Pretty sure NH1 now has that locked up in all categories.

If I wanted really low hanging fruit, I'd be holding a pair of 45 lb plates as I weighed in. The SHW record for 50-54 years old is 501. It just so happens that the best bencher in APF from 50-54 was Mike Taylor (all time great masters lifter), who lifts at 242. I have no shot at benching 694 in this meet.

I could drop down to 220 and beat that record (523), but I dont want to cut right now. Maybe some day.

Jim Grandick is likely to shut me out from the 275 record at this meet anyway.

Here are the APF records for 50-54 full meet multiply bench (bw in lbs and lift in lbs):

123 - 248
132 - 215
148 - 325
165 - 430
181 - 430
198 - 562
220 - 523
242 - 689
275 - 600
308 - 650
SHW - 501

APF has been around a long time, but there are not that many of us who are any good at it competing at our age, so the numbers dont always follow the weight classes, obviously. UPA and USPA are much worse than APF as far as this goes for geared lifters in my age bracket. It is what it is. I wish I would have found this sport and had the time and money and knowledge that I have now 30 years ago. Maybe I would have been competitive as an open lifter back then, where the records make more sense. This is all I can do now.

Anyways, thanks.

My teammate who has some WRs, one of which was an 800 lb DL about 30 years ago (record still stands today), and has competed against and hung out with a lot of the best lifters for a long time, has suggested to me to just squat my opener, then skip 2nd & 3rd squat attempts save energy and go all out on the bench.

I was thinking about using this meet kind of as a warmup for the next meet in May anyways because my squat and DL both are weak right now. The more I think about this, the more I think he is right. This gives me a better chance at benching 600+. I have heard that no Minnesotan over 50 years old has ever benched 600+ in a sanctioned meet, so if I can do that, I will be the first.

Yeah, go bench, baby! Trying to prak squat probably won't help if you have no shot at a pr or pr total.

I have an outside shot at a pr squat, but I'd guess under 20%. I probably have under a 5% chance of a total pr. I'll save my energy for bench this time and squat and DL more in May.

Yeah, go for bench then and you'll also be less fatigued to keep training squat and DL for the next meet.

Good luck cha!

Thanks!


No good news to report regarding my lifts. I bombed out on bench due to rib issue affecting it.

I did have a good time. My teammates each broke at least one PR and I got to hang out with and get to know Dave Hoff and his gf. Both are good people. I'll elaborate more later.

Bah, rigged!

some pictures:

The Big Iron APF meet:

I decided since I wasn't 100% on my lower body lifts due to not being fully recovered in my low back since the PRP injections, and since my bench was mostly going pretty well in training, I would take an easy squat opener and then go all out on the bench. In hindsight, I probably should have not signed up for this meet. I wasnt ready for it on squat or DL and with the rib issue that I have, I couldnt bench as well as I should.

squat
633 - good lift


bench
551 x f - you can see the weight shift to the right as soon as I accepted the handoff. My last warmup was very unstable like this too. My left back muscles could not pull as hard as the right side was pulling. This caused the bar to shift to the right. When the bar shifts to the right like this for me, I cant lock out on the right side. Also, I had my shirt collar pulled up too far on this attempt. It was very easy to touch and the shirt did not give me much help.


I pulled the shirt collar down a little and tried again
551 x f - pretty much the same as the previous attempt. ****. I had a little more help from the shirt, but it was not enough.


At this point, bombing out didnt matter all that much. It was not a super important meet. I went in with the hope of benching 606 and the minimum expectation of benching a small PR of 584. I was not going to try 551 again. The decision was between putting on my tight shirt and going for the 606 or just a small meet PR of 584. I figured I had almost no chance of pressing 606 considering how my back was not functioning well on the left side, so I figured a small PR would be a minor victory.

As an aside, my third attempt was the heaviest bench attempt of this meet. Jim Grandick pulled out because he had an infected tooth pulled soon before the meet.

This meet only had two flights, so we had to start warming up for bench right after squatting. Dave Hoff told me he decided during bench warmups that he did not have enough time to warm up to his planned opener of 937, and he also said he was not feeling great that day because of some cramping. He went into this meet looking at it as a training day. If things would have went perfectly, he would have attempted a 1,000 lb bench. Things went south, so he took a token bench (~226) and a token DL (~226).

The big dude who squatted 1102 in this meet last year didnt lift in it either. It would have been cool to have the heaviest bench in a meet that Dave Hoff didnt bomb out in, lol. I was so ****ing close too.

584 x f - the video says it all.

I've been resting the ribs.

4/2

DL
225x5
315x3
405x2

suit (Inzer Fusion + Inzer briefs)
495x1
585x1
615x1
Everything moved pretty well and my ribs didnt bother me on any of the heavy stuff. I wanted to do some secondary work in the suit to get used to it.

405x1 - meh. Moved like it was air, but putting it down on the floor sucks in the suit, so I didnt rep it. I figured at this point I am comfortable pulling in this suit and I dont need to do huge volume with this rib issue, so I just did some GHRs.


GHR - body weight only
20x2
I could feel the ribs a little on a few reps when I wasnt very careful with torso positioning. I decided I did enough work for the day.


A while ago, I signed up for a USPA meet 5/4. I was going to do the full meet. That's still a remote possibility, but it seems unlikely right now. I will probably do DL only if I cant bench well before then, or I could always take a token bench and do squats and DLs. I have time to figure it all out. At least I know I can pull 600+ without much difficulty right now.

4/3

bench press (rib rehab)
45x15
95x10

I put on my old Titan Fury (single ply size 54 - two sizes too big), which I used a few years ago to rehab my torn pec.
3 board press
135x10
185x10
225x10
275x10
275x8 - I could feel a little discomfort in my chest after 8 reps, so I stopped.

1 arm cable rows
100x15
120x15x3

face pulls
60x20
100x15x2

Damn! No deadlift attempts? That 584 bench flew off your chest, I really thought you were still going to make it.

I am 2 weeks out from my first ever real (amateur) meet myself. Would appreciate any advice I can get on my attempt numbers in my log. Thanks!

584 - I know, right? If you look closely at the video, you can see how I pulled the bar to the right, which made it too heavy on that side to lock out. sigh.

yeah, I'll take a look at what you're doing and post my thoughts over in your log when I have a few minutes.

4/5

squat
65x5
155x5
245x5

Inzer briefs
335x3
425x2
515x1
I could feel something in the bad front rib joints when I was trying to extend my thoracic spine on these.

suit & knee wraps
605x1 - I shifted front to back, back and forth on the way down and on the way back, but despite that, it moved fairly well and I got good depth.

I figured since the ribs were getting sore from squatting, I should probably stop squats for the day.

RDLs
225x5
315x5
405x5
455x5
495x5

GHRs
20

I got the green light from two doctor friends to try to rehab the chest/ribs doing stuff like I did on Wednesday for the next couple weeks, then if everything goes well, I can attempt to bench something more significant to my chest, and if that goes well, I can bench in the May 4 meet. I wont likely be setting any PRs at this, but the American records in USPA are only 551/402/551, so I should be able to crush those if I dont fall apart.

Since I squatted 605 to depth in my suit without issues, that might be a good opener.

DL went well last Tuesday, so something like 584/617/650 might work.

I just need to figure out which shirt (or shirts) to bench in and figure out a number that I can touch without messing my ribs up.

4/7

bench press
45x15
95x10
135x5

loose fitting Fury shirt
3 board press
185x10
225x10
275x10
315x5 (could have done a lot more, but I wanted to save energy for what was next)

I figured I need to know which shirt(s) I should be using at the next meet and also how some more significant weight feels right now with the rib issue going on.


size 50 single ply Titan Super Katana (this was the only shirt I was able to touch and press anything in during meets for the first ~3 years I was in gear)
3 boards
405x3 - ok

size 54 Rage X two ply
3 boards
405x3 - this put more stress on my chest

looser SDP
3 boards
405x3 - this felt ok. Harder to touch than the single ply shirt, but easier to press.

I pulled the collar up fairly high and tried a 2 board
405x1
Lots of pressure on the chest. Hard to touch, easy to press. I cannot touch anything light in this shirt.

1 arm cable rows, TRX rows and face pulls



Next week I will try to dial in what weight I plan to open with. I'm thinking using the old single ply Katana is the best option. I have touched 452 in it in my first geared meet, but that was a long time ago, it was very hard to touch, I will probably weigh 10 - 15 lbs more, I have the rib issue, and the shirt has had a lot of use since, so there are lots of variables. I'm guessing something around 465-470 might be a good opener, so I will attempt something like that next week to see how it goes. The USPA American multiply record for 50-54 years old, 275 lb bw is only ~402 right now, so any opener I can do in a shirt will be an American record. Anything else is gravy.

At the meet, assuming I can open with ~465-470 in the Katana, and if I feel ok after that, I might put the loose SDP on and do something like 540.

I reached out to Mike Robertson about my rib issue. He graciously gave me a couple of exercises to do that should help my ribs heal - he definitely didnt have to do this because people pay him huge $$ for this type of advice. It was very kind of him to help me here. Here is his reply to me (for context, I previously mentioned my last meet and showed him a video of the 584 bench that I barely missed):

I tried both of these last night. Doing them well is a lot harder than it looks. It felt like they did something good. I plan to keep doing them.

4/9

DL
225x5
315x3
405x2

suit (Fusion & Predators)
495x1 - super fast
585x1 - fast
635x1 - fast - this is the most I have pulled since 12/1/18.
655x1 - I got a little forward with it, but there was never a doubt that it was getting locked out.






speed DLs in briefs only
445x3x3 - these moved very fast

This was 97.5% day. I had no idea where I was at, so I didnt even have a training goal weight number. I figured if 585 moved well, I would try 635 because that's close to 97.5% of 650. I figured if that moved well, I would try 655 because that is about 97.5% of 672. I'm sure I could have pulled 675 last night if I had tried. I will attempt it next week, and plan to pull 672 at the meet 5/4.

I think there are a couple main reasons why my DL is coming around. 1. The biggest thing is that my low back and core are starting to get dialed in again. The PRP injections in my SI took a while to get everything working properly. The low back seemed wonky since last summer. Just the past couple weeks, its feeling good and strong again. I'm not getting sharp pains in the right glutes due to the SI issue. My left glute medius is working better now than since I can remember - that is due to some of the PRP injections. 2. I love this Fushion DL suit. It fits very loose, but when I crank down the back straps, it feels tight on the back and it doesnt make me feel like my head is going to explode when I do that like my Metal suit does. I always had to leave the Metal straps fairly loose.

My ribs didnt bother me last night either. That's two weeks in a row on DLs. For the first time in a long time, I'm excited about my DLs. Hopefully squats and bench presses come around and the ribs dont bother me during those next time either.

You are a DL beast. It's been tough to see it take a back seat due to injury. Excited that the road back up over 700 may be incoming!

Put some weight on the bar!

Thanks! 700+ again would be fun.

yeah, that's the plan next week!

4/10
some floor pressing and pulling stuff. Left side of back still sucked.

4/11
I had my chiropractor do ART and adjustments on me. He found my left middle trap and rhomboid were stuck together, so he got them unstuck and did a lot of other stuff to make me feel better.

Then I saw a physical therapist who is excellent at MAT (Muscle Activation Therapy). It took a few weeks to get an appointment with her, and the only reason they let me in that soon was because my regenerative injection doc referred me. Otherwise, her next appointment for new patients would have been around June. She's in very high demand. Within the past couple months, a couple of different friends who came to MN see my regenerative injection doc both saw my doc and also saw this PT. They were impressed too.

MAT is pretty cool. She worked on the left side of my back and on my neck. She moved various body parts around in various ways and had me try to resist. That showed specific weaknesses in specific muscles. Then I'd flip over and she'd push on my back on the attachment points of those muscles. Then I'd flip back over on my back and she retested the muscles that were previously inactive. It was amazing the way I moved. My left upper trap, middle trap, lower trap, serratus anterior, pec minor, parts of my lat and probably some others that I forgot, were all inactive. She got all of them firing. I'm looking forward to benching Sunday to see if I can pull the bar properly on the left side. I feel like I can now. I just need the ribs to not fall apart.


4/12
squat
65x5
155x5

briefs
245x5
335x3
425x2

suit with strings loose
515x1

strings snugged up & knee wraps
615x1

The bar path was basically perfect on all these. There's no doubt that what the PT and my chiro did fixed some things. I felt the ribs in fron on the last squat, so I stopped. At the meet, I might open with 617 and then go heavier if the ribs cooperate.


RDL
225x5
315x5
405x5
455x5
495x5

4/14

bench press
45x15
95x10
135x10

rehab shirt
3 boards
185x10

2 boards
225x3

1 board
275x2

off chest
315x1

size 50 Titan Super Katana single ply - this was the shirt I used for basically all my meet pressing for about the first three years that I was in gear.
2 boards
425x1

off chest
455x1 - smoked it
I wanted to see how little I could touch and press in this shirt. Touching was not super easy, but it was not too hard. More importantly, I didnt hurt my ribs. I think I'll probably open in this shirt with about 463.

"loose" SDP
2 boards
500x1 - smoked it

I have touched 545 - 551 in this shirt a handful of times. I wanted to see if I could touch 535.

535 - could not quite touch. I probably was about 1/2" away when I decided trying to force this down and pressing it would be counter productive to my rib situation. I had the spotters help take it after getting that close to touching. If I had tried harder, I probably could have touched and pressed this, but there's no point in that right now.


I did a few different pulling things with bands and cables to finish. The back muscles feel great.



My right SI flared up again when benching when the middle handoff guy slammed the bar into the pins hard after one of my presses. Its annoying me now. I dont know if this will affect any of my lifts or not.

The really good news is my left side of my back muscles worked fine after half of them being shut down for several weeks. The MAT I got from the PT on Thursday seems to have fixed this problem. I see her again 4/30. Hopefully none of the stuff that was inactive before needs any more work, and she can start working on other parts of my body that arent working optimally.

One rib moved just a little bit. My chiropractor friend popped it in and it was no big deal this time - many other times, this thing has hurt like hell getting popped back in.

I'm going to try and hit an opener and probably a 2nd attempt next week off my chest. I think I will be mostly ok for this meet, but not 100%, as far as benching goes. If everything goes very well at the meet, I'll hit 463 in the single ply, 551 in the loose SDP and 584 in the tight SDP. If 551 hurts, I'll probably skip the 3rd attempt. I think right now, squatting is the biggest question mark for this rib issue.

4/16

DL
225x5
315x3
405x2

suit
495x1 - super fast
585x1 - fast, very good
635x1 - I leaned a tiny bit forward just before it got to my knees, but it still went up and got locked out fast.
665xf - It was going up, but it felt like it hit a brick wall right around the lower part of my kneecaps. I was maybe a tiny bit forward and maybe my back was not quite as tight as it needs to be. I was feeling a little tired or something in the low back, so I moved on. No sense pushing through this to attempt it again right now. I would have got it if I had pulled it perfectly. I am not going to grind heavy DLs this close to a meet.

briefs only
455x3
Low back felt tired and again, I saw no point in grinding through anything, so I moved on and did a couple sets of GHRs.

GHRs
I moved the foot plate in a notch so my knees stuck in the pad higher. I also did them very slow and controlled. This made them harder than usual - it was just to pump the muscles up safely.
15, 20