I’ve been on and off about doing a powerlifting meet for over a year and a half now. To this day, I’ve still never followed a strength programme consistently or had a powerlifting coach, but I enjoy training compound lifts in a low-mid rep range and years of bodybuilding training has made me fairly strong without it being the focus of my workouts.
Earlier this year I stumbled across a push/pull (deadlift and bench only) meet at a local-ish gym which would take place 10th March. I knew that I wanted to do it and impulse paid for my entry without really making any plans to prepare for it. It was only on the Tuesday, the week of the meet, that I secured travel arrangements and really accepted in my mind that I was competing.
For the rest of that week, I took a couple of rest days and did some ‘filler’ sessions like light glutes, avoiding anything that would load my spine or cause difficulties recovering. I also made slightly more effort to stretch and foam roll. Emphasis on ‘slightly’ because I don’t give that area of my training the attention that it deserves!
As the competition was small, it was to be judged on wilks score, a way of measuring strength relative to the weight of the lifter, not by weight class. I didn’t do anything to manipulate my weight, I simply went in at a size that I feel strong and confident at right now, around 57kg.
The day of I was surprisingly calm and collected. One thing that I’ve really mastered recently is the art of ‘fake confidence’. Pretend that you think you’re the sh*t, and you can convince other people, including yourself, that it’s the case! I went down without a coach or anyone to support me so it was imperative that I maintained my cool as there would be nobody else to bring me back down to earth.
So… the meet itself.
I’ve only been backstage at bodybuilding shows in my 4 figure competitions so a warm up room for a powerlifting meet was a completely new environment for me. I was pleasantly surprised however as everyone was keen to let everyone work into their warm up sets fairly and I was even offered a spot as I prepared for the bench section of the comp. The positivity meant more than I can say and every single lifter and coach there deserves special mention for their sportsmanship!
Bench was a bit of a disaster. I train on my own and am a total newbie to the bench commands. My first and third attempts I missed out on for going to re-rack the bar myself on completing the lift. This left me with just a 47.5kg lift to my name. A weight I’d usually do for sets of 5. I was frustrated with the result but it was down to my own ignorance and not doing my research. Next time I’ll be adding 10kg to that!
The outcome from bench actually gave me a second wind of furious motivation for the deadlift. I’d messed up bench but damn I was gonna kill the next round of the competition. My final lift was 132.5kg, a 2.5kg PB with, dare I say it, another 2.5-5kg left in the tank.
3 plates a side… I’m coming for ya.
I finished the day with women’s overall and women’s deadlift trophies. Not bad for a bikini girl!
Overall, it was a fun experience. The atmosphere was incredibly supportive and I would never have imagined that people I don’t know would be cheering on my lifts. I feel better prepared for a formal comp when I’m ready but am in no rush to sign up for one. I have certain numbers that I want to hit first!
Watch this space.
