Thanks for all the advice and well wishes, everyone!
ahhh the 2 hour weigh in, something I want to get away from… you’ll be fine. Now sleep, get up, go get some PRs!!!
I know, 2 hour weigh in sucks, especially at noon! Thats a lot of not drinking water in the morning.
Probable lifting-form entries (in Kgs.):
Squat: 155, 170, 185
Bench: 110, 120, 130
Dead: 175, 190, 205
Best of luck! Hopefully you’ve got someone prepared to shoot the video.
JJ, best of luck, you look stong, have fun.
Knock, Knock - waiting patiently for videos and results, hope things went well today!
I’m waitin’ to hear myself. Sure you did great!
Thanks everyone, for the well wishes and all the help. Its been a really long day, I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck. I got some pics and some videos (pops couldn’t figure out the video till bench, so I got three of the floor on squats), and I will post a full report tomorrow. Short report, I made weight (218.9 with singlet on), I left some weight on the table, but I had a pretty good day. I hit my first and second and missed the third on each lift. Three whites on 6 out 9 lifts, and my thirds were all just too heavy. I won my division, for which I am glad, because I was the only one in it (I think). 1066 total (I think, I’ll check tomorrow). My boy has been walking around saying “I am wearing daddies medal from the gym” and that really made me smile. Special thanks goes to T-Nation member Seattle_Lifter, who helped me throughout the meet and gave me some good “making weight” advice before hand. He pulled 525 lbs. in the raw 198 M1 class, and set a state record (I think).
I learned a lot, and I have a lot to process.
Good night,
Jack
Congratz! Glad to hear that it went well…and on the score!
Get some sleep…
Way to go today Jack. You did a great job. You performed your lifts well under the very strict judging of the USAPL. When you get a lift passed in the USAPL it probably means they would pass anywhere.
With your first meet under your belt I’m sure you learned a ton. Now you have a great baseline of which you can build from.
It was a pleasure meeting you, your wife and your dad.
Congratulations on a great first meet.
Now it’s time to make up for cutting weight during Thanksgiving.
Great to hear! Wait…you drove up to Seattle for a meet? Wow.
USAPL too. I just got finished reading their lifter’s handbook (I forgot that my meet is USPF, and read the wrong book! lol), and they are very strict. Congrats on that, particularly the squats!
How’d you feel on the platform for your first lift of the meet?
How’d you feel on your first red light?
Great job Jack!
Bench Video:
Dead Video:
Excellent work! You looked like a seasoned competitor, not nervous at all.
I’d say the odds are pretty good your numbers are going to be higher at your next meet.
Notes from the Meet:
The meet was seemed to me to be very professionally run. It ran on time with very few hickups. I was told by several that the judges were top caliber and that appeared to be the case. They were strict and consistent.
Teens and Women comprised the first two flights in the morning. There were some excellent young and female lifters there, including several that reportedly competed on the world level. A couple of American records were set. One little fire-plug-of-a-chick pulled a better than 3x body weight dead.
The Master and Open men competed in the afternoon. There was some really experienced lifters there in all groups and classes. There was one M4 lifter who was on the Russian Olympic team some time ago before he defected to Canada. Overall, a lot of really nice, strong, friendly, and helpful people were both running the meet and competing in it.
Making weight sucks, but it was a good part of the experience. I knew I was under so I indulged in some coffee and Zone bars pre-weigh in. I hit 218.7, then powered down 3 PB&Js and a gallon of Gator aide.
Squats. I had one of the local power lifting coaches call my last single during warm-ups and give me a critique. “You are three inches past parallel and bouncing a bit out of the whole. Fine for your opener, but you’ll get pitched forward at maximal weights.” I opened at 330 at got three whites and decided to go to 385 for my second, which tied my gym PR. I got three whites and it seemed pretty easy, so I went to 408. I was pretty damn close, and at one point thought it was going to go, but I just ran out of gas at my sticking point. One of the judges told me I was well below parallel on each squat, and the coach was right. I got pitched forward a bit on 408 and just couldn’t push through. This really, really sapped me of energy and fried my lower back.
Bench. I have never been on a $2500 velvet bench before. Ho-ly-shit is it awesome. I sure wouldn’t want to practice on one and then compete on a regular bench. You just stick to it like freaking glue. I opened light, thank god. She left me sitting there for what seemed like forever, then said “your feet are not set.” So I set my feet and got the call. Three whites. I went to 265, which in hind site I should have gone to 275. I wanted to save a little something for my last try at 286. 286 didn’t go–just like it didn’t go in practice–and I left 10 lbs. on the table.
Deads. By the time deads rolled around, I was wiped. I pulled a single at 275 and 315 for “warm ups” and that was it. I opened light and it went up easy. I went to 418 for my send, and it also went up pretty easy, but I could tell I was really fatigued. I went for 451 for my third, but my lower back was done at this point. I think I would have had a shot at this had I not missed my last squat and last bench. This is a lesson learned.
Overall Impressions: This was a great experience, but really, really draining. I feel pretty beat up today. Also, there were some very good lifters at the meet, even though it was just a local meet, especially the women. But there weren’t any Meats or Petes. There were a couple 400 lbs. benches and a couple of 600 lbs. pulls, and there were a whole lot of guys in the 300+ bench, 400+ squat, and 500+ pull category. That is where I want to get in the next year or so.
Thanks for all the encouragement and help from everyone here, I really appreciate it.