Sara’s First Powerlifting Competition (pics and vids)

So, after a few people on my friends list bullied me into competing at a powerlifting meet, I finally did one. I entered the APA West Coast RAW Championships in Sacramento last weekend.

The week before the event was very nerve-wracking. Worrying about forgetting something, worrying about making weight, worrying about listening to commands, worrying about how ridonkulous I looked in my onesie/singlet, and after making the mistake of watching embarrassing powerlifting moments on youtube, worrying about peeing myself and worrying about barfing mid-lift…you get the picture.

I was competing in the 148lb category (open age group and the Masters: 40 – 49) and weighed in the evening before at 147lb. Then I ate all teh foodz that evening...bread, pasta, chocolate and lots of ice cream and desserts...butterscotch bread pudding with ice cream and a maple cheesecake with shortbread...hnnnnnggggg...



Sleep was not very good the night before, not helped by the fact that I had to get up early in the morning to make it there by 9am (it’s a 1 ½ - 2 hour drive from me).

My preparation for the meet was decent but not ideal. I had just come off a 12 week cut and was only reversing up so was still at a deficit. Due to my work schedule I did not get all my workouts in for the lead up – but I got most done so it was not terrible. However, I did not feel that prepared. My lifts had only just started to come up (my strength is impacted a lot by cutting for longer than a couple months) and I did not feel like I had enough practice/time doing them with improved strength from eating more. This made me nervous. Even though I really should not have had too many expectations as it was my first meet, but being the competitive bish that I am, I wanted to do well.

So, I got to the venue at about 8:30, which gave me time to get yet more coffee and change into my *ahem* fabulous onesie/singlet. They briefed the lifters at some time after 9am and lifting started at about 10am.


First lift – squats.

My warm ups were a bit jittery so I dropped my originally planned opening weight of 225lb down to 215lb (you have to give the openers at the beginning of the day but can change up to a certain point before the lifting actually starts). There were 2 flights of lifters, based on opening weights, the first one of which comprised primarily women with a few guys. Luckily, I was lifting towards the end of the flight so that I could watch and get a feel for the commands and the set up. While I was allowed to lift with knee wraps (the APA allows them for the RAW division), I decided not to go with them as I had never trained with them and did not need the additional worry about getting them on right/timely, so I just wore knee sleeves.

Pic of me getting the bar set up for my squat warm up (yes, I was putting off showing my glow in the dark walnut crusher legs for as long as possible). I was very nervous at this point. The gym was great, with a 'room' behind the platform with a bunch of racks for warm ups.



My first lift was ok…nothing spectacular and form was a bit iffy, but I was pleased to get 3 white lights to indicate the lift was legit. You have 1 minute to select your next lift when the prior one is completed, so I selected 235lb as my second. Vid here: http://tinypic.com/r/2vj27m0/5

I have no idea wth happened with my second lift. I just could not get it up. I clipped the rack unracking pretty badly, but I do not think it threw me off that much. I was also too far forward, but I GM those puppies up all the time. I think the fact that I was squatting in the open (rather than in a cage) threw me as well as my concern about getting depth. My form was terrible and my lift far more tentative than usual. I was pretty annoyed (understatement) as I had been lifting that weight, with relative ease, during training. Vid here: http://tinypic.com/r/21md7wj/5

I decided to keep my weight the same for the 3rd and final lift (you cannot decrease the weight). As you can imagine, I was pretty nervous, but managed the lift…just. It was a complete grind, my stance too wide and my form was abysmal – but I got the three white lights. The other competitors and the crowd were behind all the lifters and I was not an exception, so their encouragement helped with that final push. Vid here: http://tinypic.com/r/2w4i6tg/5

So I finished with a 235lb squat. While this was a bit disappointing for me (I was hoping for at least 245lb), and I am still waiting for confirmation to make it ‘official’, my final lift was an APA State record for both my age group of 45 - 49 (prior one was 205lb) and for the open age group (prior one was 220lb). So I suppose I should stfu and stop complaining!

In between the lifts there is quite a bit of time to watch the next flight, get coffee, eat and chat to the people there. I did however discover that Santa exists and is a supporter of powerlifting:




Next up – bench

I was pretty nervous about this lift prior to the meet as I had not been training paused bench for long so was worried about missing the commands. In a competition, you unrack the bar and lower it until it touches your chest. You then need to wait for the ‘press’ command before pressing and at the end should hold it until you get the rack command. If you jump the gun on either of these you get red lights and the lift is not valid.

I decided to go with my original opening weight of 125lb. The lift was decent, felt relatively easy and I got white lights. I also had first-hand experience of how helpful and supportive everyone is. During warm up I discovered that the organizers do not ‘supply’ someone to hand off the bar to you at the start (they just have spotters on either side). So a very nice gentleman, who was attending with friends who were competing, agreed to do the hand off for me. He made sure we were synced up with cues and also provided encouragement – all with the full support of the competitors he had come with and was helping. Vid here: http://tinypic.com/r/fyn5e8/5

I selected 135lb for my second lift, which I had been doing relatively easily in training. I was a little discombobulated with the number of people who got red lights, even though they did the lift, due to not waiting for the commands. I think I was focusing so much on the commands I just forgot my form. Leg drive was nonexistent and I just was not tight. So I completely and utterly failed the lift. Vid here: http://tinypic.com/r/1056veh/5

I decided to stay at 135lb…and my lift was even worse this time. My right shoulder totally cr@pped out. I was really disappointed/pissed, especially following a relatively disappointing bench. Vid here (warning…audible swearing in this one): http://tinypic.com/r/fn91tv/5


Last up…oh how I love my deadlifts:

I put my deadlift socks on - they are now my lucky socks and very apropos for me - the writing says NERD (and they color co-ordinate with my belt!):



Warm ups for deads went really well so I decided to stick with my selected opener of 260lb. This went up really easily which helped settle my nerves, although I was very nervous while waiting for my turn each time. While actually setting up and lifting however, my nerves went away and I was just focused on the lift itself. This lift was actually an APA State record for my age group, the prior one being 240lb. Vid here: http://tinypic.com/r/292oaxi/5

For my second attempt and as the 1st lift was easy I upped my planned second lift by a bit and selected 295lb. This was 5lb more than I had done at a sub 150lb weight so I was a little nervous about getting it, but my prior lift made me a bit more confident. My pull this time also went up pretty easily (relatively) so I decided to go for 3 plates (315lb) for my third attempt. Vid here: http://tinypic.com/r/raxish/5

My third lift, which was an APA State record for the open age group, went up relatively easily as well – it was a bit of a struggle at the end, but that was due to the fact that I knocked my grip a bit loose on my right hand with my leg, not because of my strength. This equaled my prior PR which I did when 11lb heavier, mid bulk. It is hard to explain the feeling but I was so ecstatic about the lift that I was shaking. Vid here: http://tinypic.com/r/vhdbo6/5

As I had 3 clean attempts, and as it was a State record, I was allowed to go for a 4th attempt. I decided on 325lb. In hindsight I wish I had gone for a bit more, but at the time I was conscious of the fact that the only time I had pulled this weight before was when I was mid bulk so heavier and that time actually failed to quite lock it out due to grip slip. Also, I was worried about being fatigued. As I was at the end of my flight, I only had a few minutes between lifts and I had not caught my breath from the prior one before I had to do my 4th and final one. I should not have worried as it went up with just a bit of a struggle locking out. As with all my prior lifts, I was kind of feeling sick while waiting to be called to the platform, but as soon as I was told that the bar was loaded, my nerves went away and it was just me and the bar (cheesy…sorry, but true). I cannot describe the joy I felt when I looked over and saw the white lights after I put the bar down. I was shaking so badly from it and I was in a bit of a haze for a while. Anyhoo…vid here: http://tinypic.com/r/o6fsko/5

Pic of me setting up for my final lift:



Pic of me doing a happy dance 30 seconds later:



I did not actually realize it at the time, but that lift gave me the National APA record for my age group and had me equaling the combined National total for my age group. It also gave me a combined State record for the open age group, by quite a healthy margin.

I won my weight category, for both the open age group and my age group. While this is great, it is more impressive than it sounds, as the field, as with most events, was pretty thin for the women. I think that there was only one or two other people in my weight class. But whatevs, I got some pretty trophies.




My biggest achievements in my mind though were the State and National records, as well as my dead PR. As I noted at the beginning, I am still waiting for these to come up on the internetz, or to be confirmed as ‘official’, but I managed to get the APA State record for squats, for deadlifts, and for the combined for both my age group and, more meaningfully to me, the open age group (gotta represent the oldies). I was unaware at the time, but realized a day or two later, about the APA National record for deadlifts and combined in my age group. Next goal…get the open age group deadlift one…which is 380lb (may take a while).


My emotions were so up and down, especially with some disappointing lifts for squats and bench. My bench is not my strong point so usually I would not be too disappointed, but as it followed my less than stellar squat performance, it threatened to put me in a bit of a funk. All I can say is thank goodness for deads. While my squats are solid (usually), and are comparable proportionately to my deads, I just feel that deadlifts are ‘my’ lift….and the results of the meet just solidified that feeling.


All in all, it was a very successful meet for me and I had a great time (in between feeling like I was going to barf from the nerves). The people, competitors, supporters and volunteers, were fantastic and hugely supportive and encouraging. You felt that they were really routing for you. I met some great people. A couple to mention was one of the ladies from the gym who did my weigh in the evening before. She was one of the refs and was so incredibly nice to me (as was everyone), answering my newb questions and giving me encouraging words to try to keep me calm while waiting on the platform. Another person that stood out was a fellow competitor (also representing the over 40’s like me). She was with the person who helped me with the hand off on bench and was so nice and also enthusiastic. She had only been lifting for a few months and when she got a PR on deadlifts her celebratory yell and fist pump put a happy smile on my face. I am fully expecting to see her at more meets in the future.

I also want to thank everyone on here for their support. I was doing a mini commentary on my wall during the day when I got the chance and really felt that everyone was watching and supporting, which was very encouraging. Specific thanks to Ruy and Chris Davey and all the others for bullying me to do a meet.

Ginormous thank you's, smooches and gropes to SideSteel for all his support, encouragement, belief in me and for his input on my lifts and routine (as well as putting up with my whining as always when I have a sh!tty session). Also a big thank you to him for letting me bombard him with texts and vids throughout the day of the meet, all the while encouraging and trying to calm my nerves.


Hopefully this post encourages anyone thinking about competing to try it, or any ladies out there who may be thinking of starting to lift but may think they are too old. I did not start to do any of these lifts until I was nearly 46 years old. My prior lifting was about 6 years prior to that and the typical trainer 15 rep range DB and machine based programs (not that there is anything wrong with that as it was extremely beneficial to my body comp as well as other things at the time).


After the trophy presentation, I went home, ate a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream in front of SideSteel while Skyping and talking his ear off (plus watching him eat green beans or something equally as 'clean'..lol) and then passed out.



So…what’s next…well, there is this meet in February in my area….


Crap, that's long...TL;DR version:

Had a blast, my NERD deadlifting socks are now my lucky socks, did not barf, had some crappy lifts, got some records, discovered that santa likes powerlifting, definitely doing it again.