Second, this past Saturday I finally made my return to a powerlifting competition at the Wisconsin State Fair. The last time that I competed was November of 2008. For those of you that don't know, I had an injury or two that forced me to step back, reevaluate things and take some time to fix imbalances and weak points and let things heal. Rather than try to jump into competition again too soon, I decided that I was going to take ample time to make sure I was in full working order and ready to rock the platform without risking another strain. I've spent a lot of time working hard to get better and to come back to this point. When there was a time that I wasn't sure if I'd be able to compete again, I've made my way back and I'm ready to kill it again. While I didn't pull what I wanted to, I'm real close to where I want to and need to be and ended up winning deadlift (opened w/ 500, struggled w/ 540 (which I've tripled before) but didn't really train off the floor much until recently so I should shoot up pretty fast now, especially since everything is stronger than ever and I'm feeling good) and also a bench your bodyweight for reps competition (pressed 179 for 29 reps and won 90 bucks). I didn't really train specifically for the meet but managed to do alright. Now that I'm officially back into competition mode, I'm on a mission. I'm on a mission to hit some big numbers and to do so while being smart and staying healthy. I'm real excited to start pulling from the floor more frequently and plan on hitting some nice numbers this year.
That being said, there are still a lot of lifters and other athletes out there who are going hard and heavy without taking note of imbalances, movement faults and weak points. I saw at least a dozen lifters at this meet with less than desirable form and definite imbalances jumping out at me. If competitors would take the time to get a good assessment and learn what they need to do to fix some of these issues, not only would they be less likely to get injured, they would also be much stronger and improve their performance on the platform or in their sport. I'm not huge on self promotion but since I've had the opportunity to be a contributor to a great product, I'm going to mention it one more time. I go through multiple assessments and LOTS of exercise progressions to take care of issues found with those assessments in the newest edition of Muscle Imbalances Revealed: Assessment and Exercise.
It doesn't stop there. Anthony Mychal goes through some great information to help with athleticism. One topic he touches on nicely is the importance of proper foot stability and control and how it can affect the rest of the kinetic chain. It goes along real nicely to compliment some of the things I discuss with the hips and trunk. John Izzo goes through some great assessments that can help out with general population clients and Rick Kaselj give out loads of info on important things to be done with rehab clients. The 4 presentation product is full of priceless information and while it is definitely designed for professionals, anybody interested in learning about these things can take away a lot of information from the product. If you grab a copy this week, you will also get access to bonus material and a coaching call with all of the contributors to the product. Be sure to check it out today!! Muscle Imbalances Revealed- Assessment and Exercise Here is a video from Anthony's presentation. Look at my last blog post to view a clip from my presentation and go to the MIR site to learn more detailed info about the product.
New Facility. Return to Powerlifting. New Product. Time of your life, huh kid?!
(If anybody can tell me what that great line is from, you might get bonus points)