Background: I have been lifting seriously since January of 2016 and Nationals was my second meet. I started seriously training for my first powerlifting meet in May 2016. My fiance (husband in less than 3 weeks!) and coach (/@bruyas) had me on a linear periodization program. I have been training 6 days a week with Sunday being my rest day. We tried a different peaking program for this meet. I ran the peak that Marissa Inda uses. Coach and I agreed that this was a mistake. I'm not a mature enough lifter to handle the amount of stress this program put me under. This was my first meet that I had someone to compete against. Since competing last October, I have switched to sumo. I'm a much better sumo pulled because of my wide hips but I'm confident that I can pull conventional if I need to.
Squat:
Opener: 100kg/220.46lbs. This was a number that I was confident in being able to smoke in the meet. Two white lights, One red light from the right side judge.
Second: 110kg/242.5lbs. This was another number I was confident in. This was my third attempt from Battle of the Beasts last October. Two white lights, one red light from the right side judge.
Third: X 117.5kg/259.0lbs. I got right at the top of my sticking point and was gassed. I tried to push through it but I didn't want to end up hurting myself. My best squat is 250 in the gym so I really should have made this lift. Three red lights.
Bench:
Opener: 47.5kg/104.7lbs. We picked this because I can easily hit this for 5 reps any day of the week. This was my second and best attempt from Battle of the Beast last October. Three white lights.
Second: 52.5kg/115.74. My decent was slower than it should have been but I made the lift. Three white lights.
Third: 55kg/121.3lbs. This is 1.3 pounds heavier than my all-time best bench. I have doubled 120 twice in the gym but I have failed 125 everytime I have attempted it. I probably could have hit 126.77 lbs but we wanted to be conservative. I was nervous that I would get redlighted because the bar moved side-to-side after I locked it out. You can see it in the video. Three white lights.
Deadlift:
Opener: 110kg/242.5lbs. We chose this number because this was my second and best attempt from Battle of the Beasts last October. Three white lights.
Second: 117.5kg/259.04lbs. Easy pull. Three white lights.
Third: 122.5kg/270.07lbs. This was another all-time PR for me. My previous best was 260 in the gym. I probably could have pulled 275 but we wanted to stay conservative. Three white lights.
Results: Went 8/9, increased my total by 43.8 pounds, got second age and weight class, and set a new PR on bench and deadlift. I finished with a Master total and am now 4 points away from a 300 Wilkes. I would have earned a 300 Wilkes had I gotten my third squat attempt. The only red lights I got were on my squats and they were for depth. I have never gotten a red light because of depth because I go so deep you can see my butt from the front. I don't believe I deserved the reds but oh well.
Moving Forward: For the next month or so, I'll be in a hypertrophy block and doing bodybuilding-style training. I haven't decided if I'm going to do Battle of the Beasts this year or the 2017 USPA Drug Tested Worlds meet. I want to train without a meet in mind to take some pressure off of me and my coach. I'll be squatting high bar and pulling conventional to work on my weaknesses - quads and back.
Video link: Instagram: JoCash24
Squat:
Opener: 100kg/220.46lbs. This was a number that I was confident in being able to smoke in the meet. Two white lights, One red light from the right side judge.
Second: 110kg/242.5lbs. This was another number I was confident in. This was my third attempt from Battle of the Beasts last October. Two white lights, one red light from the right side judge.
Third: X 117.5kg/259.0lbs. I got right at the top of my sticking point and was gassed. I tried to push through it but I didn't want to end up hurting myself. My best squat is 250 in the gym so I really should have made this lift. Three red lights.
Bench:
Opener: 47.5kg/104.7lbs. We picked this because I can easily hit this for 5 reps any day of the week. This was my second and best attempt from Battle of the Beast last October. Three white lights.
Second: 52.5kg/115.74. My decent was slower than it should have been but I made the lift. Three white lights.
Third: 55kg/121.3lbs. This is 1.3 pounds heavier than my all-time best bench. I have doubled 120 twice in the gym but I have failed 125 everytime I have attempted it. I probably could have hit 126.77 lbs but we wanted to be conservative. I was nervous that I would get redlighted because the bar moved side-to-side after I locked it out. You can see it in the video. Three white lights.
Deadlift:
Opener: 110kg/242.5lbs. We chose this number because this was my second and best attempt from Battle of the Beasts last October. Three white lights.
Second: 117.5kg/259.04lbs. Easy pull. Three white lights.
Third: 122.5kg/270.07lbs. This was another all-time PR for me. My previous best was 260 in the gym. I probably could have pulled 275 but we wanted to stay conservative. Three white lights.
Results: Went 8/9, increased my total by 43.8 pounds, got second age and weight class, and set a new PR on bench and deadlift. I finished with a Master total and am now 4 points away from a 300 Wilkes. I would have earned a 300 Wilkes had I gotten my third squat attempt. The only red lights I got were on my squats and they were for depth. I have never gotten a red light because of depth because I go so deep you can see my butt from the front. I don't believe I deserved the reds but oh well.
Moving Forward: For the next month or so, I'll be in a hypertrophy block and doing bodybuilding-style training. I haven't decided if I'm going to do Battle of the Beasts this year or the 2017 USPA Drug Tested Worlds meet. I want to train without a meet in mind to take some pressure off of me and my coach. I'll be squatting high bar and pulling conventional to work on my weaknesses - quads and back.
Video link: Instagram: JoCash24
