Raw Unity Meet Recap

Again, it’s been awhile. Not on purpose, I guess I just don’t feel like my life or training has been that exciting.

But, recently I have been blessed with a little excitement. Monday, I returned from Tampa, FL from the Raw Unity Meet. This was the 3^rd annual meeting of the event and was my first time to compete or attend.

I had been invited to be a part of the Power To The People deadlift team sometime last year by The Chief himself. I proudly accepted and looked forward to the date of the meet. I had over 6 months to prepare and had just finished a meet in which I set an American Record Deadlift in my weight class and age group (551 @ 179 bodyweight).

I had heard of the Raw Unity Meet previously because of the names that lifted there. So I was really excited to get to go…not only to just be there, but to compete as well.

Here’s the recap:

I spent around 12 weeks prepping for this meet. I knew I was only doing the deadlift, so I didn’t have to get fancy with my training.

I wanted to do the full powerlifting portion, but I bombed out of Unequipped Nationals in October and didn’t have a high enough total to qualify my entry. So I was just happy to go and pull a big deadlift.

I came into the meet much lighter than normal for the 181 lb class that I’ve been competing in. I usually weigh in the mid-190’s in training and cut down 2-3 days before weigh-in. Due to a horrible case of food poisoning on New Year’s Eve, I lost around 15 pounds and never really put the weight back on. The downside is I could’ve lost strength, the upside is I didn’t have to worry about cutting to make weight.

I ate supper the night before weigh ins around 6pm and began to fast and dehydrate at 185. By 10am the next morning I was 177. Then I began to replenish fluids and food and got back up to 185 the next morning before I lifted.

I woke up early to get some breakfast as I was scheduled to lift at 9am. The first shuttle to the meet venue left at 8am which gave me around 30-40 minutes to warm up.

Warm ups went really well and I was pleased at how I timed it up to my first attempt.

First attempt was 534. I don’t know if was nerves or what, but the weight moved slow for me. I was nervous to pick my next weight which I knew needed to be a big jump if I was going to go for 600 on my 3^rd. I chose 260kg or 573 which was an all-time PR attempt for me and the biggest weight lifted per body weight I’ve ever tried. 3.24x

Second attempt at 573 flew up and nailed the lockout no problem. I got red lighted by the head judge for an unknown reason, but I didn’t care. 2/3 Good lift.

So I go to the scorers table knowing I have 10-15 more pounds in me, but not sure if I could squeeze out a full 27 lb jump to 600. I figured I’m here now, so lets do it and put down 272.5kg or 600 lbs.

I’m not sure if my mental prep was dialed in or what, but in retrospect I feel like I approached the lift completely different than what I’m used to. I even approached the bar differently. Probably nothing anyone would’ve noticed, but if you’ve ever deadlifted heavy, you know it’s very methodical and repetitious. Every attempt needs to be the same, from the prep, to the approach to the lift.

Anyway, I guess they turned the magnets on, because the bar felt like it was glued to the floor. No lift.

After my flight was over, I was pretty sure I didn’t get last place, but wasn’t sure where I stood either. I was just flying high from the PR and trying to figure out what went wrong with the 600 attempt.

I watched Flight B which was the Heavy Weights (198 and above) and saw some amazing pulls. 728 @ 213 comes to mind.

Then the medal ceremony began and they asked all of the Light Weights to come up to the podium. The scoring was done by Wilkes Formula which is a calculation that normalizes or equalizes a lifting competition across multiple weight classes.

They announced the 3^rd place winner which is fellow RKC Ellen Stein of New York…the only female in the Deadlift Only Competition. Then they announced the weight lifted for the 2^nd place winner and it was 260kg. Wait a minute! That’s what I lifted? Then my name was called! I was shocked!

So at the end of the day, I pulled an all-time PR, a best pound-for-pound all-time deadlift for myself…AND was awarded 2^nd place for the effort!

The meet was very well run and had a crazy-strong list of competitors. A real Who’s Who of the powerlifting world. Not to mention that I got to meet Tony Conyers and Matt “Kroc” Kroczaleski.

What an awesome trip! It definitely made up for the meet I bombed out in October and kept my powerlifting fire alive!

I’m looking to take a break from the heavy stuff for a little while. I’m attending the Level II RKC cert in San Jose at the end of February as an assistant instructor. I need to get all my RKC skills dialed in and I might try my hand at The Beast Tamer Challenge if my training goes well this month.

So that’s my Raw Unity Meet recap. All in all it was a great trip, great meet and I’m looking forward to figuring how I can pick up 600 pounds off the ground.

RKC Level II…Check!

What a phenomenal weekend! There’s really too much to write about, but I’ll sum it up as best I can.

Day 1 – Thursday – 6/25
I arrived early around 1:30pm (on purpose AND highly recommended!) so that I could get situated and head up to the workshop area to help out in any way I could. Luckily for me, Dennis Armstrong of Dragon Door offered all attendees a BONUS Pre-Cert workout with none other than Dave “The Iron Tamer” Whitley, SrRKC, Jeff “The Redneck Ninja” O’Connor, SrRKC and Kenneth “The Dane of Pane” Jay, MRKC.

After I performed my snatch test and helped unload bells, we headed for the field and within minutes, my brain was hurting. These guys throw so much at you! It’s just so hard to absorb it all. The workout lasted about an hour and a half, was extremely worth it, and wasn’t so bad that it compromised me for the next 3 days.

Meet and greet went great and I was introduced to a lot of new faces with familiar names and reunited with a lot of friends I’ve made over the last 2 years in the RKC family.

Day2 – Friday – 6/26
The morning started off with people taking snatch tests followed by 2 stations of Level II requirements: The Pull Up w/ a 24kg hanging on the foot and The Press w/ a KB closest to half your body weight. I had to press a 40kg which went up with no problem and the pull up seemed pretty easy (probably because of adrenaline). I knew I could perform these prior to signing up last October, so I felt prepared.

Pavel and Jeff covered some really awesome material on the Core Basics which still blows my mind at how much more there is to learn about the Swing and TGU. Jeff’s presentation on the TGU and Foot Work was really awesome and I’ve started using his Hard Style Yoga on myself and clients as soon as I got home.

The rest of the day wasn’t so pleasant. We worked Level I drills and their corrections, which seemed like a very long time. I wasn’t paying much attention to the rest of the group, but I believe there were some who were really struggling with just the Level I skills we were supposed to have nailed down. Shame on us and we got punished for it. I had my first double forearm cramp right at the end of the day due to dehydration which was interesting while trying to snatch. I’m glad it happened at the end, so it didn’t ruin too much for me. Thankfully it happened while we were performing the Vo2MAX cadence test and I had already done that prior to coming, so I knew my cadence number.

I had the great honor and fortune of getting to eat supper at the “Big Boy” table with Pavel, Dave, Jeff and Kenneth. Those guys can consume! I got some great Powerlifting pointers from Pavel and was encouraged further to participate with the Power To The People Deadlift Team this January. We talked about nutrition and other random topics…JUST Friggin’ Awesome!

Day 3 – Saturday – 6/27
A little more sore this morning. Friday was definitely a smoker, as it should’ve been for all that were unprepared, but thanks to John DuCane’s Morning Recharge, I felt great and ready to go.

Jeff, Dave, Pavel, Will Williams, SrRKC and Andrea DuCane, MRKC covered the Bent Press, Windmill, Pistol and Pull Up and I was immediately humbled by the correct ways to perform these exercises. This put a huge spotlight on my dysfunctions, which I will “own” and work on continuously.

We spent some time in lecture with Kenneth teaching the intricacies behind Viking Warrior Conditioning. He really knows his stuff and put on an excellent presentation! He unveiled a new protocol that we got to practice and it was really amazing! I’ll be using that one as well!

Day 4 – Sunday – 6/28
The morning started with a presentation by Dave on Kettlebell Group Training for Fat Loss and how to maximize your business potential. Great stuff and then we got a little tough-love application on the field. I’ve already used his Get Up – Swing progression in a class and it worked awesome!

Then Jeff presented on using Kettlebells as a one-of-a-kind tool in Youth Athletic Development. Phenomenal information with great drills and some really cool swing variations were added for power development.

Then we broke for our Skills Testing. Some had to retake their basic Pull Up or Press tests again as well as being broken up in teams to test the Level II skills. This was pretty nerve-racking. It’s not a strength thing, it’s a skills thing. The idea was, “can you perform ‘X’ number of perfect reps of ‘Y’ exercise after you’ve be thoroughly taught when I ask you to perform it?” Many couldn’t, which doesn’t make them bad instructors or weak at the skills, it was mostly mental lapses. I thankfully passed, but I was definitely sweating it! Most that failed the skills or basic tests will be put on provisional probation for 90 days to film the correct version of the test they had trouble with, send it in, and if accepted after evaluation, they get certified. I believe the attrition rate will be much lower after the 90 day period.

I equate it much like a powerlifting meet. I’ll spend 3 months on training, tweaking my program, hours in the gym, constant self-evaluation on technique, $$$ for gear and equipment, $$$ for organizational dues, $$$ for meet entry fees, $$$ on travel, and $$$ for nutrition to prepare for a meet. However, if on that meet day, I set my opener too high and miss 3 attempts, or I miss the head judge’s commands 3 times, or I have technique issues 3 times, I’m OUT. No bench attempts, no dead lift attempts…OUT. Wait ‘til next time, if there is one and go back to the drawing board and reinvest on all the above-mentioned aspects. Bottom line, it’s life. We mess up, we fall down…most of will just dust ourselves off and get back up to try again.

I’m glad the bar was set high for this cert. I couldn’t have asked for more from The Chief, Masters, Seniors and Team Leaders. The experience was second-to-none and I would do it again in a heart beat. If you’re RKC and you plan on expanding that with Level II, start NOW! THE CURRICULUM WILL NOT GET EASIER! The higher standard creates a badge of pride, honor and integrity, and I’m blessed to have had the opportunity.

Thanks to everyone for making the experience one I’ll never forget and for all the new friendships that I made over the weekend. The RKC Family is such an awesome one and I’m honored to be a part of it!