My goal for 2003 was to enter and finish my first full powerlifting meet. I had previously competed in a bench meet and two push-pulls. Last Saturday I competed in the USPF California State Powerlifting Championships and finished with 8 good lifts out of 9 (I missed my third bench). Of those 8 good lifts, I only received one red light, which means 23 whites (there are three referees and each one judges each lift with a white light [good lift] or a red light [no good]. I was very conservative in my attempts because I wanted to make sure I finished (at least one good lift in each of the three lifts). I did get a new meet DL PR. It was a very long day as we started at 10:45 am, and I didn’t finish my third DL attempt until 6:00 pm.
I don’t have any photos, but Ned Low from Pow!erlifter Video filmed my third squat attempt, so maybe there will be a shot of me in Pow!erlifter Video #36. There was a Japanese film crew there making a documentary of a 79-year old woman, Elma Beck, who is a powerlifter. They interviewed me too, so I could also be on Japanese TV.
Anyway, I walked away with a trophy for 1st place Masters Women 114 weight class. I’m 56 years old and have been training in PL for about 2 1/2 years although I have been weight training for 29 years.
Scot Mendelson was in the audience, and I congratulated him on his 821 bench the week before.
Way to go, She-ra!!! That is just too cool. You’re an inspiration and a role model to women everywhere.
What caused you to set a goal of competing in a PL competition? And what benefits have you seen in other areas or aspects of your life?
Nice She-Ra. You make us old farts look good. Keep us posted.
Impressive!
You have given me something to look forward to in the years to come.
Good job Woman!!
Great job. Powerlifting is one sport where you can continue to compete for a long time.
Tampa-Terry: After bodybuilding-style training for many, many years I decided to take my lifting to the next level as a powerlifter. I was always getting comments in the gym that I was really strong and I should try powerlifting, so I hired a coach who had competed in PL for ten years to train me. No, he does not train Westside because when he was competing (he quit competing five years ago) Westside methods were not available. I do cut out articles and loan him PL tapes (Louie and Brent Mikesell) I’ve purchased.
Great job and quite an accomplishment for your first PL meet!
Thanks, Patricia! That is high praise, indeed, coming from you!
I can only hope I am that successful in my first full meet. Great job!
I’ll keep an eye out for you on Japanese TV! (If you get a time, PM me…)
And great job!
Thanks to everyone for your props! And good luck to you, Steve, in your meet! I’m sure you’ll give us the full report.