Tmr I compete at the rps ct state meet, one goal I would like to hit is to break 1300, had 1275 at my last meet, will update after the meet is complete
Little delay In posting... My meet was absolute garbage. Ive never expected to go into a meet and not do well so it took me really off guard, this was my 5th full power meet and first time missing so many lifts and not improving my total.
Squat opener was cake, took 460 (15lbs over personal best) for a ride on my 3rd and lost balance at the bottom and fell back, wasn't to upset about this and proceeded to the bench where it all fell apart missed 290 twice on my 2nd and 3rd my arms felt like jello and the bar actually kept shooting up and almost onto my head I've never had that happen before and still don't know what cause that
Onto deadlifts which I would say is my favorite and most consistent lift. I was looking for a big pr here and was planning on 540 to 550 for my 3rd. At my last meet I had 545 at my knees and 525 for a 5lb or, I opened this meet with a 485 deadlift.....and for some damn reason it felt like the heaviest thing I have ever picked up, it was ugly, slow and I barely locked it out, scratched my head for some time and took 510 on my 2nd which I didn't lock out, passed on my 3rd and got the hell out of there.
Prepped and rested like I always have but my body just said no, but hey guess you can't expect everything to go 100%, finished the meet 4/9 with a 1180 total 95lbs away from my best total of 1275. Thought I had around 1300-1315 in me but again my body just said screw you.
To barely be able to lock out 485 really pissed me off, I had just hit 475x3 in training a few weeks prior
Well here we are 3 weeks or so later and I'm back training for my 2nd week and already hitting more training and rep prs so it's time to get stronger than ever and keep hitting the weights, no meet in sight for now just want to really hit some rep prs and feel confident again
290x3 no belt
345x3 belt
375x3 belt and sleeves (sleeve pr)
385x3 belt and sleeves (rep and sleeve pr)
385 was my opener the last two meets with wraps so a triple with it is awesome and right where I want to be,
Only had time for squats today and will have to make up some extra leg training with deadlifts later in the week
Been a while... hit a meet in March for rps ended with a 500lb squat, 320 bench and 555 deadlift (all prs) went 8/9 and ended with a 1375 total in the 220 class, added 105 lbs on since my last total as well, hoping to continue training and hit the RPS meet in Massachusetts in October.
For the 3rd year in a row I competed in Sterling Ct for RPS powerlifting, and got destroyed by the weights ended up going 3/9 and totaled 1290, last year I totaled 1375, really felt that I was going to break 1400 this time around, fell forward on my opening squat of 485, hit 500 next then fell back in the hole with 515, just couldn’t find my grove, everything in training was heading towards a 3rd attempt somewhere around 530 to 540 lbs, ended matching my squat of 500 from last year very frustrating, only hit my bench and deadlift opener after that missed everything else, back to the drawing board
I’ve had zero motivation to powerlift after this meet...maybe it’s the people or gym, I get tired of seeing the same faces sometimes..bought a power rack for my basement and have been training there every so often.... don’t see the point of training specifically for a meet at this point think I need a break to focus on myself and have fun lifting again
Been using the 5th set method for bench and love it, it’s 4x2 then an amrap on your 5th set. Every week you go up five lbs for 5 weeks then start over or reload, these are all my amraps set for the last 10 weeks
205x10
210x10
215x11
220x10
225x8
215x12
220x10
225x9
230x9
235x6 (no sleep plowing snow all night)
Benched tonight to more or less test strength hit 275x2, ten weeks of zero strength testing and I am very happy with 275 for a double...slowly but steadily building back up to my best bench of 320lbs in comp
I’ve had zero motivation to powerlift after this meet...maybe it’s the people or gym, I get tired of seeing the same faces sometimes..bought a power rack for my basement and have been training there every so often.... don’t see the point of training specifically for a meet at this point think I need a break to focus on myself and have fun lifting again
Sometimes that is what we need to do. Just push the weight and be happy that you can with no pressures.
Sometimes that is what we need to do. Just push the weight and be happy that you can with no pressures.
Yea I feel like I got stuck in the mentality of having to always do a meet every year and always training on a program, I’ve been competing for 6 years now. Time for a nice break
My father also passed away 4 weeks before my last meet and ever since then I’ve been rethinking a lot of my priorities, like many others I feel like it’s easy to be so focused and headstrong on something that you loose track of time, I hadn’t seen my dad for 5 months cause I was so focused on meet prep and busy working...
the whole situation has messed me up this past year, I beat myself up because when he passed I was in the gym squatting. A few weeks prior he had called but I was to “tired” to answer after a long day at work. My father passed away from suicide and as of now I have accepted it but I spent the last year trying to understand it and wondering if I had spent less time in the gym, working, etc maybe I could have changed it
I’ve come to realize now that it is toxic to continue to blame myself, I can’t change it and making myself feel bad for my life choices at the time isn’t a help either, it’s taken some time (feb 9th it will be one year) but I have finally recovered from his passing and no longer look at it as something that I could have changed.
One day I would love to compete again but as of now I just want to lift on my own schedule
Squatted 415 for a single today, still 100lbs away from my best but we are making progress, my mental game is clearing up and I’m feeling good about training again..nothing serious yet though
Sometimes our own pace is what we need for our own personal peace and happiness. Just remember that the gym is a great place to get lost for a bit from our own mind. It is my daily mental therapy. Best of luck brother. Sorry, I did not catch the earlier post. Sorry for the loss.
Mentally feeling very good, still no drive for a dedicated powerlifting program just training at my own pace currently
INSTAGRAM : @npcdusty
Thanks,
NPCDUSTY
Dusty Young
Jackson Tennessee ABC Coordinator
“I realized early on that success was tied to not giving up. Most people in this business gave up and went on to other things. If you simply didn’t give up, you would outlast the people who came in on the bus with you.”
…still here…still lifting weights, started a garage gym with some buddy’s 3 years ago when covid hit, elitefts comp bench, Rep Fitness squat rack with all the cool attachments and cables, dbs up to 100, reverse hyper, leg press, pretty much all we need.
8 total members, nice and simple nobody is ever in the way like a commercial gym. We recently moved from a buddies garage when he sold his house to the shop that my construction company rents. It’s in an old mill building, dark dusty, no heat, no ac, 1 sink, no toilet, piss outside. It’s been 85-95 degrees this week in the gym…we’re still going. It’s funny driving to our spot as we pass 2 gym within a mile that both are “pretty” lights, toilet, air conditioning haha. But we’re content with what we have.
I feel like a lot of people nowadays couldn’t handle it, I convinced a friend to leave a commercial gym for a try at the garage gym and he was like wow, this is great no lines, no people, no awful music or people making tic toks. He left and joined our spot the next day.
I think back alot to 2006-2009, my high schools years watching animal pak dvds wishing I had franks forearms, the gym he lifted in, black and white, grungy..in a way that is how I picture our place now.
They always crack on me for being the “animal guy” I lost count with the 25 shirts or so that I have, but this was it the forum was the spot back then. YouTube was just starting out, I remembering reading flex magazine for tips and secret foods that would hopefully make me huge. I miss this place and looking forward to The Cage. I’m thankful for the 2-3 ABCs I got to host and organize, I’m thankful for the 3 Cage events I got to work including the final one in 2019. I hope The Forum stays alive in some way. I like to come on here briefly and look back at old workouts and thoughts…
…still here…still lifting weights, started a garage gym with some buddy’s 3 years ago when covid hit, elitefts comp bench, Rep Fitness squat rack with all the cool attachments and cables, dbs up to 100, reverse hyper, leg press, pretty much all we need.
8 total members, nice and simple nobody is ever in the way like a commercial gym. We recently moved from a buddies garage when he sold his house to the shop that my construction company rents. It’s in an old mill building, dark dusty, no heat, no ac, 1 sink, no toilet, piss outside. It’s been 85-95 degrees this week in the gym…we’re still going. It’s funny driving to our spot as we pass 2 gym within a mile that both are “pretty” lights, toilet, air conditioning haha. But we’re content with what we have.
I feel like a lot of people nowadays couldn’t handle it, I convinced a friend to leave a commercial gym for a try at the garage gym and he was like wow, this is great no lines, no people, no awful music or people making tic toks. He left and joined our spot the next day.
I think back alot to 2006-2009, my high schools years watching animal pak dvds wishing I had franks forearms, the gym he lifted in, black and white, grungy..in a way that is how I picture our place now.
They always crack on me for being the “animal guy” I lost count with the 25 shirts or so that I have, but this was it the forum was the spot back then. YouTube was just starting out, I remembering reading flex magazine for tips and secret foods that would hopefully make me huge. I miss this place and looking forward to The Cage. I’m thankful for the 2-3 ABCs I got to host and organize, I’m thankful for the 3 Cage events I got to work including the final one in 2019. I hope The Forum stays alive in some way. I like to come on here briefly and look back at old workouts and thoughts…