Busy weekend somewhat. I didn't participate in the usual arnold classic madness instead opting to focus on why I was there which was to compete and do well. I did manage to stop by the expo however and catch up with some people. Saw my boy Lamar Byrd and Seth Feroce at the the Steel Clothing and Muscle Egg booth. Both are easy going guys and both have been putting some work in. Seth especially as he is just dense. I look forward to him moving into the open and doing some damage. Lamar is in offseason mode and looking good. We'll see him onstage next year hopefully.
The expo itself was a usual clusterf**k of nonsense. Dude-bros, wanna-be cage fighters, people who diet for a FREAKING EXPO and people who are always gonna do "The Jr's" were walking around and crowding up space. Seeing I was there to compete, I decided to say screw it and go check out gym class (crossfit) that proved to be a bit doucher than the sausage convention. Forging elite injuries where doctors say "How did you screw yourself up this bad" should be the motto. I then went to the USA Weightlifting section and found myself wanting to bash my skull in even more with the whole "I'm trying to go to the Olympics" schtick. So I bought a book and left that section. Went to eat and ran into Ed Coan who is still jacked, massive and a fan. He just kinda shakes his head at everything like I do now. I just take it in and its a good chance to see people I only see once or twice a year and connect.
Prejudging: I get the Evan and Wolf love. I really do. And i thought Evan looked SPECTACULAR when he came out and would run away with the show. Even with Wolf and Branch showing up the way he did, I thought Evan would take it. But when they were compared side by side and the more posing went on, you can tell where Branch is a veteran to the stage. He and George timed everything perfectly and he stayed hard throughout prejudging. Evan and Wolf faded very fast, within the span of 30 minutes, and just ket getting more watery. Lets stop crowning people before they step onstage. I realize I use to do it, but it was stupid. Evan still needs to improve his chest and Wolf needs to thicken his back. Branch wasn't perfect, but he was the best that day.
XPC International Open: Not gonna go into much as most have followed my journey here and i posted a video up, first off, regardless of how you feel about gear, raw, raw with knee wraps, monolifts, whatever. Bottom line, this is a step in the right direction. Embrace the mono because it aint going anywhere. Gear is a personal choice and the bickering needs to stop. Dan Dauge and Gene Rychylak are working hard to put on good meets and attract top lifters.
With that over, I enjoyed competing here in Columbus. While it went a bit longer than expected (two meets in one day and i was in the second session) it went good. Didn't PR in anything but i feel good about things going forward. Dropping 5/3/1 and moving on to more of a conjugate based system. I like 5/3/1 and wont rule out a return to it, but it ran it's course for right now.
Squats showed my weakness which is I don't know how to use this ghetto booty of mine along with my hamstrings and hips. Bench is gonna be the death of me as I need stronger triceps. Easy of the chest and midway......I get stuck. A stronger upper back never hurts either. So going to have to increase my volume, put some muscle on and work smarter. Hard work is smart work for those wondering.
Not much else to be said. Back to reality. Back to school, family, responsibility to God and myself. I neglected my spiritual growth a bit and need to work on that.
Thats it. Kinda long winded, but I'm gonna take this week to recover and chill out physically. Back at it on Sunday or Monday.
Thanks for reading!
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