I had really decided to go into the meet just to post a total which would qualify me for the British Championships. Anything mroe than that was a bonus. Fortunately I managed to do this with my opening lifts. I went along to get some experience of the federation and was very impressed by the strict judging, the professional manner in which the competition was run and the overall atmosphere. It is unlike anything I have experienced before. Thank you to Delroy McQueen for recommending I try this fed as I can now see myself sticking with it for years to come. Also thanks to Del for the coaching help and advice over the last few months.
There were a lot of things to adjust to with this new federation. A 24 hour weigh in (which involved driving up to Genesis gym in Wembley, which i am now very keen to visit to train at when i get the opportunity), different bars for squat, bench and deadlift, lifting out of the monolift and some slight variations on the rules. The squat bar threw me slightly, as it is longer, and thicker than the ivanko bars I have used for my training. The deadlift bar was fantastic to lift with, and has a bit more flex in it than the ivanko so the bar bends slightly more when you initiate the lift. The Texas power bars for bench are something I have at my gym and train with regularly so this was nothing unusual.
I got my opener on the squat of 250kg which felt pretty comforable. Second attempt I went for a 5kg PR of 265kg but unracked it in a bit of a rush before I'd got it settled on my back so when I went down with the weight it didn't feel quite right and I missed this lift coming back out of the hole. I skipped my third attempt for the sake of saving energy and ensuring I posted a total. Not the best result on my squat but a few things learnt and plenty to take away and work on. I'm also very keen to get a Texas Squat bar for the gym so those of us competing in the GPC at my gym are able to train with the same equipment as we will be using in comp.
On the bench my opener of 165kg felt very easy. I also got my second attempt of 175kg (5kg under my best gym PR) and attempted 182.5kg on my third attempt which came off the chest but I did not manage to complete the rep. I was pretty pleased with the result on the bench as despite not getting a new PR, 175kg on my second attempt felt pretty comfortable and I am confident that 185 or higher will come soon.
On the deadlift I got my opener of 250kg very easily, my second lift of 262.5kg was a 2.5kg PR, and I attempted 272.5kg on my third lift which came off the floor but failed just below the knee (I think largely due to just being fatigued from the day).
So I came away with a 687.5kg total, and the A standard qualifying total I needed was 647.5kg so I comfortably qualified for the British and I think the Europeans as well.
All in all a really good experience and a great day. I have now planned out all my training for the remainder of the year and am aiming for a 745-750 total by the end of the year when I next test my lifts.
Thanks to Ian Coull for acting as my handler for the day, doing the driving, wrapping knees etc etc. Thanks and Well done to Rob Hunter for competing as well and getting a competition bench PR and a all time deadlift PR. Another thanks to Rob Graham for his help in the warm up room, and Delroy for the advice on the day. One last big thank you to my girlfriend Jen for coming to support me for the whole day.
Next post will be a summary of my training programme for the rest of the year.
Thanks for reading. Until next time...
Phil
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