June 29 2009

WTF award of the week goes to:



Yes... well.... on to other business....

Comment 1:
Ahhh nice suggestion Louise, a vibrating electric blanket. Men really are becoming obsolete! :-) "Are becoming" ?? "Have become" in my case.

Comment 2:
Thanks Tegan, Very true, In fact I think these bad sessions force me to re-focus - like a wake up call. But yes they do still add up at then of the day, even the ones where I am planted at the bottom of the squat and Leigh has to pull me up by the ears! A-la weekend just gone....

I know even the failed reps work 'cos my butt hurts.... I can feel feel it when I clench and release... 'cmon everyone do it too, you know you want to... clench, release, clench, release..... Sick! :-)

What I need to do is 'chill', stop rehearsing every lift in my sleep and every waking moment! I even find myself holding my breath for the lift when I'm going thru it in my mind, no wonder I'm exhausted by the time I actually get to training I've already done a 3 hour session in my head.

So, I'm trying to find a distraction, but is that a good idea? Went to the movies on Friday night, Terminator... not so impressed, some bit were just plain silly. Didn't sleep well. Dog yodeling... Saturday night went out for Paul Nay's 40th, wish I could have relaxed a little more, had a drink or ten... eaten... picked up.... you know, all those fun things. But no, cinder-fuking-rella here had to be back in the pumpkin before midnight and ready to squat at the sparrow's fart. Woe is me....

Got home after training and decided that the ultimate punishment for crap squats (and dead legs) was the alternating ice bath/hot shower treatment. Lets see how long I can sit and shiver, it almost becomes a challenge to stay in there feeling my legs prickling with the cold, turning red and then jumping into the shower and blasting them with hot water. How many times can I do it? How long can I last in the icy cold water? My arse aka 'The Titanic'.

Then, after lunch I sat back and watched 4 episodes of 'The Shield' season 7, back to back! Had a headache at the end, not from watching but from the mess that Vic and Shane have gotten into with the Armenians..... But it certainly took my mind off: "Grab the bar, throttle the hands on, duck under, wedge the bar in tight, big breath, hold it, arch out, step back once, twice. Breath out, big breath in, hold it, clench and SQUAT!" Phew.... another rep out the way.... Man! I am doing my head in..........


=====

June 25 2009

No training Monday this week, instead I booked in a massage with Shaun. Tink is adamant that he fixed her shoulder problem, different to mine but she's very confident in his massage skills but she warned me that "Active Release" would be very painful. So this is what I was expecting but far from it, it was a little painful, sometimes but it was bearable. Perhaps he was being soft on me? :-) And in between the AR's was some *very* enjoyable back massaging - the stuff that ZZZ's are made of. If only I could come home to this every night - ummmm, minus the AR.....

Tuesday night, wasn't able to get down to Richmond but I still managed to do some speed work at Definition and honestly the shoulder was improved. I'm impressed... Gave Shaun the feed back and booked another massage for next week - There'll be no apprehension this time!

Wednesday saw me at the physio, Gemma working into my upper back - now she's tuff! No holding back :-) but its worth it. Then I probably go an undo all the good work with rack pulls later that night - 180 6x3 - some trouble to lockout a couple but overall happy to have moved the bar off the pins - LOL. Added a little extra squat work - in the suit. Still stiff trying to get under the bar but just a set of 5 reps at 110 and 120 for the purpose of 'forming a partnership with my suit' ughhhh. Then some ugly bottom squats at 70kg and finished with shrugs.... Absolutely wrecked. Electric blanket on and I laid flat on my back letting the heat work its magic!

Today the erectors are telling me that they didn't really enjoy the work and I'm having trouble sitting still in my chair. Wish Shaun was coming around tonight..... I'll have to settle for the electric blanket again.

No training now until Saturday, home alone tonight, Madii off at 'Year 12 retreat' and Leah & Andrew out as well. I'm under comp weight as of this morning (67.2kg) so I might treat myself to a lamb souvlaki - yummmmm!

=====

June 22, 2009

Things happen in three's.
Three times lucky.
Three Amigos.
Three Stooges.....

Three times I've been tested by ASADA in 8 weeks.....


Yes, the black agents fronted up at the gym again on Saturday, blood and urine. So I think that answers your question Louise, no, I cant pee in peace. The compliance part is just to show that I have provided ASADA with my whereabouts details for the next 3 months, home, work and have nominated a specific location where I can be found for 1 hour every day. Ie. If they turn up randomly at the gym, like they did on Saturday and I'm not there, then too bad, however my nominated 1 hour was at home between 5pm and 6pm and if they turn up during that hour I *must* be there or its considered a missed test, 3 misses in an 18 month period and its a sanction.




Steve did warn me that I'd be scrutinized when I first met with him to discuss 'defecting' from CAPO, so I'm not surprised at being tested, but 3 times in 8 weeks seems a bit over the top. Still, what ever it takes to satisfy them, no point trying to avoid it and honestly it will make victory all the more sweet.

Anyhoo, my suspicion is that the 'real' reason behind the testing is that its getting close to end of financial year and they have a budget to spend in order to get their funding for next year. What better way than to nab a clutch of powerlifters at a regular training venue....

On a brighter note tho', I benched a PB, a triple at 90kg. Touch and go. For my second set I asked Rikki to give me a press call, enforcing a pause at the bottom, tough but I got it! The really great thing too was that Mary let everyone know I as going for a PB and it was like having the will of everyone behind me - or just the pressure to perform... but it really helped and everyone cheered when I got it - awesome!!

During the formalities of the drug testing, I was still quite hyper from the PB and the DCO asked why I was so giggly I told him about how my previous best at Nationals last year was 87.5 and that I just tripled 90 4 weeks out from comp, he laughed and said 'ahh so that's why you're on the RTP' LOL - I wasn't about to tell him it's more likely because I've just come from a non-drug tested federation.

The assumption that I'm good fell out the window the next day at squat training. My 3x3 at 135 turned into a single dismal double. It was my first session in the super suit which had just been taken in again at the shoulders and I was soooo uncomfortable in it. Crap! So backed off a bit and did 2 sets of 5 at 120 instead. Leigh suggested I have another go at the suit later in the week when I'm doing assistance work. I need to control the suit, not the suit control me!




135 double




120x5

=====

June 11, 2009

Compliance Status

Compliance Status quarter 1/04/2009 - 30/06/2009

You are compliant from 1/04/2009 to 30/06/2009. Receipt Number is: ASADA012442

Compliance Status quarter 1/07/2009 - 30/09/2009

You are compliant for the coming quarter. Receipt Number is: ASADA012443


=====

June 10, 2009

Back to work after a 5 day break and moved into my new desk - by the window. Ahh prime real estate! Not much of a view however natural light is always a bonus.



Cant believe its almost the end of the 'ASADA' quarter and I have to fill out my whereabouts forms again AND enter my 1 hour per day location where I can be found for testing for the next quarter. Mind you, not once this quarter did they come and test me at the 1 hour time/location that I nominated, no, both times they came to training..... regardless, I must comply or be faced with a filing failure. Ho-hum....

Training went really well at the weekend, very happy with 80kg bench press and 125kg squats. For the last set, Leigh put the weight up to 130kg as a teaser for next weekend's program. Old squat suit pulled gingerly over the new tattoo, which gives you some idea how loose the suit is...., straps down, good knee wraps, belt (of course) Caught on film.....




Leigh was satisfied that I'd done well that morning and so I was treated to breakfast around the corner at Toby's estate. Scrambled eggs on toast with bacon - Yummmm

Later in the afternoon, Leigh suggested we catch up for a latte, he been out shopping to fit out the police gym at Werribee and had a little gift for me.....
OMG!! He bought me a bar! LOL. What an awesome present! I was overwhelmed, so cool!!! What better reward from one powerlifter to another - equipment!!. I loaded the bar into my little Mazda 2 and off we went for a latte. Chuckle, when Madii saw it in the car she was like "What the...??" and christened the bar "Sparkles" because she thought it was such a gay present! LOL. I am stoked!! :-)

=====

June 8 2009

For some time I've secretly wanted to get a tattoo, but the idea of getting a tattoo for sake of having one didn't appeal. Then, a little while back, I'm not sure how the topic came up, Leigh commented (jokingly) that I should get my wrap line tattooed so I'd now how far up to wrap my knees, IPF legal like.... and the idea appealed to me. I toyed with the idea of having a barbed wire tatt around the leg but this seemed a little too much... Then I thought, just a little marker, like a single thorn but that was too small.....

Finally I plucked up the courage, found a design I liked and got it done.... and it's juuusssst right. :-)

still covered in glad wrap...

Before shower...

After shower... nice n clean

====

June 2 2009

Bahahahaha late forties! At 46 I thought I'd only just cracked the mid forties. At least I'm not 50 like one other 'hardcore' has-been. (snigger)

Update on the physio visit. Working on the premise that my thoracic spine is somewhat inflexible. After some, what I can only describe as excruciating pressure, manipulations, Gemma has prescribed a lumber roll that I must lay on - longways, down my spine, and stretch my scaps around with the aim of trying to get my hand/elbows towards the floor. That' the best I can explain it. Moving my arms up and down thru the range of movement is quite painful and everything clunks along the way. Back in for another visit tomorrow where she will attack me again. I have been doing the exercises and tonight we'll see if there is any, even slight, improvement. (puleeze!)

Booked in for another leg massage with Ruth on Thursday. eeek!

Taking Friday and Tuesday off (Monday being a public holiday) and giving myself a long long weekend!

=====

June 1 2009

Trained gooderer over the weekend - good results all round - benching and squatting. Benching with SPLC has been a real boost for me, physically and mentally. The last two heavy sessions I've been the only female lifting in a shirt and doing a couple of extra sets and falling behind but they've been supportive and spotted me thru my last couple of sets. This extra support has been missing from my bench training in the past. Mary has also started to join us on the bench after having her (and Steve)'s baby girl, Jacqueline, and is already proving to be a formidable bencher after a break. I'm sure she'll be in top form in no time!

Strong squats on Sunday morning 120 3x3reps, 125 2x3reps. Low box squats 70kg 5x3. Followed by a latte a Tobys estate. Next week, if I do well, I've been promised breakfast!!

Looking for ways to amuse myself.... The prohibited substances list is always a good for a laugh - well, at least for the immature...... LOL.

Prohibited in sport - Cocaine Eye Drops Strong - what about mild?
Prohibited in sport - Colifoam Rectal Foam - Ummmm?

Bram: Trust me, no-one wants to see my ab... (singular!) - ROFL

Went to the movies again with Madii on Saturday night - yeah I have no social life to speak of.... Saw Angels and Demons. Very fast paced, still cant get used to Tom Hanks as the lead, he's not quite as I'd imagined when I read the books... but still enjoyable. Madii a little disappointed I think - she was expecting to be a bit more of a horror movie. Wore half of the choc top ice-cream, as always, and almost made my tongue bleed eating violet crumbles.... A good night out - 7/10 :-)


=====

Happy Birthday Mum - RIP
xxx

May 29 2009

P1 pager has finished for another week and I'm about to head into the city to see Gemma at Melbourne sports medical centre. She did such a great job with my quad - see pic... good as new ;-) Anyhoo my shoulder/right scap is giving me more and more grief each week when I'm benching. Usually Andrea gets it under control pretty quick but this time the pain comes back a few days after treatment. So I'll let Gemma loose on it and see where it leads. Of course a trip to MSMC also requires a mandatory call-in to Haighs......

Latte'd with Tink (Jojo) last night after training, whinged to her about my shoulder too, she recommended that I go see Shaun Bostock for a massage..... I guess it wouldn't be a bad idea considering, you know, as a massage therapist AND massive bencher himself, he'll know the mechanics of what my shoulder is doing/not doing or doing badly...... Tink speaks very highly of his massage skills. Maybe I'll absorb some of his benching ability through touch.... or osmosis.... LOL. Providing I can get past the embarrassment...

Training
~~~~~~
Despite the shoulder I still managed a pretty good bench session at Southern on Saturday. First workout with the old/big shirt on (which protects my shoulder) and the plan was for 4x4 @ 75kg but felt good and pressed out 5x5 @75.

Sunday squats postponed due to strongman comp and so squatted Monday eve. Meh! not so great. Plan was 5x3 at 115 with just wraps and belt but it went more like... 3,2,2,3,2,3 = same net result by adding an extra set, 15 reps all done.

Deadlift training this week was rack pulls below the knee (belt and wrist straps) 150 5x5 , again a bit of a struggle so adjusted the pin height up a bit and then and worked down with each set until I was back to the original height for the last set.

Finally a night off training - yay. Gonna slip into the nom nom (dressing gown) as soon as I get home, crank up the heating and park myself in the recliner with a latte and my little chocolate treat from Haighs to watch the Strongman series on OneHD at 6.30pm and then catch up on all the shows I've recorded this week.

=====

may 27 2009

Strongman Comp

Lightweight Division:

1st place - James Grahame

2nd place - Tristan Woods

Random Photos's

=====

May 23 2009

Saturday morning sleep in... mmmm Poached eggs on muffins and a latte to wash down a multitude of pills.

I didn't bench Tuesday night (speed stuff). Monday night Dad was rushed into hospital by ambulance with breathing difficulties and heart problems, he has emphysema so Tuesday night we're all at the hospital making sure he was ok, and thankfully later in the week he was allowed home. So, anyways, I'm itching to get under the bar today.



No squatting tomorrow but still no sleep in, Madii and Mojo have an early start at pony club.

Then we're off at lunchtime to watch a strongman comp at D's in Dandenong. Should be fun, Tristan is competing and I'm sure he'll do well. I'll be there to cheer him on! Should shape up to be a great day I'll be sure to take loads of photo's





=====

May 19, 2009

Who says lightning doesn't strike twice?

The black agents swooped again on Saturday morning at training. Just 18 days since the last raid, this time wanting urine AND blood. SMS'd Leigh... who responded jovially with "Chuckle. R they only "taking the piss out of u?" :-p :-p" Bahaha

3 Black agents blending into the background

Once again chaperoned around the gym while we train and because a blood sample is required we must wait around for 20mins after training before they can take blood. So I trained as usual, and waited until the end to provide the urine sample. Arghhh... could only squeeze out 75ml... Fail! When a blood sample is requested you have to provide a 'supersized' sample - 30ml more wee than a regular wee sample of 90ml... So I am granted a 2nd attempt... which is good 'cos powerlifters always get 3 attempts :-) At least the DCO has a sense of humor.

The blood sample wasn't as bad as I had expected, they did bring in a registered nurse to do it and I have to admit she was good, didn't hurt (yes, I am a wimp) but it was over with quickly. But guys, seriously, come around too often and the novelty will wear off fast....












After being traumatized again Madii, Leah and I went out for some retail therapy and stopped into Koko black for a hot chocolate...mmmmm

Yummmmmm

And... As I haven't been out to the movies in ages... Saturday night I treated myself and Madii adn saw Star Trek , which I *really* enjoyed - not a mad trekki but the movie was entertaining and trying to see recognize Eric Bana as the baddy, Whoa, hard to see it was him. Arrived home around 11, neighbors having a very loud party, and set the alarm for 5.45 am... Ughh early morning squats.... Music got turned down at midnight thankfully but still not enough sleep time!

A little over cautious squatting with the quad strain, but it felt pretty good and I managed some slow and possibly slightly shallow squats at 105 with knee wraps and at 110kg I added my belt!Very little accessory work again and then off home to an ice-bath to head off any swelling in the quad as suggested by the physio. The worst thing... the ice bath hurt my feet and you cant raise your feet out of the ice without raising the quad out too..... Arghhh pain!!!

Why are men's jammies so much more fun....
Ba-ha.. Grumpy! Yep that's me!

=====

May 14 2009

Despite having reservations about seeing a new physio I was quite impressed with Gemma. She was able to describe exactly what I was doing including details aboaut stance and toe position.... hmmm wonder if she reviewed the gym security tapes? LOL. Some massage and ultrasound treatment, stretching exercises and and compression tube. Follow up appointment today.

Got an email / survey thing from ASADA. Fine, filled out the responses till I get near the end and this is this rather odd question:
Finish this sentence:
Getting tested by ASADA makes me feel.....

Ummm? Special?
Violated?
A 'wee' bit intimidated?
Paranoid?

Chuckle........

Deadlift training tonight - no actual deadlifting involved.... Assistance work only followed by a latte with Jojo and Loretta.
On the topic of deadlifting, here are some pics of my 150 deadlift from the Melb Championships taken by Yoji from SPLC and below that a clip of my technically challenged 165kg deadlift also many thanks to Yoji.








=====

May 11 2009

Mothers day - two new sets of jamies for winter.... of course this lead to tears as I had to pick one set to wear.... but ended up wearing both.... :-)










Spoke too soon about not having any injuries too. Ho-hum...

Injury 1. Right shoulder -this is an recurring injury - shoulder out, not dislocated as such but gets inflamed and doesn't sit well in the joint. A couple of visits with Andrea usually fixes this - under treatment.....

Injury 2. Stupid, stupid girl. Not sufficiently warmed up last Thursday before doing box squats using the spastic bar (which I don't like at the best of times) and strained my right quad vastus medialis (refer to diagram).

Stopped immediately - Rest, ice, yada yada. Andrea took a look on Saturday morning, bit of massage there and thru the ankle and it felt better. Heavy training Sunday re-aggravated it. Felt fine for the warmups and 40kg. 60kg could feel a twinge, wrapped early at 80kg - could still feel it. 95kg mmm getting sore... triples on 105kg - did 3 sets and called it quits. Rest, ice, yada yada. Made an appointment this afternoon with atGemma Melbourne Sports Medical centre. Haven't seen her before but neither Roger, Gordon or Jesse were available. Most annoyingly was that the 105kg actually felt quite good if it wasn't for the stabbing pain.


Minh from Titan brought a couple of F6's to training on Saturday. Tried getting my arm into the size 36 first - with help from Steve Giffin, but while he could get it up close tot he elbow he didn't think it would pull up too well at the top of my arm where my tricep is thickest. Settled for the 38 on his advice and may be able to get the chest plate taken in.

Which reminds me, I need to take my squat suit back to the tailor and have the shoulders altered down another 5cm. Tight!

My old runners finally bit the dust. So a trip to Active Feet in Prarahn on Thursday saw me come away with a new pair of Asics (and a free T-shirt!). Maybe I'll even be able to get bit of a jog up at lunchtimes to keep my weight in check. Wen suggested I might even aim for 5k run in Corporate games in November as well as the poker! :-)

My number plate???

=====

May 5 2009

I am well impressed with 'House of Pain' . I placed an order last week for 2 pair of Inzer black knee wraps, 1 pair of Inzer black wrist wraps, 2 HOP beanies and a $1 cooler pack (gift thing) and it arrived today! The site quoted 2 -6 weeks delivery for international orders and a week later its on my desk! AND in the box was this months Powerlifting USA mag - bonus!

My new Titan shirt should also be available this Saturday, all going well for the new Australian Titan distributor. Minh will be bringing both a 36 and 38 for me to take a look at. I'll bring some silks and see if I can get my arm into the 36. I've also asked him to add a couple of boxes of ammonia caps to my order. Leigh assures me they're good so we'll see!

Comp details for this years Nationals are up on the Powerlifting Australia website. I am considering doing both the 3 lift comp and the bench press comp. Since I'm putting in all this effort, I might just as well do both!


Spoke to soon about the black agents - LOL. They fronted at the gym that night and nabbed almost everyone in the club for testing. I discovered that despite much practice peeing all my life, I could not pee with someone watching.... I know some people pay good money for this kind of thing, but this is not going to be a money spinner for me!

Anyway the whole process was quite interesting and amusing, being that I have a warped sense of humour. Choosing the container for the sample was like a lucky dip - but not so lucky. The lid for the sample container looked like a sipper lid, I will never have a drink with a sipper lid again and then the embarrassment of carrying the damn sample thru the gym to the testing station Ughhh!. Then the fun starts, pouring the sample into separate container, the ASADA dude checking the quality of the sample - I do good quality pee! and then sealing it all up and bidding it farewell... I sms'ed Leigh and he met me after for a debrief and welfare check - such a traumatizing experience... :-)

=====

April 28, 2009

Whats on my ipod?..... Lyrics are becoming ridiculous and its almost embarassing to be caught singing along....

Black dress, with the tights underneath.
I've got the breath of a last cigarette on my teeth.
And she's an actress, actress, but she ain't got no need.
She's got money from her parents in a trust fund back east.

T-t-t-tongues, always pressed to your cheeks.
While my tongue is on the inside of some other girl's teeth.
T-tell your boyfriend, if he says he's got beef,
That I'm a vegetarian, and I ain't fucking scared of him.

>>what the F* is that about?

She wants to touch me whoa-oh.
She wants to love me whoa-oh.
She'll never leave me whoa-oh, whoa-oh, oh, oh.
Don't trust a ho.
Never trust a ho.
Won't trust `cause a ho
won't trust me.

She wants to touch me whoa-oh.
She wants to love me whoa-oh.
She'll never leave me whoa-oh, woah-oh, oh, oh.
Don't trust a ho.
Never trust a ho.
Won't trust
`cause a ho won't trust me.

.
.
.
.
.

Shush girl, shut your lips.
Do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips.
I said shush girl, shut your lips.
Do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips.
I said shush girl, shut your lips.
Do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips.

>> Seriously, I almost find this offensive
>>How many kids actually know who Helen Keller even is?
>>I asked my girls... no idea.
>>Dammit, I'm gonna get the black and white movie, The miracle worker,
>>and force them to watch it.


And this.. well I just want change it just a little and aim it at my......
I really enjoy singing this at the top of my voice :-)

I wake up every evening, with a big smile on my face
And it never feels out of place

And your still probably working at a 9 to 5 pace
I wonder how bad that tastes

When you see my face
Hope it gives you hell
Hope it gives you hell
When you walk my way
Hope it gives you hell
Hope it gives you hell

Now wheres you picket fence love
And wheres that shiny car,
And did it ever get you far

You've never seem so tense love
I've never seen you fall so hard,
Do you know where you are

And truth be told I miss you
And truth be told I'm lying

News.
=====

Whoo-hoo! I have a PA ranking:

Powerlifting Australia Ltd.
Women's Rankings - 2009 - Top 20



Training is going really well at the moment, touch wood, no injuries and loads of energy. A touch sore after training, but only what is expected.

Saturday bench 5x5 @ 65kg felt easy although my right shoulder didn't enjoy the close grip lockouts
Sunday squats at 7.30am 6x3 @ 95kg with only knee wraps were more than comfortable.
Monday accessory workout, took the opportunity to really stretch front delts with an overhead pressing movement, but only with the bar and specifically targeting the stretch not the press.

Still no sign of the ASADA agents, perhaps the no standing sign that I've put up at the top of the driveway has kept them away. Anyway, keeping myself in constant state of 'Needs to pee' just in case - LOL.

Placed an order with House of Pain, my kinda place :-) for some new knee and wrist wraps, Inzer black. Gonna rotate the brand/style of wraps I use at each comp and may look for a different deadlift suit for 2010.

=====

April 24, 2009

The weekend looms, but no joy for me. On pager for the 3rd fortnight weekend in a row. It sucks to work 12 days straight so often, but this should be the last weekend until mid June. Something of a reprieve.

My first night off training this week, although last night was just an 'accessory' session. Not so motivated without Leigh there. I had to ask Pepe to remind why I was there. "to pick up, love" he joked, so I picked him up, literally, baby style in my arms. Anyhoo, plan to spend the evening in the recliner and watch some shows I've recorded during the week. I think Lindt Bunny will meet his demise or at least lose his ears.



Have worked out my peaking cycle with Leigh, the next 12 weeks are going to be tuff, but I'm super enthused! I need to review my supplement supplies, Leigh is going to top me up with some creatine and glutamine that he has stashed, I've already begun loading creatine, although I'm not massive believer in the stuff. Glutamine I feel works for me. Beta-alanine - the good one, means I'll have to pay a little more for it :-( if for no other reason than I like the tingling feeling you get after taking it hehehe. And I have some leftover pre-workout protein powder that I'll incorporate somewhere/somehow - trying of course not to blow out my weight.

Caught up with Jojo last night for a latte, she's still on a high from her win at the weekend - and so she should be! I'm still wound up about it. She's stoked about her deadlift, I'm stoked about her squat.... She was off to get a massage today from Shaun Bostock (lucky her) and then she'll be back in training for the CAPO nationals in August being held in Canberra - about 3 weeks after my IPF/PA Nationals which are in Sydney. I'm thinking I might drive up to Canberra to see her compete, perhaps take my time, call in to a couple of wineries, perhaps stop overnight in Albury. Melbourne - Canberra is about 8 hours drive 670ks, but I think I'd rather take my time and have a bit of fun along the way.

Working from home again next Thursday, sheesh, making a habit of this.... Get this, put my car in for its 40,000k service on Monday and got it back with a cracked windscreen..... They're replacing it Thursday!

Still haven't booked in my dreaded leg massage, deciding whether to get Ruth (soft) or Kellie (extra hard) to do it. Need to get that in next week, the following week I'm back on pager (aka don't get away from the desk!)


=====


PS. while looking for the easter bunny pic I came across this oldie.... LOL












=====

April 21 2009

Post comp slackness has settled in, but at last an update....

My old federation CAPO held its state titles at the weekend. I went along to support my friend Jojo and was surprised to see Maria competing who, as she explained, was only doing this as a 'training' comp for bigger things later in the year. Unfortunately she'd been sick leading up to the comp and bombed her 195kg squats. Pity 'cos I would have like to seen her lifts in the bench and deadlift. That really just left Jojo in the open. It was a pretty small comp, 12 competitors I think, 4 of them female, but that's not to say that there wasn't some great lifting and I got to perve on Shaun Bostock in between lifts :-)

Guilia Mormile set a new Junior record in the Deadlift at 130kg and JoJo.... well, she just blitzed 'em in all 3 disciplines - so proud of her! Scoring herself a National squat record for the Senior Women/75kg division with a massive 175kg squat, followed by a 105kg bench press and 165 deadlift and another National record for her overall total of 435kg in the Senior Women/75kg division. I think I came away a little hoarse after screaming for the lifters that I knew! Gotta be stoked for Jojo tho'!! What a massive effort from her and such a big leap from her lifts at last year's nationals - she's one to watch!!

Other competitors that I knew at the comp: Steve Brown, unfortunately bombed in the squat but scored an easy 180kg in the bench press and Martyn Girvan, 230kg. Mind you for some reason Marty came out and did a token squat at 65kg - yep 65.... not quite sure what that was all about.... :-)



Jojo 175kg squat



Jojo 165 Deadlift (published WITH her permission....)










Guilia 130kg deadlift


=====

April 8 2009

Comp overview:

Competitors meeting at 7.30pm night before the comp, checked in all my gear. They're very thorough! Even asking what underwear I'd be wearing... Ummm Mossimo? I don't think CAPO ever once checked my lifting gear.

Arrived at 7am for the weigh in (after having been at the competitors meeting until 9.30pm the previous night) Weight 67.2kg whoo-hoo 300grams under.

Lifting started at 9. Very nervous!

SQUAT
Got my first squat in at 115kg with one red from the centre ref. Leigh thought I'd missed the lift as he saw it, I'd put the brakes on and not punched down at the bottom.
Attempt 2, clean 125kg.
Attempt 3 132.5kg. ughh totally messed up my setup, my left knee wrap was loose and I took the bar out WITHOUT locking my fingers on the bar, rushed the whole thing and failed at the bottom of the squat.

BENCH
75kg - easy lift
80kg - also very easy
85kg - A little work to get the bar up only to be red lighted for lifting my bum off the bench. So this is a setup issue that I need to work on, but I know I can get the lift.

DEADLIFT
Opened at 140kg - Easy way to impress the refs.
Attempt 2, Again, a nice clean 155kg with no problem what so ever.
Attempt 3 165kg - Shyte, this one felt like it stuck to the floor! Really slow pull, slow enough for me to think clearly 'Fuck its not coming up'. The bar finally came off the floor and I locked it out - not my best technically but got the white lights!

Buggered off for a latte down Carlton with Leigh and then I went back to watch the rest of the comp which didn't finish until around 10.30pm. Leigh had pointed out some familiar faces in the crowd earlier when I was squatting, that brought a smile to my face, so I went and sat with 'Fire n Ice' and her Mum. (Thank you, it was great to see you both and catch up!!) And a flying visit from Jojo too, who had another friend competing in the men's section.

As Fire n Ice mentioned in her comment, ASADA were present at the comp in the afternoon, all men, so no women being tested... And eoowww, not one of them cute enough to take into the toilets ;-)

At the end of the comp we were asked (told) to move all the equipment back into the gym... It was around 11.30 when finally the trophy's were handed out. Only the trophy's. No ceremony, even the podium was packed away. I know it was late but for all the competitors who hung around all day, not to receive their participation medal was pretty poor. So funny tho', I didn't expect to win, I really thought Rikki had it over me, I thought the trophy was an 'encouragement award', a really nice one so I had to ask twice what it was for! Robert must have thought I was so dimwitted. The best part tho' was earlier, when Rikki presented me with the club T-shirt - I've earned my place, I belong :-)

Thank you.
I want to thank Webby, James and Tristan who all came along to the comp, quite unexpectedly I might add, although they missed my lifting :-) It was great to see everyone and have so much support! I also want to thank all my new friends at Southern Powerlifting Club with a special mention to Deb and Travis who kept us all in order. And Leigh - who once again got me over the line. MWAH!

Madii's zombie party (her 17th) was in full swing when I finally got home. Thankfully Leah and Andrew were there to supervise. I think I fit in well with the zombies tho.... At least by the time time I unwound and had a shower the zombies were mostly either gone or quietly watching family guy.... I went to bed but it was still hard to sleep.


Back at work Monday. OMG where does it all come from.... so much in the queue. Booked in a much needed massage on Tuesday, upper back, erectors and glutes.... but don't touch the legs... They're so bruised!

Training clips from the last session before the comp at Doherty's Gym in Brunswick - 115kg, 125kg and ill-fated 132.5kg (which I should have got at the comp!) Just to show that I CAN do it.



115kg


125kg


132.5kg


These are the frames taken from those clips at the bottom of the squat which I then used to check depth. 125 on the left and 132 on the right.









Well, I have this week off training and then it starts all over again next week. Back to 80kg raw squats - Yumm!

=====