Powerlifting Meet Recap: Old School Iron Wars

On Saturday I competed in my third powerlifting meet – the Old School Iron Wars, sanctioned by 100% Raw Powerlifting Federation – in Williston, Vt. At a body weight of 190.8 pounds, I squatted 501, benched 330 and deadlifted 540. I placed second overall in the Open 198 division with a 1371 total – a 91 pound meet personal record. I went 9 for 9, set PRs in all three lifts and missed winning the whole thing by 1.5 kilograms. My only concrete goals going in were to bench 330 and total 1330, so I was beyond stoked to lift as well as I did.

Since this was a Saturday night meet and we had weigh-ins two hours before lifting, I didn’t cut any weight. I got to the venue (Champlain Valley CrossFit – oh, the irony), weighed in, caught up with some old friends and chilled out til the rules meeting.

Lifting started promptly at 5 p.m. and I timed my warm-ups well. We had a separate warm-up room with three Rogue power racks, and everything felt light and breezy all the way up to my last warm-up set at 425. There was only one flight of everything so it went quickly and we didn’t have to sit around too long between lifts.

SQUAT

I opened at 445 and I honestly don’t even remember unracking the weight. Even though this was my third meet, I was pretty nervous and it’s always a trip stepping on to the platform for your first attempt. Good news is I smoked it and called for 485. With first attempt jitters aside, I took 485 and it felt good out of the rack but went up slower than I expected. But I stuck with the plan and called for 501 for my last attempt. This was the single slowest successfully completed rep of my life. It took a good five-count to get through the sticking point, but it got me the heaviest squat of the meet for the second year in a row.

BENCH

With a 500-pound squat in the books, a 330 bench was my longest-standing obstacle to overcome. I missed 330 last year and missed it several times in training between then and now. I warmed up completely pain-free which was a nice feeling since I’ve been battling shoulder pain for the past 10 weeks. Opened at 295 and crushed it. Took 318 – also crushed it. 330 came out of the rack smooth and my setup was just about perfect. I pulled it down evenly, got a quick press command and blasted through the midway point to lockout. I got one red light for lifting my ass off the bench, but two out of three whites – count it!

DEADLIFT

Even though the deadlift was by far my worst lift during preparation for the meet, I was relieved knowing I only needed to pull 500 to secure a personal record 1330 total. I opened at 475 and it was slower than it should have been. Berby, a Vermont lifting legend and eventual winner of the 198 class, pulled me aside and told me to stop being such a tight-ass with my shoulders. He told me to just relax at the top, to push my hips through and let my shoulders go once I got the bar past my knees.

Now keep in mind that I’ve fallen victim to some really sloppy deadlift form recently. The strength coach in my head was barking at me not to listen, to keep my chest up and pull my shoulder blades together as tight as possible. But when he explained what he meant, it all made sense. “Still arch hard and keep your chest up,” he said, “but let your shoulders fall.” He told me it would shorten the distance the bar had to travel to lockout AND prevent any chances of hitching, which killed my deadlift at last year’s meet. So I called for 501 and did what he told me – and I smoked the lift. Easiest that 500 has felt ever.

So now I’d gone 8 for 8 and met all the goals I set for the day. Only one last thing to do – get reckless and go for a PR. I called for 540, and once it left the floor, I knew I had it. I couldn’t have done it without Berby’s advice, so I guess it’s only fitting that his last pull gave him the win and edged me out by just over three pounds.

What I Learned

In preparation for this meet, I learned some valuable lessons…

• Volume is the single most important thing for me as a lifter. I need a lot of it.
• You can always train “around” an injury, but NEVER train “through” an injury. When my shoulder hurt, I backed off. Despite doing about 85% of the benching volume I set out to do over the last 10 weeks, I still set a PR.
• Optimal lifting technique for an athlete will never be the same as optimal technique for a powerlifter.
• If someone bigger and stronger than you offers advice, take it. Try it at least once. And if it gets you a deadlift PR, say thank you.
• After chatting with some CrossFit coaches, we concluded that even though powerlifters and CrossFitters have different goals, we can still learn from each other.
• If you ain’t first, you’re last.