Rehab for the Left Arm

Today, I visited a physical therapist for a second opinion of sorts.  She gave me some good news, as her opinion was that it was nothing serious and I simply needed to ease into my old routine.  She admonished me to take it easy on myself and to organize my traning schedule with breaks to allow for healing.  I plan to start putting strength back into my squat and dead lift and take it slow in the bench press.  Next week, I'll start this routine and my plan is to begin formal training for my June 6 meet sometime in February or March.

I am considering abandoning my effort to drop a weight class, but I'm still on the fence, so to speak.  Any suggestion on this is greatly appreciated.

All that said, I'm just glad to be cleared to start moving weight again!

Injury Update

My arm is still giving me trouble.  I still have my appointment a week from tomorrow to attempt to diagnose it.  I won't be able to afford an MRI or anything, so I'll have to rely on good ol' diagnostics.  I have a good doctor, so I'm hoping for the best.  After that, I'll be consulting a friend who is a physical therapist's assistant.  We'll see what happens.

In the mean time, I'm going to drop a weight class.  My current bodyweight is 109 kg, and I'll need to get down to around 98 or 99 kg to be within the lower weight class limit.  That's going to be about a 25 lb drop.  

More info on the diagnosis and treatment next week.  

Injury

Well, it's happened; I believe I have my first injury. I plan to see a physical therapist in town as soon as I can. The pain is in my elbow. I think there is some tendon swelling because my hand goes numb every once in awhile. Also, whenever my elbow pops from moving my arm, it hurts like the dickens. I looked up "tennis elbow" on a medical website and it seems that's what I have. More on the situation when I have a diagnosis from the good doctor.

Next Meet

My next meet is January 24, 2009 in Lincoln, NE. I'm using a different workout that I found online called week phase sets. It has specific percentages, reps, sets, and rest phases (hence the "phase" portion of the title). So far, it seems to be going well. I nearly passed out last week after my squat workout and I've got a pretty chronic pain in my left elbow, but I think I'll be 100% by the end of the week.

At this point, I'm shooting for 217.5 kg. Squat, 145 kg. Bench Press, 227.5 kg. Deadlift this time around (for a total of 590 kg.).
I'm also hoping to get a new belt before the meet!

Kansas State Championships 2008

The meet is over. I feel like I did really well. I got eight of my nine lifts, missing only my third attempt at squat. The Best Lifter (raw division) award went to me, which was a pleasant surprise. Here are my lifts:

Squat:
200 kg. (441 lbs.) good lift
210 kg. (463 lbs.) good lift
215 kg. (474 lbs.) no lift

Bench Press:
127.5 kg. (281 lbs.) good lift
135 kg. (298 lbs.) good lift
137.5 kg. (303 lbs.) good lift

Dead Lift:
205 kg. (452 lbs.) good lift
215 kg. (474 lbs.) good lift
220 kg. (485 lbs.) good lift

Total:
567.5 kg. (1251 lbs.)

This is a 22.5 kg. (50 lbs.) improvement over my total from the meet in July. Hopefully I can pull that off again in my next meet!

Meet Coming Up!

Well, Saturday is the second of my many meets to come. I am hoping to improve on my total from my last meet by at least fifty pounds. It looks as though my starting lifts will be:

Squat - 200 kg.
Bench Press - 127.5 kg.
Dead Lift - 205 kg.

These are just my starting lifts, my second and third attempts will work themselves out at the meet. Wish me luck!

Equipped or Unequipped: That is the question

There is an ongoing debate in powerlifting about the use of equipment. Equipment is defined (at least according to the federation in which I compete) as a squat suit, knee wraps, and a bench press shirt. Most people start their powerlifting careers as an unequipped lifter, then move on to using equipment.

Some people, however, feel that one is superior to the other. From what I've seen, the equipped camp thinks that the equipment just helps the lifter get to his or her maximum potential. They also tout that it ensures the longevity of the lifter. The unequipped camp feels that it is not really the person lifting the weight if he or she uses equipment.

Now, you don't walk into a gym and see a squat suit lifting weights. And obviously, if the federation has a class for equipped and a separate class for unequipped, it's not unfair.

To me, however, equipment seems like an unnecessary addition. If I put a spring on my chest, I would definitely be able to bench press more weight. Some shirts won't even let your arms descend unless you are handling over 400 lbs. Further, one of the most complained about pains later in life (especially for men), is lower back pain. Now, if I can squat 475 lbs. unequipped and 600 lbs. equipped that's just great. However, the added equipment doesn't protect your back. The same belt is worn for both. My point is that a person is exposing themselves to a greater risk of injury by lifting more weight with the equipment. To me, it seems artificial.

This can be likened to American football versus rugby. Both are very physical sports. Football uses pads and helmets and has a corresponding increase in violence. I don't have the statistics, but I seriously doubt that rugby players fare worse in the long run for not having the additional equipment that football players do. This, I feel, is because they play within their abilities more and keep their head in it (i.e. not trying to kill each other for the fun of it).

I want to lift heavy weights as much as the next guy (or gal, for that matter), but I don't feel that I'm doing all the work if I use gear. So, at least for now, I'm going to remain unequipped.

I welcome any comments from anyone!

One Month Away

One month until the State Championships. I'm getting a bit nervous, and I need to cut some weight. It's still too early to be sure, but I'm thinking my goals for third attempts will be:

Squat - 215 kg.
Bench Press - 140 kg.
Dead Lift - 230 kg.

I don't know, these next three weeks are going to determine the above numbers. Lots of work to do.