Road to the Record | 6 & 5 Weeks Out

I've been thinking about competing in a powerlifting meet for the past year. The last 6 months was used to gain strength and get back into a consistent workout routine (after my college graduation and founding Top Crop Barbell). The past 6 weeks were used to hone in my technique and start cutting a little weight by massively increasing my protein intake and making sure I'm getting enough sleep.

Week 6 was the halfway point of my focused meet prep and was a deload week in my programming. A deload week isn't a complete week off from training. I trained 3 days that week but with a huge decrease in training volume. All I did was build up to 70% of my max in each lift (squat, bench, deadlift) and repped it for 2. Then I dropped the weight down to 30% of my max and did it for a quick set of 10. I warmly welcomed this deload week because a few of my joints were aching during and after training sessions.

Now I'm 5 weeks out from the AAU Oklahoma Women's Powerlifting Championships and I can't believe the time has almost come for me to attempt to break the squat, bench, deadlift, and 3 lift total in my weight class. My confidence is growing, but I'm training as the underdog. My programming has gotten a lot more powerlifting specific and I'm not straying too much away from the primary lifts. I can't complain, I love pushing heavy weight. I'm excited for the next 3 weeks of training and playing with heavy ass weight!!!

My goals for this next phase of training are:

1. Stay confident under the bar.
2. Stay consistent with my eating and hydrating plan.
3. Get enough sleep.
4. Gain confidence in every other area of my life.