BW: 196lbs
198 Open Division
Bench Press
1st-330lbs went easy
2nd-350 blew it up, Missed the rack comand
3rd-350 Missed Out of groove, see paragraph
Deadlift
1st-425 Slipped on platform, still got it, re-injured myself, altered 2nd and 3rd
2nd-450
3rd-475
Well for a first meet it wasnt the greatest. First of all the gym was about 100 degrees and humid as all hell, no Air Conditioning. Talk about being tapped for energy. The meet ran for around 9 hrs, definitely not the smoothest thing in the world. I got there at 8:30am and was told the meet would start promptly at 9:00am, that turned into 10:00. There were six flights of ten lifters on the bench press, i ended up 2nd to last in the 6th flight, so i ended up lifting at around 1:30 in the afternoon. I would have thought that they would have had the Bench Only people go separate but that was not the case, everyone was intermingled, for the deadlift as well. Deadlift didnt start until around 3:30. Strict curl was in between the Bench Press and Deadlift. So any way the following are the breakdowns:
Bench Press
1st attempt went up easily and i was really happy with this as i felt like i had no strength at all, the warm-ups felt heavy. All in all i was happy and felt confident for the next two.
2nd attempt i blew it up easy but got all squirrely and beat the rack command, Idiot!!! I firgured i would take it again, wasnt 100% sure i could increase it anyway.
3rd went bad from the start, i screwed up my set-up and had a hard time unracking the bar (more on that in the lessons learned segment of this long ass post) I touched the bar too low on my chest and got out of my groove and had to muscle it back, got it to the top and had the left side locked out but the right side was contricted by the shirt, struggled with for what i was told was the longest fight of the day....had to let em take it after i figured out i couldnt get it.
Deadlift
1st attempt was a disaster. Apparently they wiped off the platform after the lofter ahead of me and the friggin thing was still damp. Wasnt really paying too much attention to it, thought i had good footing. I pulled the bar about aninch off the floor and my right leg slipped and caused me to drop the bar. This little incident re-injured my just healed groin. They stopped the meet and asked me if i wanted to continue, at first i said no but then said fuck it, i aint traveling all this distance to go out like a bitch!!! After a few minutes i reapproached the bar and got the 425, though i knew my chance of hitting 510-525 were gone as i lost all power off the floor, after that it was pretty much all lower back baby.
2nd attempt was supposed to be 475 but i settled for 450 at wasnt really sure if i would be able to hit it, got it to my surprise...
3rd attempt i decided to try 475, really thought i would miss this sucker as the platform seemed to be superglued to the bar, by this time the friggin humidity and heat was catching up to me, i end up getting the 475 with a bit of room to spare....better than nothing.
I end up 2nd in my division and got some cheesy trophy, gotta get something for your money i guess. But all in all i learned quite a bit about competing and myself when faced with adversity, below is a list of things i learned and will apply in the future, in no certain order:
1. i will take a lift-off in the bench, i wasted alot of energy in this area.
2. re-adjust the height of the rack pins that i bench out of as they are currently around 4-5 inches higher than a competition bench.
3. will not compete in the summer months in a gymnasium without AC, it was like lifting in a sauna and i think you can all imagine how that feels
4. verify the order of operations. i.e what is the order of comp.....that day it went bench press (all), strict curl, Deadlift(all)
5. will seek assistance to get my shirt on, or bring someone with me
6. check the platform every time i DL from here on out, that was a friggin nightmare and never should have happened, but such is life.
7. will chalk my shoes before all DL/Squat attempts
8. bring plenty of fluids to stay hydrated, i brought a ton of gatorade and water as well as food and am positive that had i not stayed hydrated and fueled i never would have made it through this day, humid or otherwise. Fuel is paramount!!!
9. remember to stay calm and listen to the commands
10. pay close attention to the size of the flights and the length of time each takes to complete
11. im sure theres about a million more but my pizza arrived and i am friggin starving....so the final bit of advice is this.....Get Stronger!!!
Later......
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7 comments:
Sorry to hear about your injury... I have competed in an APA meet before so I am familiar with the fact that they run late.
You left with a trophy, a strong bench press and a lot of knowledge.
Stinn is right, it gets a little easier each time out.
Jon,
that rack command got me, not sure why i thought i heard him but guess i didnt, i got 2 reds for it, i didnt think the sides did rack reds or whites but maybe not. Had more than a few people say i got robbed on that one but such is life, there aint no instant replay right? LOL The bench they had wasnt adjustable and had suede covering instead of the smooth leather type i am used to, not sure if this is normal or not, defnitely allowed you s=to stick to the bench, especially with the 100% humidity in the joint ....i learned a ton though, alll in all good times...
Stinn,
Thanks, the platform was some kind of rubber stuff, i was the last in the 3rd flight and the previous guys used a ton of baby powder so in between the dude running the show wiped off the platform with a wet towel, like i said i didnt pay much attention to it and thought i had good footing...yeah i was thinking about the chalking the shoes rule after the post, i did it there and really could have given two craps what they would have said at that point, they let it go. Needless to say while i was recuperating they made an announcement to knock it off with the excessive powder. There was probably around 70-80 lifters total, there was like 60 alone in the bench press, not all of them did the pulling. Didnt watch the strict curl, had to get outside for some fresh air, not sure how many did that, it lasted around a half an hour
John,
Thanks, i agree the knowledge is priceless, i think i might have started out with the worst case scenario, it can only get better from here right?
WOW...hate to say it but it doesn't sound like it was ran well...in that it was overbooked...esp. with only 1 platform.....Yeah the bench doesn't sound solid either....can't believe they didn't have an adjustable rack setting...O WELL, if you had fun and learned that is the start of it...gl and get stronger....you will be able to tell a huge difference between this meet and the next one...for me the bench only guys do normally lift with the full meet guys...so that isn't that off...
Tig,
i definitely think it could have gone smoother in a number of aspects. I think the turn out was greater than they anticipated. I dont have much experience in meets, just the two ive gone to spectate, the NERB and one up in Laconia at galaxy gym. But i do recall adjustable benches. I wasnt sure on the bench only guys lifting separately, maybe i ws thinking of an article i read where someone suggested that....i.e have the bench only guys go from 10-12, Push/Pull or Full Power go from 12-whenever, then strict curl or professional grab ass from whenever to whenever.....that way the different comps move faster and the lofters dont have to sit around as long waiting....dunno, but yeah i learned alot and had some fun, well worth the experience. i also agree that the next meet i enter will probably seem to be a walk in the park with all the first time jitters and such gone......
Great points....they are a blast...everyone asks me how much does it cost to get in one and then I tell them and they are like "WOW THAT IS A LOT"...and I tell them it is worth every penny...great times..
Live and learn brother! Congrats on your meet. Just think that you overcame those odds and still had some good lifts.
Mike,
I hear you, trial and error is the best learning tool in my opinion. At least now i know what to expect....
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