Spatts And Company!!!!!!!

[Hannibal]

Ok...I had a terrible meet performance wise. And it was the best thing in the world that could have happened to me. I made just about every mistake in the book, and will learn from them all.

NONE OF THESE ARE EXCUSES...THESE ARE THE MISTAKES I MADE.

Mistake 1. Let my weight drop heading into the meet. Got kinda sick the week before and didn't eat. Weighed in at 257....when I had been 270 a couple weeks before.

Mistake 2. Getting no sleep the night before the meet. I could NOT get to sleep.

MIstake 3. Tried not to get too fired up too early, and came in FLAT. I was completely out of it. Don't think I got pissed all day...other than the blown shirt, and bombing out. However thats the wrong kinda pissed for me.

SQUAT:
Mistake 4. Made 500 on my first squat attempt..felt like nothing. But I knew I wasnt feeling too strong...decided to go to 600 for my second. Should have gone to 550

Mistake 5. 2nd attempt squat got my feet too far forward on the monolift...when I unracked it the bar was traveling backwards. When the judge gave the squat command I started down, and then just fell backwards.

Mistake 6. 3rd squat attempt (600 again). Still had trouble with my footing. Unracked got the squat command. Hit depth, came out of the whole and stalled about 4" from the bottom. This has never happened. Never missed a weight that I got out of the hole.

BENCH:
Mistake 7. Bench shirt felt tighter than ever before when I put it on, which it shouldnt have since my weight was down. Freaked out. I decided to open in a borrowed shirt that I have never used before. Threw me out of the groove, missed lift.

Mistake 8. Used the borrowed shirt AGAIN for my second attempt. Shirt blew out and crushed me and my confidence. Put on MY shirt for my third. Blasted it straight to within an inch of lockout...but was spent. Could have held it there forever, but it would not have locked out. If I wouldnt have second guessed myself I would have got my opener in on my first try.

So I BOMBED...but it was the best thing in the world for me. I learned more from that than I would have learned from the total I had planned.

I am more hungry now than I have ever been. I have already made the necessary adjustments to my training. And I will be 5-10lbs over the class limit (after I rehydrate) when I compete in Feb...either 275 or 308. I have seen an Elite total...and the kinda weight it takes to get there. I know that is what I want.

Squat: 500...600 (miss)...600(miss)
Bench: 420(miss) 3x
Dead: Passed first...500...550

Hi, my name is Hannibal and even though I officially bombed...I unofficially totaled 1050 @ 275 in my first full meet. About a year from now, at the IPA Nationals, I plan to total Elite in the 275's. Time to go to work...gotta add 900lbs to my total.

Thanks again to everyone that helped at the meet. And to my training partners for making me stronger.

 

[flapwrlftr]

Hann,
Mind if I offer some advice? Good, thought you wouldn't.

Mistake 1- This tells me you were nervous. That is going to happen, but this sport is supposed to be fun. Relax and have fun man. Always monitor your weight in the AM and PM starting about 5 weeks out.

Mistake 2- See number one about having fun. Nyquil does wonders.

Mistake 3- Good thing we are on the woman's board so I can let my emotional side out You should have a quiet focus until you start to warm up. Then you must begin to emote (like that?). By the time your first attrempt comes, you should be fired up in your own way.

Mistake 4- Always have a plan and never deviate from the plan. Know what your second attempt will be and have a range for the third attempt.

Mistake 5- See mistake one again.

Mistake 6- See mistake one again.

Mistake 7- See mistake one again.

Mistake 8- See mistake one again.

You need to be a 275. To be a good 308 you need to be training at 325 or so. That is the mistake I made when I went to 308. I could never get heavier than 301. You should be 290 and cut to down to 283 about a week out from the meet. Then get the water out of your system and weigh in at 275.5. Take a step back and re-evaluate your goals. It took me 7 years to total ELITE. Get your Class one and then get your Masters. BE PATIENT and work hard.

Bob

 

[Hannibal]

Thanks brotha...was just about to email you. I appreciate it, and all your other help. Especially the advice on the weight. I could train at 325 and carry it well on my frame. But NOT this year. So I was thinking training 285-290 like you said. Say it with me, Bob, Chocolate Milk GOOD!! And don't worry...I will have nyquil next time.

This meet was EXACTLY what I needed. A good swift kick in the ass. And I wasn't so much posting all my mistakes to be hard on myself, but so that if someone read it they could learn from what I did wrong.

Don't worry, I won't tell Dave about your emotional side. Emote is the word of the day...

 

[TheProject]

Well, like Hannibal, this was my first meet. We weighed in Thursday night, checked the place out, got some food, watched some UFC, and crashed.

And then, I couldn't sleep. Seemed to go in 20 minute cycles all night. My heart wouldn't stop pounding, I kept thinking about my squat, and just got to sleep as the alarm went off.

Funny thing is, as soon as I got to the gym, I wasn't tired at all. Also wasn't nervous at all until I walked in the door and saw chairs in front of the monolift.

I'd never squatted in my suit before, and we had a small debate as to whether or not I'd be able to get my opener (225) to parallel. So, I suited up, got the straps up, and proceeded to do an ass-to-ankles 175 warmup.

From that point, I nailed my 225 opener, and had planned to go to 265, then 300. 225 was easy enough, I jumped to 285, which I nailed with no problem. We tested our lifts in July, and my max squat then was 265, so really, this was a 20lb PR from test to meet. At that point, I decided to go for it all and jumped to 325. I came down a little low, and missed it. I think I might have gotten it, but I'm not sure. The spotter pulled me a little soon, I think, but that may be my ego talking. In any case, I want Hannibal spotting me next time. He and Spatts know what I can do better than anyone else.

Bench, in short, was a disaster. I opened with 225, which is a cake weight for me, but I could not keep my ass on the bench. The weight wasn't a problem, but the comp benches are a little lower than our training bench, and I couldn't get the foot placement right. I'm still not staying tight enough on the bench, but I'll get that nailed down too.

Deadlift was almost a no-go. I was on the sheet, and prepared to follow Spatts onto he platform, but they called someone else's name. I walked over to the announcer's table to find out what the hell was going on, and she told me I was out of the rotation because I bombed my bench. I said, "So I can't pull?!?" And she told me I could, but it wouldn't count. I told her I'd like to pull, and added a belated "thanks" so as not to appear rude.

I pulled 315 easily, which was the plan, then suited up and pulled 375 with no trouble. I set my 3rd attempt at 400, a 23lb PR, but I got in too big a hurry, and grabbed the bar unevenly. Once the bar started to lean, there was no way I was going to try and finish the pull. I know I can get 400 now, no question tho.

All in all, this was a hell of a lot of fun. I'm excited as hell about February, and I know what I need to do between now and then.

On another note: I couldn't be prouder of Spatts. She always kicks ass, no matter what, but she left it all out on the platform yesterday. 8 for 9, exceeded expectations, and was in a word, awesome.

Hannibal did a hell of a job. He put his max effort into every lift, and I know I was jabbering at him most of the time, and asked for a lot of help, and he was there for me the whole time. I have no doubt in my mind that he'll kick ass and take names in February.

Springfield and Okie crews were great, no doubt. I think the quote of the trip has got to be "It turns out I'm part monkey!" from Friday night. DG21 is a freak. I literally had chills watching his 3rd deadlift.

Again, a whole hell of a lot of fun. I don't feel bad at all about my performance. First meet, 6 months of training as a powerlifter...I think I did okay.

 

[TheProject]

Videos of my attempts, for those that are interested.

2nd Squat Attempt - 285

3rd Squat Attempt - 325

1st Bench Attempt - 225

2nd Bench Attempt - 225

3rd Bench Attempt - 225

2nd Deadlift Attempt - 375

3rd Deadlift Attempt - 400

 

[Temple]

I was not exactly coherent in Walmart when I got the call from you hun (shopping for bras for a 9 year old will do that to a girl LOL).
So......
I hope that you and the guys know how VERY proud we are of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm sure that B (who is the founder of the Spatt's International Fan Club and owner of a new bra) will have me post something on here from her just as soon as she gets home.

 

[Night Fly]

Nice job, Spatts, Hannibal, AND Project! You all did awesome! Congrats on every lift and just having the balls to go out there and do it!

 

[makedah]

Good going, guys!

 

[valerie]

Thinking of you guys all weekend, what a great experience for you! A great live and learn type deal. Boy Spatts you are simply amazing. I am in awe of what you can do and this is only the begining!

Yes sir while I'm struggling doing atg squats with 50lbs on the bar you are flying with hundreds of lbs. You inspire all of us. Your family will come around once they see how much pleasure this brings you. And great call on the wt issue.-Valerie

 

[SteelWeaver]

"I learned more from that than I would have learned from the total I had planned. "

You have a great attitude Hannibal. Lots of people would beat themselves up about it, but you're just using it to get better. So now you know what not to do. That's the cool thing about competing - you find out how you cope under stress. That's the most valuable lesson IMO. You're just gonna get better and better.

And well done to Project too. Damn, you guys kick ass. I'm looking forward to seeing how you all progress from here.