My first PL comp is next sunday and i’m not sure how to choose my openers and then following attempts. So any help would be greatly appreciated.
I need to total at least 467.5kg (to qualify for another comp).
My last gym lifts were:
Squat: 165kg for 1 rep (couldn’t complete the second)
Bench: 105kg for 2 paused reps (i’ve did 110kg for 3 touch and go singles the previous week)
Deadlift: 190kg for one rep (tried 200kg and it came up about 5 inches and hten slammed back down, i’m confident the strength’s there but my set up was bad)
I’m with Wreckless on this one in that I think you should open a little lighter, but leave your seconds and thirds the same.
I usually advise people in their first meet to take a weight that they can do easily and then knock it down 5-10kg. Of course that is assuming the gear will allow it.
That way, if the judges want something different than what you’ve trained for, you can make any correction needed and still, comfortably, stay in the meet.
I’d go with Wreckless and lighten up the first attempts. Staying in the comp. is important, you could consider them your last warm up. BTW make sure you don’t over do it in the warm up room, last warm ups for SQ should be about 10-15kg lighter, BP about 5-7.5kg lighter and DL about 15kg lighter.
First opener as a 3rep anyday weight is good place for a beginer to start.
[quote]ah_dut wrote:
I was told to pick a confident gym triple by a powerfliter when I expressed interest in entering a comp[/quote]
I aqree with this. Open with what you did for 3 on your last heavy day. Competitions are completely different than gym lifting, so it’s good to nail your opener.
My first comp is next week all also. What i do is pick a weight i’ve hit in the gym a few times that i know i can hit. For squat i’ve done 455 3 times, then 500 once, but the spotter touched me on 500 cause i got wobbly, although i dont think he helped it wouldn’t have counted in a meet. So i picked 465 to open with, then 500, then 535 for third.
On bench i’ve done 330 in the gym which is a gym PR but it was so easy i decided to open there. On deadlift i’ve done 535 once and then 535 so i decided to open with 525 then 555, then 585. I’m less conservative with my dead because it is my best lift, obviously as my deadlift opener is 60lbs above my squat opener and only 10lbs below my last squat attempt haha.
I am going to go against the grain and state your openers should be as follows:
Squat: 145K
Bench: 85K
Pulls: 170K
Your openers look like reasonable 2nds to me, then get aggressive.
Remember, in a meet it takes more energy to miss lifts than to make them. I mean this both mentally and physically.
At this point in your lifting career, I honestly think the second attempts you have picked are iffy.
You should walk out to your opener completely unconcerned about the weight going up. Your second should be similar, but requiring some intensity and focus. Your third should be a number that you are going to have to have your your head straight to get.
As you gain experience and confidence on the platform, you can start to figure out what works for you.
The bottom line is I would like to see you not get a hard lesson in the difference b/t a gym and meet lift by bombing, or having a 3/3 day at your first meet.
Nobody cares or remembers where you start. Where you finish matters.