22 Feb Jacksonville XPC Prep
This past weekend I took a trip up to Jacksonville, FL to put the finishing touches on my contest prep for the XPC in Columbus, OH. I will be joining Zane Geeting and Daniel Dalenberg to represent Team PRS. Right now it’s about 10 days out from the meet, so now it’s time to rest and get mentally prepared.
After a rough week on squats, I took a trip up to Jacksonville to train at the Team Samson compound with Brian, Will Kuenzel, and the other teammates. It is almost a 5 hour drive one way for me, but definitely well worth the trip. I needed a tune up on my technique, and there is no better place to get feedback and advice than at their gym. There’s something about having 8-1o guys that know what they are doing giving you feedback on your lifts that speeds up your progression in powerlifting. I was more than happy to hear what I was doing wrong and how to make the adjustments that I need for this meet.
Warmups consisted of the McGill Big 3, some glute warmups with a hip circle, and band pull aparts for my shoulders.
I worked up to about a last warmup of 695 on squats, and took 605 for a few singles in full gear beforehand to correct some issues I was having. My right foot wants to keep rolling to the outside on all my squats, which can obviously become a huge problem with 800lbs supported by the outside of an ankle. I brought my stance in a little closer with my toes pointed outward, and it felt better than what I had been doing. I’ll get some professional advice on how to correct the ankle/foot issue after the meet. Right now I just need to rest up and get mentally prepared.
After squats I threw on the bench shirt and worked up to about an opening attempt. The guys there showed me how to put the shirt on for the best possible setup at the meet. I was a little gassed out from squats, so I didn’t feel as strong as I would have liked to be. I’ve got some problems with my elbow that likes to flare up after squats that I will get some work done on this week.
This will be my first time competing at the Arnold XPC meet, and from what I have heard, it is a chore just to get through it. I am ready for what could turn out to be a chaotic day for myself. My girlfriend Lyndsay is also competing on the same day in the afternoon flight, so it will definitely be a long day for me. My weight is currrently around 207 in the morning, so the weight cut won’t be too much of an issue at all. I will be flying into Columbus on Wednesday afternoon, giving me plenty of time to get acclimated to the weather and finish off the weight cut.
Every deload week I like to get some deep tissue work done to keep my body from being stiff and cramping up. I’m a firm believer in getting deep tissue massages done regularly which is about every 3 weeks for myself. If everything goes to plan, I’ll have a meet recap log post with a 2000+ total. I am always thankful when Brian lets me come up there to train, and I feel much more confident about my abilities after a day with them. We finished off the day taking a few shots with my Mossberg Shockwave and his AR in the backyard before taking my trip back home.
Ben Sheard
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