heavy" workout since my last competition.  I plan to deadlift from a small deficit (2") for the next 6-8 weeks before transitioning to pulls from the floor to peak for my next meet in June.  My work sets today were with 515 lbs for sets of 2.  I had planned for anywhere from 3 to 5 sets depending on bar speed.  Because my back was still not fully recovered from Monday's squat workout, I ended up doing three sets.  I then did barbell shrugs with a floor pick up (no deficit) with 455 lbs.  The 455 lbs should've been speed single weight but only the second set moved quickly enough.

Deadlifts from 2" deficit:  315x3, 405x3, 515x2x3 sets
Barbell Shrugs with a floor pick up:  455x10, 455x8, 455x8

Overhead press (light day) was next and these felt so good I was able to greatly increase my total volume from previous "light day" workouts (5 rep sets, no grinding).

Overhead Presses:  135x5x2 sets, 165x5, 170x5, 175x5, 180x5, 165x5

I finished up with face pulls.  I don't have any other powerlifting pictures to post but I thought I'd post this picture of Vivian's pet birds, Desi (the green one) and Tweetie (actually her name is 'weetie pea' but I refuse to say that).  They usually don't get along quite this chummy but Vivian's been travelling on business and we all miss her.

They miss Vivian

Squats and push presses

Because my training has been going very well and I feel primed to hit some new PR levels in my next meet in June, I decided to incorporate creatine into my nutrition plan.  I started the loading phase last week so today's workout was the first where I had the benefit of the creatine bloat.

My bodyweight is up about 5 lbs and I could really feel the effect of the creatine on my repetition endurance and recovery between sets.  Mentally, I didn't feel particularly good as Vivian is away on a business trip but physically, my body just kept on going.

My squats went very well.  My form felt exceptionally tight and I was able to exceed last week's total volume by quite a large margin.  I was able to do a total of 29 repetitions with 80% or more of my 1 RM and very few of the terminal reps for any sets were a grind.  Looking forward to seeing how the extra work translates to a new work levels.

Squats:  135x10, 225x10, 315x5, 365x3, 405x3, 405x3, 405x3, 405x2, 365x5x3 sets.

After discussing online with some fellow lifters, in particular one lifter that can press and push press a crap-ton more than I, I decided to incorporate push presses into my heavy overhead press day.  I'll give this a good 6 week run to see what kind of carryover I get.

Overhead presses:  135x5x2 sets, 165x3, 185x2, 205x1, failed at 225.  My strict overhead press is not quite back to the peak I attained just prior to my last meet but sub-maximal weights felt very comfortable.

I then transitioned to push presses for the rest of the workout.  Since this my first time doing them, it'll take at least a few weeks to learn the movement so for now, it's quite inefficient compared to what I've been strict pressing.

Push Presses:  225x1x3 sets, 185x5x2 sets.  The singles with 225 were not as smooth as I know they'll eventually be but the speed sets with 185 felt much better.

After I got home, I got to enjoy a rare treat.  My boss got a box of Cuban Montecristo's and gave me one today.  Since Vivian was away and I didn't need to worry about kissing her with a mouth that tasted like a cat crapped in it, I took the time to enjoy the cigar in the cool night air.  Very relaxing.  The cigar was excellent, I smoked it down to the label and even then, didn't want to throw it away.  It's been a long while since I got to savor a great stogie.

Are you really "Raw" or does it just describe your lifting conditions?

Whenever people start getting competitive about lifting stuff, the "yeah but's" come out.

"Yeah, but they're on steroids"
"Yeah, but they don't have to work for a living"
"Yeah, but they're built to lift/genetically gifted"
"Yeah, but they don't have to walk out their squats/break parallel"
"Yeah, but they wear those squat suits and bench shirts"
"Yeah, but they were using weight belts and knee sleeves"

Usually if a person is throwing out a "yeah but" it's because that person is really just a bit butt hurt that someone else is lifting more.  Rather than accept and appreciate a feat of strength for what it is, the "yeah butters" feel like they need to validate their own achievements by knocking down someone else's.

With the growth in popularity of "raw" or "classic" lifting, there's a new, rabid group of "yeah butters" that seem to believe in an ideology that somehow places "raw" lifting as superior to any other form.  You've seen them on internet forums, they're the ones that are more than proud to proclaim they lift without belts, wrist wraps, knee sleeves, sometimes even chalk.

They evangelize the benefits of lifting weights with only the God given sinews and bones they were born with.  To them, the purity of the lifting experience precludes actually doing some things necessary to get stronger.  They are happily content to insufficiently work their posterior chain because their grip endurance fails long before their hamstrings, glutes, or spinal erectors--all because they refuse to use chalk or wrist straps.  That is perfectly fine if they are content to exercise for the sake of exercise or if, by chance, their competitive arena tests grip endurance instead of 1 RM.  However, this mis-guided ideology pervades those who also seek to test themselves in powerlifting competition.

Powerlifting or olympic weightlifting competitions are beautifully objective.  Either you succeed in lifting the weight according to the rules or you don't.  There are no style points given for form or for how spartan your training regime is.  Nor is there any quarter given if you choose to ignore resources available to you that are proven to add pounds to your total.  This is where the "yeah buts" come in.  The "yeah butters" rationalize their performance with any number of "yeah buts".  Save it.  No one wants to hear it.

Here's the thing.  Raw lifting is more convenient, far less expensive, and it's an easily understood context by which to compare lifts.  It's not more difficult, it's not the "truest measure of strength", nor does it require more skill than powerlifting using bench shirts, squat suits, and deadlift suits.  Geared singly-ply powerlifting is unbelievably difficult and requires a determination and willingness to hurt above and beyond anything that a raw powerlifting routine would ever demand.  Multi-ply geared powerlifting pretty much requires one to sell their soul to the Devil.  It's that hard.

Most of us that have experience in gear circled back to raw lifting for one reason.  To get away from the gear.  I've heard and read things from ignorant lifters that have only ever lifted raw that astound me.  Things like, "the gear lifts the weight for you" or "I want to know that when I lift, it's me lifting the weight not my clothing."   Really?  Really?

If anyone making such statements had ever lifted in gear, they would instantly know that the gear wants to kill you.  The squat suit wants to cut off your legs and blow your head up.  The bench shirt either wants to dump the bar on your face or belly when it's not trying to break your ribs or cut your arms off from the armpits.  The deadlift suit just plain fights you and won't let you get down to the bar and when it does, if you're male, tries to trade a successful lift in return for a lifetime as a eunuch.  The lifters that stick with the gear and learn the intricacies of using it effectively are true adrenaline junkies.  The fine line between a successful lift with bone snapping weights and a 911 call is slim at the top levels.  Each successful lift is like surviving a rush by a rabid grizzly bear.

But back to raw, there isn't even a standard for "raw".  I guess that's where the ideologues come in.  There's raw with belt and knee wraps, raw with belt and knee sleeves, raw with belt only, and then there are those, the Opus Dei of raw that lift with noting but shoes and clothes.  The strange thing is, for all their adherence to not wanting to use anything that could possibly augment there God given ability, they are often the same people asking on internet forums about legal supplements or the best type of whey protein or creatine.

I'm not sure why they don't see the disconnect.  What is the difference between using a belt or knee sleeves and supplementing with whey protein, casein, Jack3d, or whatever else they're suckered into buying by the eternally slick supplement marketing companies?  Sure, no human has yet been born with a 13mm thick 4" wide weight belt attached to their midsection but at the same time, there is no food on earth except maybe egg whites that you can buy that mimics the zero-fat, nearly zero carbohydrate, protein density of highly processed whey protein.  As for creatine, there is no way to get a similar amount of dietary creatine without also ingesting large quantities of protein and fat. If you really wanted to "keep it real" wouldn't you also want to eat food instead of processed astro-foods?

I'm not immune to throwing out a "yeah but" myself but I've come to realize that none of what I do identifies me so I have no desire to validate myself or discredit any one else's strength enterprises.  For those that will trumpet that they are "raw",  hopefully they don't wear "raw" like a badge of honor or worse a quasi-religion (see Crossfit, "paleo", or barefoot runners) but just as a description (and not a precise one at that) of the conditions under which they test their strength.

Deadlift stew and light overhead presses

I mentioned in a comment on another post that I tend to make a lot of my meals in one pot.  Either I'll use a crock pot or a dutch oven and basically throw a bunch of animal protein in with some veggies and whatever random stew ingredients I might have.  I find it's efficient and when I brown bag my lunch, I only need to bring one container per meal.

For today's deadlift workout, since it was supposed to be "light" week, I thought I'd combine a few different moves in a single set.  A deadlift stew, as it were.

I used a 45# plate to create a 2" deficit and then performed each rep with a halt at the knees for a count to destroy any speed off the floor.  Then I locked out as explosively as possible and then did 5 barbell shrugs at the top.  To finish the rep, I did a 3-count slow stiff-legged eccentric.  Each set was a total of three of these halting, deficit deadlifts with 5 shrugs at the top.

Never having done this type of hodge-podge of movements before, I didn't know exactly what would happen.  As it turned out, the halt and lockout fried up my erectors pretty good, the shrugs taxed my core and upper traps, and the stiff-legged 3-count eccentric absolutely destroyed my hamstrings.  I'll re-assess how everything feels in a few days but it certainly seemed like a very effective way to get in a great deal of time under tension with a weight that was only about 65% of my 1 RM.

Deadlift/shrug combo:  315x3, 405x3x3 sets,  each set of three deadlifts also included 15 shrugs.

Light overhead presses were next and they were fast and comfortable.  Finished up with dumbbell rows and face pulls, both of these pulling movements were challenging after the deadlift work earlier.

Overhead Press:  135x5x2 sets, 165x5x3 sets
Dumbbell Rows:  100x10, 100x10, 100x9
Face Pulls:  45x15x2 sets

Only 14 total sets completed in just over 60 minutes but even as I type this out 90 minutes after my workout ended, I still have a killer lower back pump and my hamstrings are barking.

I also found out that I'm going to be sponsored by an up and coming apparel/lifestyle brand called Custom BodyworX.  Very flattering that the folks at Custom BodyworX believe my story both represents their brand and will serve as inspiration for their customers.

Mostly back to normal, Squat and Overhead Press day

My next competition will be an Ontario Powerlifting Association meet sometime in early June.  Since the Canadian Powerlifting Union is an I.P.F. affiliate, their "raw" or "classic" rules allow the use of neoprene knee sleeves.  I like this alot because my old knees feel 100% better when I squat with sleeves versus nothing at all.  I also get about 10-15 lbs of support out of my sleeves so in addition to feeling better, they do help me lift more  weight.

Compared to last week's post-meet workouts, today's workout was a huge improvement.  I felt mostly normal.    Which is a whole lot better than feeling mostly dead as in Westley from The Princess Bride.

Westley was mostly dead but he did set a new PR.

Yeah, I just dropped a Princess Bride reference in my powerlifting training blog.  I spent three hours in traffic this afternoon due to an accident on the westbound Gardiner expressway and almost peed my pants.  Strange things go through your head when you're sitting in your car in miles and miles of stop and go traffic with a beyond full bladder.

Anyways, back to the workout, armed (or legged as it were) with my knee sleeves, my squats went very well.  There was a lot of speed and my form was probably the best it's been.  I'm really getting some excellent carryover from my front squatting.  I'm much more disciplined in the hole and squatting the weight instead of squat-morning it.

Squats:  135x10, 225x10, 315x5, 365x3, 405x3, 405x3, 405x2, 365x5, 365x5, 365x4

The 24 total repetitions with 80% or more of my 1 rep maximum was a good amount of work and even better because there was alot of speed with most of the repetitions.  I cut my last set short by one repetition because I was starting to feel just a hint of strain in my knees--a sign that my hips were getting tired and losing discipline.

I moved to overhead presses and my core fitness issues from last week were gone.  I went up to 205 for two work sets and then dropped down to 185 for two more sets.  All repetitions felt pretty good and I should be good for a go at a new PR in a few weeks.  I finished up with three sets of seated cable rows on the strange cable row machine at the gym.  It's a "Techno Gym" model with some kind of computer screen.  I don't know what exactly goes on with that machine but on a stack that goes up to 250 (I don't know what units), 150 gives me more than enough.  I can usually handle upwards of 200-250 lbs on a standard weight stacked seated cable row.  Anyways, whatever the deal is, I got in three sets of descending weight.

Overhead Press:  135x5x2 sets, 165x3, 185x2, 205x2, 205x1, 185x3, 185x3
Seated Cable Row:  150x10, 130x10, 110x10

Just some restoration work

Went back to the gym today to keep moving and to start getting my body ready for the next competition.  I ended up doing some easy sets of front squats and some very light bench pressing.  My shoulders were pretty tender so two sets of 3 with 225 was plenty.

Front squats:  135x10, 185x5, 225x3x5 sets
Bench Press:  45x10, 95x10, 135x5, 185x5, 225x3x2 sets

Met a very interesting lifter at the gym today. I very rarely if ever see anyone lifting big weights and when I got to the weight room, there was a very stout, older guy (meaning about my age) absolutely toying with some 405+ lb squats.  He saw my lifting shoes and asked me if I did any olympic lifting or powerlifting.  I told him that I competed in powerlifting, mostly at the local level.  

His name was Dr. Michael Mangan and besides being very, very strong, he was very friendly and offered me a very good tip with respect to my bench press set up.  He actually said I had a good arch but needed to get more lumbar extension to get my hips closer to my shoulders.  I worked on this and it did seem to improve my tightness and stability.

Analysis of my deadlift form-Update

Of all the lifts, the deadlift is the one lift that I haven't yet exceeded my previous all-time bests.  My squat and bench press in the past 4 years have both exceeded levels that I had reached during my first foray into powerlifting back in 1987-1992.  The deadlift, on the other hand, has been the slowest to come around.

On thing that I have been working on is to start the pull with a rounded upper back.  It's how I pulled when I hit my all-time best of 644 lbs (raw) back in 1992.  I also pulled with a rounded lower back but that's just a case of getting away with it because I was young and fearless.

When I started the powerlifting 'comeback', I deadlifted like they said to in all the internet blogs, with a flat back.  That worked well until I started getting pinned to the floor with anything even marginally over 600 lbs.  After reviewing old pictures and video, I decided I needed to keep tight in the lower back but allow my upper back to round to shorten the lever and allow me to start the pull with my hips higher.  I first started this process back in December 2011.  This post is an update to December 29th's blog post, "Deadlift Grooving and an overhead press PR."

My latest success with 622 lbs is largely due to reincorporating this form tweak.  I don't have video or pictures of that pull but it felt like I was pretty rounded over.  In the attached photo collage, I'm at lift-off with 600 lbs in January 2011, 622 lbs all humped in 1989, and 606 lbs in February 2012.  Each lift was successfully locked out.  The 1989 form is definitely not something I seek to emulate but the February 2012 lift-off is right where I want it.

Back in the gym but still beat-up

Today was the first training session since last Saturday's meet.  I had actually wanted to get back in the gym earlier but in hindsight it's probably good that I didn't.  All week my body actually felt pretty good but mentally I was enjoying the break.  Today's workout was pretty blatant evidence that my body was still recovering.

My initial squat warm up sets, high bar squats with 135 and 225, went well.   My third warm up set with 315 lbs is when I usually start my low-bar sets.  This was the first warning things weren't completely right.  My shoulders didn't like getting into position for the low-bar hold at all.  The weight didn't feel heavy but I could tell my core was working too hard.

Next set was with 365 lbs and usually it would be my last warm-up before work sets with 405.  Today 365 was all I could handle.  I did an ugly triple and after I racked the bar, my midsection cramped up partly like I was going to vomit and partly like that feeling the day after a tackle football game.  I ended up doing two more sets of three with 365 but that was plenty.  My core was protesting wildly and I could feel my back straining.  Apparently the stress from my third attempt deadlift was still healing up.

I changed plans for my overhead press workload and just did 6 sets of 5 with 135 lbs.  Basically it was speed work but my midsection still felt stressed from such a light load.  I finished up with three sets of dumbbell rows and was pretty gassed.

To be honest, I was surprised at how beat up I still felt given that I didn't miss any attempts at the meet and only my third attempt deadlift was a true limit attempt that drew on psyche reserves.  I think a week of speed work will get things humming along.

For the first time in about a year, I feel like everything is primed for a jump in strength levels.  While my overall total has only improved 5 kgs since last June, I've made big improvements in my squat and my shoulders feel better than they have in months.  In addition, I'm now very comfortable both with the hook grip and my deadlift form.  Looking very forward to trying to put 10 kgs on both my squat and deadlift before my next competition in June and hopefully another 5 kgs or more on my bench press.  My long-term goal is to hit a 400 wilks in raw competition and at my current bodyweight, that will require a 660-670 kg total.  Hitting a 650 in June will be a nice step towards that goal.

Meet observation--why do so many still deadlift in shoes?

After reflecting on my experience and observations from this past weekend's 100% Raw Powerlifting Toronto Open (Canadian Challenge), I couldn't get one thought out of my mind.

The 100% Raw Powerlifting Federation limits the use of lifting gear to a weight belt and wrist wraps.  The lifters must wear a one piece lifting suit (singlet), shin covering socks when deadlifting and "shoes".  While the aim of the 100% Raw Powerlifting Federation and any "raw" or "classic" divisions of other Federations is to eliminate the use of performance enhancing lifting gear, at this meet and all others in the past, many lifters insist on wearing a piece of lifting gear that reduces their performance.

What I'm talking about are those competitors that wear shoes to deadlift.

a surprisingly common (and poor) choice of competition deadlifters

The 100% Raw Powerlifting rules concerning shoes (basically the same as the I.P.F. rules as well):

12. Shoes must be worn during lifts.


a. Shoes shall be taken to include sport shoes/sport boots; weightlifting/powerlifting boots, deadlift
slippers.
b. No part of the underside shall be more than 5cm/2 inches.
c. The underside must be uniform on both sides.
d. Loose inner soles that are not part of the manufactured shoe shall be limited to 1cm/.4 inch
thickness. 


Many types of footwear qualify as "shoes" under the rules yet I always see many lifters wearing what would be considered "sport shoes" under the rules.  Now, given that the deadlift is my best lift, I'm not entirely unhappy to see some competitors unwittingly sabotage their own deadlift efforts by wearing disadvantageous footwear.  However, I'd much rather see other lifters hit PR's and lift the most they possibly can.  When competitors are hitting tough lifts and making PR's, the energy levels at a meet go through the roof. It's an awesome experience.

I have a pair of the ubiquitous Chuck Taylors and the sole thickness at the heel is approximately 0.75".  There is also another model of Chuck Taylors that have a thinner sole, approximately 0.5" thick.  Both shoes have a much thicker sole than my deadlift slippers or the wrestling shoes worn by accomplished sumo deadlifters.  Because I deadlift conventional style, I don't need lateral support in my deadlift footwear so the bare minimum slippers have always been my choice.  My deadlift slippers have only a thin piece of leather for a sole so when I'm on the platform, I'm essentially standing on the thickness of two socks.  Compared to lifters wearing Chucks or similar shoes, my deadlift starting position is a good half to three quarters of an inch lower.

Andy Bolton understands deadlift footwear

I train wearing "sport shoes" because it's like always doing deficit deadlifts.  When I get to a meet and deadlift in my deadlift slippers, it literally feels like I'm doing a rack pull.  That extra 0.75" makes that much difference.  How much could 0.75" make?  My heaviest training deadlift in the gym prior to this weekend's meet was 585 lbs with a failure at 605 lbs.  In the meet, I succeeded with 622 lbs.  Some of that was due to a competition psyche job but some was due to a much more advantageous start position.

If any of you remain unconvinced, next deadlift workout, either prop up the plates a half an inch or so on some rubber mats or take your shoes off and deadlift in your socks.  The bar will always be a fixed distance off the ground due to the standardized dimensions of the big plates.  The only tweak a lifter can use to make the lift easier is to get as far under the bar as possible.  Wearing shoes with the thinnest possible sole is the only way to do that.

I read internet forums and eager lifters are always asking about the latest training programs or the efficacy of the latest, greatest supplements but I continually see lifters handicap themselves by wearing shoes with standard thickness soles when deadlifting in competition.  I don't understand it.  The differences between nutritional supplements and/or training programs are very hard to measure and when one can, it takes months or years of training to do so.  "Raising the bar" by lowering yourself via thin soled deadlift slippers creates instantaneous, positive measurable differences with far fewer confounding variables.  It's the easiest way to increase one's total but it is overlooked by so many.  Even if one's deadlift form has technique flaws like a too-wide grip, one will still see immediate benefits by getting closer to the floor and raising the bar.

Meet Report, 100% Raw Powerlifting Toronto Open

After yesterday's weight debacle, subsequent re-feeding and re-hydrating and going to bed a full 15 lbs heavier than my aborted attempt to weigh in at less than 220.46 lbs, I had a terrible night's sleep interrupted by some of the worst abdominal cramps I can remember.  It was bad enough that I actually thought that I might be having a heart attack if the pains weren't so low in my mid-section.  Anyways, after what seemed like a good 30 minutes of agony, I managed to fall back asleep for a about an hour until my alarm woke me at 0600 hrs.

A quick warm-up shoveling the driveway due to one of the few snowstorms we've had this year in the Greater Toronto Area was a nice wake-up.  Soon Vivian and I were driving the 60 or so kilometres to the contest venue at Variety Village in Scarborough.  The drive was slow due to the poor road conditions but we got there in plenty of time.  I actually felt pretty good considering what I had gone through trying to make a 19 lb weight cut.

Squat warmups were done and it was time to compete.  My opener was 192.5 kgs or 424 lbs.  It was fairly easy so I made my planned jump to 200 kgs for my second.  This was a bit harder but after reviewing video of my lift, realized I was still going a couple inches too deep.  I called for 205 kgs or 451 lbs for my third and decided I would try to cut it an inch or so higher.  That strategy worked well as I still had depth to spare and moved the 205 kgs smoother than my previous attempt.  I probably left 5 kgs on the platform but to be honest, my training leading up to the meet didn't project a 210kg/463 lb squat.

first attempt squat:  good lift with 192.5 kgs

second attempt squat:  good lift with 200 kgs

third attempt squat:  good lift with 205 kgs

Bench presses also went better than expected.  I don't know if it was due to lifting on a proper competition bench, getting a lift-off, having a surface that my shoes could grip for leg drive or all three but I nailed all three of my benches and my shoulder didn't hurt at all.  I went 130/135/140 kgs and again I think I left some weight on the platform, this time probably 2.5 kgs.

first attempt bench press: good lift with 130 kgs/286 lbs

second attempt bench press:  good lift with 135 kgs/297 lbs

third attempt bench press:  good lift with 140 kgs/308 lbs

Finally it was on to the deadlift.  Despite not making weight for the 100kg class, it turned out that I was more competitive in the 110kg class anyways.  I was behind at sub-total time but knew I had a bigger deadlift than the lifters ahead of me.  Whether it would be big enough to make up the difference would be the question but I wouldn't be in a position to answer than until I had successfully made attempts one and two.  My opening attempt was a comfortable 250 kgs/551 lbs.  I then made my now customary jump to 275 kgs/606 lbs.  This lift was slow and hard.  After two successful deadlifts, I was now in the lead but another lifter, Dan Gabcan had an attempt still to go that would put him in first.  All along I had planned on taking a shot at 282.5 kgs so even though it was more than I needed to win if Dan got his third, I committed to it because that's the number I had come to the meet to get.  It turns out Dan got his third, I thought he would as he had displayed abundant speed on his first and second attempts.

Unfortunately due to technical difficulties, I didn't get any video of my third attempt but I'll try to describe how it seemed to me:

First I had fellow competitor Martin Wong slap me in the head 3 or 4 times to drive me into a blind rage.  Once fully tunnel focused, I stormed onto the platform and started taking my hook grip.  Then I thought maybe I had forgotten to buckle my lever belt so I let go and checked my belt.  It was buckled.  I went back to the bar and set my hook grip, lowered my hips and started to pull.  And pull.  And pull.  And finally the bar broke free of the ground.  I got it moving to mid-shin and by then I knew it was going to go.  I kept pulling and could start to hear the crowd or the platform loaders/spotters yell encouragement. I think the yelling got louder as the bar rose higher to lockout but I can't be sure.  Finally I locked it out, got the down signal and three white lights.  Basically it was like the video of my second attempt except slower and with pre-lift slapping.

first attempt deadlift:  good attempt with 250 kgs/551 lbs

second attempt deadlift: good attempt with 275 kgs/606 lbs

After hitting that third deadlift of 282.5 kgs/622 lbs, I had vaulted back into first place.  It turns out I also ended up winning Best Overall Masters Male lifter as well.  Coincidentally, the only other time I've won a Masters Best Lifter Award was at another meet, the 2010 Ontario Powerlifting Association Niagara Open where I also pulled 282.5 kgs for the win.  In that meet I was still using the mixed grip and also wore a squat suit for extra support at the beginning of the lift so I consider this most recent success with 282.5 kgs to be an evolution rather than a return to form.

The last deadlift tore up my hand pretty good but it was worth it.

A group shot of all the Best Lifter award winners (male and female junior, open,and masters) plus meet promoter Barry McEvoy, judge Bobby Bonner and Hunter Claypatch of 100% Raw Powerlifting.  Wayne Claypatch of 100% Raw Powerlifting is the guy taking the photo.

Weight cutting experiment a failure by 81 grams.

When I committed to tomorrow's 100% Raw Powerlifting Toronto Open, I decided to enter the 100kg weight class thinking my bodyweight would be very close to that limit and any last minute weight cutting would be minimal.  As the date drew closer and my own dietary compliance ended up being less than optimal, I knew if I was going to make the 100kg weight class limit, I'd need to make a significant effort.

I had never before tried to do a significant weight cut on an 18 hr weigh-in.  The most I'd ever cut was 9 lbs based on a Monday morning bloat weight and my actual weigh-in weight the morning of the competition.  In actuality the amount of weight I actually cut in the last 48 hrs before the weigh-in was only 4 lbs.  In most meets that I've entered in the past three and a half years, the weigh-in period has been 2 hrs so there wasn't much sense in dramatic weight cuts since there isn't time to fully re-hydrate.  For the last competition in the 100% Raw Powerlifting federation, I didn't cut weight at all, just weighed in at my normal weight.  Since I had never before tried a significant weight cut, I foolishly thought it would be both easy and a fun experiment.

On Monday morning, after the previous night's Super Bowl indulgences, I weighed in at a bloated 239 lbs.  Going through the standard process of super-hydrating and reducing consumption of bulky foods, I started the actual cutting phase weighing 231 lbs.  At that time, Thursday morning, I didn't think 11 lbs would present that much of a challenge.  I drank about 1.5 liters of liquid Thursday with my last consumption of any liquid stopping at 1 pm.  When I weighed myself that evening, I was still 231 lbs.  I went to the gym and did some light cardio and then did 3 rounds in the steam room alternated with cold showers and a couple sessions in the whirlpool.  I went to bed that night weighing 229 lbs and was starting to worry the water wasn't leaving as quickly as I thought it would.

I woke up this morning still weighing 227.5 lbs about 10 hrs before my weigh-in.  At this point the "experiment" was no longer fun.  I did a hot bath at home and dropped 1/2 a pound.  I went back to the gym and started with three rounds in the steam room alternated with cold showers and whirlpool sessions.  My weight dropped 2.5 lbs after that.  I then dressed and did 30 minutes of easy cardio to keep up the sweating and to recover from the steam room.  That dropped another 1/2 lb.  I then did another two steam sessions and dropped 2 more pounds.  I was still about two pounds heavy by my scale so I did another hot bath, dropping another 1/2 pound.  At this point I was ready to pull the plug on my experiment since I really didn't need to be in the 100kg weight class.

Instead I hoped my scale at home was heavy and I bundled up in a few layers of clothing and drove to the weigh-in with the heater on full blast and my seat warmers on high.  Since I was driving from Oakville to Scarborough during the evening rush hour, this provided another hour to induce some sweating.  I also had a pack of gum in my pocket although I really hoped I wouldn't need it.  At the weigh-in my weight was now 100.31 kgs in my underwear.  Removing those dropped another 0.16 kgs.  I was still 0.15 kg over.  I was ready to just accept that number and lift in the 110 kg class but I still had the pack of gum so I went to the locker room and proceeded to chew and spit, my tactic of last resort.  It's also a great tactic to create an intense dislike of chewing gum.  After going through all five pieces of Hubba Bubba cherry watermelon, I re-weighed again.  100.08 kgs.  81 grams over the limit or about the weight of 14 quarters according to Wolfram Alpha.

I could've proceeded to the treadmill or the track and ran a few laps to get those final few ounces out of my pores but at that point the experiment wasn't worth it.  In hindsight, I failed to cut the required weight because I simply didn't have to do it.

I learned a lot by putting myself through the process but I'll likely never do it again.  I'm simply too fat at 230-235 lbs and if I lose the extra bodyfat that stubbornly clings, I'll actually weigh 220 lbs without having to manipulate my hydration levels.

After accepting my weigh-in weight, I proceeded to drink 1.5 litres of water and 500 ml of pedialyte.  Nearly as soon as the liquid hit my stomach, I started to sweat profusely.  I thought that reaction was interesting.  I then went to get some food.

So far I've eaten and drank the following since 6 pm:

2 Five Guys cheeseburgers with 'everything'
full regular order of Cajun fries (I needed the salt to help re-bloat for tomorrow)
3 refills of my 32 oz drink (diet coke)
order of Thai chicken bites at Boston Pizza  (I was hoping they'd be showing the Jeremy Lin game but they weren't and he ended up going off for 38 against trash-talking Kobe)
order of dry pepper rib tips at Boston Pizza
3 pints of ice water
2 pints of diet pepsi
500 ml of Pedialyte
500 ml of water

and urinated once.

Right now I weigh 235 lbs but I'm still thirsty so I'll probably drink another pint or two of water before I go to sleep.

Last pre-competition workout and cutting weight

Today would have normally been a heavy deadlift day but with the competition this Saturday, I decided to just do some easy speed pulls.  Nothing much to report on them, they were easy as expected and won't impact on my recovery any.

Deadlifts:  315x3, 405x2x5 sets

Did some light overhead presses as well, also concentrating on speed.

Overhead presses:  135x5x5 sets

The main challenge of today and the previous two days has been the "super-hydration" process prior to initiating the water cutting process for Friday evening's weigh-in.  I usually don't bother with much of a weight cutting process because the Ontario Powerlifting Association uses a 2 hr weigh-in policy.  Since 2 hrs doesn't allow for much re-hydration, I'll usually just cut 3-4 lbs accomplished by simply stopping food and water for 12 hrs prior and maybe one hot bath.

For the competition this weekend, the 100% Raw Powerlifting Federation utilizes night-before weigh-ins.  This creates a much larger window to re-hydrate without adversely affecting performance.  I had originally planned on being very close to the 100kg weight limit even before having to cut any weight but my diet wasn't very tight and I found myself about 14 lbs over the weight limit a week out.  Since cutting 14 lbs for a night before weigh-in isn't a huge amount of suffering, I decided I'd cut the weight just for fun.

So far, it's not fun at all.  The standard process involves super-hydrating for three days and then cutting all liquids hoping the body rebounds and dehydrates itself most of the way.  Day one was supposed to be 2 gallons of water, day two was 2.5 gallons, and today was scheduled to be 3 gallons.  Drinking that much water in a day is a definite chore.  Add to that the constant visits to the bathroom and a non-stop full bladder.  One plus is I haven't been tempted to eat that much.

Tomorrow, I cut off all water and can eat some "low residue" food until about noon.  "Low residue" foods are foods found by the Australian Institute of Sport to digest with minimal waste.  The idea being, they won't leave bulk in the digestive system that creates unnecessary weight.  Not really looking forward to eating any of the foods on the list because they're all high-glycemic carbs and will likely make me crave something like a pizza or a hamburger.  I'll probably hit a sweat session in the evening and then see how far out I am Friday morning.

I'll have all day Friday to sweat out any remaining pounds before I weigh-in at approximately 5 pm.  After that, it's some re-hydration via Pedialyte and then some, probably alot, of food.

Squats and Overhead Presses

My competition, the 100% Raw Powerlifting Toronto Open, is this Saturday so this workout was scheduled to be medium intensity, low volume.  Squats and overhead presses were the main lifts and I planned on working up to some practice singles in the Squat and then pushing the overhead press to whatever I could move.

Squats went about like I figured.  Singles with 405, 425, and 425 went about as well as I would've expected in the last week before the meet.  Not real explosive but I expected that.  This week is about active recovery and as little excitation as possible since I'll be plenty hyped come meet time.  Finished with a single, back-down set of 385x2 reps.  It wasn't particularly clean but it was easy.

Squats:  135x10, 225x10, 315x5, 365x3, 405x1, 425x1, 425x1, 385x2

Overhead presses went well.  After last week's two plate press PR, I wanted to hit that again today to validate the two plate overhead press.  I hate when you hit those PR's that were the result of a perfect day and then it takes weeks to get back to that number.  I wanted to prove to myself that I was setting a new level, not just touching a milestone and then falling back.

Unlike last week, I did a double at 205 in order to treat the attempt at a 225 single as if it were just a workout weight rather than a challenge.  Plus, a couple weeks ago, I failed at hitting 225x1 after a 205x2 set.  Today, the 225x1 was smoother than last week's PR attempt.  The bar pressed smoothly past my head with no stumble and while the lockout was hard, there was never a doubt I was going to finish it.  After that, I finished with two sets of 205x2 reps.  The four sets with over 200 lbs were the most volume I've done with that weight so progress has been made.   Moving forward, my goal will be to triple with 205 and double with 225.

Overhead press:  135x5x2 sets, 185x2, 205x2, 225x1, 205x2, 205x2

Finished up with four sets of face pulls and then home to continue the super-hydration process.  Drinking 2 gallons of water is not fun or easy and I'm not really looking forward to 2.5 gallons tomorrow and 3 gallons on Wednesday.  It's all part of the weight-cutting process that starts on Thursday and will hopefully end Friday evening with me comfortably making the 100kg weight class limit.

Front squat form check and pre-meet Bench Press workout

After seeing this recent video posted by elite level Canadian lifter, Jon Stewart, I was motivated to try to put extra effort into my front squat workout today.

Sets of 4 w/160 kgs looking very easy.  

I managed to find someone to video one of my sets with 255 lbs and wasn't totally horrified with what I saw.  Compared to Jon Stewart above, I have alot of work to do but I can already tell I'm getting some useful carryover to my power back squat.  I'm still using the 'zombie carry' to force myself to keep my torso upright and the stress on my quads.  If I were to use the 'california carry', not only does it irritate my left shoulder but it allows me to cheat a bit by getting some forward lean.  With the 'zombie carry' there's no hands to try to keep the bar in the shoulder groove.

A much weaker front squat video

Front Squats:  135x10, 135x10, 185x5, 245x3, 255x3, 255x3, 245x3

After front squats it was time for my final bench press workout before next weekend's competition.   I planned to go as heavy as possible for some practice singles.  My shoulder didn't feel excellent but it also didn't seem to hold me back from going through my planned progression.  I was very happy to get two singles with 295 and then three good doubles with 265.  The shoulder still isn't great but at least the regression seems to have stopped for now.

Bench Press:  45x10, 95x10, 135x5, 185x5, 225x3, 255x3, 275x1, 285x1, 295x1x2 sets, 265x2x3 sets

After three sets of face pulls, I am looking forward to one last squat workout and then starting the water cutting process to make the 100kg class for friday evening's weigh-in.

Last pre-competition deadlift workout

Nine days out from my competition and knock on wood, things are feeling pretty good in the Deadlift areas.  I didn't pop a new a gym PR but what I did seemed to take very little out of me.  I think my ramping up of deadlift volume this training cycle has definitely increased my work capacity.  If that turns out to be true, I should be able to parlay that into some new PR's (hopefully an all-time PR, not just a 'comeback' PR) in the training cycles after this coming meet.

Deadlift:  315x5, 405x3, 495x1, 545x1, 585x1, 605x0, 525x1x3 sets (super-setted with shrugs)

The attempt at 605 got off the ground but wasn't moving anywhere after that.  Lifting in shoes versus the deadlift slippers at the meet always costs me about 20 lbs.  I also usually get a pretty good psych on at the meet that's good for a little more.  Prior to my last meet in September, I didn't lift anything heavier than 555 for a single in the three months leading up to the meet and I lifted 606 on the platform so I feel pretty good about my planned second attempt at 606 and third at 617 or 622 on the 11th.

The three back off singles with 525 were super-setted with barbell shrugs.  To be honest, I can't shrug that much weight very far but it's still a workout wrestling with it once I get it off the floor.  A good combination of speed single and upper body stress work--I've found that to be pretty valuable addition to my training arsenal.

Barbell Shrugs:  floor pick-up 525x5, 525x5, 525x5

It was also light overhead press day and normally my core and upper traps have been pretty shaken from the deadlift and shrug work so these light presses are a challenge.  Today, it really didn't seem like the deadlift and shrug work took as much out of me as prior workouts.  I purposely kept my weights in the prescribed ranges but added extra work sets and ended up exceeded prior light day workout volumes.

Overhead Press:  135x5, 135x5, 165x5x5 sets

Finished up with dumbbell rows which suffered a bit because my grip was shot even though I strapped up for deadlifts and shrugs.