Totaloverview of my Powerlifting meets

Click on picture, to enlarge 🙂

I AM DOWN WITH F.V.T. YEAH YOU KNOW ME

Ola!
They say time flies when you are having fun. Well I found out  time also  flies when you decide to do make choices for yourself  that differ from everything you have known untill then.

These past 8 weeks I put myself through the wringer. And even tho it is nothing new , I had a few very important things that helped keep me #insane and #inthegame.

FUN. It is really easy to loose the fun of things when you attach  competetive GOALS to certain things. So for me having fun , even tho I feel like I can not see another barbell  is key. Training at coach his house was mostly fun this cycle….. for him that was… ?

VALIDATION. Some will agree and other will say  I am crazy  but I believe  validation is a big player when it comes  to being  competetive in anything in life and achieving results of and kind. That being said, I also believe one should only look for validation  within their  own mirror.  You validate you… AND when you do that loads of things will fall in place.

TECHNIQUE.  A things that takes practice,still ,patience and drive.  I am not a perfect lifter and to be honest I do not know anyone who is. But I have learned that besides  being strong , TECHNIQUE can make or break you. Time spend in the gym dedicated to bettering flaws kept #myheadinthegame and  have me hungry for more… because we are never done.

Well this is all folks. Nationals  is around
the corner and a new week emerges soon.  Lets get to it !

ILY

STEPPING IN TO MY WHY

Ola!

After Ricky stole my monday spot last week for his blog
I AM BACK  with a vengeance to share some thangzz with you all about my powerlifting WHY. Why? you might think…. well lemme tell you.

A while back I was gifted the opportunity to talk to Maarten Gulickx about  my profession, goals and my life. One of the most important things he shared with me in this conversation was the finding and defining of my
‘WHY’, because at the time my WHY
had been turned in to a complete messy and disastrous  HOW :-(.
Maarten promised me that when I would get back in touch with my WHY, everything I wanted to do, accomplish and go for would sort itself out. It would take time he said, because he is no magician and neither am I , but it would turn out for the better if I just focussed on this essential thing.
And so I did.

Flashing forward; the focussing on my WHY  eventually gave me the space and peace of mind I was looking for.  As expected it took time, effort, moving on from people, places and jobs,  more than several rivers of good ol’  tears but it also blessed me with the love for the sport of powerlifting and the opportunity  to find space in my ‘ life WHY’   to implement  and define my own ‘powerlifting WHY’.

Key ingredients  of powerlifting that influence this last WHY are not only the fact that I strive to better myself everyday but also the fact that in doing so I like to give back to others #representationmatters.  Going the distance, getting my hands dirty and having long term goals also play a big role and of course one  should never forget,  the power of competing for everything you once thought or was told you’d never have or couldn’t do,  can have on a person.

I am really happy that finding my WHY has helped me in my powerlifting journey that  just only passed the two year mark and has already  brought me so much more than I figured it would  around the time my convo with Maarten took place. As we arrived in week 5 of this cycle, my WHY has steered me in all kinds of directions already and April is around the corner with a platform waiting to be directed towards next.   And while coach has been slaughtering me softly on Saturday’s (last saturday he had me do a back-off set of 10 on squats…..)  and I am still figuring out the WHY on these RDL’s that suck the life right out of me every time I look at them,  I will keep at it because in the end  it will be worth it. Because as coach always says; Powerlifting is a metaphor for life. 

Adios!

ILY

 

 

Recovery training……. only really recovery training tomorrow :-)

Still have this happy  feeling inside me,  about the fact that I squatted  (half) suit yesterday.

It will take some time control it again and manage the pressure. Hopefully an equipped meet will be held in a few months time. The nationals end this month comes too early, because I’ve got another mission to take care of 🙂

Today’s training (60 minutes)
Squats 3×3 130kg (pause)
Deadlift 3×3 160kg
Bench press 3×3 110kg

First (half) suit training squats and sumo deadlifts after more over a year…..

Today I had my 1st (half) suit training, since January 2017 (just before my operation)…….. Three words to describe this feeling………. IT FELT AWESOME….. like a little kid in a candy shop or toy store 😀 ………..

Most important thing to know when you start up your suit training:  don’t be obsessed to hit the right depth on your first suit training…. Start to get used wearing the suit and treat it like it is your friend. The suit is made to help you squat bigger weights….. just like the feeling of insecurity. This feeling is your biggest friend when you give it a place to be there and support you, to give all what you have got. All of your feelings are there to help you at the moment you feel it. The feeling of insecurity is there, because that moment is important for you and feeling the feeling of insecurity gives you the opportunity to focus on your technique to fullfill your goals…. Nothing more or less…..in the beginning and at the end feeling insecure is your biggest friend like failing is your biggest master 😉 please read the final blog of Iris aka powerlifter.nl, click here!

Back to my training today…… Although I’m an equipped lifter, wearing the suit (half) it felt strange and tight for now 🙂 With that knowlegde I  excecuted my sets rep for rep….. Just to make each rep a little bit deeper than the previous one. For today it felt awesome. When I will wear a looser suit in the future and my bodyweight will be -120kg again, hitting the depth will be easier and also control the pressure in my head. Last week I squatted 212,5kg on the Master Classic Powerlifting Nationals and today 3x235kg half suit 😉

Sumo deadlifting with (half) suit is a NO GO for the future. It was nice to do, only I felt to much pressure in my head at the start of the movement till the lock out. So I’m pleased with this result, so I can continue the way I did with my conventional deadlift where I control my breathing and pressure very well. Last week I deadlifted 242,5kg, so 250kg+ will be possible in the future.

Next test will be a bench press session with a very loose shirt 😀 Last Friday I bench pressed wearing the Titan Super Ram. Maybe I will do that next week Sunday….. Keep you posted ofcourse. Check out the video below of today’s (half) suit training 🙂

F A I L I N G I S Y O U R B E S T M A S T E R

F A I L I N G  I S  YO U R  B E S T   M A S T ER
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Eight weeks back I had no idea where I got myself in to. I think I know a lot more since then, but I am still searching fore  some overall clarity. I am learning new stuff by doing new things.  It gives me a new understanding about what I’m capable of doing. Am very gratefull for it.
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Overall I can say that some things feel good and a lot feels akward. And that akward feelling makes me somewhat insecure. It’s not a big deal…but enough of a deal for me to point it out. Knowing that it eventualy will make me embrace that feeling.  As I heard today (watching the Winter Olympics) that even the best of the best (top) atheletes have insecurities.

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This week most things I planned went as planned!
Particularly me following my training in the order I’m supposed to: 1,2,3, 4 and not 1,3,2 and 4. ?

I wouldn’t be me (silly human) if I didn’t mess something up. Ofcourse misloading plates during one of my work outs. Due to lack of my counting ability. This mistake came to bite me in the a$$ during this central training. I wasn’t able to hit all the numbers like I wanted to. Well you live and you learn right?

And F A I L I N G is a part of that. I’m learning to accept and adapt to this roalercoaster ride. Eventhough it’s difficult from time to time. But I’m learning from the best Master.

Untill we meet again..

 

 

Wobbly squats with 70kg dumbells & bench press with Titan Super Ram

People know that I’m an equipped lifter instead of a classic lifter. Classic lifting is just ‘like training’. Now I’m back in training and I have control over my breathing, so I can control the pressure in my head, equipped lifting it starts to itch again……. Therefore today I added the Titan Super Ram in my training 🙂 Last Sunday I ended with 127,5kg in my 3rd attempt and today I bench pressed 3x140kg using my Titan Super Ram 😀 

The question is now: Shall I do some squats on Sunday, wearing a suit  (half) which is loose and knee wraps and show the difference between classic squats and equipped squats? what do you think? Leave comment below 😉

I started the training with wobbly squats instead of 15kg dumbell (each side) I added 35kg dumbells (each side) just for fun 3×3 130kg (total weight) with pause 🙂 and deadlifting 3×2 190kg.

Born Strong – Documentary

Great documentary. When you have seen this video. No words are needed anymore….. about how my mind works 😀

Wobbly squats, bench press and chain deadlifts…… and ready for sleeptest

This I had a ligth weight session, ofcourse 😉  And I added bands with dumbells and chains to the excersises squats, deadlift and bench press.
Below an impression of today’s training.

Squats (wobbly) 3×2 90kg + 30kg dumbells + 20kg chains
Deadlift 3×2 160kg + 20kg chains
Bench press 3×2 70kg + 20kg plates + 20kg chains

Also I had an appointment for my sleeptesting for tonight. Looking like the man of six million dollar 😀 ……. I thought by myself…. I can also visited the trainstation and just walk around without my jacket…… Curious what they call a measure during the night and what the outcome will be of this test. On 19th Februari I will know more…..

 

Next recovery session…..

Recovery sesion 2 🙂 30 minutes trainingsession…

It felt okay to train such a short time….. Physical my body feels good. So now I take the time to recover from my mental effort. During the Fox Gym Cup meet I kept myself away from the crowd and listened to 80’s music all the time. Nevertheless I feel a mental fatigue and therefore I trained yesterday and today only for 30 minutes.  Click here, to watch the video of my meet 😉

Today’s light weight recovery:
Squats 3×3 110kg (pause)
Deadlift 3×3 140kg (stop after lift-off)
Bench press 3×3 90kg (2 stops)