About two years ago I decided to lose some weight. I was 6’2 320 pounds. Over about 6 months I trimmed down to 240 doing some cardio eating healthy and doing an easy push pull legs routine in my garage. Once I got to 240 I felt kinda small, but not ripped, almost skinny fat. I started doing powerlifting style workouts and eating differently and about 18 months later I am 275 pounds, have a 425 squat, 395 bench and 605 deadlift. Friends of mine think that these are pretty good numbers and that I should do a meet but I see guys in my weight class putting up way bigger numbers would I be embarrassed entering a meet this early?
Depends what kind of meet you go to lol. Might be juniors outlifting you.
Just kidding. Not sure if srs but those are big numbers that you should be proud of. If you want to be competitive in your weight class that’s up to you but remember everyone who’s at the meet is working just like you and there’s plenty of respect there because of it. Keep in mind there’s people been lifting barely a month who sign up for meets. Or you can just think of it as stuff everyone else. You are there to beat yourself and get better.
Probably more likely to embarrass yourself doing something like lowering your new PR deadlift before the command or somethin so know the rules/regulations and equipment and you’ll be alright.
Good luck and hopefully you get some weak competition in your weight class
That’s great progress.
Will you be embarrassed with those numbers? Not at all.
Will you win the meet with those numbers? it depends who is there.
TBH, powerlifting is a super-fringe, super-niche sport and I think you’re basically competing against yourself more than striving to win some local meet with 2 or 3 guys in your class (not that winning is a bad thing, just that it’s not how I personally would measure progress).
If you want to compete, do it. You’ll get an idea of whether you actually like the “sport” of powerlifting or whether you’d prefer to focus your training in a different direction. Personally, I love getting stronger and deadlifting in particular, but everything that I can see about PL in the current era suggests that I’m happier doing it in my garage and tracking my own progress vs. shelling out membership and meet entry fees to win a trophy that no one will know or care about. To each their own.
3 Likes
Just go do a meet. Get some numbers on the platform and give yourself something to shoot for next contest.
Just concern yourself with your numbers and not anyone else’s. Concern yourself with getting better. That’s the goal.
3 Likes
You’ll do fine. Squat is comparatively low compared your bench and DL but that doesn’t matter in the slightest. From the meets I’ve been at your bench is plenty good for your weight, DL is perfectly respectable.
Enter the meet and do your best. Find someone to help you practice commands and timing your warmups, etc.
The meet is where will will find out what you can really lift. Gym lifts don’t mean shit.
Have fun.
If you want to compete then compete. The only thing you should be worrying about in a meet is doing the best that you can do on that day. So do your first meet, then train and beat your last meet, repeat.
Probably the best take away from a meet is what you can learn from the other competitors, going into a meet you should already have a good idea of what you are capable of.