I’m 15 and I want to start competing soon. My PR’s are a 230 bench, 350 squat and 345 deadlift. anybody think i could tear it up in the 165 class? right now i weigh about 164 and I’m going to be gaining more weight as my freshmen year ends and my sophmore year begins.
I hope to compete next year @ 165. I live in chicago and i haven’t been able to find many junior competitions around… help anybody? thanks…
Just compete. It’s fun, it will motivate you, you’ll meet some awesome people and learn a lot.
Check powerliftingwatch.com and navigate around a little bit and you should be able to see who is putting on what.
Almost every meet will offer a teen division. You won’t really find a meet that’s only for teens/juniors. The federation isn’t that important when you start. Just find something that’s close to you.
You have some great powerlifting gyms in Chicago. If you can train at one of them, that’s even better.
Wow man!!! I definitely think you should get into powerlifting, considering that you’ve never competed and are only about 100 lbs total from the strongest 165 pound 16-17 (probably 17) year old guy to ever lift in the USAPL!:
http://www.goheavy.net/records/viewrecordset.aspx?recordsetguid=c1c06960-b9e9-4e72-bc6f-4b11ac9e88df
Its awesome that you could give the strongest 17 year old guy in the country a run for his money in your first meet with just a little more practice, and a year younger. I definitely would consider that “tearing it up”.
Go for it man!
Its never to early to start competing. You definitely have “beginner” level strength, so hell yeah go tear it up. But remember you are competing against the weight and yourself.
[quote]Crow wrote:
Its never to early to start competing. You definitely have “beginner” level strength, so hell yeah go tear it up. But remember you are competing against the weight and yourself.[/quote]
He’s claiming those numbers at 15 years of age and 165. That is not “beginner level” strength.
I call bullshit on the numbers (especially the squat) unless I see video. As far as competing goes, yeah you’d win your division in pretty much any meet you went to.
I said beginner because of his experience level, 2yrs. lifting and no competitive experience is a beginner to me. I don’t care what his numbers are. I’ve trained many high school kids that walk into the gym and put up pretty respectable numbers on day 1, sometimes much higher than peers who have been training for a while, I would still consider them beginners. I define novice, beginner, intermediate, etc. by years of lifting not necessary their numbers. That said if he is giving us bull shit numbers then this whole discussion is mute.
Now. There’s a pretty cool brotherhood of competitive lifters out there- unlike what you make observe on the internet. It’s a good scene. Guys that wait until they have a “good” total to compete, never get a good enough total.
Pinto I totally agree with you. Most lifters I’ve met at meets are universally the most encouraging guys I’ve ever met.
[quote]Crow wrote:
I said beginner because of his experience level, 2yrs. lifting and no competitive experience is a beginner to me. I don’t care what his numbers are. I’ve trained many high school kids that walk into the gym and put up pretty respectable numbers on day 1, sometimes much higher than peers who have been training for a while, I would still consider them beginners.
I define novice, beginner, intermediate, etc. by years of lifting not necessary their numbers. That said if he is giving us bull shit numbers then this whole discussion is mute.[/quote]
I agree and my beef is not with you, it’s with the numbers posted that are almost exactly the same as the ones in this thread’s doppelganger.
[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
I call bullshit on the numbers (especially the squat) unless I see video. As far as competing goes, yeah you’d win your division in pretty much any meet you went to.[/quote]
Not saying that you aren’t correct but why would someone create 2 different log ins and post the same question?
Why are you calling bullshit on this kids numbers. He MAY be rocking a Metal ACE squat suit or he may just be a strong dude. 350# is just over a double body weight squat. That’s not exactly ‘inhuman’ . I don’t get the “video to prove shit” around here on this site. Now if he said "Yeah I weigh 150# and I’m squatting 500# raw Then I’d raise an eyebrow… just saying.
Squat > Deadlift = dead giveaway.
Maybe he’s not lying, and just doesn’t know how to squat. In that case he needs to know that his squat is bullshit so he doesn’t go to a meet thinking he’s going to get white lights.
Maybe the other kid that just joined like 5 minutes ago is his training partner since their lifts are within 5-20 lbs for everything, and they are the same age and weight. In that case they both need to know the above. Video would confirm this assertion.
If both threads (posted roughly 10 hours apart) are legit then we have two of the strongest teen lifters in the country both asking us if they should compete.
Or maybe I’m just grumpy and anxious to get off crutches and I’m taking it out on these two fine upstanding lads that could win USAPL teen nationals with another year of training.
But really, who fucking cares? I’m just some asshole on the internet.
[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
Squat > Deadlift = dead giveaway.
Maybe he’s not lying, and just doesn’t know how to squat. In that case he needs to know that his squat is bullshit so he doesn’t go to a meet thinking he’s going to get white lights.
Maybe the other kid that just joined like 5 minutes ago is his training partner since their lifts are within 5-20 lbs for everything, and they are the same age and weight. In that case they both need to know the above. Video would confirm this assertion.
If both threads (posted roughly 10 hours apart) are legit then we have two of the strongest teen lifters in the country both asking us if they should compete.
Or maybe I’m just grumpy and anxious to get off crutches and I’m taking it out on these two fine upstanding lads that could win USAPL teen nationals with another year of training.
But really, who fucking cares? I’m just some asshole on the internet.[/quote]
If we are going to compare gym numbers to USAPL national meet numbers, then I see where you are coming from. At my one and only foray into USAPL, several of the guys there were raw lifters doign their first meet. To me, and more so to them, it was surprising what lifts were turned down. The bench pauses had to be a solid second or two, depth had to extremely convincing and any tough, grinding lockouts on deads were generally called a hitch. There is usually a gap between what a novice lifter thinks will pass and what will actually pass. That’s true in SPF, APF, WABDL, WNPF, APA. But that gap can be huge in USAPL. Certainly, this is a point to consider when selecting attempts and possibly feds.
[quote]Pinto wrote:
There is usually a gap between what a novice lifter thinks will pass and what will actually pass. That’s true in SPF, APF, WABDL, WNPF, APA. But that gap can be huge in USAPL. Certainly, this is a point to consider when selecting attempts and possibly feds.[/quote]
Agreed. Take a look at the pause on the bench from the CPU Nationals (starting at around 1:30 and the second deadlift around 2:30).
http://www.powerliftingwatch.com/node/15109
Oh yeah, and since this is the internet… you guys are all assholes!
I tried to edit my last post last night but it didn’t take, so here goes:
I don’t mean to discourage this kid, because yes, if he wants to compete, the answer to his question is “now.” I also wouldn’t be such a dick to a 15 year old face to face. So I apologize for coming off that way.
OP, I suggest going to watch a meet first so you know what the judging standards will be like before jumping in with both feet, or posting vids of your lifts so the vets on here can give you an idea of where you’re really at. Gym lifts often don’t translate very well to the platform, especially in your first meet.
[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
I tried to edit my last post last night but it didn’t take, so here goes:
I don’t mean to discourage this kid, because yes, if he wants to compete, the answer to his question is “now.” I also wouldn’t be such a dick to a 15 year old face to face. So I apologize for coming off that way.
OP, I suggest going to watch a meet first so you know what the judging standards will be like before jumping in with both feet, or posting vids of your lifts so the vets on here can give you an idea of where you’re really at. Gym lifts often don’t translate very well to the platform, especially in your first meet.[/quote]
Ok yes i see where you’re coming from. I’m not the same kid in the other related post. im 15 and my birthday is 9/16/94, so there’s no way im 16 ok?
and to the others out there that like to hate, i’m not using a squat or deadlift suit. everything is raw. the only equipment i use is chalk, straps and a belt, and thats it.
I have been lifting since november of 2008. i didn’t start to get serious until a few months ago when i realized that i have a lot of potential in PL. it is something that i’d like to pursue. also, just because my squat is higher than my DL doesn’t mean anything. jim wendler’s best deadlift was 800 and his best squat was 1000.
now im in no way comparing myself to wendler (even though i follow 5/3/1) but its just an example. same with bendikt magnusson. he deadlifted 1100 lbs, i doubt he could squat the same amount of weight, if not close to it. same with scott mendelson. he benched 1041. do you think his squat and deadlift are all past 1000? most likely no, but ill give you the benefit of the doubt.
and before all of you go off and start spewing shit how bout you take a second to think about the fact that there are strong teenagers out there, and theyre everywhere. I know a freshmen my age who can bench 275 and weighs 185. the kids a monster and i bet if he was on here you would give him shit also and “would have to see a video.”
so y dont u just stop and think for a minute before you go off and talk shit. I know you said that you weren’t trying to be an asshole and thanks for that.