You've probably noticed the name change. I haven't touched a kettlebell other than to get one out of my way for over a year, and that's just how I like it. I'm a stubborn sonofabitch so quitting kettlebell sport was only going to happen once I really got to hating it. Not enjoying it wasn't enough. I stopped enjoying it a while before I gave it up, but plugged away because, well, I'm stubborn. I figured eventually I'd get better at it and it wouldn't feel so shitty all the time. More fool me.
Well, there was no way I was going to stop training, and I only started using kettlebells as a substitute for the barbell anyway. I should have known from the first time I used a kettlebell that the 'shit, this is too light to deadlift' realisation was a pretty major hint to step away from it. If you're not doing kettlebell sport, the heavy ones are good for rows and presses if you haven't got dumbbells and that's about it. Around three years and later exit the bells, and I'm back under a (lightly) loaded bar and happier for it.
Now, luckily I'd gotten most of the newbie mistakes out of the way years ago when I started training. This meant I went straight into squats, deadlifts, cleans, presses and high pulls. Note I said most and not all the newbie mistakes. No rows apart from Australian pull ups and really very little pressing of any kind because I'm not a natural presser so I didn't like doing them.
It made a nice change actually seeing progress and not bleeding from various points all the time while being in constant pain in others. Granted, the newbie gains dried up soon enough (you really can't add 5 kg a week to your top sets for very long when you're already not horribly weak), but luckily I knew enough to just dial back the increments and stick with a simple linear model for a while. Still didn't press much though, and didn't bench. Not a great idea. In theory maybe pressing and dipping will build your strength enough to bench but if you're me they really don't. Also didn't row much, just did as many pull ups as possible (in my case not many) and figured the cleans and high pulls would pick up the slack. They didn't, or not quite.
Anyway, within six months of getting the hell out of kettlebell sport there I was with a 180 kg squat (belt, no wraps), 90 kg bench (shitty bencher, remember?) and a 215 kg deadlift (belt) at around 85 kg (around four kilos lighter than when I started because not hating my training put me in a mental state where I could clean up my eating). That was December 2014. Nothing special, but not a bad start considering I'd started out with 140/90/180. Yes, I know, my bench didn't change. I already mentioned how I was dumb about training it. Time to start training for my first powerlifting meet.
Funny story: when I started back on the barbell I figured a 170 kg squat and 200 kg deadlift would be pretty awesome. I also figured they'd take me a while to achieve. I started training for them around July 2014. I pulled 200 kg for the first time in September or something. The 170 kg squat took a bit longer, I think maybe November. That's pretty much when I knew I was where I wanted to be. It turned out achieving goals didn't always have to be a painful, unpleasant and ultimately empty experience.
Of course, by this time I'd also done enough reading to decide simple linear progression might not be the best way to go. I HADN'T done enough reading to figure out hitting my back with rows and hitting the bench with volume were good ideas and as important as restructuring my training. I also hadn't sucked at benching long enough to make fixing it a priority.
I'll spare you the details, but in short I messed around with pendulum periodisation (for the record, it worked okay). Still didn't quite understand how accessory and assistance exercises worked. I probably still don't, but I understand better than I did. That took me through to my first meet in early March 2015. In the 90 kg class (88.9 kg I think) I went 200/110/220 squatting in wraps out of a monolift. My second meet was four weeks later, and my first sanctioned meet (GPC). Still in the 90s I went 210/115/227.5.
Somehow I'd managed to get my bench to go up. Well, when you're *just* benching your bodyweight and your shoulders aren't fucked there isn't really anywhere your bench can go but up. Quick note: after that meet the heaviest bench I managed in training until late September was 112.5 kg. I tried 115 a bunch of times and got pinned. Even 105 or 110 wasn't guaranteed, except maybe for an ugly single. That's around the time I realised I wasn't training my bench right. Rows, rows and more rows. Lots of different presses, lots of bench variations. That's when I started gaining weight, and by July I was well into the 90s. My bench still sucked, but my squat was up to 200 in sleeves and 220 in wraps and my deadlift had gone up to 240 kg.
I'd changed my training program slightly and had better recovery by way of realising I needed to slightly reduce volume and frequency. I'd also been around powerlifting long enough to discover Westside and start messing around with dynamic effort work. Messing is the key word here, but whatever I was doing worked well enough. Bench still going nowhere.
That didn't change until around August 2015 when I got some proper help from John Sheridan at what is now his Burley Strength gym (PTC Canberra at the time). Probably the biggest thing he taught me in that time was to use volume, by managing to convince me that benching more required benching more. Also how to set up to actually get my body in the right position. That was probably the most recent piece of the puzzle for me. John taught me other very useful stuff about squats and deadlifts but it's being able to improve my bench press I owe him the most for.
By September or so I started training at Elite Physique, which despite the name has a very respectable dedicated powerlifting gym and some actually strong lifters. Nothing remarkable, but still some strong people. Until then I'd been training at a Gold's and I figured it was pretty pathetic I had yet to see someone squat or deadlift more than I did there. I'd also managed to mess my elbows up enough by doing many shit pull ups and gripping too close in the squat and I figured a yoke bar of some description was rapidly becoming a necessity. Elite had two, and a monolift, and five squat racks so I was sold.
I had a meet in early October, and I was excited. My bench was finally going somewhere positive. Although I hadn't yet managed to lock out 115 kg again, I was hitting doubles and triples close to it happily and actually started to enjoy benching. I'd also finally figured out how to get something out of assistance work, which was by doing it the way it should be done. I'd read about it, but somehow managed to not apply what I'd read until now. I also started looking into autoregulation, and started implementing my own very basic RPE system.
My squat wasn't going so well, though. My elbows still hurt pretty badly and over the last couple of months I'd been bouncing between flats and heels, narrow and wide. Narrow in heels I flew out of the hole but it felt like my back wasn't so happy with that and my deadlift was suffering which was a real first. I didn't like it one bit. Back into flats and wide stance and it felt slower but better, but controlling my lean wasn't as easy. I plumped for wide because I felt overall better. My elbows were still a pain in the arse though, and made it really hard to keep my upper back tight. At least my deadlift and bench were on track, though.
About three weeks out from meet day, I started getting the nerves. I usually visualise my attempts a lot before meets, and find it comforting. This time though, I kept second guessing my attempts for the squat. I'd planned my bench attempts meticulously and felt fine about them, largely because I'd finally hit 115 kg - and for a triple. Deadlift I'd smoke, because that what I did. I could always count on my deadlift. I'd get a 5 kg PR on my second and then go to town on my third. Squat was bugging me though, so I decided to drop my opener by 10 kg to 200 and settle for a 5 kg PR for my second. I'd play my third by ear. Two weeks out from meet day I pulled my last heavy deadlift and it came up with a bit of a fight even though it was 5 kg under my then max of 255 kg. I was still kind of getting used to a new (better) style and I was tired on the day so I figured I'd be fine come the meet. A week out or so I hit my bench opener for an easy triple and my opening squat for a single and it flew up. What could go wrong?
Come meet day something wasn't right. I was too excited and too bubbly. I'm not bubbly. Too ambitious too. I kept feeling a 240 kg third squat kicking around at the back of my mind. Then I'd top that off with a 270 kg third deadlift. It'd be tough but I'd definitely get it because if there's one lift I can count on, it's the deadlift and that'd be a nice 15 kg PR. Having weighed I'm at 94.9 kg it's time to warm up for squats.
My last warm up felt like utter garbage. I was edgy as fuck, but that's normal for me with squats in a meet. I always worry I won't get my knees wrapped on time, or too early. My elbows were already acting up. Bar is loaded, and I nearly fall over as I stand up. Luckily I keep it together and get the squat command. Three whites and I'm in the meet although it felt horrible. Tear off the wraps, roll them back up and wait. Elbows are killing me now and my arms feel weak as hell. Very glad I've got someone to wrap my knees. Bar is loaded and here comes my 5 kg PR. Unrack feels much better. Actually, everything feels pretty decent. Stable, elbows are forgotten, good and tight and my feet are wider than my first attempt which I messed up by being too narrow which must be why it felt like shit. I've gotten the squat command so down I go, nice and steady. Down I stay. The nice new Sportskraft squat bar rolls over my head as soon as I hit parallel. I just folded right over, too fast for the spotters to catch the bar and I'm so glad the straps were there. I made the call to pass my third attempt and went to my car for a nap feeling like complete garbage. Elbows are killing me again.
After a bit of thought I got my head back in the game and warmed up for bench. Three for three there with room to spare and a 10 kg PR of 125 kg on my third attempt. Things are back on track, no need for another sulk in the car. Warm up for deadlifts and they feel great, just as expected. Looking forward to my third attempt. Bar is loaded and 240 kg sails up, the best it's ever felt. My 260 kg second attempt is going to be a mere formality on the way to 270. Got to love my deadlift, it never lets me down. Bar is loaded and I'm trying to get into the groove of whatever music is playing. I've gone shirtless under the singlet because that's super hardcore. Holy fucking shit this is heavy what the fuck it's not moving past my knees! I couldn't drop my third to 255 kg could I? Fine. A second go at 260 it is. At least I know what to expect this time and I'm not letting go until I've given it all I've got. The only reason I didn't pass on my third was stubbornness. I knew there was no way I could get 260 kg past my knees. Bar is loaded. Fuck it, yell as loudly as possible before I set up because releasing all that energy and aggression first might help. Nope, but at least I hung on to the bloody thing for a bit longer.
Go and sulk outside for a bit and accept I've gone 200/125/240, which despite the monumental fuckup that was my meet performance is still a 12.5 kg improvement on my total. Time to regroup and focus on the push/pull in eight weeks because there's no way in hell I'm letting that 260 kg deadlift escape me for much longer.
In the weeks following I had the best training cycle I've had so far, and planned out the two subsequent ones in more detail - and more sensibly - than ever before. The realisation dawned that screwing up was better done early, before the weights got big enough to hurt more than my pride. Thanks to the safety squat bar at the gym I fixed my squat a fair bit and my elbows healed. Thanks to a wake up call, I fixed my squat and took a more sensible approach to training generally as well as realising attempts need proper planning. About three weeks before the push/pull I benched 120 kg for a triple, squatted 195 kg for five in sleeves out of the mono with a squat bar and no elbow pain and pulled 260 kg comfortably. Let's just say I felt pretty damn good. A really shitty meet had some pretty positive repercussions. Two weeks out and I'd pulled my last heavy deadlift, my second attempt. Early meet week I'd tripled my bench opener. Time to rest a bit.
Push/pull day arrives and I'm excited. Barely any nerves beyond the usual. I know my attempts, and my fallback attempts. Not squatting is a bit of a relief, but I'm already looking forward to my next full power meet. Weigh in at 96.6 kg. It's a small meet, so warm ups are done between handing out for a couple of mates. They all feel fine. I even get a compliment for my arch which tickles me pink. Bar is loaded, opener comes up fine for 115 kg. Second attempt is my A option at 122.5 kg. Comes up okay, but it isn't light either. Screw it, I want my 130 kg third A attempt so that's what I pick. Take my time setting up, long enough that I get a 20 second call from the judge. Worth it, though, because while it's heavy I fight it to lockout. Five kilo PR in the bag and my back is feeling it. About 10 minutes rest then time to warm up for deadlifts. They feel pretty weightless until the last two, but that's to be expected. Bar is loaded and up comes my 210 kg opener. Slammed it down a little hard so get a red from the main judge but whites on both sides. That first felt pretty heavy, so time to fall back on the plan and pick my B second attempt of 235 kg. No yelling, no screaming, just calm and focus. Up comes 235, and down somewhat more gently for three whites. Crunch time: plan A or plan B? Plan B. That second didn't feel so easy so 255 kg will have to do. More calm, more focus. Up comes 255 kg with a bit of work, and with that 10th place out of 19 nationally and first for my local leg. That means a gold medal and I won't pretend I'm not really pleased.
Time for some final checks for the next cycle, and I'm good to go. That's all for 2015 from me folks.
