15 Mar Dain Soppelsa | Meet Write-Up
My meet prep leading up to the Arnold was very, very good. I only had one miss and it was due to passing out in the hole of a squat. I got all the programming in. I got all the assistance work in that I needed to get in. I felt absolutely prepared.
Dan Dalenberg, John Barker and myself drove down to Columbus, OH on Thursday morning. The drive went well. We stopped a couple times. Once to eat and the rest so Dan could use the bathroom, due to his weight cut and water load.
I made it to weigh-ins just before 3 o’clock. I wasn’t cutting weight or anything so I felt just fine when I got there. I weight just under 298, which was just a little lighter than I wanted to be, but I wasn’t concerned. We went from weigh-ins to our condo that we rented in Dublin. This worked out great and we plan on doing it next year. The condo was affordable and it was quiet. Perfect environment for getting focused for the task at hand. We got settled and headed to dinner at Texas Roadhouse.
We ended up meeting up with about 10-12 people from the PRS team. It was nice to talk and get to know some of them since I haven’t hadn’t met a lot of them. I ate a bunch and drank a bunch of water and by the time we left after a couple hours, I was feeling good and bloated. I checked my weight when we got back to the condo. It was just under 304, which was perfect for where I wanted to be on competition day. I chased dinner with some Oreos and went to bed early to be as rested as possible for the next day.
I woke up feeling good. We had an early breakfast and headed to the meet about 8:00 am. I like to find a spot in the warm-up area and post up. I put all my gear and food in a good spot and sat down to get my head right. Dan, John and Corey Schutter were my handlers and they got there nice and early to help me. I got warmed up in plenty of time and everything felt nice and light. So we found a seat on the platform and got ready to do some lifting.
First Attempt Squat was 870 and it was a good lift. It felt very light and fast.
Second Attempt Squat was 940. This was a good lift and felt strong. I lost my arch for a second, but Dan yelled arch and I got back in good position.
Third Attempt Squat was 960. I timed out on this lift. I got it out of the rack on my first try and lost my balance right away backwards. I hadn’t got the squat command yet, so I had another shot at it. I was trying to get it out again, but was timed out. They said they were going to be enforcing the time clock, so it is what it is.
Bench warm-ups all felt good and I was ready to bench big, since my meet prep for the bench felt phenomenal.
First Attempt was 715. I didn’t get a press command. I was told that it was very close, but not quite enough weight, I guess. I sat at my chest for way too long on this one.
Second Attempt was 725. This one came down well and touched. I pressed it right up, but lost one side into the rack right at the top. No lift.
Third Attempt was 725. This one felt a little high on the way down, but I corrected it at my chest and touched. I pushed it halfway or so, but had no gas left in the tank. Out of the meet…bomb…
To say I was disappointed is an understatement. I had high hopes for this one. Dan did give me about 3 minutes to grieve before he started busting chops, but that’s what happens when you bomb. You’re subject to ridicule… I will say that becoming a member of team PRS has softened this blow quite a bit.
I am super busy right now. My family is trying to sell our house and move. So I won’t be doing a meet until fall. Probably the Lexen meet in Ohio that we’ve done the last two years, but if not something around that time. I will have a long off-season, so I’m going to slowly transition to that. I’m going to take it very easy for the rest of March and start something in April.
I want to thank all my training partners for all their help. Day in and day out. Dan Dalenberg, Dakota Dunn, Chris Noble, John Barker and Mike Newell. There’s no way I could have had the meet prep I did without your help. You guys are great. I also want to thank Corey Schutter for wrapping my knees and helping with my suit. That was a huge help. I owe you one man. Onto the next one…
Dain Soppelsa
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