2 Days to Go

It's nearly the big day that see's my powerlifting competition on saturday.

Training wise I have done very little, lots of stretching and trying to keep stress to a minimum while getting some good quality sleep.

However, typically, the week so far has been busier than I would have liked, with today being non stop.

I find at times like these it can be good practice to turn within and look at what thoughts lead to frustration and stress.

Often frustration and stress is caused by too much looking ahead, feeling over whelmed by what is perceived to be forthcoming.

In times such as this, drawing ones attention back to the present moment can help significantly reduce stress. You see, in the present moment, what may or may not be ahead is not a problem right NOW in this moment. It may even be that the imagined outcome for the forthcoming event does not turn out the way we expect it to - often resulting in stress that was unfounded when you eventually get there.

By bringing your attention back to the present moment, and immersing yourself in whatever you may be doing, whether it be washing up, watching TV or sat with the eyes closed paying attention to your breathing only in peace and quiet - the action of being in the moment of Now can bring with it a huge sense of mental relief.

Indeed, this is something I was encountering earlier this evening, wondering how on earth I was going to manage to get everything done that I felt needed doing.

The fact of it is, right now, there is nothing that cannot wait - and through taking some time to self centre and realise this my stress levels and feelings of frustration have been obliterated.

Try it for yourself sometime - you may be suprised how effective it is!

I have also been watching my weight very closely this week.
I will be competing in the category of 82.5kg and so must weight as much as this on the day - MAXIMUM.

Each night I have weighed myself before going to bed and been on the scales around the 84kg mark.

I then weighed myself first thing in the morning, after visiting the bathroom and have been finding I am usually around the 82.3kg mark.

With this in mind and to make weight for certain, I shall be stopping food and fluid (apart from sips of water) after 3pm tomorrow evening.

The weigh in is at 8am, so on rising on competition day I shall check my weight on rising and have nothing to eat or drink until weight has been made.

From there I will have 3-4 hours to get as much fluid on board as possible, along with high carbhrdrate foods to boost energy levels.

Thankfully with me being there or there abouts, I will not be significantly dehydrated on the morning of the competition making for speedy rehydration and better performance - at least that's the theory!

Thanks for reading.

Final Pre Comp Workout.

I had my last workout on wednesday 18th feb, and am now into my 10 days rapid taper ready for the competition in a weeks time.

The idea of the session was to perform each of the lifts, up to a maximum of 80% of 1 Rep Max, concentrating on hitting good form and power.

My session was as follow:-

5 minute warm up using various body weight exercises.

Squat

bar*10
60kg*5
60*5
80*3
100*3
120*1
130*1

Bench Press

Bar*10
40*5
60*5
70*5
80*3
90*1
90*1
90*1

Dead Lift
60*5
100*3
120*2
140*1*2
150*1
160*1
170*1

Felt good throughout with the session taking a total of 90 minutes.

Nothing further to do in terms of training now, just keeping loose, stretched off and relaxed.

I shall perform some mobility exercises over the next day or so with nothing being done from wednesday.

Thanks for reading.

Benching - Last Main Session!

Hi All,
Today saw my last full bench session before my meet.
I intended to stay sub-maximal and focus on really "oiling the groove".....so that's exactly what happened.

The 110kg singles all felt good and I feel confident now using this as my opening weight.
Warm up
Various stretches, arm swings etc

Flat bench
bar*30
40kg*10
60*5
70*3
80*3
90*2
100*1
110*1
110*1
110*1
110*1

6" board press
110*2
120*2
120*2
120*2

Pin push from 2" above chest
115*1
115*1

Plenty of power, the 110's went up no problem and was just oiling the groove.
The 120 board presses were straight forward too - just focussing on powerful and speedy lock out.

As a note, and for the benefit of those who don't know - the board presses are used to work different parts of the benchpress.
Of recent I have had less power from mid way up to lockout - hence the inclusion of the 6" presses, which focus on the lock out.

The other advantage of it is that it prepares you for lifting heavier as your body adapts to having a heavier weight than normal on your arms and chest.

It works very well indeed.

KB Jerks
24kg each hand *6 reps
24kg " " * 6 reps

Bent Flys
5kg*10 reps
5kg*10
5kg*10
5kg*10

That was it, job done.

Deadlift Training

Today's session was deadlift specific just oiling the groove really and getting my technique as sound as possible.

Warm Up
Shuttle Runs
Arm Swings
Arm Circles
Hip Rotations

Deadlift
Bar*20
60kg*10
60*10
100*5
120*3
140*3
160*3 (belt on)
180*1
190*1

Speed Deadlift
150kg*1
150*1
150*1
150*1
150*1

Chest Supported Row
40kg*15
60*10
60*10
60*10 all reps done fast and explosively

Kettlebell Military Press
20kg*10
20*10
20*10

Straight Leg Sit Ups
30 reps
30 reps

Finished off with some stretching, creatine drink and 20 minutes later protein shake.

I felt a little sluggish throughout, but then I have had a very busy week, and am probably still recovering from the heavy squat session done last monday.

Technique felt good though and Im feeling confident.
The Kettlebells were more aimed at shoulder health while the abs were high reps with body weight only due to me having already trained abs on monday of this week for low reps.

Core strength seems to be improving using this technique - which can only be a good thing.

In the next 5 days exercise will be kept to a minimum, with next wednesday being my next heavy (ish) session.

Within this session I shall be building up to my opening weights for each discipline followed by 10 days of active rest prior to my competition on the 28th.

Thanks for reading.

Last Heavy Squat Session

In the build up to my competition, I completed my last squat based session yesterday.

I was feeling a little fatigued and ready for my de load period on the run into the competition, but none the less, it ended up being a very good session.

Warm Up
Body Weight Squats *20
Behind Neck Press *20 with Olympic Bar
Torso Twists *20
Various Stretches

Squats
Bar*15
60kg*10
80kg*5
100kg*3
120kg*3 (belt on)
140kg*1
150kg*1
160kg*1
165kg*1
160kg*1
150kg*1
140kg*1

Box Squats
100kg*3
120kg*3
130kg*2
140kg*2 (new personal best)

Weighted Ab sit Ups
30*body weight
10kg*8
10kg*6
10kg*6

Stretch off.

As you can see, a very simple session.
The box squats are a great addition and teach the body how to fire rapidly "out of the hole" at the very bottom of the squat.

I have my box set so that when I'm sat on it, my hip joint is just below the height of my knee joint, making it perfect practice for legal depth in a competition.

Needless to say, I'm feeling a little tired today, so plenty of stretching, quality food and water is the order of the day.

Thanks for reading.

I am currently in the final stretch of preparation of my first powerlifting competition on 28th Feb 2009.

I will be aiming to compete in the 82.5kg category, and at 3 weeks out im there or there abouts being 82.8kg this morning.

The competition is a RAW competition, which means lifting in a weight belt only, so no bench shirts, squat suits or knee wraps.

The format for the competition is 3 attempts at the Squat, Bench Press and Deadlift, aiming to lift as much as possible, for a single rep, while ensuring the lift is considered to be legal.

That means squatting below parallel, benching with a pause on the chest until the ref signals to lift, and deadlifting in a smooth single movement with no hitching.

Last week I performed my last heavy dead lift session, and worked up to 190kg for 2 sets of 2 reps, followed by rack pulls from knee height, culminating in a new PB of 210kg for 2 reps.

On Saturday 7th February I performed my penultimate heavy bench session before the comp and went as follows:-

10 minute Warm Up
Arm Swings
Shoulder Rotations,
Push Ups
Behind Neck Press with Olympic Bar

Flat Bench
Bar*20
40kg*10
60*10
70*5
80*3
90*2
100*1
110*1
115*1
115*1
115*1

5 Inch Block Press
115*3
120*3
125*3
130*2 (New Pb)

Chest Paused Bench with 4 second pause.
100*1
100*1
100*1
100*1
100*1

Kettlebell Military Press
16kg*15
24kg*5
24kg*5

Bent Over Rear Delt Flys
5kg*10
5kg*10
5kg*10
5kg*10

That was my session.
Lots of heavy work, with average rest between sets being 3 minutes for the heaviest sets.

I felt strong throughout, and the power off the chest felt good.

From here on in my max on the bench will be around the 110kg mark so as not to over tax the central nervous system and allow a complete recovery in preparation for the big day!

Thanks for reading.

Yours Matt Shore

Introducing My Blog

A warm welcome to my blog.........

My intention is to maintain a regular update providing insight and information relating to a wide range of topics relating to Total Fitness.

In addition, I will be keeping a detailed diary of my techniques and strategies that I employ in the development of my own personal fitness.

I am currently training for the British Drug Free Powerlifting Association South East Qualifier to be held on 28th February 2009.

For more information about my approach to Total Fitness, which not check out my web site which can be seen here:


http://www.total-fitness-personal-trainer.com/index.html

Yours Matt Shore