What To Expect At Your First Powerlifting Comp

Hanley

// PRACTICAL TIPS FOR YOUR FIRST POWERLIFTING COMPETITION

One of my girls has her first powerlifting comp this Saturday, and like every competition virgin, it just opened the door to a whole load of OTHER things she didn't realise, or hadn't thought about.

So if you're a powerlifting newbie, or you're doing your first competition some time soon. You should watch this video.

I talk about;

> The basic squat / bench / deadlift rules

> What you should wear

> How to pick your attempts

> Things that'll **** you up which you've never even considered

> Being a realist

> Other random knowledge bombs

...and it was all shot completely on the fly without any planning or preparation, which is why I'm a big mess in the video.

But hey, you're getting it for free. So deal with it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnMM4hcV45c

Alf Veedersane

For a split second I thought I'd be allowed deadlift topless but no, so I'm out.

Despite that, really good vid!

Hanley

...this one really got outta hand. Had A LOT of people coming up today saying thank you and well done on it.

So I figured I may as well keep it rolling... with "The Great Tragedy of Irish POwerlifting"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovWfEwQ7Wi8

MightyMandarin

Great info, as always

But I imagine it's a pretty common occurrence in meets worldwide though and I some of the mistakes eg re-racking before the command, are something that people who are new to competing do all the time

link_2007

Thanks for posting them.

I don't do any powerlifting but found both to be very interesting, particularly the first one.

Hanley

MightyMandarin wrote: »

Great info, as always

But I imagine it's a pretty common occurrence in meets worldwide though and I some of the mistakes eg re-racking before the command, are something that people who are new to competing do all the time

YAh... and?

Wouldnt' it be better if they didn't?

MightyMandarin

Hanley wrote: »

YAh... and?

Wouldnt' it be better if they didn't?

Well you called it the 'Great Tragedy of Irish Powerlifting' which implies that it's a problem reserved to meets here, which it's not really.

Tbh calling it a 'tragedy' is a bit over the top. If there was a tragedy in powerlifting it'd be that there are too many associations out there, so it's very difficult to determine who's the real record holder. I suppose it's created by differences in opinion on stuff like squat suits and wraps, and also allowing pharmaceutical help. But it' be a lot better if they imalgamated worldwide and help separate divisions; raw and equipped, tested and untested etc. That's just my 2cents.

Hanley

MightyMandarin wrote: »

Well you called it the 'Great Tragedy of Irish Powerlifting' which implies that it's a problem reserved to meets here, which it's not really.

Tbh calling it a 'tragedy' is a bit over the top. If there was a tragedy in powerlifting it'd be that there are too many associations out there, so it's very difficult to determine who's the real record holder. I suppose it's created by differences in opinion on stuff like squat suits and wraps, and also allowing pharmaceutical help. But it' be a lot better if they imalgamated worldwide and help separate divisions; raw and equipped, tested and untested etc. That's just my 2cents.

The only purpose of a headline like that is to get people to watch the video.

What good is a 15 minute video if no one watches it?

And from my POV, people spending a fortune to enter comps, stay near the venue, buy the equipment and take time away from friends and family to travel, train and compete in powerlifting, only to make a balls of it when they could have done it A LOT better, IS a tragedy.

Time's the most precious resource we have. Wasting it on inefficient practices is just nuts. No?

And no one getting into the sport for the first cares about any of the sh*t you mentioned, so a video like that would serve no one.

Other than a small minority of powerlifting fans who've probably already formed an opinion on it.

Maybe it would be a good topic to cover at some point, but right now I'm more concerned with helping newbies.

Sorry if the informative beginner friendly video wasn't up to scratch, or the headline was misleading.

Alf Veedersane

MightyMandarin wrote: »

Well you called it the 'Great Tragedy of Irish Powerlifting' which implies that it's a problem reserved to meets here, which it's not really.

Tbh calling it a 'tragedy' is a bit over the top.

I could start a thread called The Great Tragedy of Offaly Hurling and go on about how far they've fallen because the quality isn't there. Doesn't mean it's not common in other counties though.

The video starts by qualifying the title anyway.

I may never enter a competition but I might and if I did, the two videos have informed me immensely. More so than going into the ins and outs of different feds and what they allow. I'd just be interested in lifting the most I could in the gear I train in rather than think about equipping myself.

And I think it's beginners like me it's targeted at.

Hanley

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

And I think it's beginners like me it's targeted at.

Correct. But you can't please all of the people all of the time.

It's actually quite discouraging to see such negativity. But ya know rather than praise what's good... jumping onto any minor flaws is easier and more rewarding right?

EDIT: ..and that comment's not specifically at the thread before anyone gets paro - just an observation on things I've seen over the last week.

Darkest Horse

Hanley wrote: »

Time's the most precious resource we have. Wasting it on inefficient practices is just nuts. No?

Like running laps

MightyMandarin

Hanley wrote: »

Time's the most precious resource we have. Wasting it on inefficient practices is just nuts. No?

Well it is, and the points you've raised are valid, but they're just beginners mistakes which happen in all sports that you compete in for the first time. Look at distance running for example, thousands pick it up and train for 10k's, marathons etc. They put hours and hours of work in, like the stuff you mentioned. Then race day comes and the adrenaline shoots, they f*ck up with pacing themselves and make a balls of it. What I'm trying to say is, ok people make mistakes and miss lifts that they had, but at least they can learn from this and move on the same way a newbie to races would. It's not the end of the world and there's nothing that associations can do to stop this.

And no one getting into the sport for the first cares about any of the sh*t you mentioned, so a video like that would serve no one.

Other than a small minority of powerlifting fans who've probably already formed an opinion on it.

That's not entirely true. I'm still a beginner to powerlifting and have yet to do a meet (you can invalidate my opinion based on this, if you want) but at the gym I train at, there's a good few lads who would be experienced and inexperienced lifters who think it's a great shame that this is the case. I myself would like to compete in the future, and I've been told that the IDFPA would be the best for me, but what good is placing at a comp if I know that there are other associations like the GPC and IPO where people are a hell of a lot stronger than me but don't get in the top5. It sort of invalidates my achievements no?

It IS the biggest tragedy of all in powerlifting imo. If there was 1 association with separate divisions for all the stuff mentioned, then it would clear up a lot of the mess in determining who are the best lifters. It would also help grow the sport I think, because if you're having a couple of national championships every year for all of the associations, it's going to attract a much smaller audience than say 1 big championship in a big venue with a much larger audience. Because it's divided up into loads of different associations the sport can't grow to its full potential. I think it'd be a great topic for a video and if one was to explain the differences between all of the associations, that would also clear up the dilemma for beginners about which competition to enter/association to join.

Sorry if the informative beginner friendly video wasn't up to scratch, or the headline was misleading.

Like I said before, the video is informative as are the rest of your posts on this. I am a beginner and while I might be a bit more informed than the rest of my kind, I still learned stuff from it and hopefully I won't make silly mistakes when I decide to enter a competition.

judosean2005

Having different associations is great for the sport.
it helps promote the sport. giving us a high volume of events in a calendar year. as opposed to a large event as suggested. Some people have jobs,family,life as well as geographical issues, so attending the large event isnt always viable.
Also there are slight rule differences in some Associations. such as knee wraps for raw lifters.
Each Association have there titles and national/world champs just like boxing or MMA. And anyone who has a Title from any of the associations would just be ecstatic to have it. And wont be too worried about what other assications are lifting.

A great Phrase i tell often:

No Matter how strong you are. There is always someone warming
up with your max.

Just be happy to be involved and do your best

MightyMandarin

judosean2005 wrote: »

Having different associations is great for the sport.
it helps promote the sport. giving us a high volume of events in a calendar year. as opposed to a large event as suggested. Some people have jobs,family,life as well as geographical issues, so attending the large event isnt always viable.
Also there are slight rule differences in some Associations. such as knee wraps for raw lifters.

You could still have regular events, I just think if you took all of the people involved in all of the associations and had bigger events, it would generate more noise and more people would be interested in it. Crossfit is popular because it has the 'Crossfit Games' which goes a long way to promoting its brand and athletes, even though it's not a actual sport, just a mix of other sports. Weightlifting also have the olympics to showcase and help it grow.

I just think if you joined them together, the sport itself would grow a lot more. It's like the bundle of sticks analogy, it's stronger if it sticks together.

Each Association have there titles and national/world champs just like boxing or MMA. And anyone who has a Title from any of the associations would just be ecstatic to have it. And wont be too worried about what other assications are lifting.

I didn't say you wouldn't be ecstatic to have prizes, just for me personally, it'd be in the back of my mind that my achievement is somewhat devalued because I know there are others who are better but just in a different association; it's similar to boxing in that you feel you have to prove yourself by winning titles in multiple organisations otherwise you can't call yourself the best, 2nd best etc.

Alf Veedersane

MightyMandarin wrote: »

Well it is, and the points you've raised are valid, but they're just beginners mistakes which happen in all sports that you compete in for the first time. Look at distance running for example, thousands pick it up and train for 10k's, marathons etc. They put hours and hours of work in, like the stuff you mentioned. Then race day comes and the adrenaline shoots, they f*ck up with pacing themselves and make a balls of it. What I'm trying to say is, ok people make mistakes and miss lifts that they had, but at least they can learn from this and move on the same way a newbie end of the world and there's nothing that associations can do to stop this.

They'd probably have been pretty happy to have someone experienced to point it out though. There are a couple of things in it that you wouldn't necessarily realise you had done wrong, e.g. keeping adrenaline low and not expending energy unnecessarily. It's quite different to taking off too fast in running. You learn that when you calve too soon.

what good is placing at a comp if I know that there are other associations like the GPC and IPO where people are a hell of a lot stronger than me but don't get in the top5. It sort of invalidates my achievements no?

Your achievements are what you lift on the day, not where that places you. Nothing can invalidate that.

MightyMandarin

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

They'd probably have been pretty happy to have someone experienced to point it out though. There are a couple of things in it that you wouldn't necessarily realise you had done wrong, e.g. keeping adrenaline low and not expending energy unnecessarily. It's quite different to taking off too fast in running. You learn that when you calve too soon

Well yeah but it's the same concept; you train hard, get a little too excited and end up making a balls of it, or you forget to pace yourself/wait for the commands to be given, and end up getting flattened later on/miss a lift.

Your achievements are what you lift on the day, not where that places you. Nothing can invalidate that.

That's true but it is a competition at the end of the day and everyone would like to be the champion, that's just natural. My point is that how can anyone call themselves or know themself that they are the best or the 2nd best when there are any number of other guys out there lifting more but just happen to be in a different association. Having one, individual association with separate categories would stop this from happening.

Alf Veedersane

MightyMandarin wrote: »

Well yeah but it's the same concept; you train hard, get a little too excited and end up making a balls of it, or you forget to pace yourself/wait for the commands to be given, and end up getting flattened later on/miss a lift.

There's more to it than the mechanics of the lift. A lot of people don't realise what watching, cheering etc does to the energy they need. They don't cop it after their first competition either. It's not an obvious thing.

And most of them would be happy to know the tips in advance.

The tenor of the videos is in the threa r he title, ultimately.

angela8915

Excellent info here, I am currently doing some research and found exactly what I was looing for.