Meet report APF/AAPF Michigan Fall Open (Full Power) Grand Rapids, MI October 8, 2016 (x-post from /r/powerlifting

abeazishar

New member
General reflection:

This was my first powerlifting meet, and it was a great experience! I have been powerlifting for about 2 years with some breaks due to injury, but I trained specifically for this meet for 12 weeks with Candito 6 week strength. I chose to not worry about what weight class I made and just train my lifts over those 12 weeks, so I undershot my weight class by about 5lbs.

If you are in the midwest, I highly recommend doing a meet run by the Michigan APF. The meet was well orchestrated, efficient, had a great atmosphere and had some beastly guys lifting. The only somewhat negative point I would bring up is that they compete Raw, Classic Raw, Equipped Single-ply, and Equipped Multi-ply as well as AAPF and APF all in the same meet. That means that often there are only 1-3 people in each classification which means most people technically get first place. I will say that it was actually really fun to see people going all out in equipped because I never get to see that at my home gym! I competed in 75kg Junior Raw AAPF. I currently train completely raw, but will be adding a belt to my training going forward. There were also enough women (~15) to have an all women’s flight which awesome. Anyway, onto the meet itself.

BW: 72.7 kg (75kg class)

Squat:

Opener 85kg: Lowballed my opener since it was my first time on the platform, so this went up well. 3 whites. Video

2nd: 90kg: Have also hit this regularly in training, but I wanted to play it safe. 2 whites because I jumped the rack command by a smidge I believe (forgot to ask the judges). Video

3rd: 97.5kg: 90kg felt good, so I got greedy and went for a 7.5kg jump instead of my planned 5kg for a 5kg PR instead of 2.5kg. Started off well but just couldn’t make it to the top. Lesson learned for next time! Video

Bench:

Opener: 42.5kg: Have hit this a million times, but I just wasn’t focused enough going up for my first attempt and got 2 reds for downward movement. The other female lifters were really supportive and gave me a little pep talk which helped me get back in it.Video

2nd: 42.5kg: Chose to repeat my first attempt and not leave anything to chance. I’ll admit a tiny voice inside my head was telling me that I was going to bomb out. I went out there with laser focus and attacked the lift. It went up smooth as butter! 3 whites. Video

3rd: 45kg: Thought about going up for my original 3rd attempt plan of 47.5kg, but after squats, I didn’t want to be greedy again (you’ll see that affected my deadlifts too). However, I nailed it, so I was happy! 3 whites. Video

Deadlift:

Opener: 85kg: Again, I wasn’t sure how I would feel, so I low-balled my opener. However, this went up like nothing! 3 whites. Video

2nd: 90kg: Had a quandary about whether or not I wanted to go up to 92.5, but I wanted to be careful because deadlifts are usually an all or nothing thing for me. Again, this flew up like nothing. 3 whites again! Didn't get a video myself, but I'll post the video from the meet when it goes up!

3rd: 97.5kg: My fiance tried to talk me into going for a 7.5kg PR for a 100kg attempt, and I’m still kicking myself for not just listening to him. This flew up for a 5kg all time PR, and I absolutely could have gotten 100kg. Next time! Video

Total: 232.5kg

I know my lifts aren't the greatest, but everyone starts somewhere, and I'm glad I chose to compete early at a low stakes competition. I learned so much, and I can’t wait to get back in the gym and then back on the platform! If anyone knows of any powerlifting competitions in Michigan in January, I’m so in. I’m glad that I went into this meet with a relaxed approach because every time after this, I will be more prepared in my training and the meets themselves.

Because there aren’t a whole lot of women competing in my classification/weight class, I found out after the fact that I actually set a state record in squat, deadlift, and total, which is exciting! This was my first and last competition as a junior (I turned 24 in November), so it’s only a matter of time before someone overtakes me, but it will be cool while it lasts!
 
@abeazishar Good job! I competed in my first meet on October 8th. I was alone in my weight class (148 Junior 20-23 Raw) so I set the Alabama state record for all three lifts and the total. I really liked being alone. It took a lot of the nerves away. I honestly just wanted a total so I could call myself a powerlifter.
 
@abeazishar This is great. Great works. Meets can be nerve-wracking, and you describing this is as "low stakes" is good. You got to know the ropes in a setting that didn't freak you out, and that's great.

You're gonna love GZCL! God bless Jizzy. Please write about your experience with it and post it here!
 
@pamarella Will do! Right now, I think I'm going to compete again in March, so I've got plenty of time to make some good gains. I will definitely update with how it's going though!
 
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