Reply With QuoteCongratulations on your first meet, keeptryn! Great lifts!
Starting Strength Coach
my first powerlifting meet
Participated in the USPA Powerlifting Meet in Dayton, Ohio yesterday. This was my first meet and I drove down from the Chicago area. This worked out well as I was able to visit with my two older daughters as one lives just outside of Cincinnati and the other lives in Nashville but she drove up to Dayton to watch me. Of course this was very special for me to have her there.
The meet was held at the Ramada Hotel and I arrived there the night before about 7 pm and went through equipment check, weigh-in and then got measured for the pin heights. I also needed to select the weight for my opening lifts. Before I left I asked to see the bar we’d be using for bench presses so that I could get my grip spacing. As it turns out the bar had the rings at the same location as my bar. I was a little concerned about the weigh-in as I wanted to compete in the 242 lb class and as of Monday morning I had weighed 245 lbs with no clothes but cutting carbs during the week found my weight at 240 with a polo shirt, jeans and a belt. After weigh-in I stopped by a steakhouse and had a big dinner followed by my usual breakfast the next morning.
As this was my first meet it was sensory overload for me and I found the whole process and people very interesting. My weightlifting world takes place in my basement so it was different being around and watching other lifters. There were a total of about 60 lifters with 4 flights. There was one lifting platform. I was the first person in the 3rd flight lifting in the 55 - 59 yo Raw Masters class and the only lifter in this class. I asked one of the judges when I should start warming up and he suggested I start when the 2nd flight was midway through their 2nd attempts. This worked out pretty good. The warmup room was small with 2 racks and 2 bars, and really crowded. I would have liked to be a little more methodical with my warmups but it worked out okay.
I was concerned about my energy level through the day and it did lag a bit at times while I was waiting for the other flights to lift. I drank a mixture of gatorade and water, had a couple protein drinks, ate rice & chicken for lunch that I had brought as well as a Quest bar and Cliff Bar. Before my deadlifts I drank a small cup of coffee.
The number of female lifters surprised me as there were about 15 including a 55 yo. Most of them lifted in the raw class as opposed to very few of the male lifters. There was one male lifter older than me, a 60 yo who did only bench press. He lifted in the multi-ply division and his lifts were in the 440 lb range.
My goal was a 1000 total. My best recent lifts done in my basement would total 995 so I felt pretty good I could make this but there was the unknown of this being my first meet and lifting with commands. My first squat was with 293 lbs and went up well as did my 2nd attempt with 308 lbs from what I recall. I decided to go with 325 lbs for my last attempt which would be a 5 lb PR. This attempt went well and I’ve certainly had worse grinders. My daughter took a video of my squats and my depth was really good. At least 1 “ below where I needed to be.
My benches went very well and I probably left 10 lbs of the bar as my final lift of 265 lbs went up easily. To get a 1000 total I needed to lift 410 in the deadlift which I did during my second attempt. My 3rd and successful attempt was with 430 lbs. This was a 5 lb PR as I had done a 425 lb deadlift in early 2014.
It was a long day as I arrived at 7:30 am and left at 8 pm. Lifting went from 9 am to about 7 pm. I thought the meet was well run and the judging seemed to be fair. I did not have any issues in remembering to listen and obey the commands. Everyone was very friendly and I will definitely consider another meet in the future. The one thing I would do differently would be to be more aggressive in selecting weights for my 2nd and 3rd attempt.
Member
Congratulations on your first meet, keeptryn! Great lifts!
Member
Excellent work, man! Way to represent the SS community like a boss. So you went 9/9 and totaled 1020?
Member
Outstanding......congrats.
Maintaining energy during a comp requires managing emotions As well as timing nutrition. A few snickers bar can't hurt.
Last edited by lou t; 05-17-2015 at 07:00 PM.
✓ Member
Good job and congratulations!
Member
9/9 in your first meet is awesome! Congratulations on the great lifting day.Originally Posted by Adam Skillin
Starting Strength Coach
Yes that's correct.So you went 9/9 and totaled 1020?
Thanks everyone.
Member
You'll always wonder if you left a few pounds on the platform man, but this was the correct way to do the first meet thing. More aggressive attempts absolutely have their place, but save them for down the road. You did it right, and you still out-lifted your goal by 20 lbs.
Now that the glow of an awesome job has started to fade a tad, I have a suggestion. Even though everything went well, I would advise you, for yourself, in your head (or in a private journal somewhere) to think of 3 things you could have done better. Doesn't matter if it's lifting technique, self-handling at the meet, looking up driving directions to the meet location on a different website, whatever. A victory without lessons is a shallow victory. It's easier to find a reason to improve in the wake of a struggle than a total success. Do it anyway. Come out better.
At least that's what I do.
Member
words of wisdom. I have learned something from every competition. But only because I take some time to look back over the comp to see what I could have done better.
Sometimes having immediate success in your first comp can lead to over confidence going into the next. Most of what I gleaned from my first comp was how to manage my emotions and adrenaline.
Keeping a log of the event has served me well.
Member
Great work, young fellow! Have you posted videos some place?
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