Some Pre-Meet fun! I may have posted some of these already. If so, enjoy again.

Yeah.

Not fair. My man retired in 1996 to raise his kids.

Pure holiday magic.

Pure birthday horror.

Classic.

Classic-er.

It took me a few minutes...

Just. Just awesome.

I never wanted to be a rock star this badly.

Not funny, just wicked cool.

Check out The Firm where Wilfred swears.

Happiness is finding your skate key and then watching it reject you.

I think we are right.

I love this one.

Live free or die with a fox pelt on your crotch.

Creepy city.

Lol.

This is, to me, demonic beyond words.

I will leave this one for Berry and Mike.

Many have tried. Many have failed.

 Tastes like homemade grandma!

Ready, willing and able.

Awesome.

Picture taken by my wife in one of our meet hotel rooms.

Cool shot.

Freakish.

Behold it, sir. Behold it.

Har.

Great picture... and true!

Oh, no you didn't!

Regardless, it is awesome.

Damn! Right!

Epic fail.

Wow.

WOW!!!

I don't care who you are, that's funny right there.

He looks like my grandfather.

One of my all time faves.

Ditto.

Thing is, the monkey looks guilty.

And now Easter acolyte, you will die. You. Will. die.

Meet Plan and deep within the weight cut, aka water poisoning.

Two gallons of water a day sucks. That is all I have to say about that. It's Tuesday and I am ten pounds off where I want to be. Will not panic until Wednesday. I actually think I am fine. The melt does not usually start until Wednesday. Only myself to blame. I ate for shit this cycle.

Meet Plan
Gage
Squat
Opening very light at 303
Second attempt: 341.5
Third: want to go 363.7. This should be right at his max.

Bench
Opener: 242.5
Second: 264.5
Third will depend on his second, but he wants 275.5. I really think he has it in him, but 270 is an option.

Deadlift
I am going all out on this, but reserve the right to lower all attempts to accomodate how he feels.
Opener: 402.2
Second: 429.7
Third: anywhere between 435.2 and 451.7

Pete
Luckily, my heart is really not in this one, so there is no real pressure. I would like to get my best ever total, but that would require a 9 for 9 day. I have never, in 23 years had a 9 for 9 day. With injuries and with Gage lifting, I am just going to try to focus and lift strong and have fun.

Squat: wraps
Opener: 600.7
Second: 639.2
Third: 661.2... this is way off what I wanted, but it is way closer to what I think I can get.

Bench
Opener: raw: 314
Shirted Second: 407.7
Third: if elbow holds out, 424.2 to 435.2

Deadlift
I assume I will go conventional.
Opener: 584
Second: go for a PR: 622.7
Third: go for broke: 644.7

This would give me 1735, ten pounds over my best total, but it is assuming much.

Story drops Today! Squat night goes good for all... excpet me!

My short story "The Irrevocable Voice Lost but to the Stars" is now available in Independent Ink Magazine. Indink is available as a Kindle download on Amazon. Also works for iPhone, iPad, etc. Kindle apps.

Monday Night Squats

Jacob
Squat
45 x 10
135 x 5
185 x 3
205 x 3
215 x 3... called it at this; his groin was bothering him again

Overhead Press
45 x 10
95 x 5
115 x 3
125 x 3
130 x 3

Gage
Squat
45 x 10
135 x 8
185 x 5
225 x 3
270 x 3
285 x 3... TPR!
305 x 3... PR!! by 20lbs

Overhead Press
45 x 10

95 x 5
115 x 3
125 x 3
130 x 3

Christan
Squats
45 x 10
95 x 5
115 x 5
135 x 5
165 x 5
190 x 5
205 x 5... PR!!! Last two were prolly a scoche high, but she really pushed like a champ.

Pete
Squat
bw x 12 x 2
45 x 10
135 x 5
225 x 5
315 x 5
405 x 5... nothing is feeling right
455 x 5
535 x 1
575 x 2... tight belt all other sets loose. I had to set up twice. First walk out I lost my footing. Took it back in and set up well.
595 x 1... it was a bit high. I got distracted and on the descent did not spread my knees. Turned into a quad dominant squat and I torqued my hip something fierce. Really hurts today. As such, I opted out of work sets. It pissed me off last night, but in light of my hip pain, it was the right decision.

Really pleased with everyone's effort, but especially with Christan. 165 x 5 was rough. !95 x 5 looked great on 1-3, but 4 and 5 were rough. she really dug down deep for that 10lb PR 205 x 5. Last week of fives.

I am not sure what I am going to do. I know I will go with Deload this week. No real choice. I am simply not feeling it as I have for the past year. Just don't want to do  it right now. Been a miserable week in the gym. It's tough becuase the last squat workout was so productive.

Ah, well.

400th Post: T'was a good Day: Dead Mules, Proto Mechanic Triumphant, Gym PR's and Pizza

The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature emailed me and said that they wanted to publish my poem "Picking over Sortes that We Might Understand" in their Holiday 2011 Issue coming out December 1st online. I make references to a dead mule and Cormac McCarthy so I was a shoe-in. Thanks to Berry for 1)his wonderful poem "Cormac McCarthy's Mule Done Gone and Died" which inspired "Picking..." and 2) tellimg me to submit to The Dead Mule.

On a down note: out tag decal was stolen and the starter was going out on the van...

Enter Proto-Mechanic:

The Job: The starter on the 2006 Dodge GRAND Caravan
The Place: The Proto-Mechanic Garage
Estimated time: 3 hours

Luckily the starter had not gone completely out so I was able to use the van to go get 1) the tag for the van 2) pizza and 3) the starter. I called the tag office and they said "Just bring your receipt and we will print you another decal." They mentioned nothing about eight dollars and the fact they are one of nine places in the country that don't take debit cards, so I had to bum the cash off Mike, who was riding with me so I did not have to turn off the van.

I ordered two of the five dollar take out specials figuring that Mike and I lay waste to the buffet, so two pizzas and an order of breadsticks should be plenty. We finished one and I was miserable the rest of the day. What a way to be miserable, though!

Headed on down to the Auto-Zone, dunna-dunta-ta-duh... Auto-Zone! to pick up the starter I had ordered the day before because nobody in town had one. Nobody in two towns, actually. Left work at three-thirty to get to work on the starter, figuring that if I could get done by seven I could still go to the gym. The very first thing I did was remove the negative battery cable from the terminal. Proto-Mechanic learns his lessons well. Jacked up the car with the two ton jack and placed a jack stand in a spotter position and by four I was ready to roll.

I had noted the position of Pol Pot when diagnosing the problem, so I was prepared. All told there was a nut on the positive hook-up to the solenoid, a clip wire to the same, two mounting bolts (one was Pol) and a negative wire hook-up that was mounted on top of Pol. The only issue with Pol was Proto-Mechanic's nemesis: Range of Motion. Pol was tucked in behind the front motor mount.

A word here about engines that have been running. They get hot. All the parts of them, apparently. I kept burning the fool out of my knuckles while worrying if my thumb was gonna fall off becuase of my limited ROM.

And in an hour... I was... done?

Whisky. Tango. Foxtrot.

With trepidation I touched the negative cable to the terminal... no terminal melting arc. That is a good thing. Before Proto was Proto, he changed out a strarter and melted a battery terminal becuase of a wiring issues. Long time ago.

Drop the van, hop in, turn the key...

Son of a bitch... it cranked up fine.

Who the hell am I?

Total time: One Hour. I even put in a call to Master-of-Sport-Mechanic and All-'Round-Great-Guy, My-Personal-Mechanicing-Lifeline Terry because it felt wrong not to do so.

The good news is I was done and dressed for the gym by 5:15, then I got comfy on the bed. We left at five to six.

Gym was nigh on deserted. Just a few regulars.

Max out on the Deadlift!!!

Jacob: a lesson in perseverence and learning
135 x 8
185 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 1
305 x 0... lost balance, but had great speed
305 x 0... went immediately again and had no speed
305 x 0... the balance and speed issue
305 x 0... went again immediately and had no speed
told him to take his shoes off
305 x 1... Hitched it biblically. He wanted it again. I told him about throwing his hips forward and shoulders back at the same time.
305 x 1... he thought I meant four times within a six inch ROM. Hitched it like a champ.
305 x 1...PR!!! Damned if he did not finally get it cleanly!!!

Gage
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 2
315 x 1
355 x 1
390 x 1... PR!!! a real fight at the knees but clean.
400 x 0... A real close miss, again at the knees. Bar got out in front of him, but a good miss.

Gage did pullups, curls and rows.

Pete: The Gauntlet
I have felt that an overly tight belt might not be for me, so I loosened the lever by one notch.
Arched Back Good Mornings
45 x 10
135 x 5
225 x 5
315 x 5
405 x 3... loose belt
455 x 3... ditto
500 x 3... a tad high, I think. Should have tightened the belt.

Bench
45 x 10
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 2... right shoulder hurtin'
Speed Work
245 x 1p
265 x 1p
275 x 1p x 3 sets
275 x 1p x 3 set
275 x 1p x 2 sets... Shoulder never loosened, speed was too low. Glad I start over next week.
275 x 1p x 2 sets
Singles
325 x 1p
340 x 1p
355 x 1p

Deadlift. I think It was five to eight by this point.
135 x 5
225 x 5
315 x 5... the bar is levitating tonight!
405 x 5... the new warmup scheme seems to be working
480 x 5... all reset
515 x 5... all reset. First one was so easy that I actually looked over to see if I had loaded it right.
545 x 5... all reset. Tightened the belt this time. Very comfortable and it went well. Damn. Felt pretty good. Never a doubt. I think that ties a Sumo set of 5 PR. My form feels spot on right now.

A good night all around. 'Nuff said.

Meet Results Update

Meet Results

I wound up with the third highest raw total. A far distance behind Rex Hubbard's 1885, and a bit behind Curtis Rabon's 1725. Though, I would have been closer if I would have gotten some lifts in. I think I was 100 lbs over the fourth highest raw total and 220 over the fifth.

In my weight class, there were two twenty year olds. I was 545 over the second place kid and 745 over the third place kid.

They went 405/185/555/1035 and 285/185/365/835 respectively.

Anyway, it was nice to feel like I am a decent lifter. Not upper echelon like Rex, but no beginner either. Of course, both those kids almost beat me when I nearly bombed on the squat, so it keeps it all in perspective.

Well, back to "work".

Meet Recap: APF/AAPF South Carolina Open

Held at American Muscle in Pelion, SC. A decent sized gym, but a bit too small to house 27 powerlifters, 13 benchers AND about a hundred spectators. By the end of the day everyone was complaining about the heat. It did not bother me, but the one bathroom and the port-a-potty for all of the above was problematic.

Judging was a bit inconsistent. They gave a few of the big-time squatters extra time to prep for lifts and made an egregious error on the bench bar. For a meet from a federation that was supposed to be for the lifter, I was a little surprised by the attitude of some of the judges and the meet promoter. All in all, I was not won over by multiply lifting, especially when it came to squats. There were a lot of high squats passed. I really have no problem with it, I mean if the judges give it to you, you take it, but I don't think I would want to do it. The single ply stuff was hard enough. MP would prolly kill me.  It takes a lot of work to do multiply. My hats off to those who do, but sometimes it seems the rules get bent a little as a trade-off. Saw some utterly amaxing lifting by Rex Hubbard out of NGBB: 745 raw squat, 755 raw DL: 1855 total at 275. Good to reconnect with WC Waldren from NGBB and then Justin and John from SC.

They asked Logan to spot and load, which he did all day. I was proud of him, but missed him in the back with me.

And now: the horror.

Squat
Warmups were problematic. Two squat racks, one a monolift, and it just was hard to get it done in time. Plus, with five guys warming up on a rack, there was not the luxury of raising and lowering the rack. As such, the setting was too high for me, I could not get the bar low enough on my back, and 495 and 545, weights I can handle easily, felt heavy.

As such, I was off in the brain.

Throw in the equipmemt I am not used to using, namely: Mastadon-type bar, hundred pound plates and mono-lift and:

Opener: 600... pinned me. My opener, a weight I have done for a triple, pinned me. And I was shitting my pants! And...

I freaked the fuck out. Christan tried to talk me down, but I was ready to go home. Luckily, I got my shit together.

Second attempt: 600... 2 whites, one red: good lift. I asked them to lower the rack before I went. That helped. Kept my head up, but it felt hinky in the hole. There will be no more training with a mirror in front of me, I can tell you that. Here is footage: 600 squat

Sadly, this beat the AAPF (drug tested) raw Amercan Record by 104 lbs. A sad state of affairs.


Humiliating, but not as humiliating as...

Third attempt: 625... never even tried. Could never feel right under the rack. Had them lower it again, but it just wasn't happening. Felt like 700 lbs on my back. Just... guh.


No blame on my squats, I just had no confidence, but the equipment issues were part of the problem.

Bench
Warmups went pretty well.

Opener: 365. Got it, but it felt wrong. Here is footage: 365 bench

I asked Fred if the bar rings felt narrow. He said he did not know (he gets stupid focused), but when I went back to check, WC and Rex were already measuring. Sure enough, the rings were an inch closer to the center of the bar. So, they tell the meet promotor, who swaps out the bar... for a squat bar. A thick, whippy, squat bar. Rex got pissed and they swapped the bar out for a decent one.

Should have kept the old one.

Second attempt: 385... miss

third attempt: ditto.

What a waste of time and money to get a 600 squat and a 365 bench. The only plus was that I did not bomb. I had only three goals left going into the DL: not to bomb, to break the AR in the total, and get a PR total.

Deadlift
Warmups were terrible. Could not decide on sumo or conventional. Only warmed up to 495. Opted, as I walked up to the bar, to go sumo. Why? Because the plan was to go to conventional. The plan did not work at all, so I went contrary.

Opener: 585... my biggest opener ever... got it, but not with much speed at all. See for yerself: 585 pull
this gave me the AAPF raw American Record. Phffff. So, two goals down...

Oh, the socks were a big hit.

Second attempt: 615... a 15 pound PR, and I got it. This was a grind, but a 2-1 good lift: 615 PR Pull 
I remember thinking I was locked out, looking at the head judge and him just looking at me. I figured, "Better pull just a little more." And I did. I was happy for the first time on the day.

Christan yelling for me not to give up makes me want to cry. It just makes me feel loved. And, not having quit, I gave her all I had.

Took a third at 630, but I had nothing left.

So. 1580. A whole 30lb PR total at 242 and a 15 lb PR on the deadlift (one that I got a lot of props for).

I really don't know how I feel about continuing. I'm sure I will, but I am embarrassed right now. Depressed. Start back late next week.

Thanks to Christan and Gage for always being there. Double thanks to Christan for her yelling,

Thanks to Logan for working harder than me at the meet. That spotting and loading will whip you after eight hours. And he always came over to help me whenever possible.

Thanks to Fred for hanging around and offering advice.

Thanks to Jeffery and Jenny Parr for paying my APF fees.

Thanks to Justin and John for being my SC cheering section.

Some more bitchin' and thoughts:
Made an error on my record application sheet. IT WAS MY MISTAKE. I freely admit that. Was it egregious enough for the meet director to be a prick about it. I debate that. Fed up, I just said, "Fine. Just give it back." Then he acted like it was no big deal. Huh.

Actually had some competition in the 242 raw class: me and two other guys. I was fortunate enough to come out on top.

Oh, even though I paid an extra ten bucks to be part of the APF AND the AAPF, and even though of the seven AAPF (drug tested) lifters there, I was the only one tested (I was more than happy to comply) it bugged the hell out of me that the APF/AAPF were not considered seperate. Even when it came to best lifter. There were two of us that might have won best lifter in an AAPF division, but the best lifter went to an APF lifter. He deserved it, no question, but the reason I paid for the AAPF card was to lift against fellow willing-to-be-tested lifters, not those unwilling to be tested. Again, I have no problem with how a person wants to lift, I just think apples with apples, oranges with oranges.

Speaking of testing: all meets test a percentage of available lifters. That was why I was the only one of seven lifters to be tested. What was crazy was the fact that the Meet Director gave me my piss cups and let me go about my business. Chain of custody be damned. I could have gotten Gage to piss for me and noone would have been the wiser. Also, typically, the test is done at the end of the meet. They had me do it at the end of the squat. That was fine, but I was worried I would be unable to fill the cups. Turned out to be no problem.

Fred Carpenter hit a nice 390 raw PR bench with a very near miss at 400.

I am convinced that gym weights are lighter than weights used for meets.

Well, its all in the past and I am shot out. TTFN, kids.

Pete

Getting Ready to Head Out and a Good Cut

Weighed in at 238.6 this morning. A very good cut this time and do not feel weak. It was not hard at all. Even drank a slim fast this morning. Should be dead on to weigh in at 239 or a tad under.

We should be gone and gone by 11:00 am.

Gots to shave myself, get the hair ready and I's is good to go.

Updated plan

Squat: 600-635-655
Bench: 365-390-400
Deadlift: 585-625-645

This gives me a tie for my last meet on my openers (and the measly AAPF American Record will be mine!) and gives me a shot at 1700, and gives me my goal on second attempts: 1650.

Opener squat will give me the American Record at 242, second deadlift will give me the American Record as well.

I want that 655 squat so bad I can taste it. And it taste like victory... and mandarin oranges.

Luck you will wish to me?