Competition Day
Yesterday was the competition, which was amaing. It was the WNPF Raw Nationals, WNPF Pan American Championships, and the WNPF Lifetime Elite Nationals, making for a big competition involving just around 80 lifters. The strongest guy there was straight out of Russia. His opening attempts were 840 on squat, which he buried easily, 575 on bench, with the same result, and 625 on deadlift, again with the same result. He ended up finishing with an easy 890 squat, an easy 610 bench, and a 650 deadlift, totaling 2150, the highest ever in WNPF history. He missed his last deadlift of 675.
There was another guy there, who Ive lifted against before, who really on deadlifts. He is about 6′7 which is incredible that he pulls the weight he does. He opened with an easy 675, made his 2nd attempt at 710, but didnt get his 3rd at 750.
There was a bunch of guys deadlifting in the 600’s and squatting in the 500’s as well.
As far as my day:
I weighed in at 252, putting me in the 275 weight group. Then I found out my money to get into the competition never came in for who knows what reason, so thankfully my coach could spot me $80.
This was my first time doing a full meet powerlifting in just over 2 years. I have avoided heavy squats due to knee problems, but I came back to being a full meet lifter just cause I was tired of Iron Man - bench and deadlift combined.
Squats:
Warmups - 135X6, 225X3, 315X1
1st attempt - 385: Got called a no lift because of depth, go figure being 6′4. I flew up with it though at least.
2nd attempt - 385: Buried beneath parallel and flew up. Good lift.
3rd attempt - 410: again called no lift for depth. Gotta work on depth, gotta bury these. Apparently I was so close too… ah well Im not sad for only squatting for 5 weeks or so then competiting.
Bench:
The competition was the first time I have been in the shirt in easily 6 weeks. Ive just been training without it because Ive had no one to help me get it on, so I was nervous about my bench.
Warmups: 135X6, 185X3, 225X1
1st attempt - 230: I was really surprised by how this flew. It went like nothing.
2nd attempt - 240: I was nervous because this was a weight I have had trouble with. Not today! Flew just like 230 and I was excited.
3rd attempt - 260: A new personal best. I bought it down to my chest and it didnt feel too heavy at all. I shot it right off my chest and it got half way up and then…my back cramped up and I couldnt go further. It wouldve gone if I hadn’t of cramped. All in all, I was very happy, and now I know my bench will go up since I have adjusted into the shirt.
My new bench technique: raise my head up as I lower the bar to my chest. This causes all your power to be bunched up in your arms, chest and upper body. When you press the weight off your chest, push your head down into the bench with your shoulders, and the weight just seems to fly!
Deadlifts:
I had no clue how these would go considering I hadnt deadlifted in exactly 3 weeks to the day of the competition. 21 days without pulling weight…this made me nervous…
Warmups:
135X8, 225X6, 315X3, 405X1, 475X1
1st attempt - 515: came right off the floor easy. 1 lift down, 2 to go.
2nd attempt - 535: This actually went even easier then the 515. Im happy and its on to the last lift.
3rd attempt - 555: A new personal best and PA state record. I pulled this and as soon as it cleared my knees it never stopped until lockout. I was so happy.
Overall, a total of 1180. Not to bad for my first full meet in 2 years. I ended up taking 1st place overall in powerlifting for Teens 17-19 in the 275 weight group.
Now its time to rest and let the pain subside. Time for the summer to be filled with training. September will come quickly and bring the WNPF Pennsylvania State Championships. With a summer of hardcore training, these are my goals:
Squat - 500
Bench - 300
Deadlift - 600
Total - 1400
My first competition in the Junior division. Lets see how this goes, and what the summer brings.
May 31, 2008 at 11:40 pm
be cautious on lifting your head during your bench,if that works for you cool,but I also see alot of guys that dont put their head back down and that is a tremendous amount of pressure on the neck,I have been PL for 16yrs and still compete,good job keep at it
jojo
June 3, 2008 at 1:35 am
ibeaux makes a good argument. That is a lot of pressure on the neck. Be careful with that technique. Other than that…awesome numbers!! Still thinking about strongman?