Training Day Before Competition?

[solo47]

Here's a training question for my more venerable bruvvahs (older guys) of the iron lifting game:

Saturday I'm in a minor local competition for dead lift & bench press. I expect to take the over 50 category but hope to take the over 40 category too. My question is whether or or not I should workout my upper body on Friday (tomorrow) or not. I'd think a young guy should at least do a run-through the day before a contest, but should I, at a strong 58, push it or at least do a run-through the day before?

Thought you other old bulls might know.

Solo

[thick]

First let me say GOOD LUCK! that is great you will be doing this

FOr your question, I dont PL but would not see why you would do anything different. Age can make you alter volume etc but the routine should be somewhat the same IMO. Take it for what its worth. Phreezer or AM would be much more qualified to answer this.

[dennis]

Originally Posted by solo47

Here's a training question for my more venerable bruvvahs (older guys) of the iron lifting game:

Saturday I'm in a minor local competition for dead lift & bench press. I expect to take the over 50 category but hope to take the over 40 category too. My question is whether or or not I should workout my upper body on Friday (tomorrow) or not. I'd think a young guy should at least do a run-through the day before a contest, but should I, at a strong 58, push it or at least do a run-through the day before?

Thought you other old bulls might know.

Solo

do you have to meet or beat a weight requirement(your body weight) ? If it were me I would take a break from lifting a few days before the meet and just stretch some......Maybe bench and dead lift about 25 % of what you can do the day before but that is all.eat for energy and good luck bro..wish i was there to give you some competition !

[solo47]

Originally Posted by dennis

do you have to meet or beat a weight requirement(your body weight) ? If it were me I would take a break from lifting a few days before the meet and just stretch some......Maybe bench and dead lift about 25 % of what you can do the day before but that is all.eat for energy and good luck bro..wish i was there to give you some competition !

Hey Dennis. I've never done this before, so it's just a lark for me. (That's why I'm so ignorant in training preparations.) Your advice makes sense. I've got 30 lb barbells here at home I could work through.

And, yes, the contest sign does say something about results (weight lifted) as being measured against body weight. That sort of disappoints me since, around here, I'm one of the larger lads; but I thought it couldn't apply to the maximum lifted part of the contest. Maybe it does. I'm just over 200 lbs (hey, we're a very small town!) and recently managed two benchpress sets of 10 reps each @ 315 lbs, but I still don't know what the max is I can do in one lift only. Maybe the bodyweight thing will work for me, since there one giant of 6'7" in the over 50 category too; however, I am pretty damned sure I'm already outlifting him.

It's just for fun. But it's neat that contest time is exactly at the end of my currently cycle. I'm just on Var & TestP exactly two weeks after my last Sust/TrenE shots. HCG 10 days begins tomorrow too and then will be followed by PCT with Nolva. Nice way to end a good run, eh?

Solo

[dennis]

Solo..you have a great attitude..you are very positive..that is more than half the battle as you know.You will lift stronger than you ever have before at the meet because of the adrenaline factor ,competition,and crowd.I always come back stronger after a rest from the gym..I think if it were me i would take off several days before the meet.You need to keep consuming something to give you energy during the meet....

[jasthace]

My brother did a couple of power lifting contests.{he won his weight class}
He was trained by a couple of the best in NZ at the time,former strongest man in nz champ and the squat record holder of the time and also another prominent PL of the time that held the DL record.
He DIDN'T train for a full week before a comp as a rule..

[bigbench]

I would go with a real heavy day about 4-5 days out but not a full workout, just very low reps high weight, then2-3 days out, do another short workout with very high weight and light reps but dont drain yourself. Get your chest/shoulders/tris all in your workouts and dont do any upper body for 2 days prior.

[solo47]

Thanks for your help, Guys. I did some barbells at home on Friday, enjoyed the competition on Saturday. My inexperience showed since I didn't know how to plan the weights for the maximum lift bench press. Started too low, & on advice, stayed too low. My third & final lift was 370 lbs, but it went up so easily I showed off by pumping it six times more. Still enough to win the over-50 category by more than 100 lbs anyway, but dammit I know I could have done a one-time press of 400 lbs and won the over 40 category too. Guy that won there was only at 375. (Don't laugh at these lifts, you bulk jobs. Like I say, this is a small town.)

Won the Ancients category in bench pressing my own weight and in the dead lift. Last was both tough & easy: Easy because I was the only one over 50 entered, tough because I had never done it before, even in practice, & the 415 lb lift strained my back, stretched my upper shoulders, & bulged my eyeballs outta their sockets. I did get it up to loud applause but had enough good sense to quit after that. Inexperience again, but it was still a good time. (Lots of overheard comments about having my physique at my age, a reward in itself.)

Solo

[jasthace]

Thats fucking awesome big bro.
Will you do another competition?
Did you pick the brains of he other contestants to see how they train before the meet?

[Lizard King]

Congrats Solo!

[thick]

congrats!

[Nico Cujo]

Great job Solo! I used to compete in Masters Olympic lifting. Retired from it 3 years ago. I always worked up to first attempts on Wednesday before the meet. Then took off til Saturday. Maybe try that for your next meet.