First Time Competing...

[DaveFinistauri]

My first powerlifting meet is 6 weeks away. I was wondering when would be the best time to test my openers? When selecting an opener, I've often heard that it's best to choose a weight that you know you can lift "easy" to make sure you hit it, but how much of an increase from my training maxes can I take into account? I obviously want to be realistic, but I don't want to leave the meet feeling like I had something left in the tank.

Any thoughts?

[tex]

start with weight you know youll hit to build confidence and get used to meet lifting......big diff between the gym and meet.....what are your #'s looking like right now?

[Talo]

A good rule is to make your first lift something you can do for 3 reps , second lift can be your max lift and your third should be a PR .

When was the last time you maxed out and what was the weight ?

If you haven't done it in awhile do it very soon ( all 3 in a week ) . Like Tex said Gym numbers are different than meet numbers , most of the time your stronger because of the adrenaline , but that dosent mean you should go off your plan.

I also take 2 full weeks off lifting before a meet - some guys go longer and some guys don't take time off.

What meet are you doing ?

[steve_d]

I think it mostly depends on how comfortable you are with the weight. Some guys open REALLY light, jumping up a tun towards their max by the third lift. It all depends on the way you lift. For example, in a shirted bench press, its a lot trickier than a raw bench. If I were to bench raw, I might open with a lift 20 pounds under my max. For me, a single bench without a shirt is as least technical as it gets, and if I am under my max, NOTHING will screw that up. Same goes with the deadlift. just raw power - if you can get 600, then usually 580 is a breeze. Squats on the other hand are ticky - you have to make sure you get depth, and if you go just an inch lower than normal, 20 pounds off your max will be impossible.

So with all that in consideration, I'd pick a weight in the squat that you can handle at depth quite easily, ensuring that you go 'extra' deep to make sure the lift counts...Then add a little. Once you get accustomed to what deep enough is, it becomes easier to guage what weight you can jump to. Suited lifts obviously much trickier to get a good guess. One thing for sure, is you don't want to bomb! Nothing worse than all that training for your whole meet to be wiped out.

[DaveFinistauri]

Thanks for all of the feedback. That's really helpful.

The meet I am doing is actually just a Push/Pull - March 10th in Belleville. It's a CPF sanctioned event.

I've spent the better part of the last 5 years trying to lose weight, so I've actually only been training in powerlifting for about 4 months. My gym max on the bench is only at about 275lbs at the moment. The last time I tested my max in the deadlift, I hit 465 for 1 solid rep.

I'm heading into a deload week, and I am planning to test my openers again next week. My plan of action is as follows:

Deadlift Bench
1 - 425 1 - 255
2 - 465 2 - 275
3 - 495 3 - 295

Thanks again for the replies...I'm getting more fired up as the meet approaches!

[Thorgrim]

I just competed in my first meet 2 days ago. I think what Talo said is good advice. Have your first lift be about your 3 rep max. Second Your 1 rep max and 3rd a PR. Remember also that you will have to follow commands by the judges or you could fail a lift on a technicality. Which is another reason to start light and build your confidence. Think of your first lift as the last warm up.

[DaveFinistauri]

Thanks again for all the feedback. My confidence is building everyday.

I'll be sure to keep you all posted as to how things go with testing my lifts next week.

[steve_d]

Also, be careful if you are cutting weight to make a class. Not to mention the rules of the meet might be stricter than your gym lifts. Those 2 facts combined might make your gym max nearly impossible in meet conditions! It really depends on the individual too...Some guys peak for a meet and have lifts they never even came close to getting. Others might have to cut a tremendous amount of weight, making the day of the meet a little different than what they are used to! All comes with experience, if I had to give a recommended lift, I would have my 2nd just below my max. A weight your are sure you can get with a very long pause, or a weight you never had trouble with in the gym. Then my 3rd I would try to set a PR by 5-10 pounds. Don't make the mistake of jumping too much. Again, comes with experience lifting. I can usually tell what I will max on any given day just by the way my warm up feels with 1 plate.

[DaveFinistauri]

The diet I am doing to cut isn't what I would call drastic by any means. Essentially, I am carb cycling. It's been 3 weeks, and I haven't noticed any decline in my strength. If anything, I find my recovery has improved. I've never been diagnosed with any specific gluten intollerance, but I assume the enhanced recovery is due to a decrease in inflammation caused by eliminating all the grains I was eating before. I realize that cutting weight can be counter productive to the strengthening process, but I decided when I started training for powerlifting that I wasn't about to sacrifice my physique goals...at least not yet. Talk to me in 2 years and see how obsessed I am with increasing my totals then LOL.

[steve_d]

Yeah, losing bodyfat will definitely bring down the numbers...I find it much easier to drop 10-12 pounds of water the last day or two, and rehydrate somewhat. MUCH stronger than if you were to actually cut down 12 pounds of bodyfat! I am interested in the outcome of this event! I always liked the push pulls. Squats were always my weakest, so it was always a meet that favored my strengths. I only did one push pull meet (in orleans). I weighed 175 and managed a raw 360 bench with pause, always remember it because it was my first and ONLY ever double body weight bench. Haven't stayed injury free long enough to match it!

Good luck prepping for this event!

[DaveFinistauri]

360 bench @ 175!?!?!?!? I've got some work to do haha.

[DaveFinistauri]

Just to give an update on how things are going, I've added some heavy singles into my training this week, and hit a deadlift session this morning.

Worked my way up to 425...felt difficult, but still went up smooth.

Bumped the weight up to 460 for my next set, and it was pretty apparent from the moment the weight left the floor, I wasn't getting it up.

Wanted to end the day on a high note, so I dropped the weight down to 445 for one last set...it was REAL shaky on the way up, but once I got the bar past my knees, lock-out was no problem.

I suspect two reasons for this - 1) I've dropped 15 lbs in the past 3 weeks, so I can see how this would effect my strength and 2) my strength off the floor needs more work.

It's pretty clear at this point that I will have to adjust my original goal for the Push/Pull, but overall I feel like I'm still getting better every week.

[steve_d]

I find my deadlifts evolve over time where some periods as long as I can move the bar off the floor, I will lock it out no question. Other periods of time I get to the point where I can move weights 50-60 pounds over my max at least a few inches, but that is all. Over time, different parts of the deadlift will be your strength and your weekness, so it becomes important to train various parts of the lift. Ex. rack pulls, paused reset reps, bands, etc. lots of different things you can do to start working the weaknesses. In the ideal setting, the entire lift is difficult, making no part stand out as easy or hard. That said, some people benefit from working on the explosive part of the bottom to get momentum to basically lift the rest of the weight. Personally I am no good with that style! I like slow concentrated energy the whole way bottom to top.

[Talo]

If your having issues getting it off the floor maybe try some blocks. You stand on the block and the weight is on the ground. You will have to drop the weight but it will help you get past sticky points.

I find rack pulls are helpful for when your stuck mid lift or lock outs. You can do more weight with rack pulls and they will def help you.

[DaveFinistauri]

Good tip. I've used rack pulls in the past, with great success...probably why my lockout above the knee was so strong. I'll have to incorporate the blocks into my next training cycle for sure.

[DaveFinistauri]

Monday Morning Update.

Bench session yesterday went pretty similar to Tuesday's Deadlift session. Worked in some singles.

Put up 255 pretty smooth. Here's where the problems started I think. I suppose being Super Bowl Sunday, the gym was emptier than usual for a Sunday @ noon and I was having trouble locating a trustworthy spotter. Was about to throw in the towel for bench work, and as I was taking the weight off the bar, a friend showed up. I decided to get ambitious and take a shot at 275. Unracking felt good. Felt strong bringing the bar towards my chest. Paused for a second...got pinned!

I think more than anything, I psyched myself out of the lift. I was excited to have a trusty spotter, but I think I had already packed up for the day once I decided to try 275.

Just gotta keep workin' I guess...

[DaveFinistauri]

Just another update on my training leading into the meet:

Worked up to some more heavy singles into today's deadlift session. Here was my progression.

Set 1 - 5 x 165
Set 2 - 5 x 210
Set 3 - 3 x 265
Set 4 - 5 x 315
Set 5 - 3 x 365
Set 6 - 1 x 405

Single attempt # 1 - 425...moved it MUCH easier than 2 weeks ago, so obviously some progress is being made
Single attempt # 2 - 455...got it to mid shin, and it felt like my knees were going to buckle inwards on me

Dropped back down to 405 and nailed 3 reps NO PROBLEM.

Anyone have any thoughts as to why that 455 mark has been so tough for me to get over?

[Talo]

Here is a great article by Eric Cressy http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_repair/deadlift_diagnosis

mid shin issue -


Problem #2: Weak at Mid-ShinSo you've gotten the bar one-third of the way up? Congratulations! Although I'd love to tell you to take some time out to pat yourself on the back, you've still got two-thirds of the way to go before you can relax. Here's what could be standing in your way at the mid-shin level:

1. Your hamstrings are weak…again! There's still a significant amount of anterior pelvic tilt in place when the bar is below the kneecaps, so the hamstrings are still doing the majority of the work. In some individuals, this is just the portion of the movement where they're the weakest, especially if their speed is fantastic and they can get the bar moving just fine, but seem to hit a brick wall when the bar is a few inches off the ground.
Solutions: Same as above. Use plenty of variety in your training for best results in bringing the hams up to par.

2. You're not prepared to grind. Let's face it, not all pulls are going to be lightning-quick. If you're not prepared to exert force over at least a few seconds, you'll likely miss any pull where your speed doesn't carry over to the top portion of the lift.
Solutions: For one, it helps to be super-fast (so that this problem doesn't ever really arise), so you can't ever really write-off speed work. I think that one of the best ways to develop grinding prowess is isometric deadlifts against pins. Set the pins in the power rack at your mid-shin sticking point, and position a bar beneath them on the floor. It should be loaded with a speed weight percentage (40-70%).
Rip it off the floor as quickly as possible, and when you hit the pins, keep pulling like crazy. Use grinding periods of anywhere from five to ten seconds (yes, I've had competition deadlift PRs that have lasted a full ten seconds). Your blood pressure will be sky-high, but so will your new PR after a few sessions.
This technique can actually be used for a variety of sticking points, but it's imperative that you initiate the pull from the floor (and not a lower pin) in order to replicate the body position present in a true deadlift.

3. You lack acceleration strength. All things held equal, the mid-shin sticking point is where one should miss a deadlift, as it's the weakest portion of the strength curve (i.e. where the lever arm of the resistance is longest).
Fortunately, one thing that isn't held constant is bar speed, so if you can increase the speed of the bar (acceleration strength) after you've initially gotten the bar moving, you can blast past this sticking point. As such, one way of getting past the shins is to develop acceleration strength to increase bar speed following the initial phase of the pull.
Solutions: Perhaps the best way to improve your acceleration strength is to pull against mini-bands, chains and weight-releasers with a weight that approximates 40-60% of your 1RM. Speed work with this set-up will teach you to accelerate the bar at the crucial mid-shin portion of the lift, effectively forcing you to "outrun" the accommodating resistance.
It'll also increase the resistance at lockout on your speed work, a challenge that isn't present when using straight weights.
Another option that's actually contrary to something I wrote above is to use rep work with bouncing the plates off the floor. Ideally, you'll have bumper plates to do this. While it might be a fruitless endeavor for those who struggle off the floor, a controlled bounce can actually help those who struggle at mid-shin to learn to accelerate the bar following the initial rebound.

4. Your upper back needs to get with the program. The entire trapezius muscle — including the upper, middle and lower fibers — and rhomboids are active in the first portion of the movement, but they don't take on a huge role until the mid-shin phase begins. The same can be said of the lats and teres major, too.
Recall that this is the natural sticking point in the movement, and therefore the point at which the bar has a tendency to track away from the body even further… that is, unless you fight to keep it close by using your upper back musculature. The trapezius complex and rhomboids (collectively known as the scapular retractors) hold the scapula back and somewhat down, therefore keeping your chest up and out and the torso in the right alignment.
Meanwhile, the lats and teres major (the humeral extensors) work to keep the elbows tucked (to the sides instead of up, as in a front raise) in the sagittal plane relative to the torso. Essentially, you've got a ton of isometric upper back work taking place in the presence of some serious loading. It's no wonder that deadlifts are king when it comes to putting slabs of muscle on your back!
Solution: Hit the scapular retractors and lats with a wide variety of horizontal pulling movements. Some vertical pulling in moderation won't hurt, but it won't have as much functional carryover to your deadlift (or bench, for that matter) as variations of seated and bent-over rows and face pulls.
If you find that your torso is fine position-wise, but your arms are tracking away, opt for more rowing with a supinated grip to emphasize the lats and teres major. Conversely, if your torso is rounding over, stick to neutral and pronated grip rows and pull closer to the waist than the neck.

[DaveFinistauri]

Wow...awesome. Thanks for the link.

[tex]

do you pull sumo or conventional??? i go both ways (no i dont like the cock).....perhaps after your meet try to incorporate training both....

[DaveFinistauri]

I pull conventional. I've tried sumo in the past, but I'm long limbed, and I feel I just can't generate the same power or speed out of a sumo stance.

[DaveFinistauri]

Bench session this weekend was dissappointing.

Worked up to a single of 255...handled it rather smoothly. Decided to give 275 a run again after getting pinned 2 weeks ago. Didn't get pinned this time around, but definitely hit a sticking point about 2" off my chest. I suppose that could be considered "progress", but I've always been an extremely quick learner when it comes to new sports, and with the way my deads and squat have been improving, I was hoping to see the same results with my bench. I've definitely been humbled, but I'm fired up to keep working at it!

I'm heading to a training seminar this weekend at Ultimate Fitness in Renfrew (just outside of Ottawa) being hosted by Paul Vaillancourt (3x Ontario Strongest Man) and his wife Sarah Leighton (4x Ontario Provincial Powerlifting Champ). From what I hear, they are the best in the biz in Ontario, so I'm looking forward to getting some real in-depth coaching in person. Should be a humbling experience to say the least.

Till next time...

[Thorgrim]

Just my 2 cents. That is a big jump going from 255 to 275 when you missed 275 last time. I think it would have been better to try 265 and depending on how that feels either call it a day or rest for awhile and try 270. In terms of confidence it would be better to master 270 then keep missing 275.

Bench is one of those lifts where you can feel strong and just a 10 pound jump can leave you pinned.

[DaveFinistauri]

Thanks for the 2 cents Thorgrim. You're absolutely right. If I was giving advice to someone else, I would be saying the same thing - unfortunately, I think I let my ego get in the way of my progress at times. I know with time I'll learn to leave my ego at the door...but with the meet less than 3 weeks away, I'm hoping to bust through that 275 plateau.

[DaveFinistauri]

A week tomorrow is the big day! I pop my powerlifting cherry!

The seminar last weekend was AWESOME. Definitely worth the near 1000KM I put on my car to get there and back. Paul and Sarah are incredible coaches, and really helped make some important tweaks in all of my lifts.

On the deadlift, Paul recommended that I narrow my stance a little, and bring my grip in as well. Combining that and shortening my set up time...my previous 455 plateau...no longer a problem.

On the bench, Sarah noticed that my elbow tuck was actually TOO excessive, and it was stealing all of my power at the bottom of the lift. Going to do one final run at testing my opener on bench tomorrow, and see where I'm at. Worked really hard on keeping strict form last weekend though, and I definitely feel more powerful and stable.

It's amazing how a few little tweaks can be the difference between a PR and crushed sternum LOL.

[Thorgrim]

Absolutely! I am always looking to improve form. Fastest gain you'll ever make.

[DaveFinistauri]

One last post before the big day tomorrow...time to pop my cherry!

Focused on perfecting my technique and mobility work this week. Excitement level is an 11 out of 10! Going to do my best to keep the adrenallin and ego in check for tomorrow, but I am ready to lift some big iron.

Thanks everyone for the support and advice. I'll post results on Monday.

[Talo]

Good luck.

[steve_d]

look forward to hearing the results!

[DaveFinistauri]

What a very humbling and exciting experience this past Saturday was. Ended up being 30 competitors in total, which made for a very cramped spaced. The organizers ran into a BUNCH of issues the day before/morning of the meet - but considering how the day went, you probably wouldn't have known it. Being as there wasn't an official "warm-up room", the lifters had to get creative to find a way to get ready for each flight, but we all made due.

Weighed in 109KG - I feel really good at this weight - subsequently, this also put me in the most competitive weight class at this particular meet.

Decided to open with a 235 bench. This was definitely one of the lower openers, but I wanted to make sure I nailed it, and had some room to improve on my second and third attempt. 235 went up very smooth. After the lift, one of the judges pulled me aside and said that he felt I was a bit quick on the press command - he gave me the benefit on the first lift, but said he'd be watching very closely on my next attempt. I attempted 245 on my second attempt. Was doing my best to wait for a full press command before I moved the bar back up, and I lost my tightness. I was able to grind the rep up, but before I knew it the head ref called the spotters in. I didn't feel that the bar was coming down on me, but that's the judges call. Missed the lift. 3rd attempt I went for 245 again. This time I worked on really keeping tight, waited for the press command, and again, as I was pressing, the head ref called the spotters in. I actually managed to get the weight to full extension, but racked the bar prematurely. Not sure if holding the weight would have made much difference as the head ref had already called the lift off - but I was a little disappointed I missed the last lift.

The last flight of bench had mostly equipped lifters...this made that flight take MUCH longer due to lack of warm up space. I was anxious to the deadlift, but I used the time to do some more foam rolling and mobility work to stay loose.

Deadlift was great for me!

I opened with 425. Again, something I've hit countless times in the gym, so I knew it'd be a breeze, but I wanted to make sure with the lengthy wait between lifts that I hadn't cooled down too much. This was not a problem. I gripped the bar and ripped the weight off the floor. It was a nice confidence booster after how the bench ended. Decided to attempt 455 for my next attempt. 455 didn't have the speed of 425, but it was a nice smooth rep - no shaking, no grinding, just a real nice lockout. After consulting with some veteran competitors, I decided to attemp 480. The day before the meet, I had mapped out what I thought would be 3 reasonable weights for my 3rd deadlift attempt. If I was feeling really strong, the most I figured I would hit was 475, so 480 was not only 25lbs heavier than I'd EVER deadlifted, but it also exceeded my expectations for myself. I walked up to the bar, and I admit, when the bar hit mid-shin, there was a split second when I thought it wasn't gonna happen - but I kept on pulling, and I managed to get 3 white lights! I was beyond pleased with myself.

As you can imagine with a 715lb total, I finished last in the 110 class. If anything though, my results have given me the motivation to train harder and enter more meets in the future. I'm really happy I decided to compete. My placing was a bit disappointing, but I suppose there's nowhere left to go but up from there.

I haven't decided officially yet, but there is a full meet on June 16th in Mississauga that I am eyeing as a potential next competition. Part of me thinks that now that I've done one competition, maybe I should take the next 8-12 months to concentrate on getting a lot stronger. The other part of me thinks I should just sack up and jump right back into the deep end of the pool.

With the current program I am using, I feel like the added volume of the "off-season" phase will allow me to progress faster than the "pre-competition" phase, which requires less volume, and more heavy singles.

Either way, I'm hungry for more PR's!

[steve_d]

Just curious... Did you have to cut water to make this weight? If so, how did you find the strength while 'dehydrated'? I know sometimes it can take its toll, depending on how long you lift after weigh in.

By the sounds of it, the 245 was probably very close! Even though it didn't count, its good to know that the strength was there and with 'meet lifting' experience, those numbers will fly up. Good job on the deadlift too! Always fun when you can set PRs during a meet. Placings don't matter. PRs matter. I suspect that your deadlift numbers will fly well into the 500s by june. In a year or two, I wouldn't be surprised to see deadlifts in the upper 500s and bench over 300. These are very good numbers to be hitting raw!

Do you plan on getting into equipped lifting in the future?

[DaveFinistauri]

Hey Steve,

I've been eating pretty clean since January, so making weight wasn't an issue at all. Only thing I did different on the day of the meet was hold off on breakfast till after the weigh in to make sure I was under 110. The biggest thing I had trouble with was the length of the day. Didn't prepare enough food to last the day, and was limited to eating protein bars and trail mix for like 6 hours! Took a scoop of Decimate about 10 minutes before my first deadlift attempt, and I felt a real nice burst of energy and adrenalline which I think contributed to the PR.

No plans at the moment to ever switch to equipped lifting, just want to keep getting stronger. That may change though - 6 months ago I never thought I would have competed in powerlifting at all, and here I am! The support and encouragement that was offered to me throughout the meet, and this whole process really has been awesome. I'm hooked!

[Talo]

Good job ! Maybe you were disappointed with your bench, but at least you got it :) I did the something in my first raw comp with the bench to , but I missed my first 2 lifts and that becomes stressful- LOL . Then You had an amazing deadlift so that balanced things out.

There is also a meet coming up on May 12th in Scarborough for 100% raw federation. They usually put on a good meet maybe you could look into that or if you want to come out west we are having one in June :)

[Thorgrim]

Thanks for sharing your experience Dave. Glad you had a good time even though your bench didn't quite pan out the way you wanted. Way to go on the DL PR!

[DaveFinistauri]

Got this photo today from one of the people at the meet. This action shot alone was worth the price of entry hahaha. I look like an angry motherf**ker LOL

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