Road to Nationals: Week #7

What's good people,

So I'm 6 weeks out from this meet in North Jersey on January 24th, and I've never felt better. There's a lot to be said for thoughtful stretching and rehab (for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, check out my last two posts.)

As far as programming is concerned, I was able to squat 365 for 4 pretty easily yesterday, and my bench is coming along nicely. There's something to be said for benching 3 days a week AFTER you either squat or deadlift.

With all that being said, there's also something to be said for the idea of being a life-long learner. Truth be told, my squat is still pretty nasty as far as position goes. I think that's what most people don't understand when they see me lift locally (nationally, I'm not all that impressive). They look at me and say, "Man, you're tiny. That's a big squat," and all I think about is, "Well, wait until I actually learn how to move the right way."

I'm still playing around with stance width and toe angle and bar placement for my specific body type, and it's maddening (there is no universal rule for movement in the squat - everyone's body is different). In the end, though, that's the game. That's the sport.

Here are a few clips from this week:

Beltless squat session:

And some Deadlift deficits:

I'm still waiting on programming for next week, but I'm expecting the volume to pick up a bit and then drop off as we get closer to the meet on January 24. The goal is to crack into 1200, and with a 425 squat, 275 bench, and 500 deadlift, it should give me exactly what I need. I'd like to go into nationals moving closer to that 1300# mark, but we'll see. It will require a lot less time hanging out with friends and family and a lot more time in the gym and sleeping and eating. Luckily for me, I've got enough friends and family who train with me that it makes the journey a little more forgiving.

What's evermore frustrating is that I'll still need well over 1300# to crack into the top 10 at nationals (I'll need, at the least, 600kg [1320#]), and the higher that number gets, the harder it is to get there. Putting 20lbs onto a total at the novice level isn't really all too difficult to do. With the right program, you could put 20lbs onto a single lift in about a month. However, when you start creeping into the world where you're quite literally getting everything you can out of your body, things start to get a bit hairy.

I'm going to cut this one short for the week. For some reason, Blogger has trouble linking videos from youtube. I'll try to have something figured out by next week, though, and get you all some meaty content to enjoy.

All best,
C