Monthly Archives: September 2015

Good Fitness Reads of the Week: 9/27/2015

Hope you’re enjoying your weekend!

Here’s a recap of all the best fitness info from the past week.

Strength Tip

You don’t get stronger missing weights. It’s physically taxing and probably worse, mentally. Your confidence gets shaken after you miss an attempt. You begin to doubt yourself, your training, and negative thoughts swirl through your head about your progress. There’s a lot of ways to PR. The most obvious way is crushing a new max, but you can also hit rep maxes, total volume PR’s, and RPE PR’s. A volume PR may not be as sexy as hitting a new max, but it is a PR! I see people get anxious when they aren’t testing their new max each week. Don’t feel as though you need to be constantly testing your 1RM to increase it. There are plenty of ways to get stronger other than chasing a new max each week. Regardless of your programming, pick weights you know you will hit. No one got stronger missing all their attempts. #powerlifting #deadlift

A photo posted by Adam Pine (@adam_pine) on

Recommended Reading

  1. Exercise during pregnancy. [Infographic] The safest, most effective ways to stay fit and healthy. via Precision Nutrition
  2. Why I Still Work in a Commercial Gym via Dean Somerset
  3. A Barbell Complex For Strength And Fat Loss via Neghar Nonooni, Girls Gone Strong
  4. 7 Ways to Burn More Fat at Breakfast via Mike Samuels
  5. 7 Things All Athletes Need To Do via Chad Wesley Smith
  6. Gym Etiquette 201 via Tony Gentilcore
  7. Positive Self-Talk for Instant Strength Gains via Tony Bonvechio
  8. How To Eat Too Many Calories (And Gain Fat) via Jason Helmes
  9. Viking Day: Rope & Sled Training via Jim Wendler
  10. Coaching Cues to Make Your Strength and Conditioning Programs More Effective – Installment 12 via Eric Cressey
  11. Pull-Ups: You’re Doing Them Wrong via Lee Boyce
  12. Designing a Peaking Block via Chad Wesley Smith, Juggernaut
  13. How To Weight Train Without Getting Hurt via Bryan Krahn
  14. Embracing More than One Training Model – A Lesson in Opportunity Cost via Pete Dupuis
  15. 6 Habits of Successful Long-Term Dieters via Eric Bach, Adam Pine
“He hits from both sides of the plate. He’s amphibious.”
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Good Fitness Reads of the Week: 9/20/2015

Hope you’re enjoying your weekend!

Here’s a quick recap of all the awesome fitness info this weekend.

Strength Tips & Training Videos

 

Recommended Reading

  1. Your First Powerlifting Meet & Performing Under Pressure via Adam Pine
  2. Arching in the Bench Press: Please STFU via Juggernaut Training Systems
  3. Effective Warmups to Improve your Squat, Bench, and Deadlift Numbers via Ryan Wood
  4. 34 Things Learned from 20 Years of Lifting – Part 1 via Dean Somerset
  5. 5 Traits of a Successful Coach via Tony Gentilcore
  6. How Much Sleep Do You Need? via Ross Enamait
  7. Managing Lifting and Life for the Young Athlete via Ewa Januszkiewicz, Juggernaut Training Systems
  8. RTS Coaching: Low-Cable Split-Squat via Mike Robertson
  9. Technique Tuesday: Pendlay Rows to Improve Your Deadlift via Tony Bonvechio
  10. A Better Plank Position Set-Up via Matt Ibrahim
  11. Strength Training Tricks: What Works? via Travis Pollen
  12. Does Size Matter? via Bryan Krahn
  13. 10 Rules You Should NEVER Break If You Want to Get Brutally Strong via Adam Pine
  14. 6 Techniques For How To Build Maximum Client Trust and Rapport via Eric Bach, The PTDC
  15. Missed Workout Shaming via Ross Enamait
“He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”
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Your First Powerlifting Meet & Performing Under Pressure

Powerlifting’s a simple sport. You show up and squat, bench and deadlift three times each. You move the heaviest weight you can to form the best total.

Pretty basic, but like a lot of other lifters, I can look back now and remember making plenty of mistakes at my first powerlifting meet.

Here’s how you can avoid the common mistakes made on meet day and smash PR’s on the platform.

Don’t Change Your Daily Habits on Meet Day

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Make the day routine like any other day.

Start the day off right by getting enough sleep the night before.

Continue with you morning routine and your other daily habits that give you a sense of comfort and keep you relaxed.

Reduce stress by doing the same things you normally do.

Keep Your Diet & Supplementation the Same

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Keep your dietary habits the same and eat the foods you normally eat. Just like your daily habits, it’s relaxing, and you know how you’ll respond.

Meets can go nearly an entire day, stay hydrated and prepare some food and bring it with you.

No need to eat as much as humanly possible. A last minute feast isn’t the trick to having a good meet. Consistently train hard, follow a good training and nutrition program leading up to it for the best possible outcome.

Everyone’s supplementation is different. Just like the rest of your diet, keep your supplementation routine. You don’t want to take too much of something, or anything new only to find you don’t react well to it.

Don’t Cut Weight

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If you’re new to the sport, don’t cut weight.

Too many newer lifters make the mistake of cutting a ton of weight for their first competition, only to find that their strength is nowhere near where they want it to be.

Hold off on cutting weight and go in as strong as possible.

If you’re an experienced competitor and you’re looking to cut weight as efficiently as possible while maintaining your strength, read this.

Equipment

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No new equipment on meet day.

Make sure all your equipment is allowed by your fed and use the same belt, shoes, wraps, and any other gear you’ve been training with all cycle.

New equipment the day of the meet is going to do more harm than good. Wait until after the competition to try out anything new.

Find out what kind of equipment your fed uses.

Monolift or squat rack, squat bar or power bar, stiff bar or deadlift bar, etc. Train with the same equipment that you’ll use at the meet if it’s available to you. If it’s not, no big deal. Walk your squat out like you normally do if you have never used or seen a monolift before.

A common mistake I see is people squatting facing a mirror during training. Squat facing away from the mirror. There won’t be one on meet day and you don’t want that to be the first time you’re squatting without one.

Also, don’t forget your singlet!

Know Your Federations Rules & Regulations

Rules

There’s a million different federations. For the most part the rules are the same, but there can be minor differences.

I made the mistake of not reading the rules for my first powerlifting meet and trained heels up for the bench, only to find out at the meet that I had to bench flat footed.

Read up on the rules and judging beforehand.

Train using the commands.

There’s nothing worse than smoking your lift, only to have it turned down because you jumped a command.

*Find a meet near you: http://www.powerliftingwatch.com/node/4421

Travel Arrangements

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If you’re traveling, try to stay somewhere close to the venue. You don’t want to spend hours in a car right before you step on the platform.

If you’re cutting weight you may need a shower/bath, steam room/sauna. Find out if where you’re staying will have everything you need.

Double check that you brought everything including your equipment:

Singlet,  squat/deadlift shoes and socks,  belt, knee sleeves/wraps, wrist wraps, chalk, baby powder, Advil, warm-up tools, and anything else you regularly use.

Stay Focused & Reduce Pressure

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There are two big mental mistakes I see being made leading up to a meet.

The first is creating a ton of build-up to meet day.

Feeling pressure and excitement is perfectly normal. In fact, I don’t know why you’d want to compete if you didn’t feel any. Use those feelings to fuel your competitive nature rather than letting them overwhelm you. You want to avoid creating undue pressure — the freak out.

If you struggle with stress leading to a competition, try to remember that it’s just lifting weights. You do it all the time. You’re good at it. Just go out there and do your thing!

The second mistake is thinking you need to get psyched up before you lift. Screaming, yelling, slapping, head-butting, etc.

If that works for you, do it — just make sure if you’re saving enough energy for the whole meet. Don’t gas out on squats.

If you’re like me, it’s a huge distraction for you. Stay focused. Let the energy of the meet boost your adrenaline.

If the weight on the floor doesn’t get you going, leave it there.

Warm-ups

The warm-up room can be hectic. Stay focused and  go through your routine, stretching, rolling, whatever it is you normally do.

When it’s time to hit your warm-ups, leave yourself enough time, but not so much that you’re finished 30-minutes before your first attempt.

A simple way to do figure out when you should start is to ask the meet director how much time until you begin your flight. Find out roughly how long before you’ll be up, we’ll say 30-minutes.

Time your rest periods. Let’s estimate 4-minutes between each of your warm-up attempts.

Warm-up attempts: 45, 135, 225, 315, 405, 435, opener of 500.

You’ll be ready for your opening attempt right when you need to be. You won’t be rushed or stale.

Don’t be shy to put whatever weight you need on the bar when you need it and follow your timer.

Openers & Picking Your Attempts

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Open with something relatively light. Pick something you’re 100% sure you’ll hit. Gain confidence with your opener, it’s going to set the tone for the rest of the meet. You don’t want to miss your opener, or worse, bomb out.

A good rule of thumb for your opener is something you know you can triple. I tend to do around 90% of my target.

Have a plan for your attempts. Be willing to adjust based upon how you feel. My general guidelines: 1st attempt @ ~90%, 2nd attempt @ ~95%, 3rd attempt @ ~100%.

Too often people aren’t realistic about their attempts. There’s nothing inherently special about meet day, adrenaline won’t give you a 100lb boost to your deadlift.

Don’t be married to a number. Pick something attainable rather than wishful and take home PR’s.

Take Your Time

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Don’t feel rushed. You have plenty of time when you’re called to the platform. No need to hustle under the bar and go.

Go through your mental checklist just like you would any other lift. Take your time, get setup properly and blast the weight up!

Have Your Coach Or Training Partner With You 

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Have someone you trust there with you.

It’s good to have the support and help if you need. Someone with experience to wrap your knees, check the flights, hand you off,  get you food/water, and anything else you need to make the day go smoothly.

Go Compete & Meet People!

If you’ve got the itch to compete, do it. A lot of people talk about wanting to compete, but “their numbers aren’t strong enough yet.” You’re ALWAYS going to want bigger numbers.

Competition is motivating. One of the best ways to hit bigger numbers is to sign up and have the competition as motivation.

The experience is invaluable. Every competition teaches you something about the sport and yourself.

Make an effort to talk to other competitors. I always enjoy meeting and learning from others at the competition.

If you’ve got the urge to compete, don’t hesitate. Just go out there and do it!

Recap

Be prepared and go into your meet feeling confident.

This starts with a good training program.

You want to be your strongest on the platform. If you’re interested in learning more about how to peak for you meet, send me an email at adamnpine@gmail.com with “PEAK” in the subject line. You can also sign up for my free newsletter for my 12-week deadlift program. It’s the exact deadlift template I used to hit my first 700lb deadlift.

Reduce your stress on meet day by continuing with your normal daily habits.

Warm-up properly, pick your attempts wisely, smash PR’s, meet new people and enjoy the whole process!

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