Category: Powerlifting

Training Week in Review 2: The Sequel

We all know it to be true: the sequel is never* as good as the original. And in the case of my training this past week this is doubly true. While I hit a new deadlift PR (340 pounds, thank you very much) my bench and squats really paid the price. It was as if I forgot how to do a bench press and what squat depth meant.

I’m not telling you this to elicit a pity response but rather to show you how I’m continuing to  redefine failure for myself. You see, it’s easy for me to be discouraged and want to crawl under a rock and feel sorry for myself and think that I’m not good enough and that my goals are WAY out of reach when weeks like this happen. But I’m not going to do that this week.

You may be asking why? and I’ll tell you: because the only thing I did was not hit a couple of training lifts that I wanted to hit. It doesn’t mean everything that I’ve done up to this point is null and void. It doesn’t mean that I am suddenly less than I was last week or that I’m a bad person. It just means that this week there were factors that prevented me from performing like a I did last week. And that’s life.

What happened during the week? Life and it’s stressors, I suppose. Number one is that my work schedule has been incredibly hectic and my sleep schedule hasn’t caught up. Getting up at 4:45 am and working from 6:15 am until 4:30 0r 5:30 pm isn’t as conducive to recovery as one would think. Plus, all those meetings! Sitting and thinking and making decisions all day leaves a person drained by the time they walk through the gym doors at 5 or 6 pm. And then again, the previous week was so stellar that I’m sure there was some residual tiredness (plus, did I mention 340 pound deadlifts – for 5 sets of 2?).

What’s my plan going forward? Since work isn’t going to change soon I really need to step up  my recovery for the next two weeks (YIKES! It’s less than two weeks until Twin Ports Raw Open!). Eating better, getting more sleep (I’m gonna feel like an old person going to be bed at 9 pm), making better decisions at home, work AND the gym. It’s only two weeks – I can handle it.

And in the long run I’ll figure out how to manage my work commitments (I’m hiring some people so that’s a step in the right direction), take more breaks from work (hello vacation time), and learn more effective recovery techniques. I’m sure there’s someone out there who can help…

* I know there are exceptions, but I am using this for dramatic purposes so let’s just go with it, ok?

Training week in review – beginning of the end

This week marks the beginning of my last 4-week training cycle for the Twin Ports Raw Open meet on June 11th. I must admit it didn’t begin well – I got a head cold and decided NOT to train Monday and Tuesday to recover my body and begin my final training cycle training refreshed. This meant I had to figure out how to get my training in Wednesday through Saturday, knowing I had a graduation to attend Friday night. So training on Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday it was.

Day 1: Deadlifts

Lovely Wednesday Deadlifts. We all know I love deadlifts. And that I have a pretty specific goal in mind (400 pounds). I have had some ups and downs during this training cycle but I’m going out on a limb to say it’s picking up for the better now.

My session this week ROCKED! I don’t know if it was the extra time between training sessions (Saturday to Wednesday) or the extra sleep I’ve been allowing myself but I was able to confidently pull 330 pounds for 5 sets of 2. And after that I did some rack pulls (deadlifts with a raised bar) at 365 pounds so I could practice my lock out and feel that weight in my hands. It was heavy but I was confident.

I’d say I’m coming along nicely for my next meet even if I don’t reach the 400 pound mark quite yet.

Day 2: Bench

Thursday was Bench day. What can I say about my bench press? Being positive I can say that I haven’t lost anything for the upcoming meet even though I’ve been battling a shoulder twinge for much of this training cycle.

This week I was able to press 155 pounds – not the best but not the worst. The presses themselves looked pretty good so my plan is to keep working technique and pushing the bar up. I should be able to beat my meet PR (160 pounds) and I’ll be happy with that. I’ll pick up more specific bench training for October to help improve that number but for now I’ll be happy not back sliding.

Day 3: Squats

Saturday SQUATS! I’m excited about my squat progress so far and this week I hit a new gym PR: 295 pounds! Not far from my goal of 300, so who knows – I may go for a big PR at the meet.

Training was working up to 9 RPE (meaning I could probably crank out one more rep if I had to) and that took forever! Forty minutes. And I still had the 3×3 at 265 pounds that I had to get through to call my primary lifting complete. PLUS the accessory movements that help me get stronger (remember those Anderson Squats? I got to do more of those as well as some other fun stuff). Saturday open hours at the gym are 10am – 11am. I was able to convince one of the coaches to let me come in at 9:30 and I finally left at 11:30. The coaches are pretty awesome to let me overstay open hours (plus the yoga class enjoyed some of my heckling).

So overall the beginning of the end is going well. I’m proud of the consistency I’ve put in at the gym and the progress I’ve made. To some it may seem like small potatoes but to me it’s just the beginning.

Next up: picking my lift attempt weights. I’ve already had a dream where I was at the meet and hadn’t done it yet and had no idea what to lift. I think this is the powerlifting version of the “being unprepared for a major test” dream.

Into the fray

Westside, Conjugate, Wendler, 5/3/1. Bulking, cutting, de-load. Peaking, volume, periodization. Seriously, WTF?

With all these words flying around the powerlifting world I finally realized I have jump into the deep end and figure things out for myself.

I’ve been powerlifting competitively for a year now (OMG! I’m a competitive powerlifter!). I know I’m strong. But now I have to learn what it takes for me to stay strong, be healthy, and become the master of my universe I think I am (I’m in the Masters division so I decided to rename it the Masters of the Universe division).

For the last year I’ve followed the lead of my trainers and have been training successfully, continuing to make gains. They provide me with most excellent training, keep me healthy and help me get stronger. Now I want to learn what they know. Understand why they recommend one exercise over the another. Take charge of my training (even if it is continuing to have them program it for me) and really understand what I am doing. So I have to jump into the fray.

There is a wealth of information on the internet about powerlifting and strength training. So much I don’t even want to look. It exhausts me just thinking about it – especially after a long week of work. Who are the best resources, how do I know what is right for me?

If you’ve ever wondered entering the term “powerlifting training” into a google search returns about 630,000 records. 630,000. That’s a lot. Too many for me. So what am I going to do?

Listen to my Movement Minneapolis trainers of course!

JVB (Jennifer Vogelgesang Blake) is half of the Barbells & Bone Broth podcast AND she wrote the Unapologetically Powerful powerlifting program. David Dellanave wrote the book on deadlifts and Jen Sinkler is a phenomenal trainer with a wealth of knowledge and little gems like the Lift Weights Faster programs. And I would be remiss if didn’t mention Mark Schneider and Martin Rittenberry because they are seriously great trainers. I’m surrounded by incredible people with great knowledge – I just have to listen to them when they talk about the people they look look up to and respect.

So now it’s my turn to delve into the vastness of powerlifting and training information out there and understand what I’ve been told. I’ve got my reading assignments – and I’m going to start at the very beginning (which I hear is a very good place to start). Someday I hope to have a fraction of the knowledge of my trainers.

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Get out of my head!

I thought I was over it – that feeling of anxiety about the amount of weight on the bar. But this week I realized I’m not. Squats, deadlifts, and bench (to an extent) have me pausing in reflection instead of asserting myself and just lifting.

I am cautious by nature. I take my time acclimating to new experiences and approach change slowly. But I had assumed that knowing my goal (a 400-pound deadlift, 300-pound squat, and beating my previous 159-pound meet record for bench) would make it easier for me to increase weight on the bar and be appropriately assertive (or aggressive) when lifting.

Last week I had a massive deadlift PR: 3×5 sets at 315 pounds- beltless. So this week (with my eyes on 400) I thought a 3×5 at 325 pounds beltless would be a breeze, or at least very do-able for me. I loaded the bar, chalked my hands and stepped up to the bar. Hah! I was only able to pull one rep without my belt. One. It was kind of a let down. My heart sank a little because I wasn’t able to continue without a belt. Somehow I forgot that I just lifted 325 pounds. By myself.

Instead of dropping the weight I put my belt on and began again. One. Two. Annnd three. I was able to pull 3 reps but they felt heavy and hard. One of my Movement coaches (David Dellanave) asked me what RPE (Rated Perceived Exertion) it was, whether I had anything left after last lift. In my head I didn’t. It felt like I could have ground through one more rep, still shy of the 5 reps in my programming. It just felt heavy.

My second set went up easier, but I was exhausted by the 3rd rep. (Side note: David thought my initial RPE assessment may have been skewed because of the ease he saw in the second three reps.) By my third set it was all I could do to lift because I had decided it was heavy (sometimes it IS heavy – especially when you are seeing stars) and my final lift was a grind. I got it up and locked out, but it wasn’t my easiest lift.

And then there were the squats. The lovely, difficult, heavy squats. It was much the same as the deadlifts earlier in the week. Last week I was doing sets of 5X3 and this week it was sets of 4X3. My first set at 265 pounds was beltless and HEAVY. My second beltless set? I didn’t get the third squat up (yay for squatting inside the rack with safety bars set). So I put my belt on and everything was  much lighter – with better form. Slight disappointment that I couldn’t complete the sets without a belt, but happy to come to the conclusion (thanks Mark) that any squat up to 250 pounds can be done beltless but above that, belt on.

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Why was it so much harder this week? I’m blaming the fact that I’ve got numbers running around my head, messing with me. I have it in my head that each week I have to be at least incrementally better at my lifts than I was the previous week – without a belt. And each week the weights get heavier and my mind gets more anxious – “what if I can’t lift what I did last week?”, “what if I can’t lift more than I did last week?”, “why do I need my belt?”, “I am not progressing fast enough” and so on.

So, how will I get over it? I don’t know. But I know I’ll have help.

I am Oni.

My package arrived at the post office on Monday. It was registered mail. I couldn’t WAIT to rip it open. But I had to wait until Saturday – I would never get to the post office before 5pm on a weeknight. Ever.

Saturday mornings are bench day 2 and mean I need to be to the gym by 10am. The post office (in it’s infinite wisdom) does not open until 9am. I live 30 minutes from the gym so this meant I needed to be there soon after they opened or face a long line of people in my situation. I arrived at 9:10 and watched the clock tick away as ONE person worked the line – there were already 10 people ahead of me.

Slowly the clock ticked, slowly the line moved. There was an appearance of a second postal clerk, but she moved slowly with a couple false starts. Finally it was my turn! I handed my slip over and waited some more. She returned with the package, I signed a form and headed to my truck. I would have to wait to open it – it was past 9:30 and I couldn’t miss the gym.

I benched. How much? I don’t know. I was busy thinking about the package waiting for me in the truck. I was giddy and just wanted to finish so I could rip into it – the anticipation was high. As I got into my truck I opened the box and there it was: my new singlet.

When I agreed to lift in the 2016 USA Powerlifting Raw Nationals I didn’t realize I would need to get some new IPF Approved Equipment – specifically a new singlet (the #TeamGreen Adidas singlet isn’t on the list) and a new belt. You may not know this about me, but I am kind of a fashion snob so all of the big players on the approved list disappointed me – their singlets were sooo boring and predictable – black, red and black, blue and black. There was no “wow” factor that made me want to rock one at Nationals. I kept looking at the more obscure brands, brands I had never heard of before and one caught my eye: the Bukiya SAKURA-Oni.

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It’s black. It’s pink. it’s ME!

While the singlet does have style (seriously, have you SEEN the Inzer singlet?) it had another selling point for me: while I was playing on the site deciding whether to buy it I saw this in the navigation: WhatIsOni_Button and I had to click on it. What it  lead to was nothing short of AWESOME

OniDefinition
What’s Oni? “Oni” means an ogre. The symbol of the strength in Japan. Our products are powerful like Oni!

Ogre. Symbol of strength. I was sold.

On the surface being compared to an ogre may not seem like something to be happy about. I mean, LOTR fans would definitely prefer NOT to be compared to ogres, but I since I am also a SHREK fan all I could thing was: I AM an ogre – just like Princess Fiona and all her bad-assery.

“Ideal” Fiona
Strong Fiona

This got me thinking: Fiona definitely had a split personality. She knew what it was like to be the “ideal” woman AND a “monster” who doesn’t fit the mold. At first she was repelled by her ogre side, afraid she would never fit in but she eventually learned to embrace her strength and found that being strong was a gift and she could love herself no matter whether she fit the ideal. And in many respects I AM Fiona.

“Ideal” Donna
Strong Donna

I have been leaner than I am now but I have never been stronger mentally or physically. I know how to use my strength and how my strength is and always has been an asset. But it has been a journey to fully embrace this version of me. As often happens, life got in the way of the ideal and I made some choices and changed. How I changed led me to The Movement Minneapolis and my coaches and helped me embrace MY ogre side. And I am happy to say I am excited to see what else it can do.

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I am Oni.

Next up: my belt.

Failure IS an option

I’m trying some new things during this training cycle: lifting to my potential every week, lifting as heavy as I can without a belt, and asking more questions. This means there will be times I hit everything I try and times I fail. And for me those failures are teaching me more than my successes ever could. I am learning where I have weaknesses and what I can do to improve – I am learning to be better.

I haven’t always embraced failure. In fact, most of my life I’ve used the phrase “failure is not an option” as a motto of sorts. I would work as hard as I needed to work in order to achieve a goal I knew I could achieve. I rarely pushed myself beyond my comfort zone (though I have climbed many intriguing cliff walls and kayaked many rapids-filled waters) and I was OK – this meant I never failed, I wasn’t a failure. And being a failure is one of my biggest fears.

But at this time in my life playing it safe isn’t an option. I need (read: want, have the desire to) to push to do more, listen to the people coaching me that I can do it and I will be safe if I fail. Wow. Failing safely is something my many people have told me about but I couldn’t embrace. I couldn’t be seen as less-than and not in full charge of what I was doing. But I’ve grown in the past few years to see that failure is a learning moment – no matter where or how it occurs.

During my last training cycle, one of my coaches at The Movement Minneapolis (Mark, for those keeping track at home) would look at me and shake his head when I went to put on my weight lifting belt if the weight I was lifting didn’t warrant it (it was something I could do for an easy 3 reps). He was trying to get me to work on my core strength which would help me get stronger and be able to lift more weight. This was great, but I was still playing it safe – only putting as much weight on the bar as I knew I could lift successfully.

Over the last four weeks (Yikes! four weeks of my training have gone by already!) I have been working on doing my squats and deadlifts belt-less. This has made previous “light” weight squats seem incredibly heavy. Twice I have failed at a weight 40 pounds less than my previous meet PR – and I shouldn’t do that, right? WRONG! Previously squats at that weight were done with a belt. Now, without a belt I am learning that there is more I need to concentrate on – building my bracing technique, core stability, foot placement, and so much more!

(There is ONE caveat to this: I have never been afraid to fail at bench pressing because it is so new to me. But it didn’t mean I liked failing. I would still play it safe with the weight I put on the bar.)

Failing has actually expanded my horizons. I am comfortable knowing that when I fail I will learn how to improve and make myself better. This is true in my non-powerlifting life (really, is there such a thing?) as well. I’m still a bit risk-averse but I am experimenting with the freedom that knowing failure IS an option brings. I don’t dread asking questions, or doing something “wrong” because I will take time to learn and improve from all my experiences.

I’m excited to learn the next steps for improving my squat, which along with my deadlift has always been “easy” for me. To make them even easier is my new goal, one which will require more failures to see what works. Each failure points me to the direction of better, each success helps me question if I can do it even better next time.

As they say: Failure IS an option. And sometimes its the best option out there.

 

LISTENING…does the body good.

During the second week of my 12-week training cycle I was pumped to start increasing the weight on the bar – I haven’t lifted really heavy since my last meet in December. My training schedule plan is Monday – deadlifts, Wednesday – bench, Friday – squats, Saturday – bench day 2. But as we know life isn’t always as neat as this and I knew I was going to be out of town Friday so I needed to reshuffle my scehdule: Monday – deadlifts, Wednesday – bench, Thursday – squat, Saturday – bench day 2. This should have been an easy shift, not too many training days in a row, nothing missed, some recovery time to get on track for my week 3 schedule.

And then BLAM! Thursday I woke up with a sinus-thingy. Not just a stuffy nose but full-on sinus inflammation, too. It HURT to put my sunglasses on when the first sun in days graced my face. UGH! But I thought “I can do squats with this – it’s just my nose.” I wasn’t ready for what followed: nausea and throbbing, sinus congestion. I fought it all day, trying to quell the voice inside that told me to shake it off and work through it. As I was driving home I was finally realistic with myself: squats – any exercise really – were a bad idea. So instead of going to the gym I went home, drank some AWESOME Ginger Honey Crystals, ate dinner and slept.

I was anxious when I woke up on Friday. It was Adventure Day with my sister and nieces (yes, they trumped squat day) and I didn’t want to be miserable – or worse, have to cancel – on our loosely planned adventure day. But the sinus congestion had gone and I was able to enjoy all the adventures – including stops at my favorite place in Minnesota: the North Shore of Lake Superior. It was a chilly day but the final gasps of a runny nose couldn’t stop me from enjoying it all.

Saturday morning came and I felt good. I went to the gym and squatted heavy, just like I intended to last week. I felt good and even if I still had some lingering sniffles I was feeling pretty good. A 6×3 at 245? In my second week of a 12-week cycle? I’ll take that. And I’ll credit my early Thursday night and restful adventurous Friday with helping me feel so much better by Saturday morning.

I was reminded while listening to a Barbells and Bonebroth podcast today (shout out to my coach, JVB from The Movement Minneapolis) that we actually build muscle while recovering so taking a day off when I’m not feeling it is like free muscle for the week (yea, I know that’s a stretch, but a girl’s gotta try). Listening to your body and heeding what it is telling you is always a good idea – and a lesson I will continue to practice.

What is remarkable about this is how often in life we don’t listen to our bodies and “just do it” or “git ‘er done” and don’t allow our bodies the chance to do what they do best: get and keep us healthy. And one of my goals for my training is to keep listening to my body so I stay healthy and get as strong as I can through this cycle – I have to start treating myself like the Athlete I am.

 

Donna the Destroyer.

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This name was unofficially bestowed upon me during the 2015 USAPL Senior Powerlifting Championships by one of my coaches during the squat session and solidified during the deadlift session. I’ve embraced it, not for its potential negative connotation but for the positive impact powerlifting has had on my life.

I came to the sport of powerlifting during a time of transition in my life when I needed something to help me believe in myself and my own strengths again. And boy oh boy, did I LITERALLY find the right thing! I had known for a while that lifting heavy made me happy, but while I was training for my first powerlifting meet I realized how much joy I could find in that metal bar and those plates.

Until I began powerlifting I categorized myself as a ‘weekend warrior’: a generalist with hobbies such as rock climbing, kayaking, bicycling, and hiking. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been fortunate to climb Devil’s Tower (3 times) and spent 5 years doing multiple climbing trips (up to 5 a summer) to the Black Hills, but I didn’t put myself in the category of ‘athlete’. Nope, it was a hobby that I really loved and excelled at but not my true calling.

I was introduced to my true calling when I was working out a Crossfit gym. While I can take or leave (mostly leave) the bootcamp style workouts – burpees, jumping jacks, running – it was the weights that made me stay. The first time I stepped up to the bar and lifted it (I think it was a press of some sort) I fell in love. The feel of the steel in my hands and the weight of the bar going up was like the weight of the world falling off my shoulders. For those minutes I was zen. Each new lift I learned (and I learned them all) I felt my power grow. The first time I pulled a 300 pound deadlift was unbelievable. I was hooked.

Then an injury and life circumstances took over and I quit lifting for a while. Almost a year, actually. Until one day someone at my new gym (Movement Minneapolis) asked if anyone wanted to do a powerlifting meet. Oh how I wanted to do that meet! Circumstances being what they were I couldn’t commit to training with enough regularity to warrant competing. But it didn’t stop me from training with the rest of the gym members. I learned so much – from my very first bench press to being told my ‘arch was so pretty it belonged in Paris’ to learning how strong I am compared to the athletes I was training with – even though I didn’t compete in that meet. And I didn’t know it then but that was the start of my powerlifting journey.

My first meet was the 2015 Twin Ports Raw Open in Duluth, MN. It was the last Saturday in May and it changed my life. I had been training for 12 weeks, preparing myself for competing. But I wasn’t quite prepared for the intense feelings of pride and strength that welled up inside me as I took to the platform for my first lift – a 215 pound squat attempt. That feeling of zen returned, the crowd (including my very proud mother) faded and it was me and the bar. Hands in place, shoulders under the bar, stand UP. Three paces back. Reposition feet. Look up, nod to the head judge. SQUAT was the command. Sit back and down, knees out, bottom position. Look up, knees out, elbows up, STAND, hip thrust. Lock out, look at judge. RACK was the command. With the help of the spotters the bar was walked into the rack and set down. I had completed the very first lift in my very first meet and I was fine. I knew what I needed to do and I did it. I took third in my class that meet with a 248 pound squat, 154 pound bench press, 292 pound deadlift, and a 694 pound total AND set four Minnesota state records for Women’s Masters 1a 84+ class. I had found my calling.

Since that first meet I have competed in 3 additional meets and have medaled in two and continually break my own records. Each meet I learn new things about myself including, and this was a big one, that I’m an athlete. Maybe it’s because I’m taking it more seriously than previous goals, or that I’m competing and winning, but there has been a mindset shift. Instead of seeing myself as someone who does something as a hobby I now see myself as a capital A-Athlete, seriously training for her next adventure (which is the 2016 Twin Ports Raw open) and planning to qualify for the 2016 Raw Nationals in Atlanta, Georgia.

Powerlifting has allowed me to destroy the old myths I had been hanging onto – I’m not an athlete, women should be small and demure, women are the ‘weaker’ sex, and so many more. My inner strength has increased as the weight on the bar has gone up and I find myself exerting myself in ways I hadn’t before: telling my boss what I need, making solo vacation plans for myself, taking up all the space I need.

I’ve learned the power of myself and will continue to destroy those thoughts as they pop into my head. I AM Donna the Destroyer.