My First USA Powerlifting Meet!
After 4 months of dedicated and intense training for my first USAPL meet, I DID IT! Wow, what a build up of all of my hard work and consistency both in the kitchen and the gym. It was not easy but it was definitely worth it. I will tell you exactly what I went through and what it was like for me, especially if you are a newbie lifter yourself and would like some tips/advice.
Rewind to January 2021 when I decided to start training and prepping for what was to come in April. Keep in mind, I had already finished my first ever meet in RPS back in September 2019 so I was able to get some sort of feel of what a powerlifting meet is like and what to expect. Some things I learned back then that I had no idea about were things like, peaking my numbers leading up to the meet, getting rack heights before the meet, timing your warm up with your opener, knowing the lift order for when you are on deck, knowing how to time meals/snacks/drinking in between lifts, picking my own attempt numbers, and most of all…staying calm and collected throughout the day, especially without a coach/handler. At RPS, I truly felt like a lost pup since I was one of the few competitors doing everything myself. This time around, I decided to hire a coach (shoutout to Chris Guzman!) for the 4 months of prep to help me program, peak, and handle me on meet day. I loved being able to just be told what to do, when to do it, and how to improve myself each time during training. He helped look over my form and give me all the critiques to hold me at the highest standard. It was GREAT! The perfectionist in me loved every minute of bettering myself.
A huge obstacle on my mind throughout the whole prep was my weight class. January 2021, I weighed around 144lb, the most I ever weighed…thanks to the previous holiday feasts :D. In the USAPL federation, there is a 63kg/138.75lb weight class and 69kg/152.12lb weight class which are very strict. If you are over the kg class by even a decimal you must move to the next appropriate weight class. In weight class sports, there is generally more of an advantage to be at the top of the weight class to be able to lift more weight than your competitors. Therefore, sitting at 144lb I would either be at the bottom of my weight class or I could lose 5-6lb to be at the top of the weight class I signed up to perform in…so I chose the latter. From the end of January right up until the meet, I started to attempt to lose weight at a steady pace. This was not easy since I work full time in an office right next to a foodservice kitchen and am spoiled by a job that gifts us with endless free treats and good eats. I had no choice but to track calories in order to monitor my calorie intake and ensure that the numbers would be in my favor for meet day. I had to learn to start saying “no” to all the food being offered to me, I meal prepped my lunch each day, and made an extra effort to hit my macronutrient needs in order to retain lean body mass while in a calorie deficit. I walked ~6 miles each day and paid close attention to my rest and recovery regimen. The week of the meet I was still over the weight class by about 1.5lb and I’ll be honest in saying that it freaked me out. I knew there was much more competition in the 69kg class so I did not want to put myself at a disadvantage by needing to move up to that class. Hence, it was CRUNCH time. I cut down on sodium, carbs, and water a couple days before the meet since those nutrients tend to retain water weight. I got to bed around 9:30pm and woke up at 5:30am for a 1hr drive to the venue.
I didn’t eat or drink anything until after weigh ins and I ended up weighing in on meet day at 136.7lb/62.0kg! Boy was I relieved and utterly surprised/proud of myself. After that, I had about 1 hour to refuel, rehydrate, and start getting ready to warm up. I ate overnight oats, a kodiak cake pancake (my favorite go-to in the world), and a ton of gatorade/water. I felt good, my GI was feeling fine, and I was getting my energy back after not being able to eat as many carbs the night prior (which actually could have contributed to less optimal performance, but I will explain later). Coach had me start warming up my squat about 20 min prior to needing to be on deck. We did some stretches, mobility, and band work to start activating my muscles. Then, moving to squat warm ups started to get more intense. Things were moving fast, people were trying to get the rack from each other, other competitors were asking my coach a ton of questions, but I again, just waited to be told what to do and when to do it. It was great. I had 0 stress and all the calm nerves :). As we got in line to go on the platform I started getting nervous, but for every attempt and every lift, Chris kept me calm, in my head, and focused on myself. Squats went well for the most part and I ended up getting 117.5kg/259lb for that lift. I will say that the IPF judges were some of the hardest on us and nit picked EVERY little thing. I was never called on depth but they definitely tried to get me for not “locking out my knees” at the start and finish of my attempts even though that would have required me to hyperextend my knees. Afterwards, I relaxed, ate my kodiak cake granola bars, drank more water/gatorade and had 1/2 chicken and swiss cheese sandwich. I got to watch my boyfriend, who was also competing, warm up and lift while I was resting. (Side note: it was the first time we finally got to compete together and it is so nice to be able to have someone to lift with this time!)
Bench press moved the best it ever had in a LONG time and I was extremely proud of myself for reaching a top set of 63kg/138lb! The pauses from the judges were surprisingly not as long as I thought they would be and everything went extremely smooth. Again, I refueled right away afterwards, eating the other half of my sandwich, another granola bar, more water, and some potatoes. At this point my back felt a little sore and I started feeling a little tired, but I was ready to just end with deadlifts and celebrate after, regardless of the numbers I got XD. Warm ups felt great, opener moved well, and my 150kg/330lb attempt was a bit of a grinder but got red lighted for “hitching.” I was pretty disappointed but had one more chance to attempt that number. I was just too tired and my back started compromising form so I was not able to get it on the last attempt but still locked down 145kg/320lb deadlift for a final total of 325.5kg/718lb!
There was no one else in my weight class for my age group so of course I got a medal lol. Regardless, for my first USAPL meet, this was one for the books. That very next day, I signed up for another meet in December 2021! I am pumped and will be SO READY for this next one. Some things I will do differently is definitely making sure I’m closer to my weight class WAY in advance so I don’t have to compromise my energy stores and fatigue leading up to the meet. I also will be more mentally prepared for what’s to come as well as working more on my technique during training so that it doesn’t break down as much when I max out.
Here are some tips I definitely suggest for preparing for the meet and some items to pack with you:
Tip #1: Get at least 8-10 hr sleep each night leading up to the meet and plan when you have to wake/leave to get to the venue (you might want to start getting used to waking up early and eating in the morning)
Tip#2: Make a detailed list and pack everything the night before
Tip #3: Take a look at the roster to know about how many people/flights are before and after your turn (at least to start because it will likely change for the second and third attempts)
Tip #4: Smoke depth on squats (those judges DO NOT give leeway) and have pristine form on all openers especially (this sets your impression on the judges and how you lift)
Tip #5: If you are not super close to making weight, eat a carb heavy meal and plenty of fluid/sodium the night before for stored energy
Tip #6: When eating and fueling during the meet, do so as soon as you are done with weigh ins and right after you finish a lift. This will give you more time to digest in between eating and lifting.
General checklist:
Singlet
T-shirt to wear under the singlet (no sleeves to the elbow or above the deltoid)
Deadlift socks (sock length to cover the shins)
Squat/deadlift shoes
Knee sleeves
Wrist wraps
Belt
Chalk
Change of clothes (for before and after the meet)
(For the ladies) Sports bra, hair ties
Icy hot (just in case)
Baby powder (for deadlifts)
Foam roller/massage ball or gun
Warm up bands
Food items:
Gallon of water
Gatorade/electrolyte powder
Preworkout (if you use it)
Carb based snacks (ie: pretzels, granola bars, overnight oats, candy, fruit, popcorn)
Smaller sized meals (ie: sandwich [not too much cheese/fat], potatoes)
*Avoid too much protein, fat, and fiber in your meals/snacks since it is harder to digest and isn’t used for energy on meet day
