What an awesome weekend. I had previously planned to attend the ProAm with our PSM crew out here in Utah but life got in the way and I ended up being the only one to attend. Because I was going alone I had contacted Laura Phelps to see if her and Shane may have the time to assist me while I was there. Let me tell you..I learned more from Shane Sweatt in one day than i've learned in quite some time. The guy is scary smart and an incredibly nice person. I also was fortunate enough to meet up with EFS' own Joey Smith. He and his crew are such good dudes and offered all the help I needed (including the Nebo knee wrap...ouch). Joey is a total monster!
It doesn't happen very often, but I had a hard time getting comfortable in the squat. (I picked the wrong day for that right?) In hindsight it was a few things..I over bloated (I know Matt!) and came in at 278 on meet day. This made it real difficult to hit depth in my suit, and I spent a ton of time sitting in the hole which totally gassed me out. I watched a guy blow his knees out and found out how mentally weak I am. Also, I made the mistake in my training at home of not taking note of the exact width of my stance. When I got in the monolift I could not figure out where my feet should be, as weird as that sounds. All in all, I was just happy to get a successful attempt in so I could get in the meet! Squat 2nd attempt of 755 was good. I lost my air in the hole with 805 and had to dump...gassed out.
The bench press went well and I learned a ton from Shane. I was able to get back to being an aggressive lifter like usual. I have a lot more left in the tank that I know I can build on for my next meet. Bench Press 3rd attempt of 685.
When deadlifts came around I was back to my old self and turned in decent attempts. Everything felt pretty good except I got out in front of 705 on my third attempt so I couldn't lock it out. Second attempt good at 660.
I'm pleased with my elite total of 2100 but feel like I left a ton of weight on the platform. The bottom line is I have a lot of loose ends to tie up in order to get the pounds back that I left out there. I need to work on technicalities in my lifting and am excited to do so. I am hungrier than ever now and feel as though I have something to prove to myself and my crew.
I cannot thank Shane and Laura Sweatt enough. If it weren't for them who knows how my day would have gone! Also thanks to Matt Ladewski for all the programming help and for the hundreds of back and forth email conversations. I consider Ed Kinsey one of my close friends and I appreciate all his support and help throughout my cycle and on meet day. Thanks to my boys at the SG, and Big John Welbourn! We have work to do fellas, and I know you will be there with me! Thank you to my beautiful wife for putting up with my hobby and for her everlasting support!
