Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Yesterday we were talking about bad workouts,
and how to get past them.
How about a bad competition?
I entered a bench press contest in Jacksonville,
Florida once. My goal was to hit 405 pounds --
a World Record in the 220 pound class, Submaster's
age group, in that particular organization.
I smoked 365 on my first attempt and did the
same with 385.
I felt strong. I knew I could hit the 405.
I got super-psyched for the lift -- chalked up --
slapped the side of my face for good measure --
and knocked my glasses right into the chalk box.
Now, remember, this was Florida -- and it was hot --
and my glasses were covered with sweat -- and the
chalk stuck to them like snow, and there was no
way in the world to wear them and see anything.
And there was no time to wash them off, because
I needed to do the lift. The clock was running.
So I went out and did the lift with no glasses.
And me with no glasses means I'm almost blind.
I had to peer at the bar, look for the knurling, and
figure out where to grip the bar -- and then ask the
hand-off guy to mark the spot with his fingers,
because I couldn't see it when I lay down on the
bench.
Long story short -- I gave it a real good try, but I
missed the lift.
And I was furious with myself.
I fumed about it all the way home -- and it's a long
drive from Jacksonville to Louisville.
When I got home, I sent in an entry form for another
meet in that organization -- this time in Edison, New
Jersey.
It was two weeks away.
I had six workouts to get ready for it.
In each workout, I benched 405 pounds, starting
from the bottom position in the power rack (pins
set so the bar was on my chest) -- or from two inches
higher -- or four inches higher -- or six inches higher.
The idea was to work the sticking points -- and to
destroy the mental barrier that missing 405 had
set up.
In other words, I wanted to OWN 405 pounds.
And I did.
At the contest in New Jersey, I nailed the 405 --
and made that World Record.
And that's another way to deal with a setback or a
sticking point -- use partials in the power rack and
smash it to pieces.
As always, thanks for reading and have a great
day. If you train today, make it a good one.
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. I cover power rack training in detail in Strength,
Muscle and Power -- and in my power rack training
DVD (which also shows my lifting at that New Jersey
meet):
http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html
http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dvds.html
P.S. 2. My other books and courses -- and the
Dinosaur Files newsletter -- are right here at Dino
Headquarters:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "If it doesn't work as
planned, regroup, re-apply yourself, and try again."
-- Brooks Kubik
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