Meet reports are something I enjoyed quite a bit from the other place, so I thought I'd do one and hopefully get the ball rolling on Lemmy.

Last Sunday was the Rocky Mountain State Games meet. It was my sixth meet overall and my third after moving to Colorado. It seems like the competition in Colorado is much tougher than it was in Texas as I haven't placed above 5th place since moving here lol.

I trained for about 9 months total for this competition. My meet prior to this one was 1 October, 2022. My training was broken up this time around by an injury and a 2 week trip to Japan that involved minimal training (bands only). The injury was an SI joint issue that crops up once or twice per year that required me to do easy sessions for 2-3 weeks. The program I run is Sheiko Gold. It consists of going up to RPE 8 on hard days and RPE 7 on recovery days. Due to my injury, probably half of my training was easier recover days. I fully expected my strength to decrease due to this.

The meet was held at the D1 training facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA. The warmup situation was mostly good - plenty of squat racks to go around and most people were able to get their own. As usual, my wife came along with me to serve as my coach for the meet.

Squats went better than expected. I opened at 155 kg but jumped the squat command and got 3 red lights. It was a very snappy lift so I decided to increase 10 kg to 165 kg. 165 moved pretty well, at RPE 7 weight, but I decided to play it safe for the next lift and only increased 2.5 kg to 167.5 kg. This last attempt was more difficult, at an RPE 8, but I think I could have jumped 5 to 7.5 kg and still have gotten it.

Bench was fun. This was the lift I was expecting to set a PR on. I opened at 115 kg, which felt great, so I increased to 120 kg. This was a little more difficult than expected, but I really wanted a PR so I increased 5 kg more to 125 kg. Here, sadly, I got stuck halfway up and missed the lift. I think I could have gotten it on a better day.

Deadlifts were the most interesting lift! I opened at 175 kg, smashed that attempt and was expecting to go to 185 kg. My wife accidentally told the people at the desk my third attempt weight even though I was only going for my second attempt at that time. So I made a big jump from 175 kg to 192.5 kg. 192.5 was a dream weight and I didn't think I could get it. Other athletes were screaming at me, hyping me up. I got it! It was an absolute grind but I got it. Needless to say, I didn't come out for a third attempt.

Overall, it was a fun meet so I'd say it was successful. I didn't lose too much strength although I didn't train super hard for it. I'm looking forward to the next on in February, and plan on working a lot harder for it!

Videos:

Squat

Bench

Deadlift

This meta analysis found that creatine has a trivial effect on muscle growth. However, Greg Nuckles says that this study is actually saying that creatine helps you build muscle up to 1/3 faster.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CumSxEkOiCw/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

I’m a little disappointed by what the study found but Greg’s thoughts kind of make sense.

I usually take a box of pop tarts and eat a few of them throughout the day but I"m getting tired of those and am looking for something new.

I've been competing for a few years, with a two year break during Covid. I'm at

• Squat: 380 lb (172 kg)
• Bench: 270 lb (122 kg)
• Deadlift: 424.4 lb (192.5 kg)

I've actually gotten weaker since I hit those numbers last October due to some back tweaks and time off for a trip, but I'm hoping to match those squat and deadlift numbers and get a 127.5 kg bench (281 lb) at my meet on the 23rd.

Longer term, I have my eyes on 405 lb (183 kg) squat, 315 lb (142 kg) bench, and 500 lb (227 kg) deadlift.

How about you?

All,

How have you found training frequency to affect your workout results? What would be the difference if you bench pressed only once per 10 days compared to 2-3 times per week?

The biggest ever IPF worlds kicks off on the 11th June with 401 lifters nominated across the 16 weight classes in Valletta, Malta.

Timetable

https://ipfmalta.com/ipf-competition-schedule/

Nominations

Male

Female

Where to Watch

Livestreams on the Olympics Youtube channel

Live scoreboards on Goodlift

The primetime sessions on Friday 16th and Saturday 17th will be broadcast live on TV on Eurosport 1 and Eurosport Asia

Sheffield 2024 Automatic Qualifying Totals (applies to weight class winners and the best runner up measured by % of WR)

Male

-59: 636.5kg

-66: 675kg

-74: 751kg

-83: 799kg

-93: 840kg

-105: 891kg

-120: 930kg

+120: 1,095kg

Female

-47: 407.5kg

-52: 437kg

-57: 478.5kg

-63: 529kg

-69: 521.5kg

-76: 570kg

-84: 613kg

+84: 646kg

(Jesus Olivares and Evie Corrigan have already secured Sheffield places)

My OpenPowerlifting

Overview

After browsing through tons of meet recaps, I have yet to notice a post by a teenage powerlifter, so I decided to make this post to showcase an alternative perspective to a powerlifting meet. This is the recap of my meet on 5/7, which I am currently writing a month later to capture the meet in full retrospect.

Not only was I a complete amateur in the sport of powerlifting, but this meet prep was as unconventional as it gets. At the time, I had been lifting consistently for around a year and a half and began actual powerlifting training just a mere 2 months before my meet, and it wasn't until 6 weeks out that I properly programmed a peaking cycle. Additionally, I also switched from sumo to conventional two weeks out as while pulling sumo, I would hitch anything over 350 pounds on my legs.

Nevertheless, with minimal prep and a self-made program incorporating Dr. Mike Israetel’s teachings, two friends and I drove from Charlotte to Atlanta, ready to take on my first powerlifting meet.

2-1 Days Out

Two days out from my meet, I began a water cut from my normal weight of 76-77 kg /167-169 lbs down to 75kg/165 lbs. On weigh-ins 1 day out, I made it at around 3 pounds lighter than what I needed. Thanks to USPA’s 24-hour weigh-ins, I was able to have an entire day to carb up so the water cut wouldn’t be as brutal.

Squat

Attempt 1: 162.5 kg/358 lbs ⚪️⚪️⚪️

Opener flew at around RPE 6. Here is a video of it

. I was extremely nervous going into this squat and I walked out feeling a lot better.

Attempt 2: 172.5 kg/380.3 lbs ⚪️⚪️⚪️

Moved a bit slower than the first but still got it up at around RPE 7.5. I felt good and my friends urged me to go into the 400s for my third. The most I’ve ever done on squats was 425. However, my form sucked and I didn’t hit competition depth. So it was definitely risky but we went for it nonetheless.

Attempt 3: 182.4 kg/402.3 lbs ⚪️⚪️⚪️

Biggest grind on a squat single in my life. Here is the video

. When I was in the hole, I genuinely thought I wasn’t able to get it up. My form also significantly faltered on the ascent and it messed up my right elbow. I think I may have overextended my shoulder a little which caused elbow pains to flare up, or it could just be me using my arms to hold the bar instead of my rear delt. But overall both the crowd and I were very hype. I got the lift up and I felt like all my prep finally paid off at the end. I was also super happy with the 9/9 white lights.

Bench

Attempt 1: 94.5 kg/209.5 lbs ⚪️⚪️⚪️

After I iced my elbow for around ten minutes and massaged it extensively. The pain subsided and I felt ready for the bench, which is my worst lift by proportion. I went into this attempt really unprepared as my name was on the board a lot sooner than expected. I went in and got the lift up at RPE 5 without wrist wraps.

Attempt 2: 97.5 kg/215 lbs ⚪️⚪️⚪️

Just a five pound increase from my opener but it moved a lot slower. I misgrooved when I was locking out and it didn’t really feel right. Also if you watch the video

, I had a completely unnecessary and stupid interaction with the announcer, which was on my part. But I apologized to him after and he was completely cool with it.

Attempt 3: 102.5 kg/225.9 lbs 🔴🔴🔴

This is a weight I’ve previously hit in prep and I felt like I should’ve got it. I had a huge struggle around 4 inches up from my chest and it didn’t bulge. Looking back at the bench attempts, the weights I chose were pretty stupid: a 6 pound jump from a smooth opener to a misgrooved second attempt into a 10 pound increase just feels awkward. This is what I would’ve done instead today.

• 209.5
• 220
• 226

Deadlift

Attempt 1:175 kg/386 lbs ⚪️⚪️⚪️

This is the heaviest weight I’ve done in prep conventional. With the bars they use at USPA meets I definitely like a couple inches were taken off from my range of motion, which made the opener easier than expected.

Attempt 2: 184.5 kg/407 lbs ⚪️⚪️⚪️

First time hitting the 400s in conventional. Moved at around RPE7. My form was most definitely terrible and I’ve done a lot of work recently to fix my lumbar rounding.

Attempt 3: 190 kg/418 lbs ⚪️⚪️⚪️

Deadlift ATPR attempt. I was very pumped on caffeine and ammonia salts and may or may not have yelled at the top of the lift. I was ecstatic I hit most of my goals at my first meet and went 8/9; 24/27. I came in first for my weight class of 75kg and age group of 16-17 and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for me in powerlifting.

Thanks for reading

Meant to post this here but ended up on r/weightroom instead. Love that sub, but here tends to be better for powerlifting specific convo. In case anyone is wondering why they're seeing this twice...

Background and Training

This was my first meet, as ridiculous as that sounds. I’ve done powerlifting for around 3 years and lifting for 10+, including handling my girlfriend/fiance at two meets, but the stars never quite aligned for me to do my own meet. This year, after the USPA drama, II finally pulled the trigger and signed up for a local WRPF meet. In February, I started working with Matt Domney from Compound Performance for individual coaching. So far, it’s been an excellent experience and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend his coaching to anyone else.

Meet Prep

My prep into this meet was a funky one. I had come off a super intense 20+ week chunk of training at the beginning of January 2023. During that block, I added 300lbs to my total (transitioned to untested… hence the insane progress). I was pretty burnt out and needed a break. This also coincided with ski season, and I ski ~40 days a season. With that in mind, I didn’t realllllly start following structured training until ~8 weeks out.

At ~8 weeks out, I realized that if I was going to do this meet, it was time to buckle down and get serious--so I did. Things were going pretty well until about ~4 weeks out when a lower trap strain made low bar squats impossible. It was a major bummer, but thankfully I was able to continue deadlift and bench with minimal interruption. With lots of prehab-y movements + 2 massages I was able to start low bar squatting again ~1.5 weeks out. GF also had surgery ~2.5 weeks out, and this was a bigger interruption than I thought it would in terms of stress + sleep. Mentally, this prep was a bit of a struggle. I didn’t feel great for most of it, weights moved decently but below where I wanted. I had a lot of doubts and even considered dropping the meet on many occasions. I needed lots of reassurance but thankfully Matt and my GF were always there to provide it.

Taper + Water Cut

Hit final heavy workouts for squat and deadlift at just over a week out. Bench tapered a bit later. Had easy workouts on M/T/W on meet week, then completely off on T/F. I still went to the gym on both Thursday and Friday, but just did some yoga-type movements to move around. Did not touch a barbell. In hindsight, Matt absolutely nailed my peak and taper.

This was my first time water cutting and I was pretty nervous. My normal daytime weight was ~85kg / 187.5lb, so I knew it was a very doable cut. I looked at all the popular guides from reputable coaches and basically did a lazy amalgamation. Here’s roughly what I did:

• Monday: vaguely try to drink more water than usual. (avg weight 187.4)
• Tuesday: actually track 2 gallons + added sodium. Normal food intake. (Avg weight 190.9)
• Wednesday: 2.5 gallons, added sodium for 1st gallon, no added sodium after that. Cut carb intake in half (did not track, estimated). Cut fiber significantly as well. Dandelion root in the PM. (Avg Weight 191.3)
• Thursday. No water after 7am black coffee. No food other than raw walnuts, rice cakes, and peanut butter. Had ~100g of walnuts, 1 rice cake, and 30g of peanut butter. 100ml of water before bed to stave off the thirst. Dandelion root in the AM and PM. (AM weight: 185.x, PM weight before bed 181.7)
• Friday: Weigh in @ 9am. Was 179.8 upon waking at home. One more bathroom trip, and weighed in at 79kg / 174.1lbs on the calibrated scale. Guess our scale runs heavy? Upon weigh-in, drink 1L of gatorade with 1g added salt + 2 pop tarts. Sip another liter of water on the hour drive back home. From there I was basically eating carbs and drinking water with a pinch of salt continuously all day. The intent was to toe the line of uncomfortable and bloated but not in any real gastrointestinal distress. By the end of day, I was sitting back at 188.9 according to home scale.

Overall, my water cut went great. Thursday was predictably miserable, and I slept poorly, but not enough to truly be an issue. Next time, I’d probably track carbs more strictly. I’m good at estimating, but the peace of mind from actually knowing would be good. I would also start the water load ~12 hours earlier to be safe. I don’t think there’s any need to start much earlier than that. Recomp was also successful.

The Meet

This is where the nice things started—woke up on meet day feeling pretty decent. A little tired + nervous, but also weirdly at peace. I had spent so much time stressing the past several weeks that I was just ready to do the damn thing--regardless of the outcome. The hour of driving to the meet gave me a good opportunity to listen to some music and clear my head.

Matt provided a meet day sheet that had warmups, timing, attempt selection, and everything I needed. I shared this with my GF and she handled everything from there. I had two friends that did all my loading. It was honestly perfect. I didn’t do anything except focus on lifting and feeling good. GF let me know when to start warming up, when to take my last warmup--everything.

Once I started warming up for squats, I started feeling good. Lower trap felt the best it had since hurting it, and things were MOVING. After taking my first attempt, and seeing the video, I couldn’t help but laugh--it was so damn easy. From there, my confidence was sky-high. I let my GF call every attempt with no input from me. She was following the sheet (and knowing me as a lifter), so I knew that whatever she picked would be within my ability. I also texted with Matt all day.

Squat

• 242.5KG / 534.6lb, ⚪🔴⚪: Jumped the rack command--center judge gave me a warning. Fastest this has ever moved for me
• 257.5KG / 567.7lb, ⚪⚪⚪: Again, the fastest this has ever moved for me, gave me the confidence to go for my best-case 3rd attempt.
• 272.5KG / 600.7lb, ⚪⚪⚪: Perfect attempt I think. It was hard, but I got it. Huge milestone. Was genuinely on cloud 9 after this. All the doubts melted away.

Bench

• 145KG / 319.7lb, ⚪⚪⚪: Bumped my opener up 5kg which def stressed Matt a bit, but I was very confident based on warmups + how my bench strength scales. I wanted to bump my opener that way I could take smaller jumps to reach a realistic 3rd. Moved as an opener should.
• 155KG / 341.7 lb, ⚪⚪⚪: Another great attempt, felt very confident
• 162.5KG / 358.2lb, ⚪⚪⚪: Took my top-end 3rd attempt and again was perfect for the day. Hard but confident lift.

Deadlift

Fatigue and stress started coming in a bit here. Deadlifts were great all prep, but I had the most questions about my ability to push the weights here. My heaviest pull all prep was a 302.5kg @ 9.5 (@8.5 if you ask my coach). Again, though, my final warmup at 265kg/585lb was just so easy that it gave me more confidence.

• 285KG / 628.3lb, ⚪⚪⚪: Smoke. Felt great
• 305KG / 672.4lb ⚪⚪⚪:: lifetime PR, and it was RPE 8.5-9
• 317.5KG / 699.9lb (I’m calling it 700 ok), 🔴🔴🔴: Took a shot at a big lift and ran out of talent. So damn close, but techincally, wasn’t quite there. Got pulled forward and after i felt that downward motion, I knew I was done. Honestly, wasn’t even upset.

Total: 740kg / 1,631lbs

DOTS: 514

Placement: 1st and best lifter

124 all-time @ 181 (by DOTS, according to OpenPL)

Final thoughts

This was so much fun. All our friends showed up and cheered me on. I got so many compliments and comments of recognition from my fellow competitors. I would honestly list it among the best days of my life. It was incredibly validating to have everything go so well. All of my 3rds were in line with my best-case scenarios.

Plans for the future are to take a decent off-season and build some muscle. I was one of the smaller guys in my class, even at this local meet. My squat and deadlift are good; my bench still is by far the weakest link and should be low-hanging fruit to improve. Similarly, I think my pull has some technical limitations that become more apparent at the top end. That 700 should have been mine. It's not acceptable to have performance fall apart that quickly from 672 to 700. I think 82.5/83kg is the right class for me, and given that I weighed in at 79.0kg… I have room to grow. Haven’t had my post-meet call with Matt yet, but we’ll see what makes sense!

Very proud of myself for pushing through prep and performing the way I did on meet day. I was so locked in all day. There were a number of small annoyances about the meet that I’ll list below. Hopefully, the WRPF can continue improving on the local level:

• Meet registration said squat bar would be used for squats over 200kg. So… I made a point of training with the squat bar the last several weeks of prep. Well, they didn’t use the squat bar for my flight. I guess because not everyone in the flight was squatting over 200kg?
• On the note of flights, rather than organizing flights by opener, they did them by weight class. This meant that in the same flight of 12 people, there was a 92.5kg and 300kg deadlift 3rd attempt. Why? Slower meet and more work for the spotters.
• The gym the meet was held in was great, but, also had some issues for warmups. There were no deadlift bars for warmups. For squats, I had a Rep Sabre bar + bumper plates. Over 200kg, it was an absolute noodle with no knurling. There weren’t enough ‘real’ power bars and steel plates for everyone, or even most people to warm up on. Genuinely not trying to be a princess, but this is kinda rough for warmup equipment at a powerlifting meet.
• To be clear, this was a local meet, I’m not expecting a flawless experience with unlimited competition equipment for warmups. Additionally, I’m used to training on all manner of equipment, none of this threw me off. But, worth mentioning. It should have been better, and I will prioritize that for future meets.
• Officiating was consistent and fair. Everyone running the meet was friendly and accessible. No complaints here.

I was only able to hit 96% on squat, 92% on deadlift, but got a 3% increase on bench, from 270# (122 kg) to 280# (127 kg).

I did take a two week trip during training and had an SI joint tweak around the same time that made me train easy for a while, so that may be it. I’m surprised about deadlift though because I recently pulled 460# (208 kg) off short two inch blocks.

Maybe I just had a bad day? Now I’m not sure which attempts to take at the meet.

Thoughts?

I have a test day coming up on Sunday and will be treating it as a mock meet (my meet is 23 July). My knees and lower back feel a bit beat up still. My program gives me about a week of deload sessions before testing so I'm good with that, but I'm wondering what I can do to help my knees and back.

Any suggestions?

TL;DR

First World Championships.

195/117.5/280 for a 592.5kg total at 73.7kg

Came 21/23 in my class and 171/195 overall. An incredible experience.

Background

Started lifting in 2017 as a way of trying to be healthier. Started off with 5x5 and eventually gained strength over time. Powerlifting started off as a hobby and eventually become so ingrained to my personality. Entered in my first meet in 2019 with a total of 460kg. Slowly but surely increased the number consistently over time (my numbers did take a massive hit during COVID). Coming into the World Championships was unexpected. I came second in the South African national meet with a 580 total and didn't expect to get the call up to the national team. I work as a Management Consultant and I was fortunate we have a policy of "Flex months", in which I was able to take the month off prior to World's to prepare for the meet.

Going into World's I didnt expect I'd do remotely well. I'm not particularly built to be a powerlifter - I'm 181cm tall (5' 11" for freedom units) and I normally hover at around 77kg. Nor am I particularly built - I'd estimate my bodyfat to be around 16-17%. But, given that I had the opportunity to do so, was keen to give it my everything.

Leading up to the meet

Despite having the additional time to prep, I found myself with numerous injuries starting from 4 weeks out. Started off with Spasms in my lateral hamstring tendons which took a few days to heal and ended off with strains in my levator scapulae, which led to shoulder impingement. My peak was impacted due to these issues, but injuries are the name of the game and adapations need to be done. I used the METH protocol to try and rehab all of the injuries I picked up. Thankfully no tears happened during this time.

Given that I weighed a bit more than 74kg, I needed to do a bit of a water cut. I've had quite a bit of experience with water loading, sodium manipulation and gut cuts, but I made the rookie mistake of not buying water prior to my flight to Malta. Numerous requests for the air staff to give me sufficient water was not sufficient for my water intake 3 days before and I tried compensating with this leading up to the meet... Spoiler, it did not go well. A day before the meet I woke up a 76.7 and started stressing on my weight. Additionally, my girlfriend ended up breaking up with me on this day and the stress was pretty intense. I had to resort to a slow dehydration throughout the day to make weight - I was fortunate that the hotel had a sauna and spent a good portion of the day sitting there (I was fortunate to meet and chat with Pana whilst he was also chilling in the sauna prior to his meet). I managed to cut down to 74.3 before sleeping. I woke up at around 73.7kg and began my rehydration process around an hour before competing. There was no net change from my waking up weight to weighing in - possibly indicating I could have recomped a tiny bit more. After weighing in and equipment check - I cannot tell you how good it felt to down some water!

Squats

Attempt 1: 175kg ⚪ ⚪ ⚪: I had planned on opening on 182.5kg but my coach recommended 175kg in case of any nerves to be on the international stage and to ensure I got a total on the day. It was pretty easy.

Attempt 2: 187.5kg ⚪ ⚪ ⚪: I misgrooved a bit on this attempt, leaning a bit more forward than I would have liked and didnt drive through my legs enough on the come up, leading to a sticking point which I pushed through.

Attempt 3: 195kg ⚪ ⚪ ⚪(Meet PR +10kg): Based on my second, we decided to do this for a third. There was so much more left in the tank. I had done 200kg in training and went into the meet wanting 205kg. I'm sure I'll be able to attempt this next time.

I got the A7 Rigor Mortis sleeves (Medium) 2 weeks prior to the meet. They definitely helped me and looking forward to see what numbers I can push in future.

Bench

Attempt 1: 105kg ⚪ ⚪ ⚪: Easy. Something I had done for 5 prior to getting injured. The bar did not feel comfortable on my setup, but it went up fine.

Attempt 2: 112.5kg ⚪ ⚪ ⚪: Didn't feel too bad. This was a Meet PR for me at the time

Attempt 3: 117.5kg ⚪ ⚪ ⚪ (Meet PR +7.5kg) It was well selected and happy with how it moved on the day.

My long arms are not built for bench. My levator scapulae and shoulder impingment were really of concern leading up to this, but happy with how everything worked out. Even on a local level, my bench is not competitive at all, but with that being said, I'm happy on how things ended up. Similarly to squats, I feel as though bench is finally starting to click. I think there's some potential to improve on this.

Deadlifts

Attempt 1: 260kg ⚪ ⚪ ⚪: I planned to open at 270kg, but we changed this to account for my neck killing me. Easy.

Attempt 2: 280kg ⚪ ⚪ ⚪: I have done this weight numerous times. Felt confident and it felt fine.

Attempt 3: 295kg 🔴🔴🔴: Failure. I rushed my setup, hips rose early and it was never going to make it up after that. Its so easy to look at things retrospectively and find your errors, but going forward I will definitely emphasise my starting position more. Happy I broke it off the ground though.

The only lift I was somewhat competitive in is the deadlift and I went to World's for my third deadlift, with the hope of being the first South African in around 9 years to do the 4x bodyweight deadlift (and be the second in history). I'm really keen to work on this more in future though. I've done 285kg in a meet before, and I really want 300kg as a 74kg lifter. It might take time, but I will get it.

The experience

It was one of the most memorable weeks of my life. I never would have imagined I would ever compete on the international stage and everything just felt surreal - the lights, the cameras, the stage and getting the opportunity to fangirl whenever meeting the famous lifters I've followed on instagram over the past few years. I'm also fortunate to live in South Africa, where standards are admittedly lower than other countries.

I can say that I will be back next year, stronger than ever.

​

​

What are we all using to track training logs? I've been using a Google doc which is easy to use on mobile but doesn't do squat for analysis long term. I see plenty of lifters using old school notebooks. Has anyone moved into the 21st century?

I went into this year deciding to finally join a meet instead of just doing my regular 2x a year max-out session and commit to it. My handler was John Gaglione and I trained at his gym 3-4x in the 5 months leading up to the meet. I just thought it made sense to have the person hosting the meet to be my handler/coach and he was very attentive online, in-person and on the day of the meet. Goal for this meet was to go 9/9 with room in each lift and just have fun.

Squat:

155kg ⚪⚪⚪ - Easy and I've done this for 5 during an AMRAP

170kg ⚪⚪⚪ - Easy as well

180kg ⚪⚪⚪ - This felt like I had 5-7.5kg more in me. The attempt selection was good because I lost a little balance at the bottom and corrected myself on the way up. Still scary

Bench:

120kg ⚪⚪⚪ - Felt harder than at the gym 2 weeks previously

127.5kg ⚪⚪⚪ - More moderate jump than originally planned and it was a struggle. Felt like I had only 2.5kg more in me

130kg 🔴🔴🔴 - I tried everything I could to hit this, even trying to reflex my legs to get some momentum but still stopped around 80% of the way. Sad I couldn't go 9/9 but bench is my weakest lift anyway so not too bad

Deadlift:

205kg ⚪⚪⚪ - Really easy

230kg ⚪⚪⚪ - Originally supposed to be 225kg but I asked my coach to go up because of how I was feeling. Moved up 5kg and it still flew

245kg ⚪⚪⚪ - I've never made any weight move like this and I genuinely think I had 10-15kg more in me. First time I've actually felt "strong"

Some improvements: Definitely diet. I let work get the better of me but I weighed 206 and had to water cut down to 198 for weigh-ins. Had to literally strip to get the last .6 lbs for my class and I was a little disappointed here.

Overall: I don't think I peaked for bench as well as the other two but everything was still a PR for me so I couldn't be mad at all. The biggest thing for me this whole training cycle with John was improvement on my squats and they definitely improved. I went from struggling to hit depth on 375 to going near ATG at the meet with 397. I've had influencers and some ATWR holders as coaches but progressed the most with John, which makes sense looking back.

Maybe this is me personally but I didn't feel hype or anything during my lifts, just happy with the meet later on, because I have bigger goals in mind for my next meet. Hoping to hit 590-600 in early 2024.

So today I wrapped up my first real meet and it was great, I'm exhausted, but I'm pretty proud!

I started really lifting in January, so it hasn't been that long. Combine that with eating in a deficit since August to lose 60lbs+ (so far) along with some medical stuff, and it definitely felt early, but I did the damn thing!

Is 500lbs a lot? To the general powerlifting community maybe not, but to me, it's a starting point!

​

Breakdown:

Training: Been kind of training myself since January, started working out with other powerlifters at the gym in maybe April. Just doing my best.
Night before: Tried to sleep, didn't.
Morning of: Anxiety and nausea made eating difficult, but I powered through a great breakfast, knowing it might push me into the 100+ category, but I was fine with that. I had been hovering right around 216lbs fully naked before eating every morning, so clothed and with food in me? Totally fine with me if I was above 220. Had to wait what felt like forever in a 105 degree room for a female ref to be free to weigh me. But hey! I started talking to a few other lifters and made friends so it went well. Especially considering I was totally alone, no coach, friends, family, etc. Just me and my belt and a will to live lol

Then I got called up. I step in, ask a few questions, step on the scale. 97.6. Holy shit. That made me feel great! That was way better than I could have imagined.

​

The lifts:

Squat 1: 60kg - wanted to start light. Then, there were technical difficulties, so I had to stand in front of the crowd waiting for 2 minutes. This totally threw me off and got rid of my focus, built up the anxiety. I failed, racked before the rack command. That wouldn't happen again.
🔴🔴🔴

Squat 2: 62.5kg - I went up despite the person taking next attempts judging me for it. I had the lift, I knew I did, I just got nervous.
🟢🟢🟢

Squat 3: 67.5kg - big jump!
🟢🟢🟢 Smoked it. Could've gone up.

​

Bench 1: 40kg - bench is my weak point, and with the commands I got nervous on messing up again.
🟢🟢🟢

Bench 2: 45kg
🟢🟢🟢

Bench 3: 50kg - hemmed and hawed over 47.5 and 50, but wanted to give it a shot because yolo.
🔴🔴🔴

​

Now onto my personal favorite, deadlifts.

Dead 1: 100kg - ez.
🟢🟢🟢

Dead 2: 112.5kg - picked this because it was the total of my other lifts.
🟢🟢🟢

Dead 3: 120kg - never hit this without a hitch. Until today.
🟢🟢🟢

​

Took first in junior 100 and second in open 100. I'm sore, tired, but I feel really good.

​

With surgery coming up next week, my goals for next meet are:
* 55kg bench
* 100kg squat (huge jump I know but I want it)
* 130kg dead
* NOT be the lowest lifts on all 3 (I know very variable but it would be nice to go second lol)

So there you have it. Meet 1 / ?

I want to buy myself an Inzer lever belt, but from the official website thr shipping costs thr same as the belt itself 'cause I live in the EU. I found my desired belt on inzershop.de. Is this website and its broken Englisu trustable?

I decided to join a powerlifting meet even though my lifts were very weak. I just did it to get the experience. I don't have a powerlifting coach, so a very kind coach offered to help me during the meet, he also helped me with to learn the commands and the openers.

Squat:

75 kg. Three white lights It was very easy and followed all the commands.

85 kg. Three red lights. I hit the barbell against the rack.

85 kg: for my last attempt, the coach and I decided to try 85 kg again, I completed the lift but something weird happened and the barbell fell off my back and it ended on the floor. The coach was angry because the the spotters didn't do their job. I felt embarrased and angry at myself.

Squat is my worst lift. And I knew that I would fail on it at some point.

Bench:

After the squat disaster, I calmed myself down and try to focus on the rest of the competition.

Bench is my best lift, so I felt pretty comfortable with it. All my attemps (40kg , 45kg, 50kg ) were successful, but during my last bench attempt there was a dispute between the judges, because one of them thought that I racked the barbell before the rack command was given. Everybody agrees that I followed the command and I remember that I racked the barbell when he told me to do so.

Deadlift: First attempt: 85 kg: It went really fast. I would have started with 90 kg, but the coach told to start with 85 kg. Three white lights. 90 kg: It was easy. Three white lights For the last attempt, the coach suggested me to try for 95 kg, but I told him that I wanted to do 100 kg. That's a weight I know I could lift pretty well. He doubt me because during the openers practice a few days prior to the competition, I failed 95 kg. (that day was an off day for me). I completed the 100 kg without problems. Three whites lights.

I know that my weights are unimpressived but for me doing something like this is huge. I am a very shy person and I've been dealing with self esteem issues all my life. I've also dealt with a series of setbacks thay prevented to improved my lift. I want to get better for my next meet that is going to be on december and seek redemption on the squat. Also, sorry for my English. It is not my first lenguage.

Hey guys, I’ve been lifting for about 11 months and I was wondering if my numbers are any good? I’m sorry if this is a cringy / bad question

Squat: 360 pounds

Deadlift: 405

Bench: 195

Age 17: weight: 180

18 years old 67 kg (148 lb) bodyweigth Bench 85kg (187lb) Squat 120kg (265lb) Deadlift 170kg (375lb) Only 18 months training (not focusing on powerlifting, doing multifibers) I like powerlifting, and I'm 4th (almost 3rd) in Spain with this weigths, and I was thinking if I should take the path of powerlifting because I don't know if i'm good, or im just mid/bad at It So, what do you guys think?

Overview

About 6 months ago I wanted to try a new sport. I spent the majority of my life training for track, and finally hung up the spikes after my last collegiate season in 2021. After track ended, I continued to lift recreationally, but I find that I have a hard time working out monotonously with no end goal in mind. A few people at my gym saw me lifting and suggested that I give powerlifting a try. Through the help and support of this sub, I was able to get all the information I needed and the confidence to sign up for a meet.

Prep

At 20 weeks out I tested my maxes. Started with S: 235lbs, B: 115lbs, D: 265lbs. These were definitely not to competition standards and were done at 128lbs BW. I know everyone says not to cut weight for your first competition, but I did anyway... I gave myself ample time to cut extremely slowly, and I genuinely felt that a lower body weight would be healthier overall. I ran juggernaut 16 week and added my own accessories. I left 2 extra weeks with nothing planned so I had an extra week for an emergency and for a taper week. Everything seemed to be going smoothly until AMAP for the 8 rep wave for deadlift. I felt a weird pull in my hamstring tendon by my knee. Unfortunately, it hurt to walk for a week so I had to use my extra week to rest pretty early on. When I came back into the gym it was still bothering me a lot to pull sumo, but not much at all pulling conventional. Therefore, I switched halfway through my prep... not ideal, but I feel will be better for the long run as I found conventional to actually be much easier for me off the ground which is my weakest point. For the bench, my numbers were improving a lot in the higher rep range, but little to none in lower reps in later waves of the program. Overall, my upper body has more muscle mass, yet my bench was not much better. This is something I will have to address in the future. Week by week my training maxes for deadlift and squat did go up though.

1 Week Out

At a week out I ran the taper week from Calgary Barbell's program and I made sure to lift at the time that I would be competing in order to get used to lifting in the morning. I was sitting at about ~122lbs so I was in good shape. I still tried to avoid salty foods and overeating though. Powerlifters from my gym helped me to practice commands and assured me that I would be ready.

The Big Day!

The meet was an hour and a half away from me and check in was at 6:30am. I went to bed early, but barely slept due to nerves. After getting to the meet, I was very confused as to what was going on. For a first meet, I suggest bringing someone that does in fact know what is going on. Nothing was really being announced so I had to ask around where/when to get gear checked, weigh in, and give opening attempts. I weighed in at the lightest I have been during the prep at 55.1kg = 121.5kg. After weighing in I ate what I normally eat (overnight oats and coffee). I brought a smoothie, caramel rice cakes, and blueberries as snacks; all foods that I typically eat. I performed my normal warmup with slight modifications due to what was available at the facility. I don't know why, but I failed to realize before hand that attempts need to be in 2.5kg increments. This is probably something I should have known, but i did not... so I had to adjust my openers in a moments notice. These were not huge changes and probably only affected my bench if anything.

Squat

Opener: 102.5kg ⚪️⚪️⚪️

Through the advice of powerlifters at my gym, I was told to go extra deep on my first attempt as a safety measure since my depth sometimes gets cut at heavy weights. I was so nervous and literally shaking when I stepped onto the platform. The head judge had to tell me to lock out my knees in order to to get the squat command. After completing my squat, one of the spotters told me that I did not need to go as deep, so I felt more confident to squat at the depth that I normally do in training.

Second Attempt: 107.5kg ⚪️⚪️⚪️

Looking back, I think I should've made a much bigger jump for my next attempt because I went very conservative on my first attempt. But honestly, I was filled with nervousness, excitement, and adrenaline so I didn't think very much when I put in my second attempt. This weight flew, and the announcer said "Speedy Attempt".

Third Attempt: 115kg ⚪️⚪️🔴

Got called for depth on one side. This was a major PR, but around where I expected to get based on my training. I did not feel any sort of struggle during, so I know I have more for next time.

Bench

Opener: 52.5kg ⚪️⚪️⚪️

In general, my bench is by far my weakest lift, especially when doing heavy, low reps. I have been able to 5 rep 110lbs and double 115lbs at competition standards in training, but anything heavier than that usually will not go up for even 1 unless I'm doing touch and go reps. I wanted my opener to be a little lighter than what it was, but whatever I picked was mistakenly not in 2.5 increments. Ideally I would've liked this to have been my second attempt, but I got a good lift so whatever. I believe this was actually 0.7lb PR, so little wins. :)

Second Attempt: 55kg 🔴🔴🔴

If I was allowed to go up less than 2.5kg, I would've. At this point I was feeling pretty silly for being unaware of this rule. I tried to keep an 'anything is possible' attitude, but I kinda knew that it would be a miracle if I got this lift. My left arm gave out about halfway to lock out. I honestly, thought I had it for a second... unfortunately I did not.

Third Attempt: 55kg 🔴🔴🔴

If you fail, try again... same thing though; my left arm gave out halfway to lockout. I was informed that my left elbow is flared out a lot more than my right, so maybe that has something to do with it giving out. One of my goals is to be able to bench my body weight, so maybe i'll get it next time. But for this meet, I do think that the most I was going to get in 2.5kg increments was going to be 52.5kg.

Deadlift

Opener: 120kg ⚪️⚪️⚪️

At this point in the meet, I was feeling a little tired and a lot discouraged from my bench. But, deadlift has always been my easiest lift. Opener flew, which helped me to get my mindset back into the zone.

Second Attempt: 132.5kg ⚪️⚪️⚪️

I purposely chose this weight as a second attempt to secure my goal of >300kg total. This weight again felt not too difficult and was actually about a 5lb PR. My confidence definitely came back, so I decided to take a big jump to 314lbs. I wanted to leave everything on the table for my last lift, knowing that there was a good chance of failure.

Third Attempt: 145kg ⚪️⚪️⚪️

As I stepped up to the platform, the announcer said, "attempting a big lift of 319 at less than 123 body weight!" At this moment I realized that I failed to correctly math lbs to kg... 314 was supposed to be a hail mary, and now it was 5 pounds heavier than that and there was nothing I could do about it. As I pulled on the bar, it was not moving. I considered stopping as I was pulling for so long with absolutely no movement at all. After what felt like an eternity, the bar finally left the ground and I proceeded to perform the worst formed deadlift I've ever done. I was described to have looked like "a piece of spaghetti". But I got a good lift and a huge PR!

Placing

First place due to being the only women competing in the -56kg open class. But I got 18th overall out of 50 lifters based on DOTS.

Overall Thoughts

I had a lot of fun preparing for and competing in my first meet. It was really nice to be in a sport environment that everyone is so supportive, helpful, and cheers for one another. Unfortunately, a few people in my life have not been as supportive about it. Some telling me that I now look too bulky in my upper body, and that I should not lifting so much or i'll look like a man... etc. I guess the curse of being a woman is having your accomplishments belittled to how good you looked while achieving them. Even so, I do want to compete again, most likely at the end of December to get one more meet in before having to renew my membership. I may be trying to drop to the -52kg weight class though, as I am only 5ft tall, not lean by any means, and maybe I am too bulky since I noticed most of my shirts now fit tight around my lats and shoulders. Any advice on that would also be appreciated.

TLDR: Completed my first meet, hit PR's in all my lifts, my bench needs work, all lifts must 2.5kg increments, I can't math lbs to kg, I will compete again.

Lastly, thanks to everyone in the sub who answered my newbie questions over the last few months!