It's around three weeks out from the GPC ACT qualifiers. Oddly enough I'm in a pretty similar situation to where I was around three weeks out from the GPC Canberra Cup in October 2015. Ordinarily, that should suck and be fucking worrying. It isn't.
The reason for that is I'm in a similar situation, not the same one. Big goddamn difference. The situation is similar because my elbows are flaring up again and I'm feeling a bit beat up in places. Yes, that's a shitty situation, but it's just different enough not to be worrying because I managed to learn from the fuck-up that was my last full power meet. The major difference, the one that's the reason I'm not worried is that I know how to fix the problems this time around. It also helps that I fixed my training just enough to have a decent prep. A couple of niggles three weeks out aren't going to make me fall apart at the seams.
Take my elbows. They've flared up enough to get really fucking painful the day after squatting. Why? Because above around 200 kg I have to bring my grip in a bit, actually wrap my fingers around the bar and pull it hard into my back. No shit. That's how you squat. Problem is, my elbows dislike that enough for three sessions doing that for three sets and they're really pissed off with me. If I keep doing it, it's going to get worse really fucking fast. It won't be just the day after it hurts, it'll be within a couple of sets. Well, lucky for me the cambered safety squat bar transfers beautifully to my competition squat. It doesn't take me long to readjust to the straight bar either. A couple of sets and I'm good. There's my solution. All I have to do is figure out the equivalent loads for my squats, but that's not the hardest thing in the world. I just need to stick plates on the SSB until my work sets feel the way they should.
Any other stuff? Sure. My right shoulder started complaining slightly since I tried benching 140 kg. I missed, in case you were wondering. The shoulder's on the mend though, so that's not exactly a problem. Missing the lift didn't mess me up and didn't dent my confidence either so that isn't a problem either. I'll be honest, I've missed a couple of reps on the bench recently. Ordinarily that would worry me, but it doesn't. Not because I'm overconfident. Because I know why I missed. The first miss was because I'd lost some weight from food poisoning. I'd read about even small drops in weight dropping bench performance and I got my own proof. Two days later I went back and hit the reps I wanted. All I did was eat more, and it worked. The second miss was because I was in a buttload of pain and the weight was my current max. I got the first, but my setup wasn't great and I was a little loose. That meant the second wasn't going past the sticking point.
That's a lot of boring fucking detail. My point is compared to four odd months ago I've learned a shit ton. About how I train best, and how I react to stuff. This time, I've got a plan for the meet. I know I'm going to get my first and second attempts for each lift even if I'm feeling like utter crap. I'm pretty damn confident I'll get my third, too. I'm not counting my chickens in that respect because that'd just be bloody stupid. My third attempts are very realistic but I won't lie and say they won't take a bunch of work and need me to get my shit right. But if I do what I need to do, I'll get them. I don't need the stars to align, I just need to do the work.
That's a decent situation to be in.
That's also the point of all this. You're going to fuck up a ton along the line so it's going to be a pretty good idea to get something out of it or you're just wasting your time. You'll only do that by learning from your mistakes.
