Meet Report

BW - 229 (in jeans and shoes)

Squat -

324.5X1

346X1

363X1

Bench -

203.5X1

220X1

231X1

Deadlift -

324.5X1

352X1

374X1

Total - 968

Wow, what a long day!  Got to the gym for weigh-in at 8:00 AM, and final trophies were around 7:00 PM.  

Quite tired today, but happy to have hit most of my goals.  In order: Do the meet, don't get re-injured, go 9-for-9, lifetime PR(s) on the platform, 1000 lb. total.

I let my coach put in my attempts for me, and I didn't ask what they were.  With the kilo plates, I couldn't tell by looking.  I trusted that he'd pick well, and all I had to do was execute.  363 ties my lifetime training PR in the Squat.  231 Bench and 374 Deadlift are both lifetime PRs.

I maybe had a little room to go up on the Squat, however the USAPL judges (one in particular) were calling the squat extremely strict.  When I'd done the 363 in training with commands, the gym owner (who was also a judge at this meet) thought depth was borderline.  That's why my coach stayed there for my 3rd.  I got three whites, but I believe that was a good call.

My final Bench attempt was felt like the single hardest rep I've ever successfully completed.  Looks a lot faster in video than it felt.  The bar got half way up and seemed to come to a complete stop.  From there, it was pure willpower and execution.  Keeping the pressure on, and slightly angling the bar back got it moving just enough to lock-out.  Props to my coach for his cue-ing, and to the judges and spotters for letting me finish it.

I don't know what was going on with the Deadlift, but I was significantly stronger on the platform than I'd been at any point in training.  As a result, my coach and I were both in unknown territory.  After my 2nd, he asked me how it felt.  "Great," I said.  "Easy?," he asked.  And I wasn't sure what to say, it did feel easy, but I wasn't sure how easy to call it.  He'd asked me earlier what my lifetime PR on the lift was (365X2), and he ultimately played it safe by just calling for a PR.  The way it felt, I probably  left at least 10 lbs. on the platform with that one.  That's, oddly, a good feeling.

Depending on what goes on in the coming year, I'd be happy to do another meet if it's reasonably convenient.  I would probably go more directly after numbers for that one.  I plan to drop a lot of the fat I put on for this one, so I'd love to get the 1000 lb. total one weight class lower in the 205s.  But I'll have to get well under that, so I can train back up to it, and the timing would have to be right, so we'll see.

Overall, I had a great time.  Hung out with some interesting folks, and got to see some valiant lifts.  My wife came out, and several friends did as well.  I feel very thankful for that.