It was a very quick turnaround for me from my previous meet — just about 8 weeks of training. I definitely would not recommend this timeframe in general! However, for me it felt right, and I wanted to capitalize on my high level of motivation to eke out a few more kilograms on the platform.

I had a pretty good meet overall. I was really pleased to hit 135kg for my final squat attempt. That put me just a couple pounds under 300lbs, which is a number that had felt utterly and completely ludicrous to me as recently as 6 months prior. My bench remained at 55kg, leaving me still hungry for my ultimate goal of 60kg. At the February meet, my third deadlift at 150kg had been very fast, so I had been feeling pretty good about 155kg as a new goal. After a hard yet still fast second attempt of 147.5kg, I ended up hitching my attempt at 155kg, resulting in a no-lift. (“Hitching” refers to the bar traveling up and down during the pull, and is not allowed in powerlifting.) I did get the bar up to lockout; the failure was due to deficiencies in technique, not strength.

Although I was disappointed in going 7/9, my squat PR was huge (5kg in just 8 weeks!). I also increased my total by 2.5kg. Most importantly, the meet was super fun, and it was an amazing experience to compete alongside my husband, my dad, and my mother-in-law, with other family members spectating and cheering us on.

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My goals for the meet were threefold: set PRs in the squat and deadlift, prioritize my bench press in training, and successfully prepare my high school senior trainee, Celina, for her first meet. As part of her senior project, Celina had been training and learning about powerlifting for the last 6 months or so, and testing her progress on the platform was a huge, courageous step on that journey.

It was a very successful meet for both of us, and I achieved all three of my goals:

• I placed second in the 82.5kg Womens Open class, and was successful on 8 out of 9 attempts.
• I hit easy PRs in the squat (130kg — a 5kg PR) and the deadlift (150kg — also a 5kg PR)
• Although I did not PR my bench, my best successful attempt was 55kg, which still represented significant improvement made over the prior several months.
• Celina made ALL of her attempts (9 for 9!) and set small PRs on all three lifts. More importantly, she was confident and poised in an utterly alien and objectively intimidating environment (more on that below).

Between a snowstorm on the drive out, a pretty intense-seeming gym environment, exceedingly loud music, and lots of very large, very strong men, there was a big intimidation factor to get over, especially for a high school student! But one of the best things about powerlifting meets is that everyone is always super friendly, once you reach out. Although it may not look like it, powerlifting is an incredibly supportive and friendly sport (which is part of the reason why I encourage all strength trainees to consider competing!).

I came away from the meet feeling energized and even more goal-oriented. So much so that I actually signed up for another meet in April, with just two short months to train!

The post USPA Powerfest 2019 Recap appeared first on Paladino Strength.