Winging It No More....HELP!

So I know there are all kinds of fancy pantsy powerlifting training programs and I get asked all the time what 'kind' of training we do. Well the simple answer is we consistently train for purpose with appropriate intensity within the parameters of our capabilities with the constant aim of achieving big lifts to the highest possible standard...but somehow that just doesn't have a marketable ring to it so we just call it 'winging it' training. And this is what we have been doing up until now and it has served us well.

The royal 'we' is me, Mr G & Rik and between us we have a quite competent little training group with great dynamics and wicked banter. At first it was pretty much just me and I was fortunate to get started in a knowledgeable environment but I am somewhat of a training whore and will go and find people who do what I want to do well and train with them. I did this with powerlifting. It was Emma James who first shouted TITSSSSS to me on the bench and let powerlifting steal my heart.

For my first comp I followed a very VERY basic and cobbled together (and probably wrong) Westside style training. Post first comp Mr G joined me to keep me company after he decided to hang up his spangly trunks. This worked great for me, always having someone to chase, pushing me, challenging me and keeping me safe. It soon became apparent that Mr G needed some young strong buck to lock horns with though as he thrives on challenge. It probably took us a good 12 months before we acquired Rik...seriously we put out powerlifting WLTM ads with zero success. Seems no fucker wanted to train with us until a former member came up trumps with a friend of his. So our trio became complete and we could started to really 'wing it' full power!

We have made continuous improvements which is great but me & Mr G, who is now a full on bodybuilding to powerlifting convert (praise be...it took 18 months), discussed that if we were to make the progress we wanted to make then we needed to bring someone in from the outside and have a bash at a more systematic approach. We narrowed it down to two choices and finally the most suitable option fell into our laps and being a believer in opportunities identified & acted upon approach we came to work with our very first full time, full control coach.

So the training logs that will now be posted on here are all new to me. I feel like I have two left feet for 80% of the time. I also for the first time EVER have a training diary and here I will share it with you...warts and all.

5/9/13
Coaching session with Nichola which was lots of technical work, corrections, goal setting, prodding, poking & headbutting.

6/9/13
OH Squats
Warm Ups
15kg x 5/5/5 to a low box 4/1/1/ free
*Left shoulder, bi & tri feel really tender and showing weakness

Deadlifts
Warm Ups
70kg x 5/5
110kg x 5
*Left arm from trap to middle finger have a toothache like pain so I put on some compression sleeves.
130kg x 3/3/3 - hurt like a bitch on left side but all I concentrated on was '3 broken ribs'. I knew it was nerve trapping rather than muscular so was sure I wasn't going to do any permanent damage.

Power Clean
40kg x 5/5/5/5

Squats - paused
40kg x 10/10/10/10
Lat Pull Downs 70lb x 10/10/10/10

Left arm and shoulder feel fucked yet all back to normal 2 hours post training. Indication that nerve is trapping C4/5 probably due to traps pinching on OH squats.

9/9/13
Bench
40/60/70/80kg x 5
90kg x 3/3/3

Spiders - 2 blues, 1 white
Bar x 6/6/6/5/4

Holds - 1 blue
+80kg x 6 seconds
+90kg x 6/6s

Tri Dips
6/6

10/09/13
OH Squats
15kg x 5/5/5/5 to box

Squats
65/80kg x 5
95kg x 3
100kg x 3

Box Squats - paused
75kg x 4/4/4/4

V Squat SS Glute Bridge x 3
50kgx 10 60kg x 10

12/09/13
Bench
60kg x 3/3/3/3/3/3/3/3
Wide Lat PD's
90 - 180lb x 10-8 - 4 sets
Wide Chest Supported Row
100kg x 8/8/8/8

13/9/13
OH Squats
19kg x 5/5/5 to box & 5 free
*changed grip

Deads
W/U
70kg x 5
110kg x 3
130kg x 3
150kg x 4/4/4

Powercleans
40kg x 8/5/5/5/5 - still not winging these.

40kg paused squats 10/10/10
Single let hypers 2 x 10

Well that's all folks. Expect more of the same.

Over sleeping! Kareoke! World Records and TITTTTTTSSSSSS!!!!!

Well that was quite a weekend. I always have to take a few days stepping outside of my competitive circle before I can really start to process the whole thing. With the age of the t’interweb videos and photos trickle through for the few days after a comp so even though the event is over the after tremors take a little longer to subside.

Folkestone is a looooooooonnnggggggg drive from Manchester. Our little team consisted of me, Mr G, our training partner Rik, and joining us from Olympic Sports Gym in Ashton were Cheryl Kelsall & chief coach Gaz Boulton. After having to wake us up because we over slept (DOH) we guzzled a coffee and then shoehorned ourselves in the car. Of course much was made of the fact that we over slept as I had been a mini time keeping Gestapo Commandant in the days prior with texts, pm's and face to face orders of not to be late. Poor Cheryl had to take the kiddie middle seat for the entire journey there and back and if that isn’t incentive to go up at least TWO weight classes then I don’t know what is. AND she forgot Pedro!!!! FFS Woman don't ever have children unless you marry a politician as only then is it OK to absently forget your offspring. Listening to Radio 2 with some ‘interesting’ music choices it was a good atmosphere and new karaoke songs were found.

The British Powerlifting Union (BPU) /World Powerlifting Congress (WPC) Folkestone International Open Grand Prix 2013 was a qualifier for the WPC World Championships which takes place in Prague in Oct/Nov of this year for which I had already qualified by winning my class last year. I felt that I needed more platform time before the Worlds as last year I was totally over awed AND under prepared.  Even though we were convinced we had taken all variables into account, we so hadn’t and that was a great learning curve. I think choosing do this comp was a very good move in hindsight as I made mistakes that I can now work on for the next 8 weeks and they were the type of silly mistakes that can only be made on platform. In powerlifting to really put into practice what we train in the gym you have to have you lifts up to be judged AND be prepared to accept the decisions made, learn from them and move on. What you THINK you are doing and what you are ACTUALLY doing can be worlds apart. Gym lifts just don’t cut it!

Weigh in went pretty smooth as I had decided to lift in 82.5kg instead of 75kg yet I wanted to make sure I was at the lower end of the weight class so weighed in at 75.5kg exactly to plan, perfect skinny fat burd. A little water manipulation meant I wasn’t on my arse. So some good food and rehydration would bring everything back to where it needed to be. This time I took in more salty foods than I have previously done and I think it worked really well. No sugar hangover. BONUS!

As this is my blog I will focus on how my day went. The comp was being run slightly differently in that there were 3 groups of two flights and each group would perform all 3 lifts before moving onto the next group. Me, being a bit of a numbnuts and a giddy kipper,  didn’t quite get this concept so I started my warm up for squats wayyyyyyyyyy too early. I had planned to get in early to ensure that I didn’t get left behind once the big boys started as I was in the 2^nd group and 3^rd lifter on but seriously not THAT early ! Due to this total knobhead error I decided to drop my opener very slightly as the time between my last warm up and my bar being loaded was just too long. Gaz had his work cut out with me and Cheryl on the day but as he always does he listened, hugged, growled and  then took suitable action which in this case was bitch slapping my legs before I went on. He did this with way to much of a pleasurable smile on his face and I am sure it was payback for me digging my elbow in his traps the previous week. It worked though, opening squat was sweet and the game was now on! My love of squats is non-existent and without knee wraps they are just plain wrong and fucking dirty as far as I am concerned yet this was the only lift that I got 9/9 for whites….go figure!

Bench warm ups felt sweet & strong in fact, better than they had done in training the week before. So opener was nice and easy and we took a jump to a weight I had failed twice in the last comp where I just couldn’t lock out. This time up went up a dream and I really thought I had it until I saw 2 reds from side refs which meant somewhere along the lift my ass came up. Now this is where platform time is so important. I was totally convinced my arse was planted like a big ass planted thing, it was actually the main focus during the lift but I must have lost it for a split second and BAM reds. OK this wasn’t going to happen again. I put the same lift in as this would still be a full power personal best for me. Went out and had it nailed – 3 whites.

Only deads to go.  I fucking LOVE deadlifting. I love deadlifting in front of a crowd. Actually I just love lifting in front of a crowd. I am a born show off. Gaz says I am a Peacock Lifter in that I always perform better in front of an audience and it’s true, I do which is such a relief.  I had put in a nice easy opener that I can get all day every day. Ahhhhh but can you really? Here we are again back to platform experience with your lifts being scrutinised and judged. Are you REALLY doing what you think you are doing? The bar flew up, I looked the ref in the eye ready for the down command…and waited…and waited…(internal dialogue) Put you fucking hard down! Ok…what have I missed? Oh KNEES locked them out even more…still no??? And shaking his head WTF??? Locking knees are going to snap…head still shaking. Down command given – 3 reds??? Now I KNOW I have missed something and when I left platform Mr G was waiting for me and said it can only be your shoulders, they want them pulled right back, so next time stick your tits out! Got to love that husband of mine. Next lift went in and I locked out like Dolly Parton on a fucking windshield! 3 whites. In reality this was a small movement of correction of sternum UP shoulder blades back & down. This will make the women I coach piss as I am ALWAYS banging on about shoulders back AND down. We picked 3^rd and it went up faster than I thought it would, weight stalled and shifted onto my toes so pulled back on my heels locked out and thought TITS!!!!! It wasn’t smooth and I knew centre ref wasn’t happy but I got a fortunate 2-1 which I will take just as I will take 1-2 when I failed the bench. 

So the final results –

Squat 145KG (319LBS)   Bench 107.5KG(236.5LBS)  Deadlift 197.5KG (434.5LBS)                              TOTAL 450KG (990LBS)

As an added Bonus ALL the lifts are M1 82.5KG WPC Raw World & European Records as well as setting the standard for this class within the UK with the new BPU British Powerlifting Records.

The referees were duly thanked for being firm but fair as the red lights were probably the most positive thing from the whole day. The strength & power is there but it needs to be refined to technical perfection if I truly want to be GREAT at powerlifting. There is so much to be worked on before October and we are working with a new performance coach who will be taking no prisoners. I love meeting people who have forgotten more than you will ever know…the thing is I don’t think she actually forgets anything.

Please feel free to join me on this mad cap journey so I can prove a point that no one gives a flying fuck about!