I'm not Wolf, but as another beginner competitor I will say that any meet is pretty much the right meet to start with. And to be able to go with a group is a HUGE plus, I would rank that honestly as more important than practically any other factor (other than "don't be seriously injured when you compete.")
A lot of us get all twisted about when to start competing, not embarrassing ourselves, etc. I will say that you should absolutely expect most people at comps to be stronger than you but also to realize that you will probably receive more positive support at whatever numbers you lift than you ever have in your life.
I find the participants and spectators at powerlifting meets to be honestly among the warmest human beings I've met. It's like being in a roomful of supersize teddy bears who enjoy heavy metal and meat. It's awesome.
Well, I'm totally down for this. I vote RPS Jersey Rumble, which will be in South NJ on May 18. I'm in. If you can/would like to join us, let us know. So far I'll count me and John in for sure. Rob and everyone else interested, let me know if you can make it.
Walter, Michele's words are on the mark. Any meet is a good meet to start with, but other than not competing while injured, going with a group which includes others who have done meets before is probably the next most important thing for a first meet. You'll learn a lot about how a meet is run without the pressure of having to figure it out for yourself while warming up, calling your attempts, and competing at the same time. And without having to run around asking strangers for help. Big, BIG plus. If you'd like to join us up north, we'd love to have you along. And considering your numbers, a 1,000 lb total is definitely achievable for you.
Kong, I shall be disappointed that we won't be prepping together again this time but I hope you can come spectate and handle us. That would be awesome.
Continuing the slow rehab, climb back to normalcy. Still frustrated with slow pace, but everything keeps getting better, however slowly. Just gotta be patient.
Squat
45x5x2, 135x5, 225x3, 315x2, 385x5x3
First time back at sets across. Hoping that back will be better enough soon to return to TM, so prepping by adding some volume back in now that I can do reasonable weights again. Will decide on Friday whether to do 390/95 for 3x5 or a heavy set of 5 at about 425 and then maybe a back off at 365.
Press
45x5, 85x5, 120x3, 155x2, 180x5x3
Can still feel some weakness in left shoulder here. Last rep of last set was a bit hard, but pretty smooth otherwise.
Deadlift
135x5, 205x5, 255x5, 305x5, 335x5, 345x5
Two sets heavier than last time, the top set being 30lbs heavier. Felt OK. I'm using this forced reset to acclimate myself to hook gripping my deads - used it for 2 reps in each of the last three sets. Goal is to have my hook adapt as my back gets better, so I can hook when I get back up to my real working weights rather than alternate as I have always done.
Bench Press
45x10, 85x8, 115x8, 145x8, 165x8x3
A bit twingy in the shoulder. Disappointing.
Chins
5,5,5,5,5,4,4
Added a rep to the first five sets, so did 32 total. +4 from last time.
(Bench and Chins were - and have been this whole rehab period - done interspersed with the deadlifts - all are so easy that I don't need to rest and do them separately)
Conditioning
1 min walk / 1 min run x 5 - started runs at 5.5, finished at 6.8. Then a 7.0 for 30 seconds to finish. Not hard, but going slow to acclimate my back (and achilles) to the work.
Man, all these tender spots and you're not even middle-aged yet. I think I yanked my back empathetically.
Continuing the slow journey to injuredness. Last minute meet-up with Dave P, too. I was also rocked by this Ferrari Stomach bug going around from Wednesday around noon until last evening (Thurs) when it relented. They're calling it the Ferrari because it's fast but furious. Wasn't sure how that would affect today's lifting since I barely ate for two days, but since I'm still doing everything so sub-maximally, it only set me back a very tiny bit.
Squat
45x5x2, 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 365x5
Fine.
Press
45x5, 85x5, 115x5, 145x5, 165x5x2
Fine.
Deadlift
135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 325x5, 365x5
20lbs more than last time. Was hoping back would be up for 385 today, but lunch seemed to still be undigested so was uncomfortable getting everything tight enough to attempt it. 325 and 365 were uncomfortable as it was!
Bench Press
45x10, 85x8, 115x8, 145x8, 165x8, 175x8x2
Shoulder has been feeling good lately so hoped for better, but was still twingy at the bottom with 175.
Chins
5,5,5,5,5,5,5