Starting this thread for the powerlifters in this forum to share their experience, especially of their first meets, lessons learnt, etc. I hope this will be of help to potential newbies who, one day, are planning to get on the platform for their first meet.
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Powerlifting - Your first meet
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First sanctioned full meet - ProRaw qualifier Feb 2013
Weighed in super light due to water drop, 2 hour weigh in, felt terrible from the get go. Had talked up what i was going to total, if you are inexperienced and havn't done a full meet then figure out what you are going to lift on the day aside from openers.
Squats
Bombed the first 2, missed the rack call and racked the bar too low so i squatted a foot high. Smoked the third.
Bench
Missed the first 2 lifts again due to technical error, just made the third.
Deadlift
made all 3 attempts.
Best advice, don't think about your total before you start your second lifts. Get some practice in with the equipment before you start and don't worry about making weight or weight classes at all.
Weighed in super light due to water drop, 2 hour weigh in, felt terrible from the get go. Had talked up what i was going to total, if you are inexperienced and havn't done a full meet then figure out what you are going to lift on the day aside from openers.
Squats
Bombed the first 2, missed the rack call and racked the bar too low so i squatted a foot high. Smoked the third.
Bench
Missed the first 2 lifts again due to technical error, just made the third.
Deadlift
made all 3 attempts.
Best advice, don't think about your total before you start your second lifts. Get some practice in with the equipment before you start and don't worry about making weight or weight classes at all.
No one notices what weight your lifting so don't stress, all the lifters are only tied up thinking about their own attempts and most of the spectators are someones mrs that got dragged along and has no idea what the fuck is going on. It's hard to track what weight is on the bar with the calibrated plates anyway.
Just get in there and have a go. Have competed twice and did epic pb's everytime, if you thrive on a bit of pressure you will perform better.
Make first attempts light, second attempts equal pb's third attempts new pb's.
Take a bag of lollies.
Just get in there and have a go. Have competed twice and did epic pb's everytime, if you thrive on a bit of pressure you will perform better.
Make first attempts light, second attempts equal pb's third attempts new pb's.
Take a bag of lollies.
The Hamburgler
Spotter Loader
Lesson from my first comp - don't listen to Ben Cove regarding attempts
Goosey
.
Meaning?
strong enough?
Member
7 hours? For just your own session? Surely that can be avoided by maxing 2 flights per session and having more sessions. A flight of 15 lifters should take no longer than 45 minutes on average. I've been at comps with over 100 lifters and the sessions only last 2-3 hours max. Raw has simplified things somewhat as there are no gear checks, no having to wrap knees (in PA or CAPO raw at least), so things can move quicker.
My tips:
- don't bother cutting weight at your first comp. You have enough to worry about
- bring food, lollies etc
- if you compete at PA, don't take any supplements except maybe a caffeinated beverage. They won't help you on comp day anyway
- bring your own chalk in case the venue doesn't have any in the warmup room
- have your warmups pre-planned and written down, aim to do your last warmup around 5 minutes before you are set to start, and from there plan backwards to figure out and write when to do each warmup set
- practice comp calls on your last and perhaps even second last warmup attempt. Don't be afraid to ask someone in the warmup room to help you with the comp calls.
- open on a weight you can comfortably double (or if you're really conservative, triple) the week before the comp. Depending on how you feel on the first attempts, consider going for around your previous PB as a second, then a new PB as your third.
- have fun - the only pressure for the first comp is the pressure you choose to put on yourself. You're there to learn and pop your cherry. You might make mistakes, embrace it.
My tips:
- don't bother cutting weight at your first comp. You have enough to worry about
- bring food, lollies etc
- if you compete at PA, don't take any supplements except maybe a caffeinated beverage. They won't help you on comp day anyway
- bring your own chalk in case the venue doesn't have any in the warmup room
- have your warmups pre-planned and written down, aim to do your last warmup around 5 minutes before you are set to start, and from there plan backwards to figure out and write when to do each warmup set
- practice comp calls on your last and perhaps even second last warmup attempt. Don't be afraid to ask someone in the warmup room to help you with the comp calls.
- open on a weight you can comfortably double (or if you're really conservative, triple) the week before the comp. Depending on how you feel on the first attempts, consider going for around your previous PB as a second, then a new PB as your third.
- have fun - the only pressure for the first comp is the pressure you choose to put on yourself. You're there to learn and pop your cherry. You might make mistakes, embrace it.
There are 170odd raw lifters at GPC Nats in a months time, there are 4 flights on each day (friday/saturday/sunday), starting at 9am, finishing around 7pm if not later than that. We started lifting at 11 and finished at around 4 at States.
What kind of venue holds a comp without chalk in the warmup room?
What kind of venue holds a comp without chalk in the warmup room?
Sticky
Active member
I've been to a meet where there was no chalk when I competed in a different fed.
Have a plan, but be flexible with it.
Just because you hit something in training, doesn't mean you will hit it on comp day.
If your a novice open on something you can triple.
If you stuff your opener, take it again.
Have a good breakfast, take a banana and lollies.
If possible, let your training partner pick your attempts. Believe it or not, if they are good enough, they will be a better judge than yourself.
Try not to swear on the platform, or carry on like a knob if you miss a lift.
Have a plan, but be flexible with it.
Just because you hit something in training, doesn't mean you will hit it on comp day.
If your a novice open on something you can triple.
If you stuff your opener, take it again.
Have a good breakfast, take a banana and lollies.
If possible, let your training partner pick your attempts. Believe it or not, if they are good enough, they will be a better judge than yourself.
Try not to swear on the platform, or carry on like a knob if you miss a lift.
strong enough?
Member
This!
strong enough?
Member
No chalk used to happen at some local meets before powerlifting picked up a couple of years ago. Perhaps not so relevant now depending on where you compete. We are all lucky that most meets these days are very well equipped.
