Well, training for the powerlifting meet in April has officially begun. I am back to a fairly strict regimen, this time with some additional cardio tacked on the end for flavor. Oof. At least there are a plethora of ways to get sweaty without running on a treadmill(rest in peace running days, my knees simply won't allow it). Instead I am doing some slightly silly and more entertaining things(to me) like pushing weighted sleds back and forth or rowing/push up intervals. Burpees, boxing, circuits galore. It's a good time. I'm still early in my prep so there is some room to play thank goodness.
What's different from this meet prep vs last year's meet prep? Might be easier to point out what is the same, since so much has changed. Hmm...I'm using the same shoes to squat in, and I'll be competing in the same singlet. That's about it. Everyone else is different. Different gym, different program, quite potentially a different weight class(still not sure if I want to cut or not). Mental game has changed too--my numbers have increased, so confidence grew with that, and I'm much more focused when I train. Also, diet matters so much more now. I've started meal prepping as much as possible.
What are my goals for the meet? Not quite sure yet. To go 9 for 9, of course. First and foremost. A new PR or two would be great, but I'd be happy to match my numbers. I wonder if it will be more of a mindfuck to go into this with the experience of competing, as opposed to last year when I had zero experience to pull from. Sometimes not knowing is the best knowledge. Sometimes knowing too much means over planning and setting yourself up to fall short due to the illusion of "being there" before. I intend on treating this meet as its own, and hope to steer clear of any compare/contrasting. Circumstances are always changing with these things.
The one thing I am still being quite tender with is my sumo deadlift. I've finally recovered from my hip injury and I'd like to remain recovered. Sumo position puts a lot of pressure on the hips--last time I pulled post-injury, I had to back off a bit near the end because I felt it starting to twinge a bit. Tomorrow I'll have a go at it again, and maybe play with the position to see if I need to go a little more narrow. I've been doing conventional DL in training, but I'd like to compete in sumo, as I pull much heavier in that stance.
