Being Prepared For My First USAPL Meet
Yesterday I completed a goal that I had since late 2013: compete in a natural raw powerlifting competition. The name of the powerlifting meet was the Central Florida Open Championships and the venue was the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, FL. Like many first time competitors, I was a little confused on what I should bring, what equipment I needed and the ordering of the events. However, now that the meet is finished, I have a much better insight into the orderings of the events and what is required to be prepared to have a great day and a strong lift. Here's what I learned.
I registered for membership with USA Powerlifting 3 weeks prior to this meet. But I still had yet to receive a membership card. So, the day prior to the meet, I called USAPL and told them my situation. They told me that the meet director should have a list of athletes who are registered with USAPL and my name should be on that list and not to worry. But knowing the chaos that bodybuilding shows can sometimes be, I figured that for my first powerlifting meet, I should be on the safe side and just request an emailed copy of my USAPL membership. And man am I glad I did.
When I checked in the morning of the show, my USAPL card was requested. Good thing I requested an electronic copy. As it turned out, they also for some reason lost my registration. Fortunately, they were very accommodating and it wasn't an issue. But just in case, I had a copy of the roster that was posted the week prior with my name and registration on it. I also had a copy of the receipt from my bank that the registration check was cashed.
Other people had problems like their was no record of their registration fee being paid or there was no registration record for them found or they didn't have their USAPL card. The moral to the story is this: things can and do go wrong. Paperwork gets lost, people forget conversations, etc. It is your responsibility to make sure that you have everything you need to compete. Bring every document that might be relevant. The last thing you want is to make a trip out to a meet only to find that through some paperwork fiasco, you can't compete.
If there is early equipment check, then do it and be the first in line. If there are early weigh-ins then do those to (that wasn't an option at the meet I recently attended). If you can show up 10min early, then show up 10min early and bring everything you need.
In my case, the meet was at a hotel. So, rather than drive in early, I just booked a room at the hotel for the night before. Yea, it cost me a little extra money. But it saved me a huge hassle. I was in and out of weigh-ins in 15min, with plenty of time for breakfast before the competitor meeting.
When I showed up for weigh-in's I had to bring (1) my first attempt(s) and (2) my rack heights. This is stuff you should have figured out before you walk into weigh-in's in the morning. In my case, I showed up for early equipment check the day before and got my rack heights at that time. I figured out my starting attempts the week before in the gym.
Don't count on breaks between events or downtime between attempts. Have all of your food, water, and equipment that you will need for the entire day packed and with you from the time you show up until the time you leave. Bring plenty of carbs and protein that you can eat quickly (nothing you have to prepare - this should all be done ahead of time). I also brought some pre-workout and BCAAs to consume along with some protein and carbs about 30min before my lifts.
In terms of equipment, be sure that you bring: a singlet, a couple of pairs of cotton underwear, a couple of cotton single ply shirts (at least one unbranded), a couple of pairs of long socks (up to your knees), flat soled shoes (Chuck Taylor's or wrestling shoes are fine), wrist wraps, a regulation weight lifting belt, chalk, and ammonia caps.
The ordering of events is typically squats, bench, deadlifts. Each event is broken up into flights (or groups) that rotate through their 3 attempts. When the last flight on squats is in progress, the racks in the warmup room got switched to bench press. At this point, I had already done some general warmup and stretching. But as soon as the benches got switched in, I started to warmup my chest for bench.
Why warmup early? Well, I don't know if every powerlifting meet is like this, but the one I went to was utter chaos. So, better to be prepared early than not at all. As soon as I could, I started with my low weight/high rep warmup. And then I walked the weight up to just below my first attempt.
As I mentioned earlier, I figured out my attempts the week before during my normal heavy lifting days at the gym. I started off with 275lbs because I can probably hit that in my sleep and it's just over 80% of my max. Even if everything went wrong, I should still have a successful attempt at 275lbs (135kilos).
When I went for my first attempt, I realized that these lifts were a bit different than how I trained at the gym. At the gym, I lift using "touch and go," where I push as soon as the be touches my chest. However, at the meet, I had to hold the bar motionless on my chest for a good 1-2seconds before I was given the "bench" command. As a result, I had planned to go up 12.5kilos to just over 300lbs, but instead I put my second attempt at only a 10kilo jump to just under 300lbs.
When I hit my second attempt, I had a little momentum. So, I figured I'd go up another 10kilos to about 320lbs (145kilos). I thought with some confidence, pre-workout and an ammonia cap behind me, I might be able to push that off my chest cold. Umm... yea, that didn't happen.
So, what did I learn? (1) Start your first attempt around 85% of your max. (2) Put your second attempt around 95% of your max (3) Your 3rd attempt should be at your max or reaching for just a bit more (like an additional 2.5kilos). If I had followed a similar formula then maybe I would have hit over 300lbs yesterday.
Bring Your Documents
I registered for membership with USA Powerlifting 3 weeks prior to this meet. But I still had yet to receive a membership card. So, the day prior to the meet, I called USAPL and told them my situation. They told me that the meet director should have a list of athletes who are registered with USAPL and my name should be on that list and not to worry. But knowing the chaos that bodybuilding shows can sometimes be, I figured that for my first powerlifting meet, I should be on the safe side and just request an emailed copy of my USAPL membership. And man am I glad I did.
When I checked in the morning of the show, my USAPL card was requested. Good thing I requested an electronic copy. As it turned out, they also for some reason lost my registration. Fortunately, they were very accommodating and it wasn't an issue. But just in case, I had a copy of the roster that was posted the week prior with my name and registration on it. I also had a copy of the receipt from my bank that the registration check was cashed.
Other people had problems like their was no record of their registration fee being paid or there was no registration record for them found or they didn't have their USAPL card. The moral to the story is this: things can and do go wrong. Paperwork gets lost, people forget conversations, etc. It is your responsibility to make sure that you have everything you need to compete. Bring every document that might be relevant. The last thing you want is to make a trip out to a meet only to find that through some paperwork fiasco, you can't compete.
Arrive Early
If there is early equipment check, then do it and be the first in line. If there are early weigh-ins then do those to (that wasn't an option at the meet I recently attended). If you can show up 10min early, then show up 10min early and bring everything you need.
In my case, the meet was at a hotel. So, rather than drive in early, I just booked a room at the hotel for the night before. Yea, it cost me a little extra money. But it saved me a huge hassle. I was in and out of weigh-ins in 15min, with plenty of time for breakfast before the competitor meeting.
When I showed up for weigh-in's I had to bring (1) my first attempt(s) and (2) my rack heights. This is stuff you should have figured out before you walk into weigh-in's in the morning. In my case, I showed up for early equipment check the day before and got my rack heights at that time. I figured out my starting attempts the week before in the gym.
Bring Everything You Need For The Day
Don't count on breaks between events or downtime between attempts. Have all of your food, water, and equipment that you will need for the entire day packed and with you from the time you show up until the time you leave. Bring plenty of carbs and protein that you can eat quickly (nothing you have to prepare - this should all be done ahead of time). I also brought some pre-workout and BCAAs to consume along with some protein and carbs about 30min before my lifts.
In terms of equipment, be sure that you bring: a singlet, a couple of pairs of cotton underwear, a couple of cotton single ply shirts (at least one unbranded), a couple of pairs of long socks (up to your knees), flat soled shoes (Chuck Taylor's or wrestling shoes are fine), wrist wraps, a regulation weight lifting belt, chalk, and ammonia caps.
Warmup As Soon As You Can
The ordering of events is typically squats, bench, deadlifts. Each event is broken up into flights (or groups) that rotate through their 3 attempts. When the last flight on squats is in progress, the racks in the warmup room got switched to bench press. At this point, I had already done some general warmup and stretching. But as soon as the benches got switched in, I started to warmup my chest for bench.
Why warmup early? Well, I don't know if every powerlifting meet is like this, but the one I went to was utter chaos. So, better to be prepared early than not at all. As soon as I could, I started with my low weight/high rep warmup. And then I walked the weight up to just below my first attempt.
Determining Your Attempts
As I mentioned earlier, I figured out my attempts the week before during my normal heavy lifting days at the gym. I started off with 275lbs because I can probably hit that in my sleep and it's just over 80% of my max. Even if everything went wrong, I should still have a successful attempt at 275lbs (135kilos).
When I went for my first attempt, I realized that these lifts were a bit different than how I trained at the gym. At the gym, I lift using "touch and go," where I push as soon as the be touches my chest. However, at the meet, I had to hold the bar motionless on my chest for a good 1-2seconds before I was given the "bench" command. As a result, I had planned to go up 12.5kilos to just over 300lbs, but instead I put my second attempt at only a 10kilo jump to just under 300lbs.
When I hit my second attempt, I had a little momentum. So, I figured I'd go up another 10kilos to about 320lbs (145kilos). I thought with some confidence, pre-workout and an ammonia cap behind me, I might be able to push that off my chest cold. Umm... yea, that didn't happen.
So, what did I learn? (1) Start your first attempt around 85% of your max. (2) Put your second attempt around 95% of your max (3) Your 3rd attempt should be at your max or reaching for just a bit more (like an additional 2.5kilos). If I had followed a similar formula then maybe I would have hit over 300lbs yesterday.
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