I spent a lot of extra time warming up. I wanted to really get my peck and shoulder warmed up and ready. I originally had my opener set at 540lbs I wish I would have kept it there. I was flying to Sacramento and was concerned that my shoulder and peck wouldn't appreciate it. I dropped my opener to 520lbs.
My first attempt was a joke. Went up faster than a warm up should. Good deal the nerves of my shoulder were gone. My second attempt I moved up to 550lbs. Really again no problem. On my third Mark approached me and said go conservative and hit a 565 or 560. Why don't I listen. I told Mark, I didn't come down here to be a pussy. I asked for 577lbs. Now to think of how my training leading up to this has been to even think of trying 577 is something else.
I don't give excuses, I made a mistake and brought the bar down to my chest why to high. I was trying to protect my shoulder and thought I could muscle it up. Well I couldn't. So I settled for a 550lbs bench. Not bad really considering the year I have had. Following the December competition I was in a car accident. This accident really impacted my training. In March I finally started having quality workouts. And following a couple of nagging injuries I am very happy with the results.
