are my numbers good enough to compete?

[sirlinx]

So I just finished my LP with the only lift still going up being the deadlift, but because squatting 3x a week made me very tired and unable to process work (I work in front of a computer all day and my mind was not all there, feeling much better now that I've moved on) I decided to move on from my LP altogether. I'm mostly wondering because I'm starting to want to compete, there's a competition in the end of the year for just deadlifts, but I always thought my numbers were still poor especially when compared to things I see online. I just wanted to see where I was at and searched for strength standards online and came across two tables (one from SS), both tables are telling me I'm either late intermediate or pre advanced, which I find hard to believe since Monday of last week I was still running my LP. Now I ran a calculator to get my PR's, this is because I've never actually tried to lift singles and see what my PR was before, so I will post my actual working numbers as well as the calculator's estimation. Are these good numbers to start competing?

I'm 42
165cm - 5'5
bodyweight 75kg - 165 lbs

actual working numbers:
squat - 3x5 141kg / 310.2 lbs
press - 3x5 60kg / 132 lbs
bench - 3x12 71kg / 156.2 lbs (I was benching mostly for hypertrophy because I benched at home alone and not at the gym)
deadlift - 5 reps of 152kg / 334.4 lbs

calculator estimations for PR:
squat - 159kg / 349.8 lbs
press - 68kg / 149.60 lbs
bench - 102kg / 224.4
deadlift - 171 kg 376.2 lbs

standard lists I found online:
The Strength Standards Tables are back up.
Powerlifting Standards for Men and Women (kg) - Strength Level

[Mark Rippetoe]

I don't understand your question. If you want to go to a meet, it doesn't matter what your numbers are because you are going to get beaten the first few times you enter. Competition motivates your training, and if you wait until you know you'll win to enter a meet, you're not a competitor.

[sirlinx]

I don't have any aspirations of winning, I just want to get some experience. But I don't want to get laughed at either. I have no idea if these numbers are good enough to start competing because I'm the only guy who trains for strength in my gym so there's nothing to compare them to.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Then go to a meet and watch. Nobody laughs at anybody who has the balls to enter the meet.

[Mark E. Hurling]

To the OP:

After getting my form fixed at an SS seminar over 10 years I managed a 425 deadlift in the gym. As a result, I started thinking I might try competing myself. So I looked up the results of some powerlifting meets and found I was likely to at least place fairly high in them. Then, as you already saw recommended, I went to a meet to get a sense of what the event would be like. That's just the kind of guy I am, I like to be prepared as much as possible rather than be overwhelmed by the new and unfamiliar surroundings.

Try this. You live in Brazil, so look up some powerlifting federations and the results of their meets. The International Powerlifting League has a national affiliate in your neck of the woods called, I believe, the Brazilian Powerlifting Federation. Look up the results of some local meets, and if you are further interested look up some state, regional, and national results. Be sure to pay attention to the lifters in your age group and weight class. Also, since you didn't mention any assistance gear like a bench shirt and such, be sure you just look at raw lifters.

A look at the numbers put up by your peers will tell you where your current lifts stand with respect to their results. But the only reliable way to know your max singles is to try doing them with the necessary spotters and rack safeties in place if you fail. Estimates derived from calculator predictions seldom give you a real idea of what you might and might not be capable of.

[Satch12879]

So many of our beloved musicians used open mic nights to build their skills. Comedians, too. Think about it that way. Not everything needs to be a sold-out arena concert.

[sirlinx]

Hey thanks brother,

I'm looking at their site and seeing the results, this certainly helps me with my intuition that I'm still kinda green. I will start attending some meets to see how things work and perhaps take a year to get better as well. I will also start doing some mock meets to see where my numbers are actually at. thanks again you and Rip for your inputs!

[JFord]

I don't have any aspirations of winning, I just want to get some experience. But I don't want to get laughed at either. I have no idea if these numbers are good enough to start competing because I'm the only guy who trains for strength in my gym so there's nothing to compare them to.

A music teacher once told me a great (possibly apocryphal) story. A young man once asked Mozart if he was old enough to write a symphony. Mozart told him he should wait until he was older. The man then told him, "But you were just a child when you wrote your first symphony." Mozart responded. "But I didn't ask anyone if I was old enough to write a symphony."

[sirlinx]

I guess I'll never be a Mozart, but perhaps I can be a Ray Charles? ended up enrolling in the meet anyway, got 7 weeks to bring my deadlift up. I was thinking of doing deadlifts on Mondays, stiff on Wednesdays and block pulls on Fridays, any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Practical Programming for Strength Training, 3rd edition – The Aasgaard Company