Christmas Deadlifts, start of a new cycle

Only the dedicated... :)

It's a new cycle for this lift, too (with new deadlift shoes). I will NOT be peaking out before Nationals with this one, and will probably end with 325 as I had before the Hudson Open meet.

Light and easy sets for Christmas Day, with a single that is 100 lbs. less than last week's...

Sumo Deadlifts
45x6 (conventional)
45x6 (sumo)
135x1
165x1
195x1
225x1 (loose and notorious neon orange training suit, courtesy of Pete Alaniz/Titan)

Heavy single of the day...
240x1

Drop sets...
210x4x3

Conventional DLs
185x4x3

Weighted Ab Crunches
25x20x3

Low Ab Crunches
10x15x3

Squat Day, start of a new cycle

I've started a new training cycle for my squats, too. My end goal for this training cycle is a Nationals-meet-deep 290, which I have done a couple times before in training. The first time I ever squatted 290, I was at The Gym in Plymouth, MN and had Terry Bloom spotting me with Mitch calling my depth. I had a hard time unracking it, lost my balance walking it out, and re-racked it. BUT... I then took a few seconds to re-focus, as I was pretty ticked off that this had happened. I walked it out again with more determination (and my knee wraps feeling like tourniquets about to cause a couple of amputations). I squatted down, heard the call... came back up... and it was a great feeling. That was before IPF World's 2007, pictured above. I need deja' vu all over again!

It was just me and Mitch training squats yesterday in the Icebox, a.k.a. power room.

Squats

45x10

45x5

75x3

105x1

135x1 (light knee wraps)

165x1 (loose training suit and wraps)

195x1

225x1

Heavy SQ of the day...

235x1

Drop sets...

205x4x2 (4 reps feel like cardio to me, lol...my hips were still burning from the deads last week)

Heavy walkout

265 x slow count of 10

Static hold

295 x slow count of 10

Laying leg curls

60x10x3

Bench Day, start of a new cycle

Getting ready for a bench attempt at the 2008 NAPF North American Regionals in Oranjestad, Aruba (June). Despite failing with 165 in my training cycle before that meet, I was thankfully able to bench 170.8 for a new North American Open Bench Press (3-lift meet) Record in the 105 lb. class!

I started a new training cycle for my (stubborn) bench press today and went light with higher reps and more sets than usual, all raw.

Bench Press

45x10
45x5

65x3
85x1

105x1

Heavy single of the day....

125x1

Drop sets...

115x4x3

Board Presses

135x4x3

Decline Presses

135x4x3

Dips

0x10x2

I haven't done these in a very long time...I love this exercise, but ever since some whiplash I sustained in a bad car crash back in June '07, dips have caused my neck to spasm up, so I took a break from them until now -- and made sure to do them unweighted.

Weighted Ab Crunches

10x20x3

Low Ab Crunches

0x15x3

340 lb. deadlift attempt -- to the knees

I tend to go out on a limb, which is what I did today. I attempted a 340 lb. deadlift this a.m. weighing 102 lbs. (you have to do strange things every so often) and managed to get it up to my knees. This was my first time ever trying to pull this amount.

My last full powerlifting meet was Nov. 8th, when I gritted-out 335 lbs. but it went smoothly... so after I recovered from this half-pull today, I pointed at that ominous loaded bar and said (OK, growled), "I know I've got that lift!!!!!!!"

...just not today :(

Back in July, I attempted 336 lbs. at a single-lift WABDL meet, and in November, I got that 335 lbs. in a full power meet. So it was probably a little too soon to try this. However, with the fairly easy 320 last week, I would have ordinarily gone up 10-15 lbs. to 330 or 335 for my heavy single today. But I've done that already and really wanted to just get that new number in my hands. Even if it went for only half a ride.

Below, the (half) footage:




Fuel for the fire... next time!!!

Deadlift Day (320x1 and 290x2)

Here's how my deadlift day went yesterday:

Sumo Deadlifts
45x6 (this set conventionals)
45x6
135x1
165x1
195x1
225x1

suit...
255x1
285x1

Heavy single of the day...
320x1 (came up strong, minimal effort for this weight)

Drop set...
290x2 (easiest double of 290 I've ever pulled, to my surprise -- I felt I had another 1 or possibly even 2 more in the tank)

Conventional DLs
260x2 (straps down)

Assistance work? No (again). Crazy as it sounds, it appears to me that my minimalist training, further minimized, seems to be helping me get to where I want to be. I continue to have great confidence with this lift and feel that 340 (at a meet, 341.5 or 155 kgs.) is a realistic goal in the near future.

Are we talking... maybe even next week? Hmmm....

But an even bigger question... can I ever translate this sort of confidence into similar progress for the other two lifts? HMMM...

Here's a video of a 319.5 lb. (I just call it 320) deadlift from back in da' day... well, May 2006. This was at the WABDL Midwest Regionals, breaking their National DL Record at 97 lbs. bodyweight...

Bringing Motivation to Kids -- through Powerlifting!

Last Friday, I received an awesome opportunity to bring Powerlifting beyond the gyms and the platform -- and boost the spirits of about 100 5th, 6th and 7th graders at two assemblies in their school cafeteria!

John Gross, photojournalist from KSTP TV and ABC TV news reporter, invited me to be a guest speaker with him at Grandview Middle School in Mound, Minn. With fun props, demonstrations and stories, we brought the important topics of goal-setting, determination, motivation, how to handle failure, getting better grades and self-esteem to this young and impressionable audience, their teachers, faculty, staff, and even the school principal.

John introduced me by asking how tall I am, and how much I weigh. He then turned to the kids and asked them, based on my size, what sport they believed I competed in -- and we heard responses ranging from gymnastics, to swimming, to running, to (the very cute one) basketball.

He played the KSTP Eyewitness News video clip/feature he had produced about me and Mitch Edelstein, and our powerlifting accomplishments earlier this year. As the footage aired, it was fun to hear the kids' reactions. Mitch was also in the audience, and when John told the audience about our best deadlifts -- mine at 335 lbs. and Mitch's at 700 lbs. -- I heard a few "that's SICK!!" and "no WAY!!" shrieks that really told me this cool, young crowd was totally engaged.

I was able to talk about how I achieve my goals in powerlifting and how I overcame tough times as a kid, being called names because of my size and racial background. I shared how, even when I wasn't involved in athletics as a kid, I found a way to compete with others through academics. And it was gratifying to be able to tell these kids that they could do whatever they set their minds to, if they set goals, want to achieve it enough and do what it takes to get there, step by step, and with patience. I was able to share my son Glen's recent lifting and personal goals and achievements as an example of someone their age, doing big things. And I was able to talk about how their thoughts and their own beliefs can, and will, affect what they are able to achieve.

It was even more fun when the kids and teachers asked for autographs afterward!! They approached both Mitch and me, asking questions that only these awesome kids could ask -- like, "Could you pick your boyfriend up off the ground?" I was able to talk to especially the girls and realized I had finally gotten the rare and precious chance to take some of the things I've learned in my sport and in life, and pass it on to them!

Endless thanks to John for this honor and opportunity of a lifetime. I look forward to working with him again!!

Chilly Deadlift Night at The Press

We Minnesotans really are hardy (and crazy). The Power Room at The Press last night started off with just me and Mike Seigler in there, then Kevin Kartak, then Brian Durham and Sean Timonen... and next thing I sensed (when I wasn't focusing on my deads), the room was packed with serious lifters, every piece of equipment in there taken -- and the space still felt like an icebox.

Well, the whole dang STATE is an icebox...and will be, for several months forward. I've survived 15 winters here; you'd think I would be used to this by now.

Sumo Deadlifts (except for 1st warmup)
45x6 (conventional)
45x6 (sumo)
135x1
165x1
195x1

Deadlift suit on...
225x1 (straps down)
255x1
285x1 (straps up)

Heavy single for the day...
305x1

Drop set...
275x2

Conventional Deadlifts
245x3x2

I deviated and improvised again, this time with the conventionals, as I was pressed for time and needed to leave sooner than usual. Instead of doing bentover rows (or any other assistance work), I chose instead to stay where I was and add an extra set of conventionals, each with an extra rep. These went real well, and I believe they probably served my purposes even better than any rows could have.

If you ever need to cut your workout short, focus on the powerlifts. Assistance work is meant for assistance!

I could not leave The Press without carrying out a couple of 25 lb. dumbbells for the speech presentation at the school. Maybe I should count that for something, too :)

Motivational Speaking For Elementary Students

Here is another "first" for me: I have been contacted by photojournalist John Gross of KSTP TV (our Minneapolis/St. Paul ABC TV affiliate) to join him as a guest for two motivational speeches/presentations at an elementary school this Friday! The speeches will involve the topics of goal-setting and getting better grades. I will be getting more details soon about this exciting opportunity, but we will be incorporating how some of my childhood and life experiences have played a part in my achievements in powerlifting -- and what I have learned through the sport.

I'm totally honored by this and didn't expect it. I've given speeches to college students and other adults, but never to youth. But having a 10 1/2-year-old son myself, I'm not entirely a stranger to giving Our Future a little pep-talk now and then :)

Here's what happens when a motivated 84 lb. kid grows up watching his mom deadlift over... and over... and over again...



(...you know that came with a post-pull pep-talk about telling that foot what to do next time...)

As he works on perfecting his lifting, Glen is already being sponsored in this sport! Thanks for your support, Pete!

Squat Day in Pursuit of Bringing Training Goals to the Meet

I had been training heavy squats on Sundays, but because I deadlifted on Friday, my squat day this week was pushed to Monday.

I plan to have an end-goal of 285-290 for this training cycle. This is the (very) elusive goal range I have been pursuing in contests for almost 2 years now. I was able to squat a contest PR and MN State Record 281 at the 2007 USAPL Women's Nationals (Feb.). Since then, I had lifted in only 3 other full/powerlifting meets - two of them IPF (2007 Worlds in Austria and 2008 NAPF North American Regionals in Aruba). In each one, I missed attempts at 285 or 286.5 in some way, shape or form, getting stuck with 265... and, most fresh on my mind, 255 in exotic Hudson, Wisconsin.

Yet I have squatted 285-290 about 4-5 different times in training in the last 2 years, with meet-legal depth. These are the things that make a lifter want to come back for more, in this sport. Try, try again (with a vengeance)!!!

Squats
45x10
45x5
75x3
105x1
135x1 (very light knee wraps)

Titan Dual Quad suit and knee wraps on...
165x1
195x1
225x1

Heavy single for today...
245x1 (straps up; weight came up easy/fast)

Drop set...
215x3 (I was suppossed to do another set but was pressed for time and was also still sore from the compressed schedule this week)

Heavy Walkout
275 with slow count of 10

Static Hold
305 with slow count of 10

(The difference between the heavy walkout and the static hold is, as you could guess, I walk out the weight and set-up in my "start" stance with heavy walkouts; the static hold is simply lifting the weight off the rack and standing there.)

Leg Curls (laying)
60x10
70x10x2