8/11
Day of my first powerlifting meet, 2012 USAPL NJ State Championships.
The 181 lbs. class was schedule to lift from 2pm to 5pm, with weigh-ins starting at noon. I had to take a couple trains to get there and wanted to give myself plenty of time. I ended up getting there around 10:30 am and hung out and watched the other weight classes for a little bit.
I weighed in lighter than I’d planned, officially at 174.6 lbs. I weighed myself when I got there and when I saw how far I was under the limit I started to eat and drink prior to that weigh in as well.
When the earlier weight classes had finished up, they announced the first flight of about 12 165 pounders would go first at 2:15pm. After they started, I began my warm up. It wasn’t anything special. I believe I went with:
45x5
95x5
135x5
185x3
225x3
275x3
315x1
335x1
My opener was 358, which I hit easily. Next I called for 385, which was slower than I’d planned but not too bad. Heading into the meet I’d planned on hitting 408, but wanted to be safe, so I dropped it to 402.2, which I grinded out successfully. All 3 lifts got 3 whites.
For bench press, I think I warmed up with:
45x8
95x5
135x5
185x3
225x1
235x1
I opened with 248, and hit that easily. My second attempt was 265, which I hit cleanly, though I was red-lighted by one of the judges for a downward bar movement at the sticking point. Oh well, it got 2 whites and was a good lift. My goal heading into the meet was 275, so that’s what I attempted on my third lift. It was no good and got stuck a few inches off my chest. It just felt very heavy upon taking the lift off, and I think I held it in place too long settling it. Either way, it didn’t happen.
Heading into DLs, my total was 667 lbs., so I knew I needed 433 lbs. on the DL to hit my goal. My gym PR was 425 pounds, but I wasn’t too concerned.
My DL opener was 402, which I got cleanly and easily. My second attempt, in hindsight, was a poor choice of weight. I went with 425 lbs., which was my PR at the time. Looking back, I realize now that equaling my PR was kind of a waste of time, as it still left me short of my goal, but was close enough to it that I probably should have gone straight for 435. Either way, I got 425 on 2 whites, as one of the judges (the same guy who red lighted my second bench) called me for a hitch. Oh well, 2 whites, on an unnecessary hitch, I was fine with it. I think I had closer to 450 in me, but went with 435 just in case, to make sure I hit my goal. That went up cleanly with 3 whites and I totaled 1,102 for my first meet.
It was a cool experience and I plan on doing more in the future.
Here is a video of my first 6 attempts, though I was unable to have someone film my 3 deadlifts.