Days late and dollars short

From the meet:
I totalled 1493 (and change - everything was in kilos). i weighed in half a pound over the 242 limit (after several trips to the can from nervousness) and lifted in the 275 class. Squat opener went ok. Second attempt at 512 was good. My back was holding up. I let M4 pick my third atttempt which was something like 530 or 540 (neither one of us could remember which). I cut it a 1/16-inch high because I felt like I was going to fall (came up ok) and got 3 reds. Bench press was a disaster from a performance standpoint. From a health standpoint I came out with everything in one piece. My first attempt I missed the start command (wasn't used to it - my fault). I went to my second attempt weight anyway and missed the press command. WTF? I left the weight the same (407) and hit it the third time. (Thanks for the reminder Smitty - "Commands Ed. Commands." lol I got it...finally). Warming up for the deadlift I felt my back tweak a bit. My opener was a little heavier than I expected (probably a combination of the injury flaring up and just being tired). I hit a deadlift PR on number two (573 - and missed 601 at my knees on the third).

What did I learn?
I came in too light for a variety of reasons (approximately 12-15 pounds less than planned and/ or what I had been training at). That hurt some. I don't usually worry about weight anyway; I just try to come in strong as I can. The meet was VERY well run; started at ten am and awards were being handed out at three pm (!). Prior to and during the squats the gym was closed up and there was no ventilation and it got hot and that affected me. I felt dizzy and off-balance squatting which was also a technical issue. then someone opened some doors and turned on some fans and everything was better. Much better.

Bench press performance (or lack thereof) was mainly mental. I f*&^$d up the commands. I opened lighter in the squat and bench b/c of my weight loss, injury (back and to a lesser extent shoulder. This was the first meet I had done following my shoulder PT/ rehab.) I was feeling gassed and overall pretty crappy after the 573 pull but figured WTF I had trained for the 600 and it was time to suck it up and do it. Unfortunately it wasn't to be. It came off the floor ok and stalled out at my knees.

What's next?
Instead of going back to the usual training, I decided to stay away from barbells for a bit and focused on stuff I usually did not do. Which was also fun and refreshing from a mental standpoint. Three weeks post meet I decided to, in the words of Rocky the squirrel, try something "completely different" which was Dan John's "Easy strength" (a misnomer if there ever was one). Forty days of the same thing with varying loads and degrees of intensity. I also wanted something I didn't have to think about too much because I anticipated being busier in the summer. I also saw it as a way to increase muscle mass that for us geriatrics (haha) decrease as we get older. I am also doing some form of "loaded carry" 4-5x a week (farmer's walk and variations, sled drags, overhead carries and thanks to two friends that must hate me - yoke walks. I knew the yoke and I would not get along well when I dropped part of it on my foot while trying to put it together.)

Four weeks into that, what do I think? I hit a 30 pound PR on the axle deadlift (505). My weight is back up to 250 +/-. And it is not entirely ice-cream weight. I started my rotation with the front squat and hit a PR in that in week 2 (and the aforementioned axle deadlift PR) so strength is good. In the third week I did some goofy s%^t (and/ or known as "stoopid human tricks").

My daughter the thrower is teaching me how to throw. So in week 3 I had my first lesson and came away with a VERY sore knee and a realization that my balance and coordination are lacking. The same day of my first throwing lesson I hit a pain-free post-rehab PR in the push press and did some Litvinovs (yeah look that up - I've lost my mind and entered some kind of mid-life physical fitness crisis). The squats I did with the Litvinovs felt great though. I hit 315x8 easily. But the rest of the week my knee felt worse and still is not 100% (but is SLOWLY improving). The second time that week I pressed with the Swiss bar and swapped squats for heavy KB swings but there was no way I was running. It hoit too much.

So I am now approximately 8 weeks post meet and feeling pretty good. The knee is mending. The shoulder is much better (I am still doing rehab exercises several times per week). I plan on following this training cycle through another 2 weeks (if my math is right) then gradually switch back to what I had been doing.

Thursday evening I was running several kids through our evening training session when the subject of age came up and it was determined that if we added up all five of my trainees ages, I was still older than them by one year. I relay this to you because as I get older I find I have more health-related goals as opposed to fitness goals; longevity being one. But by no means has my pursuit of strength slowed. I don't think I will ever be able to give that up.

I will be updating more of my training as the weeks go by so you can see what I am doing. I may also include some of my daughter's training and some of the throws training we (me) are doing.

Highlights of this week (6/17/22):
Safety bar squat 315x5x2 sets
Close grip bench press 225/235x5x2 sets
Close grip bench press 290x2
Snatch grip deadlift (with straps) 350x2

One of the ideas behind the ES program is to make the lifts "easier" and the strength and hypertrophy increases is from the frequency of the lifting (ideally 5x/ week over 6 days). So the lifts above do not reflect maxes but what I have been using (and yes they are getting "easier").

And for all the Westside bashers out there...

Don't be hatin'
Ed T.