Years ago when I lifted you would often have very competitive classes. 5-10 guys in light weight classes. Maybe up to 20+ in the more competitive middle weight classes. I use to like to win back then, when i could, haha!
I won the Pa. states at age 19 and 132 lbs, beating 5-7 guys, I forget. Now with the multiple federations it seems when I did compete 6-8 years ago I would be the only guy in the class. I’ve lifted locally in the IPA because it was local. Just a two hour or less drive in the am.
All the different federations now have me and my son just trying to do better. Lift more for yourself and know you’re stronger. IMO, that’s what it’s all about. Maybe someday we’ll have one unified federation like we did in the early 80s, but I doubt it.
So what are the thoughts of guys here? Do you shoot for prs and compare to the other guys in your class to see how you’re doing, or do you want that title? I personally would like to crack PLUSA top 100 sometime at 198 in the deadlift. Bench and squat are out do to shoulder issues, but the deadlift. Hell, even a solid gym deadlift would put me in that range were I could tell my lifting buddies in the know.
Since most trophies are worth 5 dollars or so and I’m just glad I could do something at 47 I came to this conclusion years ago. So how do other fellas look at ime
I’m a female, I rarely have competition in my weight classes, and my local meets don’t usually have best lifter trophies. I compete for and against myself, because while I get to go to some big meets, I’m not nearly good enough (yet) for most of the really big meets - like Open Worlds.
For me I go by convenience. It’s hard to find the time, ksy for travel etc. The ipa is local to us. Raw nationals is being held about five miles from my son’s house. The ipa nationals and worlds ( which is more like a regional meet IMO) are held in York , the sane town.
I figure 400 is 400 and so on. He can compare himself to other guys in his class at plusa or powerlifting watch
I have to admit, I’m fairly bias. The biggest federation in Canada since I started lifting in 04’ was and is the CPU, so my commitment lies with them. I hope to lift at the IPF Junior Worlds when they’re held in Canada next year and the Open World’s eventually.
Though a lot of the local meets in Canada lack depth in most weight classes, Nationals will usually have 3+ and sometimes up to 10 lifters in the male weight class. When I lift at local or provincial meets I like to concentrate on beating PR’s and provincial/national records if there’s the opportunity. Mostly I use these as opportunities to fine tune my competition presence and ensure I’ll be ready when it comes time to lift against the best at the National or International levels.
I really think this question is a matter of where you are in your lifting career. Lifters that are in a place where they have world records in reach might not see local meets as worth their time, but to first time lifters local meets are obviously very important.
I lift for both reasons. I want to get better and have PR’s at meets so that I know they are legit, and I feel that my biggest competitor is myself. At the same time, I strive to hit records and have the mentality of trying to dominate the competition every time I step on the platform, whether it is a local meet or a national level meet. I always do better when someone is trying to beat me as hard as I am trying to beat them, and to that end, I am lucky to have competition in most of my meets. Competition is good for the sport, but being internally motivated is a must IMO.
i turned 40 this year,i have been lifting weights 13yrs,theres a few powerlifters in my gym and they reckon bodybuilders are weak,dont train hard etc,so i decided to train for powerlifting comp next year drug free raw,my bench deadlift squat is as good if not better than most in my division,so point proven to them already plus i do it for my own competition,and i love shifting iron
Mostly I lift for myself. Like PMPM, there aren’t a ton of women competing. I still do a lot of local meets because I love to be there and the high I get from competition. Having said that, I am absolutely competitive. I will track what a lot of women across the country are doing and will check the results of every meet. I also know that, by Wilks, this year, I’m the best female Master lifter in the country (unless there is someone totally under the radar) and I watch my nearest competitor like a hawk to see if she moves up to my weight class. It’s a small pond though so it doesn’t really mean that much in the big picture.
Like Power GnP, I want to be at (Master) Worlds next year when it’s in Canada and I aim to medal.
[quote]ouroboro_s wrote:
Mostly I lift for myself. Like PMPM, there aren’t a ton of women competing. I still do a lot of local meets because I love to be there and the high I get from competition. Having said that, I am absolutely competitive. I will track what a lot of women across the country are doing and will check the results of every meet. I also know that, by Wilks, this year, I’m the best female Master lifter in the country (unless there is someone totally under the radar) and I watch my nearest competitor like a hawk to see if she moves up to my weight class. It’s a small pond though so it doesn’t really mean that much in the big picture.
Like Power GnP, I want to be at (Master) Worlds next year when it’s in Canada and I aim to medal.[/quote]
I will try to get Ron to go up there, he will awkwardly say hi to you for me by proxy.