My 1st PL Meet
_benjammin
Posts: 1,224 Member
Thanks to the encouragement of new friendships formed in an out of town gym and coaching
from @SideSteel I had a blast competing at the Revolution Powerlifting Syndicate's Backyard Bash in Greenville, NC last Saturday.
Long back story:
Over 3 years ago I lost 48 pounds before my 40th birthday. I started barbell training and attempted lean gaining. My squat and deadlift were terrible and I had gotten fatter than I wanted. SideSteel posted an offer hear for 12 weeks of free coaching. He accepted my application. 12 weeks later I was leaner with a better understanding of a healthy diet, squatting better and learning to sumo deadlift. I thought I might want to compete in a PL meet. Unfortunately, a 20+ year nagging shoulder was keeping me up at night. I was diagnosed with a shoulder labrum SLAP tear and had surgery Dec 2014. During surgery a Bankart tear and rotator cuff damage were revealed and repaired. Dr. told me rehab would take about a year and I would not likely be able to ever powerlift. I still wanted to workout and stay healthy. During shoulder rehab SS made a lower body machine based program for me and nutrition help. 10 months later, Oct. 2015 the Dr. told me I was a Based Case Scenario and cleared me for barbell training. I still never thought I'd compete in just 8 more months.
I've been working out of town, in Greenville, NC and had joined Wellness Center. I met some trainers and powerlifters there and they pushed me to compete in the Backyard Bash on June 4.
I am so glad I did.
I decided to do the meet about 12 weeks ago. @SideSteel did all my programming, I've gotten a pretty good handle on my calories and macros but he always provides a voice of reason when needed. Programming involved a 6 week Volume Accumulation Block including accessories, a 4 week Intensity Block (phasing out accessories) and then a 1 week taper. His programming was magical.
The meet was held at CrossFit Tier 1, the facility was incredible. Not just a "Box", a huge complex with powerlifting and olympic lifting. I think I've been spoiled, can't imagine a meet at a hotel or on a basketball court.
I weighed in at 162.6 lbs and competed in the Masters 40-44 Class, Raw Classic Division (no wraps or sleeves). I went 9 for 9, all green (white) lights, and PR'd all my lifts. Videos of my final lifts below.
Squat
270-290-305
https://youtu.be/D80FybzrtQk
Bench
200-220-240
https://youtu.be/NlnDG5aGA3M
DL
360-380-400
https://youtu.be/5W-OK1-UcOg
Never thought the trophies would be so f'n sweet and it's huge!
Official Results here: http://meets.revolutionpowerlifting.com/results/2016-meet-results/back-yard-bash/
Since the Revolution Powerlifting Syndicate is only 5 years old and there aren't many 40+ 165lb lifters:
Now I want to be in the 1,000 lb Club!
from @SideSteel I had a blast competing at the Revolution Powerlifting Syndicate's Backyard Bash in Greenville, NC last Saturday.
Long back story:
Over 3 years ago I lost 48 pounds before my 40th birthday. I started barbell training and attempted lean gaining. My squat and deadlift were terrible and I had gotten fatter than I wanted. SideSteel posted an offer hear for 12 weeks of free coaching. He accepted my application. 12 weeks later I was leaner with a better understanding of a healthy diet, squatting better and learning to sumo deadlift. I thought I might want to compete in a PL meet. Unfortunately, a 20+ year nagging shoulder was keeping me up at night. I was diagnosed with a shoulder labrum SLAP tear and had surgery Dec 2014. During surgery a Bankart tear and rotator cuff damage were revealed and repaired. Dr. told me rehab would take about a year and I would not likely be able to ever powerlift. I still wanted to workout and stay healthy. During shoulder rehab SS made a lower body machine based program for me and nutrition help. 10 months later, Oct. 2015 the Dr. told me I was a Based Case Scenario and cleared me for barbell training. I still never thought I'd compete in just 8 more months.
I've been working out of town, in Greenville, NC and had joined Wellness Center. I met some trainers and powerlifters there and they pushed me to compete in the Backyard Bash on June 4.
I am so glad I did.
I decided to do the meet about 12 weeks ago. @SideSteel did all my programming, I've gotten a pretty good handle on my calories and macros but he always provides a voice of reason when needed. Programming involved a 6 week Volume Accumulation Block including accessories, a 4 week Intensity Block (phasing out accessories) and then a 1 week taper. His programming was magical.
The meet was held at CrossFit Tier 1, the facility was incredible. Not just a "Box", a huge complex with powerlifting and olympic lifting. I think I've been spoiled, can't imagine a meet at a hotel or on a basketball court.
I weighed in at 162.6 lbs and competed in the Masters 40-44 Class, Raw Classic Division (no wraps or sleeves). I went 9 for 9, all green (white) lights, and PR'd all my lifts. Videos of my final lifts below.
Squat
270-290-305
https://youtu.be/D80FybzrtQkBench
200-220-240
https://youtu.be/NlnDG5aGA3MDL
360-380-400
https://youtu.be/5W-OK1-UcOgNever thought the trophies would be so f'n sweet and it's huge!
Official Results here: http://meets.revolutionpowerlifting.com/results/2016-meet-results/back-yard-bash/
Since the Revolution Powerlifting Syndicate is only 5 years old and there aren't many 40+ 165lb lifters:
Now I want to be in the 1,000 lb Club!
5
Replies
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RPS is the fed I compete in/with/whatever - once a year, for New England Revolution. I really like the way Gene runs things. I'm in the same division as you, except 181 lb weight class. Maybe after next year (my last year competing 40-44), I'll drop down to 165. I'm not entirely sure if I'll want to get that low - I'll see when I hit 170ish.
Nice numbers for your first.1 -
Congrats on your first meet and all your new PRs!
How do you guys like RPS? A friend recommended that fed to me for my first competition (if I ever get around to doing one).0 -
Something worth noting that I was amused by --- Ben really seemed to perform well when it counted. Either adrenaline or just a great response to the tapering or a combination of both.
The squat especially, he had quite a bit of room left in the tank. Won't surprise me if we see that number go up a lot in the next training block.0 -
Way to go! Free training from @SideSteel, huh? I wish I could find such a great deal! With four boys and my hubby at home, on one income, a trainer just isn't in the budget now. Again, way to go on the win - great job!0
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tiffanylacourse wrote: »Way to go! Free training from @SideSteel, huh? I wish I could find such a great deal! With four boys and my hubby at home, on one income, a trainer just isn't in the budget now. Again, way to go on the win - great job!
When I started coaching people a few years ago, Ben was one of my free clients. I gave my services away for a full year to gain experience.
He was one of my first clients. After working with him for free for a while, he then hired me later on for more coaching.1 -
@tiffanylacourse
I wasn't clear, initial 12 weeks were free when he was just starting out, I've been paying him monthly for about 1.5 years.
Thanks for the kind words Tif.1 -
I've done a few RPS meets and they are great! They have 3-4/year in my city which is pretty convenient. I also really like how Gene runs his meets. I currently compete mostly in USAPL as it's more competitive and fully tested, but there's something to be said for being allowed to wear whatever underwear you want. Once I have less time constraints next year I'll probably compete in both. RPS trophies are a million times cooler than the cheap USAPL medals
ETA: congrats on your first meet!!! Why I came in this thread in the first place ><3 -
Fittreelol wrote: »I've done a few RPS meets and they are great! They have 3-4/year in my city which is pretty convenient. I also really like how Gene runs his meets. I currently compete mostly in USAPL as it's more competitive and fully tested, but there's something to be said for being allowed to wear whatever underwear you want. Once I have less time constraints next year I'll probably compete in both. RPS trophies are a million times cooler than the cheap USAPL medals
Yeah that trophy looks amazing.
I compete in USAPL locally but we have a federation called UPA here and it's crazy fun. Loud music and just REALLY a great environment.
They tend to be a bit relaxed on judging though and that's something I don't really like about it.0 -
DeadliftsandDonuts wrote: »Congrats on your first meet and all your new PRs!
How do you guys like RPS? A friend recommended that fed to me for my first competition (if I ever get around to doing one).
No membership fees, so that's a plus, IMO. I guess that's where other feds are able to fund testing. But, RPS has an amateur division, which is subject to random and "suspicious" testing (I only know of one guy that failed, and I don't know how often the testing is done), and a pro division, which is no-testing. As such, if you're clean - go amateur, as you never know about the pros. Of course, they have a rule that, after your first meet, if your numbers are above a certain threshold, you'll be required to either compete as a pro, or pay for the drug testing yourself, which will put you in "Elite." I don't have to worry about that any time soon.
Unlike other feds, that run meets based purely on weight classes, RPS runs them on openers. For NE Rev, we compete over two days, because there are so many entrants. On 2-day events, they have two sessions each day (sometimes just one on Sunday). In those sessions, there will be overall groupings, meaning the women lift Saturday morning, the men (up to 220 lb, I think?) Saturday afternoons. You could potentially see a 148 lb guy and a 220 lb guy lift in the same flight, if their openers are close enough.
If you're unsure about competing, but are thinking about RPS, go check out one of their meets as a spectator. It's still a lot of fun. Not as much fun as competing, but fun.1 -
DeadliftsandDonuts wrote: »Congrats on your first meet and all your new PRs!
How do you guys like RPS? A friend recommended that fed to me for my first competition (if I ever get around to doing one).
No membership fees, so that's a plus, IMO. I guess that's where other feds are able to fund testing. But, RPS has an amateur division, which is subject to random and "suspicious" testing (I only know of one guy that failed, and I don't know how often the testing is done), and a pro division, which is no-testing. As such, if you're clean - go amateur, as you never know about the pros. Of course, they have a rule that, after your first meet, if your numbers are above a certain threshold, you'll be required to either compete as a pro, or pay for the drug testing yourself, which will put you in "Elite." I don't have to worry about that any time soon.
Unlike other feds, that run meets based purely on weight classes, RPS runs them on openers. For NE Rev, we compete over two days, because there are so many entrants. On 2-day events, they have two sessions each day (sometimes just one on Sunday). In those sessions, there will be overall groupings, meaning the women lift Saturday morning, the men (up to 220 lb, I think?) Saturday afternoons. You could potentially see a 148 lb guy and a 220 lb guy lift in the same flight, if their openers are close enough.
If you're unsure about competing, but are thinking about RPS, go check out one of their meets as a spectator. It's still a lot of fun. Not as much fun as competing, but fun.
Thanks for all the info! I looked up the pro thresholds and I'm not close either. I was interested in the Southern Mass Blast since it's for beginners, but now I see it's already sold out for this year.0
