Don’t see too many of these posts but figured I’d do a write-up of my meet this past weekend. Just some background: I am 25 years old, never touched a barbell until I was 23. In other words I am very much a newbie to powerlifting but I have come a long way from where I started. This was my second meet - RPS Heatwave in Long Island, NY. I was competing in the 242 class, drug tested division, raw with no wraps. I totaled 1165 in my first meet at 220 (460/250/455). Here goes:
Making weight: was easy as I was only 2-3 lbs over to begin with. Pulled out the creatine 10 days out and went low carb for the week leading in with a 2 gal / day water load. Cut everything out at 4 pm the day before and watched the weight drop. I made weight in shorts and a t-shirt Saturday morning at a svelte 236. 8-9 lbs barely trying is not bad. Rehydrated with 1/2 strength gatorade and started pounding the creatine. Was back to 244 ish by bedtime.
Got to the venue nice and early on Sunday with plenty of time to settle in. My wife and brother came to watch. 4 flights of lifters meant it would be a full day. I was in the 2nd flight for each lift.
Squats: Creamed my opener at 415. Side judge was a friend of mine and told me i had inches to spare on depth which was the plan - leave no doubt and smash my opener. Went up to 465 and smashed that too for my second, but I knew I was getting close to a max. Decided to forego going balls out and stick to my plan of going to 480 for my third. It was a challenge but I got that too. I actually got one red light from the head judge Im assuming for depth, but looking at the video I think I made it no problem. I’m sorry I don’t know how to embed video here or I would.
Bench: Had a bit of a hectic warmup here. The buzz in the warmup area was that they were combining the first and second flight because squats took so long. This turned out NOT to be true - but in the confusion I warmed up very quickly then ended up having to sit on my hands for 20 minutes. I took some lighter sets to stay fresh in the meantime. Opened at 270 and got on the board with ease, then went up to 300 and got stapled twice. This was disappointing as I made 300 in the gym and even tripled it to a 1-board. On my second attempt my back actually cramped up - I am assuming I wasn’t hydrated. I had been drinking a ton of water and gatorade but it was hot as hell. I hate making excuses - I missed it and it is what it is. My shot at 1300 was likely out the window so I tried to stay angry until it was time to pull.
Deadlifts: Opened at 455 and it went up like nothing. 500 was next and that also moved pretty well though I knew I was just about done for the day at that point. Had to take a lap because I was seeing stars. Decided to go for 510 when I came to my senses and it actually felt easier than 500 off the floor then got stuck at the top. Basically it got caught on my sweaty upper quad (I didn’t use baby powder) then I got called for a hitch when I tried to power my hips through anyway and lock it out. I am kicking myself now but in the end, it was the difference of 1260 or 1250. I also tore open a callus here which was unpleasant.
SO i missed my goal of 1300, but I still put 85 lbs on my meet total and had a great time. I came in 2nd out of 3 lifters in my class. Some takeaways are:
1- I’m going to do my next meet in wraps. I feel there is more competition in the raw modern division. Also my ultimate goal is to get that “elite” total - which is one number for raw lifters regardless. I’ve done two meets unwrapped so I might as well step it up.
2- If I want to be competitive I have to bench BETTER. That not only means get stronger, but smarter attempt selection. Both of my meets so far consisted of two missed benches. I absolutely would have hit 290 this weekend but I got overconfident and went for 300. Hitting 300 while fresh in the gym on bench day is easier than doing it after 3 heavy squats.
3- I have room to grow in the 242’s. I’d like to get up to 250 for my next meet which would still leave me with an easy cut to make weight.
4- I’m going to try to take my diet more seriously. Especially since I want to gain a few more lbs, I need to get some more protein and clean it up a bit. It is difficult with my life schedule but I can absolutely make a few small changes and do better.
5- I’m taking a week off to recover, but then getting right back to it. My next meet will be October or November.
Thinking of doing a training log for my next meet prep … Have a week to think about it before I get back in the gym. Thanks for reading 