Road to Nationals - Week 17 and 18: What it takes to be a journeyman

... as per ole' faithful, Wikipedia:

"A journeyman is an individual who has completed an apprenticeship and is fully educated in a trade or craft, but not yet a master. To become a master, a journeyman has to submit a master work piece to a guild for evaluation and be admitted to the guild as a master."

I've been searching for the right words to define this experience, and it was only recently that I stumbled upon something that resonated with me.

Last night, a buddy of mine smoked a personal best in the clean and jerk. For those who have taken up weightlifting as a hobby or serious sport, the quest for 315 (the sacred 3 plates), is an elusive one.

Josh is a hero of mine.

And as a tradesman by day, I couldn't help but think of how much I liked the idea of being a journeyman. It's a good one.

We're all on that journey. And when I think about that "education in a trade or craft," I can't help but think that many of us, especially the savages I train with week to week, are very much so in the thick of that sacred conquest for medals and records and glory. We're all Journeymen.

Here's the video (It's a thing of beauty.).

Journey Notes: 

I just finished up week 3 of my new program. It's looking week 4 is going to be pretty miserable; lots of 4x4 work at about 80%. My coach's notes say RPE should be somewhere around 8/9. I'm excited to see how, exactly, my body responds to low-bar squatting at 80%. So far, it's felt pretty good. Moreover, it's been beltless, and I'm planning on hitting this 80% beltless, too.

The following week is looking like a de-load week, and then I'm back on another 4 weeks to finish off this squat cycle.

Then, I've got a 10-week bench cycle. That cycle should run me right into my meet on June 5th. After that, I'll be hitting a 10-week deadlift cycle, and that should put me 2 months out from Nationals in Atlanta.

Established goals (subject to only get more aggressive):

National Total: 1300 (should place me top 10)

Squat: 450
Deadlift: 535
Bench: 315

That's all I got for you, folks. Follow Josh on Instagram HERE.

Be well,
C