Although I feel like I have been powerlifting for many years, until this meet I had never actually competed in a powerlifting meet! I had competed three times in strengthlifting, a newer, similar sport where the contested lifts are the squat, the overhead press, and the deadlift, and greatly enjoyed those experiences. But I decided the time was right to compete in a sanctioned meet, so I signed up for the 2019 USPA PowerFest in Richland, WA.

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!