This training cycle was very special to me because I wrote my own program based on what lifts I enjoy on certain parts of the week, and other programs I saw online. Here's what I did:
Day 1 heavy bench, started with 5x5 and increased weight weekly. Then overhead press with just the bar. Did not increase weight weekly
Day 2 heavy squats, also started with 5x5, increasing weekly
Day 3 80% pause bench and squat. Also speed bench close, medium, and wide grips.
Day 4 heavy deadlift 1x5, increased weekly. Front squats, 105lbs, did not increase weekly
Towards the end when I started peaking, I lowered my sets and reps. I also did light cardio like running and hip hop classes on non lifting days.
What I wish I did differently:
1. Taken more deloads. I got too hungry too fast. I only deloaded twice in this cycle, which was almost 20 weeks.
2. Trained at a lower body weight. My goal was to compete at 97lbs. My last training cycle, I was close to 100lbs throughout my training and last month before meet, I was closer to 97. This time, I hovered closer to 104, and did a much drastic cut. Details below.
Weight cutting
Last training cycle, I hardly drank alcohol but this cycle, I did. I also just indulged more in general. This made for an uncomfortable last two weeks before weigh in. Strategies that I employed:
1. More fasting run/walks in the morning. 2 to 3 miles.
2. Cut back on carbs and overall calorie intake.
3. Last few days before weigh in, ate a small dinner between 3 and 4pm and nothing else until after my morning fasting run.
4. 1pm, day before weigh in. Last meal and last time a drank water. In total, I drank less than 64 oz that day. Started spitting in a cup. Went to bed at 97lbs, woke up at 5am at 96.5 on my scale. Official weigh in 96.1.
The days leading up to weigh in sucked. I was hungry and irritable. I tried to test my maxes and failed miserably. After I stopped eating and drinking the day before weigh in, I was just tired and ready to be done. But thankfully, I never felt dizzy or lightheaded.
The morning of weigh in, I actually felt energetic despite not sleeping well. After weigh in, I ate an omelette, bread and a small salad. I ate it slowly and enjoyed it all!!! Then shortly after that, I bought 3 desserts to eat later and also had a mango smoothie. I wasn't able to finish the desserts and barely ate dinner that night. I was just so full.
On meet day, Sunday June 18, I ate my own breakfast at my hotel then also packed a little of the hotel breakfast to eat at the meet. I also weighed 100lbs when I woke up!
For squat and bench, I was able to break my previous State and National records by 1 lb for each lift. So I ended up 177lb squat and 100lb bench. For deadlift, I was able to also break my previous record and pulled 282lbs. In this past training cycle, my PRs were: 180lb squat for reps, 107.5lb bench (1RM), and 280 for reps. So I lost a lot of strength from the way that I cut. I know I could've done a more aggressive water cut instead of drawing it out for two weeks, but I didn't feel comfortable doing that.
I still had a lot of fun at my meet though. I will start training again next week and I am interested in submaximal loads for squat and bench, but will keep doing what I've been doing for deadlift, since that seems to be working.
The week after my meet, I ate and drank a lot. Then I was over it. Well, I also got sick. I also snacked a lot on junk food, which I normally don't do. Now I'm kind of over snacks.
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