Powerlifting can be a metaphor for your life….
Tag: ilrish
Three weeks…..three Issues
For this blog this week I’ll keep it short a
nd crispy.
Cause nobody has the time to read a long blog.
We are three weeks out for Nationals. That’s why I take the time to pinpoint 3 issues.
Let me discuss some of the issues I come across so every now and than.
1. I am sore…and walk around like a granny most of the time. I am pretty good in hiding that. #notsomuch;
2. Powerlifting unleashed the rebel in me;
3. Sometime I’d like to stop time. To enjoy some moments for a bit longer and also to prospone some of the heaviest trainings.
I am looking forward to being on the platform again. Seeing where I stand now this time around and how the equipped lifting has effected my classic performance.
Lately I received the question if I’ll transfer to only lifting equipped. The answer to that question is no. For me it’s not one style versus the other. With the best guidance from coach Wim and his help I’ll do everything that’s within my power to combine the two. And master both of them. I have a long way ahead of me.
There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path. I’ll tell y’all more about that next time.
.
.
Untill we meet again.
Look up and lift your weights….
When you accept failing…
2 white lights is enougd to beat the system
Respect the Light weights & Face the Heavy weights
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
H O W . T O . S T A Y . O N . T R A C K |
Week 3 is a fact. I’m getting the hang of strolling down the city with my gymbag 3 times a week and every Saturday @wimwam’s place. Long days, medium sleep, and enough to eat. This week I’ve noticed that there are some things that drain me. Mostly because of some uninspiring and uncomfortable conversations I had this week.
I’ve told my self to stay on track by just focusing on myself and the things I want to do. Preparation and consistency do lead to succes when applied in the right way. It’s time to dust off some of these skills I possess in that department
Lately ’m keeping myself on track by;
Ø going to bed on time
Ø reduce the use of my telephone (especially before bedtime)
Ø packing my gymbag the day before
Ø making sure I have enough food in the fridge ?
Ø pick out my clothes the day before (that’s how I get so color coordinated)
I’ve noticed that sticking to these basic and simple things makes my life much easier. It saves me a lot of time and energy that I can use for other things. But what does this have to do with powerlifting you may ask? Well for me it means a lot. If I am slacking on some basic things it eventualy costs me energy I could have used on my performance in the gym; every set and rep. And powerlifting al so consists out of routines. I don’t even know how many squats, bench presses and deadlifts I’ve done these past 2 years.
Slacking is a forbidden word when it comes down to working out with coach Wim. He warned me at the beginning of the training that I would get to know him even more if I thought light about the (light) training. 
If I get busted on doing so I’d be in for a surprise And I don’t like surprises so I rather be on my A game. And if @ilyscious does so I need to make sure I don’t follow her lead ?
Last central training went as planned. I’m getting used to wearing my suit backwards more and more. I’m excited for benchpress every training in a good way. And squats are improving too.
I can say I’m on track for now and aiming to keep doing so. Stay tuned for my powerlift adventures on this page to see If I keep doing so.
Untill we meet again
Unfortunately my abductor let me down…
Yesterday training felt good…..
Squats 3×3 120kg
Deadlift 3×3 160kg
Bench press 3×3 102,5kg
so today I wanted to test my abductor squatting a little bit more weight …… with 150kg…. 1 reps went ok ….. and during the 2nd rep ……. on depth …… spasm and/or cramp ….. So I stopped squatting…. Just in case I skipped my deadlift and did some light weight bench press 5×5 90kg. Fortunately, the pain response is relatively poor. Now wait and see what the physiotherapist says and hopefully I can do some light squats again on Friday.
In the video below you can see what happened during the 2nd rep.
Exciting! test week :-)
Blog by Ricky Bakker
Finally I was allowed to test where I stand. Testing whether all technical work and reflection work are paying off. Testing in Wim style of course. In doing so, I realize that I ’train’ for 8 weeks with Wim and I didn’t have the expectations to gain alot of pounds – on the barbell that is 🙂 – .
I noticed during the week that I am still a bit nervous with high numbers. It gives me energy but distracts me from the work that has to be done during the week. So focus: on the deload week. Because we still want to pursue flawless work on my technique and posture.
Test training!
In the morning I felt the urge to train bubbling up. I even noticed that I suffered from nerves. Then I thought: hey, you like training .. make it fun. That calmed me down and ensured that I could reflect on what happened later in training with an objective look. In this blog I’ll share with you what happened.
Squats
Recently I have noticed that I enjoy squatting very much. I do not need extra motivation. I work hard, I am very stable (even if I say so myself). I also squatted my third attempt as if I would have a fourth attempt. So there is more in the tank. “That’s a NICE FEELING”. So far so good!
Bench press & Ricky
That is not exactly love. I notice that, partly due to hurdles in the body, I find it very difficult to motivate myself at this lift, and give optimal performance. High weights to me, myself and Ricky is equal to:
Lack of focus on technique + a$$ of the bench.
But does your trainer don’t say anything about that Ricky?
Of course he does! Only in the weeks before it didn’t happen. Nevertheless, bench press is feeling pretty strong, despite my a$$in relat from the bench #error.
So what I learned from this?
I made my second bench press attempt :). It felt pretty heavy, but I pressed it. Now the average, not well-thinking, lifter would say: Well come on with those pounds. I decided to play it safe. For me that means I weigh my options conservatively in relation to the extra few pounds that could result in one place higher or lower during a competition/meet. This is important to me because I’m learning to listen to my body.
Deadlift party
For deadlifts, Wim said ……. ! Well…. I’m not going to say what Wim 
said (I’m going to hold on that a little bit longer). The bottom line is I want to lift ever lift solid and hard. So I do too much. Of course it is not all roses. Because as I shared before, I also have many steps to make.
Reflection is KEY
I’ve come to the conclusion that reflecting on my training sessions works to my advantage. After all, it are the kilos that let you rank higher and not the Wilk’s points. My technique has improved so much. And because of that I experience less pain, and I’m able to load more kilos on the bar. When that time arrives that I believe I’m really ready to lift some more weight then I will definitely have a care free time in the gym and for sure a nice play date with all the plates. Until then, I’ll continue to train hard, play hard and enjoy the ride.
Thank you for reading!