Raw Unity 8: 2/7/15 in Deland, FL
Official Weight: 131.4
All attempts were in kg. Squats were all walked out of a combo rack with a 55 lb Texas Squat Bar. Benches were done in a combo rack with a Texas Power Bar. Deadlifts used a Texas Deadlift Bar.
Squat: 162.5 kg (358.2 lbs - 6 lb PR)
Bench: 112.5 kg (248 lbs - 6 lb PR)
Deadlift: 195 kg (429.8 lbs - 22 lb PR)
Total: 470 kg/1036 lbs - 33 lb PR
Video: Manny Prieto Raw Unity 8: 470 kg/1036 lb Total at 131.4 - YouTube
“The Most Competitive, Prestigious Powerlifting Event In North America.” More All-Time World Records are set at this meet than any other. This is the meet that Dan Green travels to compete in every year. Having just barely qualified in November, I would be going up against three Top 15 competitors in my weight class, with just 2 pounds separating the third- and second-best totals. This was the big one. I knew I was going to have to bring my A-game.
On Sunday I woke up at 144.2 lbs, so I knew this weight cut would be challenging. I started cutting out carbs that day, which limited my food options during the Super Bowl - but as I was getting ready to play in my own Super Bowl, sacrifices needed to be made. I flew out early Thursday morning to avoid any possible snow-related delays, and with weigh-ins starting at 11 Friday, I went to an LA Fitness near the meet site to cut the last few pounds. Several other lifters used the same sauna, and the locals (mostly older folks) asked us about what was going on as not only were there several big dudes in a sauna but multiple scales were laid out nearby. As soon as my body weight reached 132.2 on my scale, we headed over to the meet site to weigh in. Despite a quick drive (<15 minutes), I weighed in light at 131.4.
Lifting was divided into two sessions with two flights each. I lifted in the first flight of the morning session (LWT men/HWT women, with LWT women in Flight B). The warm-up area was in a completely different room from the platform, and there was only about 30 minutes between rules clinic and the start of the meet, so I did feel a little rushed to get all the warm-ups in. The Squat Bars were on monolifts while the combo racks had regular Texas Power Bars and only one set of pins on each (which made it more difficult to change rack heights). My first few warmups were with the Squat Bar on the monolift, but when one of the combo racks was loaded to the correct weight and rack height I just used that for my singles.
Squat Warm-ups: 105x5, 145x5, 195x5, 225x3, 255x1, 275x1, 295x1, 315x1
Opener: 152.5 kg (336.2 lbs) - Good! My Dad was having trouble figuring out the camera so I didn’t get to see this on video, but it felt easy.
2nd: 162.5 kg (358.2 lbs, 6 lb PR) - Good! Moved well enough that Jason had me call for 369 for my third.
3rd: 167.5 kg (369.2 lbs) - Miss. Couldn’t get out of the hole.
Obviously I wanted more, but this was a PR and put me in 2nd place after everyone’s third squat attempt.
With Jason benching in the same flight as me, we both had Josh give us hand-offs. I didn’t know Josh before the meet, so the situation felt a little unfamiliar, but not unmanageable.
Bench Warm-ups: 45x8, 95x8, 135x5, 165x3, 185x2, Paused 205x1, 220x1
Opener: 107.5 kg (236.9 lbs) - Good! The groove wasn’t quite perfect but it still felt very light. Based on how easily 248 went in training, we went with that as a 2nd attempt.
2nd: 112.5 kg (248 lbs) - Miss. My set-up didn’t quite feel right and I missed about halfway up. I would’ve liked to hit 253 on my third but in a tight race like this I couldn’t afford to take the risk, so I chose this weight again.
3rd: 112.5 kg (248 lbs - 6 lb PR) - Good! My set-up was much tighter and this moved better.
Considering how 248 moved, I would have liked a little more, but it did help to get 248 after missing it on my 2nd, and with the others struggling on the bench, I had a 2.5 kg lead for 1st place going into deadlifts. Of course, a lead that small certainly isn’t a safe one, and I had a feeling this competition was going to come down to the 3rd deadlifts.
Deadlift Warm-ups: 135x5, 225x3, 275x1, 315x1, 345x1
Opener: 175 kg (385.8 lbs) - Good! Felt like an easy opener. We wanted to seal a PR total with my 2nd attempt, so we went ahead with 407.
2nd: 185 kg (407.8 lbs) - Good! Felt much easier than last meet. But I knew I would need a big 3rd pull to have a shot at the win, so we bumped it up to 429 for a big PR attempt.
3rd: 195 kg (429.8 lbs - 22 lb PR) - This was a real grinder, and the bar was starting to slip out of my left hand as I got near the top . . . but somehow I locked it out long enough for a down command and held on to it all the way down . . . THREE WHITE LIGHTS! With both Walter Carrillo and Chris Shea taking their 3rd deadlifts after me, though, we would have to wait and see how those went before we could figure out placing.
Walter was sitting at 3rd place and needed to make his 3rd deadlift to take the lead . . . and he did. Chris Shea and I were tied for 2nd and he was the last of us to go, so he needed to make his deadlift for the win . . . but missed. But because he weighed in lighter than I did, he got the tiebreaker, leaving me with the Bronze.
This was the first meet that I did not win my weight class, but at most meets I am the only 132 which makes “1st Place” little more than a glorified participation trophy. On the other hand, this was the tightest race on powerlifting’s biggest stage (only 7.5 kg separated 1st and 2nd, with 2nd and 3rd coming down to a bodyweight tie-breaker), so no shame in coming in 3rd to a pair of lifters who were not only great competitors, but showed a lot of class throughout the meet. There were many highlights at RUM, including several All-Time World Records and the “celebrity” atmosphere surrounding Dan Green (as many people came up to him and asked for his picture, and everyone busted out their cameras whenever he took the platform), so for the three of us to put on a competition worthy of this kind of stage was quite an accomplishment.