I set a personal record this week… for lifting weights five times without training in the same place once. Between traveling for the Cressey Performance Fall Seminar and running away from Hurricane Sandy, I got to see a bunch of friends and lift in some really cool environments.

All the changes of scenery have helped me get comfortable being uncomfortable, which is perfect since I’m now exactly one week out from my next powerlifting meet. Next Saturday, I’ll travel to my home state of Vermont to compete in the Old School Iron Wars in a new and strange environment (a CrossFit gym, of all places) with a bunch of new and strange people. Anyone who’s ever done a powerlifting meet can tell you it’s nothing like walking into your every-day gym and doing a couple of one-rep maxes. There’s always something different in the air (besides sweat, chalk, ammonia and ungodly levels of body odor).

Competition changes our level of arousal, helping us reach heightened levels of performance that can’t be replicated under non-competitive conditions. In baseball, it’s the difference between being in the batting cage or being at the plate with the bases loaded with two outs in the ninth. If we’re unprepared, our nerves can paralyze us and mask our potential. But if we’re mentally tough, we can harness that anxiety and use if to fuel our performance.

I knew I wanted to take my deadlift “opener” (the first of three competition attempts, for those not versed in powerlifting) two weeks out and my squat and bench openers one week out. I crushed my deadlift opener at Cressey Performance last Saturday and then smoked my squat and bench openers yesterday. I’ll go into the meet with the confidence that I can hit my openers with ease no matter the circumstances (nerves, no sleep, explosive diarrhea, etc.).

Even though I’m still a newbie by powerlifting standards, I feel the best advice I can give someone going into a meet is this: decide your openers based on SPEED. Everyone always says “open with a weight you can do for three reps on a bad day” or “open with your best 5-rep max.” The way I see it, that varies way too much from person to person. Personally, I know that I suck at “reps” and my strength drops off quickly the more reps I do. For example, I recently hit a 500-pound squat, but my best ever 3-rep squat is 435 – just 87 percent of my max. It would be silly to arbitrarily open with 435 because it’s my best triple. So yesterday, I worked up to 445 which I hit with a little bit of “strain” but no reduction in bar speed (which the video confirms) – lo and behold, that’s my opener.

So here’s a quick recap of my recent training…

Friday, October 28 – at Bryant University

I lifted with my old roommate and college baseball teammate Pete, who works at Bryant University. He was my first true training partner and it’s always fun to get together and see how he’s continued to keep strength training as a staple in his life. He’s got access to the varsity weight room, which is one of the most badass places on Earth. Here are the highlights…

– Squats: worked up to 410×2 for 2 sets and 435×1 for 2 easy sets

– Bench: worked up to 285×2 for 3 sets… supposed to do 5 sets but my shoulder wasn’t having it. Better safe than sorry.

– Did some high-rep 3-board presses, some band triceps work, prone Cuban presses and called it.

Saturday, October 27 – at Cressey Performance

Deadlifts and upper/lower “pulling” with my buddy and CP intern Miguel, shown to the right doing his best Van Damme impression. I knew going in I wanted to pull some moderate singles for speed and then hit my deadlift opener. This was the perfect place to do it because A) Cressey Performance breeds incredible deadlifters and B) their specialty deadlift bars are the same ones I’ll use in competition. They flex like crazy and give you awesome speed off the floor.

– Deadlifts: worked up to four lightning fast singles at 405, then two quick singles at 445 before crushing 475 as my opener. Last heavy deadlift before the meet.

– For accessory, we did chest-supported rows, glute/ham raises, half-kneeling cable face pulls and reverse crunches. All CP favorites. Miguel coached me through all of them and I realized that everything is way harder when you do it “the right way.”

Monday, October 29 – Saint Michael’s College Fitness Center 

Back to my old stomping grounds! I ran away to Vermont to escape the hurricane, so I spent some quality time at my alma mater catching up with old friends and reliving my glory days as a below-average college baseball player who occasionally hit for power by accident.

– Squats: worked up to 410×2 for four sets, easy.

– Bench: 285×2 for three sets. Again, weights were easy but shoulder was iffy.

– Accessory: chest-supported rows, glute/ham raises, curls, band triceps, ab wheel, light good mornings.

Wednesday, October 31 – Saint Michael’s College Varsity Weight Room

This was a dream come true. For years, SMC athletes had to share the fitness center’s sub-par equipment and quirky layout with the student population which made strength and conditioning a nightmare. Now they have a beautiful new facility (shameless plug: I was on the committee that designed it) and I finally got the chance to train there. The night before I made a guest coaching appearance and helped the baseball team through their training, so I was beyond fired up to train the next day.

– Speed Deadlifts: worked up to 405 for eight singles with 40 seconds rest between reps. Nice and fast.

– Bench: worked up to 285×2 for five sets, pain free. Must be the Sorinex bars and the oversized bumper plates.

– Accessory: band face pulls, safety squat bar good mornings (AWFUL), curls, sled pushes, reverse crunches.

Friday, November 2 – Adelphi University weight room

And we’ve come full circle. I’m back in New York and trying to process all the damage from the hurricane. I am beyond blessed that my house was unharmed. After settling in, it was time to hit my openers.

Squat

Bar x8

135×5

225×5

255×3

305×3

355×3 x2

385×2

405×1

425×1

445×1 (opener)

Bench

135×5

185×3

215×3

255×1

275×1

295×1

305×1 (opener)

Accessory: dumbbell chest-supported rows, light good mornings, band triceps, ab rollouts, forearm wall slides.

One Week Out…

Seven days til total domination. I’m very confident in my preparation and my openers. Now it’s time to relax, recover, eat and balloon up to 198 pounds. Left-over Halloween candy anyone?