I’m on a big run and there’s no telling where this is going to end! That’s how I feel right now. Nobody can stop me! I’m a little confused about how I got here, but I’m here and I’m loving it. Today is March 29th, 2012. On February 18th I crushed my 50K (31 Miles) PR by 39 minutes. On February 3rd I did Crossfit Football Totals and PR’d my Back Squat at 300 pounds (up from I think 290). That same day I pulled a 385 deadlift, went for 405 and missed it. I was a little disappointed in that deadlift, but I also new that I had a long race coming up and I was expecting my strength to go down a little during my race season. I had also pulled 400 back in December so I wasn’t really worried about it. I was more excited about the 300 pound back squat. Fast forward to today.
Crossfit Totals was on the agenda. I figured my numbers were going to be low. With my shoulder injury I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to press as much as I needed to, that last 300 lb back squat was really tough, and I had failed at 405. I wasn’t expecting to even get to 400. I was more excited about watching everyone else. I love lifting big and watching others lifting big. It’s just good fun. So the squat was up first. We worked up to 140 Kg or 308 lbs. I was sort of expecting a miss, but it felt good and I knocked it out. I moved quickly through the press. I knew I shouldn’t push it so I knocked out 140 lbs and waited for everyone else to finish so we could move on to the deadlift. We went through 350, and 385 and my buddies Jeff and Ben loaded the bar up with 190 Kg. I complained a little, but they insisted. I insisted there was no way I’d get it off the ground. Last time I tried to pick up 400 I couldn’t get it off the ground. I said I’d give it a go anyway. Once you put the weight on the bar you can’t take it off, right? I picked it up! I went nuts! I’m sure the rest of the gym thought I was an idiot, but who cares right? Awesome! Two new PR’s. 8 lb back squat PR and an 18 lb deadlift PR! I love this stuff!!
So how does this happen? How can I continue to get stronger like this while still setting running PR’s? Part of me just wants to not worry about it and just keep riding the wave. However, I always like to look and see what I’m doing differently and how any changes I’ve made might have affected my gains. I’ve been taking ZMA (Zinc, Magnesium, B6) for about a month and a half now. It’s amazing! Not only am I sleeping better, but I swear I’ve gotten bigger. I’ve obviously gotten stronger. Training hasn’t really changed since January. I’ve just been doing random Crossfit style workouts about 4-5 times a week. I’m not even following a real program. I’ve only ran a couple of times since February. Just like last year, nothing over 7 miles yet since Sylamore. Check out what these guys say about ZMA:
I’m not blaming all of my success over the last few months on ZMA, I’m just saying that it’s really the only thing I’ve added into my training mix. Perhaps I was just deficient in Zinc and Magnesium until now, and I’m now producing way more testosterone. Couple that with the great sleep that ZMA provides, and you get these monster gains and PR’s that I’m seeing now. Maybe I’ll plateau in a couple of months, but for now I’m gonna stay on this train, and you should get on it too! I can’t wait to see what happens at the Ouachita 50 Miler next month!
-Lift Heavy, Run Long!!