Bad Mock Meet

So, had a rough mock meet today. I'm actually happy with my form and my effort today, but it just didn't go well. In my defense, I have bronchitis, have had it for 2 weeks and probably will have it for 2 more weeks. So I honestly am not too bummed out that I did badly. I need time to recover, focus on getting my work capacity up and base building for the next 2 and a half weeks, and then come back and kill it next mock meet.

Started with squat. Actually felt really good today, stretched, warmed up, and weight was moving nicely. I hit the bar, 135 x 5, 225 x 3, 315 x 1, then 375 x 1 with a loose belt. It wasn't as fast and easy as I would have liked, but it still felt strong and smooth. So, I loaded up 425 and squatted it for a PR. It was definitely slower and harder than I wanted. I believe part of that has to do with the whip of the bar - the bars at my gym are super bendy, and at 425 I think the whip of the bar made me stick in a weird spot. But I fought through and it was a solid rep. I loaded up 445, and actually had to re-rack the first time because of a bad loading of the bar. I took it again and simply didn't really have a shot a it - got stuck out of the hole and had to dump. However, I hit a pr, so that's not too bad. Not the PR I wanted, but a PR nonetheless.

Bench was a lot rougher. I actually felt pretty great warming up, got the shoulders warm, then hit the bar, 95 x 5, 135 x 3, 185 x 1, 225 x 1. Put on a loose belt and smashed 245 x 1, although it moved slower than I would have liked. Loaded up 265 and failed it twice, once with the belt and once without. Pretty sad. I have definitely improved my bench, and I just didn't get to express it at all today, I don't know if I was just sick and weak, or just mentally bench is still a huge struggle for me. But it was not good.

Finally, deadlift. Took my animal rage pre workout, although because it was in capsule form it was hard to time exactly right. Got warm with some quad, lower back, and butt/hamstring movement, then started pulling. Pulled 135 x 3, 225 x 2, 315 x 1 lightning fast. 405 x 1 was a little slower, but then I threw on a loose belt and smashed 465 x 1, really smooth and fast rep. So, I loaded up 515. Had a lot of trouble getting my belt on which was distracting, but I psyched up, sniffed some ammonia, and took a crack at it. It wasn't a horrible attempt, but I simply didn't push with the legs enough, hips were a little too high. I managed to pull it past the knees and then simply couldn't lock it out, very similar to the 500 attempt I failed a few months ago. Decided to try again, and managed to break the floor but just didn't have it, maybe because the first attempt took so much out of me.

So, a disappointing day over all. But in the end, I am at least as strong as I was last meet, if not stronger. And it was clearly just a bad day - sickness took it's toll, and even if that only makes a 5 or 10 % difference, that is the difference between failing 5-10 lb PR's, and smashing 30-40 lb PR's at this point. So... now I am goign to enjoy my new years, rest the next few days. Then, I am going to do some cardio and conditioning at the end of this week. Then, monday starts two weeks of base building - no belt or sleeves, no programming, just lots and lots of hard hard work, volume, and conditioning. I'm gonna get in shape, feel really good, heal up from this bronchitis, and then get back to the heavy lifts. I hit some great Pr's this past cycle, and it sucks that I just didn't perform on meet day. However, if next cycle I can hit some big 3-4 rep PR's again every week, and be healthy and STRONG on meet day, I might be able to hit some really big numbers. SO, lets rest, lets recover, and most importantly lets keep at it.