June 1, 2024 – Battle at the Bridge: Northeast Regionals

 Third times the charm. Or some other pithy saying involving the number three. All that I need to be getting across is that this is the third year that this contest is being held (Battle At The Bridge/Northeast Regionals) and this would be the third time I’m doing it. Do I want to be succeeding in my goals this time around? Of course I do. I never go into a competition where I’m not thinking about winning but I am realistic on my own abilities/limitations and the level of competition that competes. There is high likelihood that I will match or tie PRs and also get my butt smashed in. That’s even with an almost 6 months to get ready for this competition. But training isn’t always straightforward. Had to essentially start over with my overhead pressing and then have to work around a slight hamstring tear that happened about 2 months into the prep while still going forward as one has to do in these circumstances. There is a reason I’m getting close to my 50th competition. I was also trying to see if I could fill out my frame, continuing from what I started back after Nationals last year. I’d say I had my most successful bulk cycle getting over 290lbs at one point. But pulling back to something a little more sustainable for my body and wallet. Always trying to improve on my last performance. Which the “placings” wouldn’t suggest I am with this show as I got 7th my first year and 8th my second. And I’d need to get 5th or greater for this to qualify me for Nationals this year. I’d rather not have a repeat of 2022 where I have to do a show in the summer with a quick turnaround for Nationals. So third times the charm.

With going to the western side of the state, it has become pretty simple with getting things in order. Take the day before off so that have a full day to get ready and to drive in the event of any traffic issues. There always are as it seems every time heading out that way there is some new road closure and having to take some backroads to get there once off the turnpike. Especially with how hectic things get with work, I don’t mind taking off. The drive out has been made frequently enough that is isn’t something that is beyond routine so it doesn’t stress me out like travel would normally be. We know the route and what to avoid, know where to sleep and get good food as well as what to bring. I tend to stand out regardless of where I am (even amongst other strongman athletes) and I had a guy at a rest area ask me if there was some big powerlifting meet going on and I told him that there were some meets and a strongman competition (as well as Pittsburgh pride parade) and he had said how his friend had seen Brian Shaw in PA recently (he was in York, PA the week prior). The 580 Barbell group have not disappointed with a show that they’ve run so I continue to make their shows the priority for things like local level and regionals. Check-in was fine and got to review the equipment and setup. I did weigh-in with my shoes on at 285lbs so about 20lbs more than last year. Made sure my hamstring was feeling ok (slight tear a few months back) and got my yoke height. I mean, a yoke is a yoke, but been at this so long that I’ve seen several different brands. This one had quite a thick single cross bar to I guess make up for only having one vs two and seemed sturdy but a bit of a pain to adjust. I pretty much touched everything besides the throwing bags and the frame (I’m familiar enough with that). Back to hotel for a bit before dinner reservations with good food and then trying my best to get to sleep and be rested.

I tend to feel terrible with stress and stress makes me more susceptible to things. Leading to more severe allergy responses to what is normally fine. I had started taking allergy meds the week of the competition. Because I knew the nerves were hitting me bad. I was having issues getting to sleep and not having as big an appetite the week leading up to the competition. So sleeping in not my bed was likely going to be a crapshoot and while rested, I woke up a bit earlier than planned. But was able to get breakfast down without incident. Ended up being there a bit early as I wasn’t too sure when competition was going to start but weigh-ins were to stop at 8:30AM so likely no later than 10:00AM start. Get there early so can setup bag chairs in a good spot before the place got packed. These are one of the few shows that don’t have a spectator fee (local shows be asking $15-20 a head with no seating, no concessions and a single port-a-potty) but I guess you make up for that with sponsors. And we can get some weird sponsors. As apparently Liver King’s company (Ancestral Supplements) was the title sponsor of the show. I’ve been to shows that had a BBQ sponsor and gave out a container of “Cajun Seasonings” that smelled up the rest of the stuff (contest shirt included). I warmed up and socialized a little. I was trying to not get overheated though as this place can get humid quick. The black contest t-shirt was not doing that any favors. I’m ok with black shorts. But black socks and black shirts I just can’t handle well. So I was already sweating and needing both battery powered fans to regulate. There were 14 competitors that showed up in the SHW open class and a total of 95 competitors in all.

First event of the day was kind of an odd one to start with; max deadlift. Not to say it isn’t done (I’ve done a few that have) but it does feel like a bit more taxing an event to start out a day compared to other choices (like overhead or bag toss). Max lift with three attempts. Suits and straps allowed and using a deadlift bar. Which is kind of a deviation from how this group usually does things. It is often power bars and no equipment. But I think they are just curious to see if someone will pull something crazy at this show. And I know there are people here that are gunning for like 400kgs. Not me lol.
Anything over 675lbs would be a PR for me. And there was a possibility that could be happening with there being 20lbs jump options. Number of attempts did matter but I wasn’t sure if I was really going to be playing with that gamesmanship here. With deadlifting, training has been going well. I’ve generally been doing what I need in training and then making reasonable improvements come competition. At least with raw pulls. Suited could be a different story. I decided to get a new multi-ply suit which I ordered in January and it took about 10 weeks to arrive (Inzer am I right?). So I didn’t get perhaps the most time to really work with the suit. Not that I’d be using the suit prior to that. Coupled with the hamstring injury stuff, I did have to modify things with more elevated pulls than I’d normally be doing anyway. Alternating between conventional stance (competition stance) and “wide pulls” (wider stance and snatch grip, like Shaw and Pritchett used to do). That’s not to say I didn’t hit a small PR in training with plenty in the tank but I’m not sure if I’ve got things sorted how I want them and don’t know if I figured out the new suit fully. Also some hesitation with getting that extra boost with competing as I tend to pull more on deadlift bar and if I can get my straps super tight. Last time I had a max barbell pull with suit, no one else there was using one or knew how to assist so suit was loose and definitely left weight on the platform that day. I figured I’d not have that issue this time around with several people using suits and several using the same suit I was using. But almost didn’t work out as they were worried they couldn’t do it right due to my height. Thankfully a friend who was there was able to assist me and get the straps good. I got in the expected warm ups of plate jumps as that was going to be the kind of warm ups I was going to get with the plan to open at 585lbs. This should be no problem. It was a bit tough to slide my feet in on the rubber matting but I got set and pulled. It went up smooth but not with the confidence one wants if expecting to pull a PR. Since it didn’t feel great, I decided to go with 60lbs jump as this would hopefully keep me above 13th place. I altered the belt configuration and that did seem to help with being able to shift my legs in better but it felt tough. Like I didn’t have much in me. I was starting to worry. Maybe I screwed up with getting a new deadlift suit and not doing more floor work with it. But I’m hear and likely not going to get a chance to get someone to assist with the straps like this in a long while so I asked for 685lbs. Would be a 10lbs PR for me if I got it. I felt like this would probably be stapled to the floor with how that 645lbs had felt. But I got as psyched as I could while still being able to breath in the suit. I channeled Benni Magnusson with strutting behind the bar and then putting my foot on the bar. I had to make this count and just keep pulling. Took a big breath and went. Initially it felt like nothing was happening and then the weight broke the floor. It got to the point where I’ve had the suit stall on me with legs locking out before my hips and back. This is where I missed it with 675lbs in 2022. But this time it didn’t get away from me and I kept going until it was locked out and secure. Looked side to side before putting it down and just shouted with how psyched I was. It’s not 700lbs but I’m getting closer and closer. I needed a moment to come back down after that. Despite my PR effort, going for this 40lbs more did not improve my points standing here. Hell, over half the field pulled over 800lbs today. I apparently was bleeding from my left shin and had to do some first aid on that. Don’t need any blood infections no sir. So starting things off in 12th place.

Next up was the pressing event of the show. Alternating between log and axle clean and presses with roughly the same weights (300lbs log and 298lbs axle). Pick whichever to start with and then alternate between the until time expires. Going into this, my plan was to get a lift at each. Overhead is still coming back to me and it is getting better but hoo boy is it taking the scenic route. Prior to this training cycle, October 2022 was the last time I’d touched axle clean and press. And I was not having a good time with it, missing 276lbs in training (when I’ve done 310lbs before) and almost dropping out of Nationals that year and thinking about quitting the sport in general (haven’t had those thoughts in the last 6 months). Log has been more recent but equally tumultuous. I was also missing 275lbs in training last prep but got a comfortable 280lbs at the competition. So this start of cycle kind of had me with maxes to work with. But unfortunately, I kind of had to start from square one with like 150lbs and work my way back up to having things feel comfortable. Had a bit of issues at the beginning of the prep with shoulders being overtrained and once figured that out, progress started coming back. I figured from the start that axle would likely be more my jam assuming I got the clean issue resolved as far as the press. And if I did have the strength for the log, It would be better for me to have a possible third rep be on the axle. Axle I find that less restrictive stuff, the better. Elbow sleeves throw me off and make the clean harder. Apparently having my wrist wraps too tight is also doing that. Things that benefit the log press hamper the axle clean. So trained log with same gear as axle to help build that up. I also worked in push jerks with the axle stuff to at least keep that as a possible tool. But it became apparent once I got to the 85% range that push press was going to be what I was doing on the day. As this isn’t yet weight that I’m able to comfortably hit in training (got up to low 90s percentage wise), I didn’t get to try them together. So it would be here and now. Suggested warming up from my coach was to warm up log first as more technical and then work up on the axle. Good in theory but it wasn’t feasible. I should mention at this time that this was when the contest hit a bump. I’m actually not sure exactly how to describe it but the pace that was going from the max deadlifts was how things usually and then whatever this was was just a time suck. No lie, it was almost 3hrs from when I pulled my last deadlift and when I was up to press. And there had been about 90 minutes from then since I last warmed up. My right knee was really achy and the wait after the warm ups was not good. Log was feeling terrible relative to the axle on the day but both felt terrible for my knees. I had kind of hoped that the knee aches would’ve been better off with the rest and deload. But nope, back with a vengeance. I’ve had to deal with this kind of warm up and then compete later stuff but it really affects performance. And everyone else in the same boat here. There was a slight delay when I was up as they had to switch where I was stationed because of ceiling clearance. It was time and I was going to take my time. With the wait and how things were feeling, I was aiming for just the axle. I got set and went for it. Damn did it feel heavy. Ended up being a belt clean. It wasn’t worth it to try and fight it up higher on the shirt fabric (despite all the chalk). It felt heavy but I didn’t panic like I’ve been training myself to resist that response so I didn’t think this wasn’t happening. Especially since I had done 20lbs less as my heaviest warm up (minus the 290lbs log clean and hold). But it didn’t get to the point where I could muscle through with the triceps. Went way out in front of me. Not good. So no log today. I’d have one more shot at this and hope that the initial clean to the shoulders was enough of a wake up call to get things firing. As I knew that after a miss that this next clean was going to be less efficient. And it was. But I got it and was able to stay calm and brace from the holds and front squats. I went for it again and was further away from a good rep this time around. I was able to catch this one in the rack again but after a moment I decided to end my turn. This was not happening today. I was not the only one to zero this event but I was one of the few. This definitely took some wind out of my sails with the progress on my overhead work. I feel that my ceiling on this is a bit lower comparatively to say those that were able to get reps on this. Essentially hitting your 1rm vs someone hitting their 7rm with bad warming up will have less toll on one vs the other. But that means I need to get stronger. So tied for last with two others.

Moving on to the next event, sandbag to shoulder medley. We had 60 seconds to lift five sandbags (250lbs, 265lbs, 287lbs, 300lbs, 325lbs) and then rep out that last bag with any time left. There was not going to be any split times here, just total number of bags lifted. This event prep wise did not go as planned. It started out well enough and then I tore/pulled the right hamstring at the end of an EMOM session and had to take several weeks away from it. So on top of coming back from that, also having to get over the mental barrier. Which I feel I did and then some. However, that did mean having to change up the training to be less volume. I seem to have issues when the bags are packed tight so I had a feeling this was going to be a tough one. Goal was to just get the series completed and not really worry about repping the last bag. As I was not successful with finishing in training the two times I attempted it. I was able to lift the penultimate bag for reps and get the last bag by itself. But could only get the first four successfully. I also tried to my last attempt at the vertical pick style as opposed to what I do with a long ways and crossbody shouldering. That did not go well and I know if I want to actually work on that as an option, it needs a training cycle dedicated to it. Only becomes an option with bigger bags but hard to do so. I knew this event could take a good bit out of me with a missed lift from training and there were still events to come. Be smart and be safe. And that was becoming more and more clear with it being about 2hrs between events and pretty much warming up and then having to wait a good long while. With that in mind and with how my initial warming up was feeling, I knew that I was going to have to take my time and be mindful here so as not to have costly mistakes. Apparently two competitors dropped out at this point and I know some others were thinking about it. I’ve never dropped out of show once it has started. Not saying that’s a good thing necessarily. Like, if the announced the show was done for some reason, I’d be fine with that at this point haha. With how long the day was going, I had already done my two protein shakes. I usually do one after the first or second event and then save the other one for afterwards. Not this time. I at least had a sandwich for right afterwards I guess. I was trying to keep myself from focusing on the bombage on the overhead as well as distract the knee discomfort all while trying to stay cool and not use up energy. I had read it was a good idea to move around a little bit after a small meal to help with digestion (I generally don’t eat much contest day while competing due to nerves) and that could also maybe get some blood flow into the knee joints (want to avoid meds until afterwards). But I guess me walking around is an invitation for conversation. An old woman came up to tell me story about meeting a retired NFL player at the store. She asked if I needed to be anywhere soon and I said no truthfully because the rate of pace it was going to be a while before I got to lift. It was bit meandering to just tell me I looked big. The other one was with a younger competitor in my class talking about he and I were “racing for last place”. I get the self depreciation joke considering the circumstances but I was not trying to have that. I don’t belong in last place. So if I didn’t already have motivation to keep on trucking, I had that additional thing as the Michael Jordan meme would go. That I wasn’t going to place behind him on anything the rest of the show (I hadn’t so far anyways). I took it personally. Two people went before me on the sandbag to shoulder and both had got through the first three bags. So I had to get that fourth bag. It was a matter of pride. I asked for the bags to be rotated so that the Velcro facing up and down and not sideways as well as notified the judge I was going to be shouldering to the left side only so they were aware to adjust position for better visual vantage point. The signal to go was given and went at it methodically. I was going at a casual pace. One because there were no split times here, just reps, and I’d realistically be looking at 5 reps at most and with the “ball in the air” ruling for the event, I could have time for all of the bags if needed. Second reason being I knew that due to the down time, that I was likely to have issues with shouldering and having my blood pressure spike so I’d need a moment after each bag to make sure I was ok. Got through the first three with no issues. Just keeping an eye on how my body was feeling. I was feeling the fatigue at this point of pulling a max deadlift and essentially 6hrs of being ready and I had to not miss this next bag. It definitely took an effort but I didn’t panic and kept on working it up and got the down call. I had 5 seconds left and I just called it there. I knew the 325lbs was floppier than the 300lbs bag and I didn’t want to chance anything at this point (seeing as how 325lbs is my best single). Finally moving up to single digit placing with this being ninth place.

Things got squirrely at this point. The plan was to have women doing one event and men doing another event to save time. However, one was going by quicker than the other. But we (the SHWs) weren’t aware of another plan until a good bit later. As in, already warmed up for the expected event. Come to find out, we were going to do the scheduled last event after the women were done and then come back to do the previously penultimate event now being the last event. Got it? Good. Anyways, that meant time for max bag toss. 15’ target and unlimited attempts. This has been going well for me. But that doesn’t mean things always go well. Last year bag toss as a series was part of this contest and on the second day. And I really underperformed. Couldn’t get 50lbs after getting 45lbs stuck on top. It was a combination of things with probably getting a bit overtrained and not realizing that my toss setup was actually a foot lower than I thought it was. But I seem to be better and fixed that with getting 55lbs over this height at Nationals last year. I also got that weight bag to this height in training (5lbs PR for training) so I should be good to go. But that has also been with it being the first event of the day. And often starting out training with this first anyways. But perhaps forcing myself with increased frequency and consistently tossing higher than contest height will be what lets me perform under this much contest fatigue. And this was certainly going to be high contest fatigue. Especially after warming up for the heaviest event already with expectation to do it. So I guess either way, I was going to be feeling tired and stiff. I think we were all a little impatient and didn’t really want to do that much warming up considering the rules with attempts and being able to go to 2.5lbs jumps after 35lbs. So I think a few people (myself included) decided to use attempts to warm up. And good lord did I need the attempts to figure things out. I decided I’d stick to my plan of 5lbs jumps starting at the opener and then as I got closer to my limit switch to 2.5lbs if it meant points. I was not off to a good start. Achy knees and my right hip starting to ache as well had me feeling a bit like the Tin Man. The oil part, not the heart. I actually missed 30lbs the first attempt and thankfully I got it on the my second toss in that 30 seconds I had. That was not a great start and I was worried that I’d top off at 35lbs. Which would not be great. There was apparently a drone flying above that is taking footage for later for the competition and that could be neat to see eventually. 35lbs I didn’t need to reattempt and it went over. I had essentially just tossed the bag back from the starting line to save energy and not I guess mess up my “method”. No issues with 40lbs other than the arc being too shallow. I think at this point I was keeping an eye on the guy saying we were fighting for last place and trying to make sure I didn’t drop out before him. 45lbs the arc was way too shallow the first attempt and I had to retake it much the same as 30lbs. Got it over on that reattempt thankfully. I did feel like I was gambling with taking the 5lbs jumps with how I was feeling and with how it would drop my placing if I missed. But I stuck with it for 50lbs, which on the day, was feeling like a big ask. I guess I treated this a little bit like how I do in training with setup and it ended up being perfect. Not the highest toss but the best form wise for me. I went with 2.5lbs jump after talking with my dad (as he was watching them) as I was definitely hitting my limit and I could possibly get in with some people missed here or at 55lbs. It is hard to tell on this setup how close you are but watching the video I was like a 6” shy on my best toss and that’s being generous. I gave it two attempts and bowed out. My dad was wondering how I was able to get it over like that pretty much being right under it and one of the competitors asked me if I did highland games (because of my throwing style?) and I said no, I just watch videos to improve my toss. This is technically a PR for bag toss when it isn’t the first event for me and I guess on this setup too. Another ninth place.

To finish out the day was the yoke into frame medley. 60 seconds to go 50’ with the yoke, run back to the frame and then carry that for 50’. 700lbs on the yoke and 680lbs on the frame. I’m not too fast here but I felt that this was doable for me after essentially having this at Nationals last year. Albeit the frame portion was going to be much heavier. This show always likes to use the “bridge frames” in some fashion at the show. Long implements with probably the best handles to allow for even those with not the best grip to perform well. I like the high pick on them and I’ve had experience on them. I know what I need to be hitting to be good here. Yoke is yoke and it is often temperamental come contest day. I generally do better if I hit contest weight or greater at least twice in a training cycle. That goal was met and it was going to come down to more of getting in appropriate warm ups. Which tend to be an issue with yoke with having to adjust heights. And at this point, I know I got only a few more good efforts and getting things just right is going to be key. Last time I was training for the frame, I was using the Jenkins frame at the one gym and I was using but elected to use a wider frame with slightly lower pick height to make things a bit tougher on the frame. As I noticed that fatigue with this later in the day made even the elevated pick feel challenging. So hopefully things would feel better if I made the one I trained on harder. As mentioned, I had previously warmed up for this before things were changed due to the pace of contest issue. The women’s class had their event changed to just frame down and back because of how much time it was taking to reset the two implements. So that could’ve been for us too. That would probably have been better for me haha. So once again, warming up for this while trying to not do so much that I was burnt out. As it was already getting close to 11hrs of being at the venue. My knees were achy, my right hip was achy and my hamstrings and lower back were sore. I had worked up to 540lbs on the frame both times I warmed up and to 700lbs for a pick and hold with the yoke the first time (runs with 520lbs both time). Contest weight yoke had felt heavy and I initially missed the lift 540lbs first time around as I wasn’t expecting to be so damn heavy (forgot my hard belt). I knew I could finish this but it would likely be a slog. I did manage two “helpful” catches before things were under way. The first was that the yoke was misloaded 50lbs under weight. I came here to do the heavy weights listed dang it. The other was letting the judges know that two competitors had dropped out (apparently they hadn’t told anyone that they had) so that mean there were only 6 heats rather than 7 heats. I was in tenth place at this point and I had known my chances for Nationals bid were gone after the sandbag to shoulder medley (unless I got first on the last two events and everyone else dropped out). After the first heat went, I asked what the time to beat was and it was just under 30 seconds. I should be good for that and not drop any spots. Shook the yoke a little before getting under it and waiting to go. Last event and then I can go home. Signal given and we are off. I’m not super fast on yoke and especially not when my knees are acting up or I’ve pulled a max deadlift. I kept pace with 9th place guy initially but then near the end he pulled ahead. I didn’t want to tempt fate here and possibly lose balance on the yoke and make a clean drop and transition. I was able to make it back to the frame slightly before him, somehow feeling like I was actually able to move and not have creaky joints. I hesitated slightly with the pick as I knew this would likely feel harder than I was expecting and making sure I got the balance point right on the this very long frame. I was off. I couldn’t see behind me but I felt like he must be struggling and I just kept going. I seem to be able to have a better pace with frame/farmer’s vs yoke. Probably because I can lean forward. Down and done with a time of 28.90 seconds. About a second slower than my best in training (slower on the yoke but faster on the other stuff) but good enough to keep my placing. Surprisingly, a lot of people ahead of me seemed to struggle with the frame. Last year, I was surprised with how many people did so well on this frame with 40lbs more for longer distance and this year it seemed to feel more like how I’d expect it to. This ended up my highest placing event of the day with sixth place.

A hard fought battle for sure within myself as well as against competitors. I think what I’m feeling most right now is just relief that the work is done and I get a few moments of reprieve before I have to resume with earnest. I did not stick around for awards (the rest of the open men were still going on bag toss and I think were still at 37.5lbs) as no awards for ninth place and I had already hung out with my friends a good bit. And I really need to get back home as I thought I’d actually be there by now with how previous shows have run. The 580 Barbell guys did acknowledge this time situation and it sounds like they will make sure it doesn’t happen again. Knee felt good once I put Icy Hot on it. The sandwich left in the car wasn’t enough to sustain me and a few hours later demolished some Popeye’s chicken sandwiches. Going forward, I’m not entirely sure. I have some things to think about. My placing at this show continues to go down by one (though 9/14 is better than 8/9) but this does seem to be about how I was placing about a decade ago when the Plat Plus shows were still a thing with pro cards as an option. I improved my lifetime best deadlift and made it through my 48th competition. Also underperformed on bag toss and bombed the overhead again at this competition. Again, I would’ve been very competitive in the 265lbs class. I was at least one notch below competitive in every event besides the last medley at this current weight class and really core stability on yoke has really been the only thing I’ve noticed as beneficial with the weight added (I guess for front squats too). What I have to figure out is if I want to make another attempt at qualifying for 2024 Nationals or go back into the offseason and aim for something end of the year or early next year.