Mitchell McCleary: Food, Lifting, and Life

  Recently, my shoulder that was giving me some issues is finally feeling more stable and I am able to bench again. One of  the toughest mental battles about feeling better is reminding myself that I do not need to rush to get to where I was prior to injury. This is a difficult concept to grasp for me because I am constantly trying to be my all time best. In reality, I need to focus on keeping my shoulder healthy and then worry about how strong I can get before nationals. I think I will be able to beat my all time best by nationals but taking it slow  is going to be a critical part of finding that success.

  In general weight gain is not always seen as healthy or even desirable. I think this is one of the biggest misconceptions that can be associated with powerlifting. When the body is in a surplus of calories, it naturally recovers from strenuous workouts much better and you become stronger at a higher rate. I think that weight gain can be healthy if the diet is done correctly. The quality of food is extraordinarily important. If the diet consists of unhealthy choices then the weight gain will likely not be as healthy as it can be. This is definitely a perspective I have to remind myself of especially when trying to gain weight after competing. I am trying to gain weight back in a more healthy manner so I do not have to do any major changes whenever I start to get ready for nationals.

  I am starting an old approach for deadlifts for my off-season today. In the lifting community, many top-end athletes believe deadlifting in the opposite stance of your competition style is the best way to get stronger. Lately, I have not been using this approach. I think I need to switch things up to start making progress again this off-season. I really want to deadlift 600 pounds or more by January of next year. Considering I am already confidently deadlifting in the high 500s, I think 600 is a reasonable goal for next January. Here’s where the adventure starts and I can't wait to see what happens!

Upon reflecting about my rest day today, I have realized that part of maturing in lifting is understanding that recovery helps significantly more than I originally comprehended when I started powerlifting. As I have tried to improve certain lifts, I notice my recovery  is almost as important or more important than the lifting itself. I think this is because the weight I am moving is significantly heavier than when I started lifting, so I have to recover longer. I hope I see more progress in the future by taking my recovery plans much more seriously to help my body feel more ready for each future workout. I am planning on trying this approach over the next 4 weeks or so to see if better recovery is what I need to work on or if I need to improve in another way.