Meet Report

From Sunday 19 July, 2009 "Strange Days"

I thought it was an omen of things to come when I saw what I was wearing. I got dressed in the dark after waking at some un-Godly hour to go meet the crew to go to the meet. It was still dark and I was most assuredly, half-awake at best. But as we sat in the diner, I was able to look myself over in the early morning light and found I had clean clothes on and they were all on corrrectly (not inside out, underwear over shorts, etcetera). I decided today could be a good day...

Afterwards we all agreed that it was a weird meet. The atmosphere was very...tense. Lots of hollering and screaming about things that couldn't much be changed. Could some things have been better? Or run smoother? Sure, on both accounts. There's always room for improvement. But the facility was nice. The warm-up room was well equipped. There were some nice lifts made. Shawn attributed the tension to the "McClanahan-Hatfield Feud". A possibility. I know I almost lost a nose in the bloodshed when a door blew up in my face. Exploded by a jacked up lifter pissed off about something. Still don't know what that was about...The judging was strict but fair. When the female lifter broke her arm benching, the proceedings were interrupted briefly while she was rendered medical attention. (I hope she is ok. Not sure of her name but she looked to be on her way to a good day when fate intervened.) The disc jockey, who was hired for a fee of $200, apparently made no friends when he failed to crank up the tunes quickly enough for some lifters after the medical emergency. We know the fee was two bills because the guy backstage was screaming about it. (I thought the music was pretty good. Lotsa DMX, some Snoop Dog, AC/ DC; a nice mix.)

One of the classiest things I saw/ heard occurred when they were preparing to take the injured lifter off the platform. Backstage we were a little concerned about the delay and whether or not 4Board had cooled off too much during the delay. Chuck Vogelpohl was helping some lifters and loaded up the bar on the benchpress for the guy to do something (looked like a static hold or something he was trying to demonstrate to him). Anyway, Chuck broke the silence, announcing just loud enough for everyone to hear, though it was only perhaps directed at his group, "alright, time to get back to work." I though it set the tone for everyone. And back to work we went.

4Board redeemed himself for the "May Mauling" he took. He went 9-for-9; a perfect day. He set PRs in his lifts and ended up first in his class (100 kg.). If I remember correctly, he went 470-385-565 in the squat/ bench and deadlift. The man is built to deadlift and he showed it. He left a little on the table but overall it was a great second effort. How many people who had the troubles he had in May would have just packed up and said "screw it" and not competed again. Yesterday, 4Board separated himself from a large group of gym lifters by putting himself on the line and showing what he had. Not many people are willing to put themselves in that spot. Shawn told him before he went onstage for his bench opener (the same 350-pounds he missed thrice in May), "this is the biggest lift you'll ever make in your life, so....don't miss it." 4Board had a good day (he "didn't have to use his AK"...like Dr. Dre).

Shawn had an "interesting" day as well. We learned a lot. As I watched him doing stretching backstage pre-squat warm-up, I made my way to my cooler with all my diet "food" in it because I was sure that I was hungry because I was seeing things. I walked up to him with my shaker cup in hand (how gay I must have looked; I should've worn a wife-beater with a backwards ball cap to complete the "scene") and said, "Bro, what are you doing?!" (I didn't actually say "bro" but with the shaker cup, backwards ball cap and wife beater, it's all that's necessary to complete an ugly picture.) Shawn said he was a little tight so I took him into the hall and we did some hip flexibility and mobility work. (Apparently my sugar was not dropping.) But if he was concerned about this now and really had never been before, I realized that this was going to be a day different than the others!

It was not a good day for him. He dumped 700 in the warm-up room which really left me head scratching especially after the display he put on with 900 two weeks prior. Subsequently he lowered his opened to 800. To make a long story short, he could not hit depth with 800, 900 or 1000 pounds. The weight flew up but he couldn't get down far enough. Shawn sat out the benchpress. Then, he decided to pull a deadlift. He took 675 to open and got it turned down 2 to 1. It didn't look good from the back but from pictures I saw from another angle it looked ok. But it looked heavy. And he declared himself done. Post mortem analysis was that the problem(s) were part technical (not enough time in the gear) and part physical (a lack of flexibility and mobility). Amy Weisenberger, a veteran and champion powerlifter (and physical therapist?) said it best, "it's not a question of you not listening to what others tell you. It's the fact that you are not physically capable of doing it." Which should be further elaborated on to clarify that it's not that the weight is too heavy (I have seen him pull a 701 pound deadlift raw!), it is a problem that his hips, etcetera are too tight and he can't move the way he needs to.

So, like I said earlier. We learned things. 4Board found some areas to improve, Shawn did too and I think I did too (as a lifter and a coach). Powerlifting legend and deadlift monster Jim Cash pulled two world records (for Master's group) with lifts of 585 and 620. That was pretty cool to see! And The Mole, another guy from our gym placed first in the Junior class. At the conclusion, we all decided it was a great day (with great company) and first class entertainment all the way!

We also determined that the "McClanahan-Hatfield" Feud will never be settled and that Shawn needs a better "theme" song (to be played when he comes on-stage to lift). I chose "Don't you want me baby" by the Human League. 4Board suggested "Come on Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners or "You give love a bad name" by Bon Jovi. Other suggestions were "Do you really want to hurt me" by Culture Club, "My Sharona" by the Knack, "Gettin' Funky" by Kid n' Play, "We're not gonna take it" by Twisted Sister, "Burning down the house" by the B52's and Shirley Basset's "Goldfinger". (Feel free to send any suggestions of other 80's hits. A good theme song can make or break a lifter. To paraphrase Louie Simmons, are you more apt to worry about someone coming on stage to Patsy Cline or Tommy Tutone?) If he's a SHW named Shawn I'd go with Tommy T. !

Stay strong!
Ed T.