Randal P - Alpha Athlete

Alpha Project Athlete Intro, Randall Pattee

 

 

I'm originally from Medford, Oregon. Studied briefly at Oregon State before deploying to Iraq in 2003 with the Oregon National Guard B-Co 2-162 Infantry. I currently live in Portland, Oregon and train at Elite Performance Center. I've lifted on and off since high school in the late nineties, but the last 3 years have been the most consistent and serious. I've been powerlifting for one year. I've competed 1 deadlift only and 4 full power meets, most recently at USPA Nationals in Las Vegas. I lift in the 181 lb class mostly. I have 7 USPA raw state records for 181 and 198 but still have a very long way to go before I'm competetive with the upper echelon of lifters in my class.

 

USPA Nationals Recap

 

Nationals was an unfortunate meet for me, I went in expecting a much better total than what I got. I had cut for about 6 weeks leading into it, gradually tapering calories from 3k to 2500. I lost about 13lbs and was at around 184-185 the week of the meet. After fasting for 36 hours or so I made weight Friday morning. I didn't have to do any time in the sauna or anything like that. I hit the buffet right after weight ins, and I think that was a mistake in hind sight. I got full after just a plate and it kind of put a damper on my appetite for the rest of the day. Next time I plan on drinking a bunch of water/gatorade for at least an hour before I go stuff myself, that way my body is prepared to process a bunch of incoming food. So the first thing I learned is that I really need to strategize my rehydration after making a notable weight cut.

 

The day of the event my lifting was scheduled to start at 3 PM, but the event was not run very smoothly as far as time goes. They had a hall of fame induction ceremony before the PM session, by the time it was all said and done, we starting lifting some time between 7 and 8 pm. I had been down in the lifting area since 2:45 ready and waiting to lift. I had a bunch of team mates there and wanted to cheer them on and hang out, but I should have just gone back to the room and relaxed for another 5 hours instead. I didn't really eat much the day of the event because normall if I was going to lift at 3 pm I would just need a moderate meal to be fine. I definitely could have planned better and had more food in my bag for this kind of situation.

 

So by the time I was warming up, I wasn't feeling great about the weights. I hit my opener squat at 451 lbs, narrowly missed 475 on 2nd, then had it staple me on 3rd. Bench opener 260 was good, but I missed the 2nd at 280 because I didn't have a good bar path. I came back for my 3rd attempt to repeat 280. It was an absolute grinder, I pressed and locked it out within the rules. Unfortunately after pressing it, for what seemed like forever, I totally skipped the rack command and got red lights. That was disappointing, but I know that I can do it in competition next time. I actually started to get a bit of a second wind for deadlifts. My 500 opener felt good and fast. In an attempt to beat out one of the JR competitors for 3rd in overall, I bumped my 2nd deadlift up to 550 from my original planned 525. I was under the impression that all the Jrs would be included in the open for placing as well. This was a big mistake, I should have clarified this before ever switching my attempts. My 2nd attempt, 550, got out in front of me and I dropped it cause I was going forward. I think I was just too fired up and should have just picked it up. I repeated 550 on my 3rd attempt and got it up but had a hitch, so get 3 reds.

 

I ended up with a 1212 total, the exact same as a meet I did last November. That was a real kick in the nuts. I met a ton of cool people down there and learned a lot though. I don't meant this write up to sound like a laundry list of excuses. There were plenty of other lifters in my exact same situation that absolutely dominated the platform that night. I just chalk it up as a learning experience and continue to get stronger.

The Alpha Project Training Update – 6 Weeks – Tasha Whelan and Dan Stephenson

Tasha and I have been fortunate enough to have Adrian work with us “hands-on” a few times on our bench press technique in addition to online coaching through the Alpha Project.  Since working with Adrian, he has had us focus on dialing in our technique and rotating different accessory exercises to bring up our bench presses.

As you might imagine, when you alter your technique, it can usually be a big step forward, or a temporary step backwards in terms of strength.  In my case, it was the latter for the first few weeks.  Although frustrated that I wasn’t able to move the same weight as I had once moved, I stuck with the program and slowly but surely the weight has come back to the bar.  I can feel a difference in the bar path and shoulder strength from what Adrian has suggested.

Tasha has had a faster turnaround with her strength gains.  With the help of Adrian, she has been able to put an extra 10lbs on her bench over the past 6 weeks

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The Alpha Project has been a great experience overall and has brought in some assistance exercises that Tasha and I have not been using previously.  The addition of the targeted exercises for the triceps, pecs, and shoulders has made an impact in our ability to handle heavier weights more efficiently.

We are looking forward to continuing the Alpha Project into our prep for the IPL World’s meet this November.  Our confidence is building and so are the numbers.  We will keep you all updated as to how this meet turns out.

Sincerely,

Tasha and Dan

Breaking through Mental Blocks - Dan Stephenson

You can be your own worst enemy when it comes to training.  Hitting new PR’s can be more of a mental game than it is physical strength.  Try these three strategies the next time you gear up to set a personal record.

Visualization

There is a saying that “on competition day, a champion athlete has already completed his/her task 1,000 times over in the mind.”  I’m not entirely sure who said it but it speaks truth.  Repeatedly visualizing every step that needs to take place in order for you to complete a lift will do wonders for your nerves when you actually attempt the lift.  Mental practice is key to continuing to see success.  Many of times, our worst habits will surface when the weight gets heavy enough.  This is one strategy to gain more focus and eliminate the mental clutter when you attempt your next PR lift.

Change your Warm-up Sets

I can almost guarantee that you have done the same weights in your warm-up sets leading to the top weight for the past few months.  Am I wrong? 

Try changing up your loading pattern for your next workout.  Instead of going up by the same plate increments each time, try making different jumps up in weight for each set.  For example, instead of going from 135lbs to 185lbs, skip 185 and go to 195.  This works well in your first few warm-up sets because taking a bigger jump has less of an impact on your overall performance.  You might find that you can move some weights easier because you haven’t exhausted yourself too much on the lighter sets.

You might even try playing around with more or less sets with fewer reps working your way up in weight.  The point of warm-up sets is to prepare the body for the heavier weight NOT to fatigue you before you get there.

Blind Sets

If you have a training partner that you trust and that knows your strength well, have them choose your weights for you for your next work out.  Try your best not to add-up what is on the bar and just lift it.  In this way, you can cut out all of the mind games that you play on yourself when attacking a certain weight.  There will be no expectations only assumptions as to how that weight may feel.  You might find yourself lifting a weight you have never lifted before and assume that it is lighter than it truly is.