First Meet(s) and Beyond

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerlifting & Strength Sports
1

I know this has been discussed, however, I would like to bring together different opinions from Veterans on the board. That being said, I mean veterans as in being successful and so on in the sport. Does not mean you have to be a Universal record holder, but if you are 600lbs off of hitting elite in your weight class just read rather than post.

This post is targeted more towards people like Storm the beach, Marauder Meat, Deta, Kameron, Dixie, Dove, Liquid,VTballa ect.

There are lots of people on here who compete multiple times throughout the year so please do not feel left out…

Now for the point:

What programs do you prefer to run as meet prep?
-Compared to your usual training (note if raw or geared) ---- **edit lots of people type raw as RAW for some reason, might just be a typo for RAWRRR!
-How many weeks out do you start editing training to adapt for the upcoming meet.

Specific tips on choosing weights.
-I know 1st should be super easy, how do most of you choose your 2nd, 3rd, and possible 4th attempt?

Federation suggestions?
-This community is far spread across the states, and some Canadians/ Euro’s, What federations have you had the best experiences with?

**If there are any other questions people would like to add I can edit, lets try to keep this as clean and readable as possible to get some good info in here. Rule of thumb should be no memes

2

Weill back’n ma day we ain’t do none of dem dere programmification do-hickies. We grabbededd dem dang old weights and slammed dem around. Dusk til dawn. Slammethin’ the weights. We ate meat, busted nutz, and slammed dem bars all over the floor I tell you wat. We’d go outta town. Dewa dere meet. Den git pissdrunk at dem dere bars. Hookahs n’ booz sonny.

/darazimpersonation

3

Not sure if I qualify here, but I’ll put my two american pennies in anyway. I compete all raw (not capitalized) with just a belt and singlet. This is how I compete, so this is also how I train:

-Meet prep I run 5-3-1 for Powerlifting.

-Run whatever offseason I want in between meets, but my meet prep is 8 weeks prior.

-First attempt: 85% of meet goal, Second attempt: 92.5% of meet goal, Third attempt: 100% of meet goal (obviously). The 5-3-1 for PL has you doing singles at certain percentages of your meet goal in the 8 weeks leading up, with the final week completely off. I also do bare minimum (mostly just the main lift and one assistance exercise, if that) for the final 4 weeks.

-Federation wise, I’ve done my last couple meets with 100% RAW (that’s when it should be capitalized since thats the name of the fed…RAWR)…They have both been great meets and a lot of fun. Run smoothly with good consistent judging and pretty quick. Lots of good lifters. Drug tested fed so there’s that if its your thing.

I have also done an SPF meet. It was a fucking blast. Music playing during attempts, the MC encouraging everyone to get rowdy, and some huge lifts. I saw good judging at this meet and didn’t see any egregious bad calls that they have become infamous for on the interwebz. It was a good meet and I definitely would do another one with them again.

4

[quote]spar4tee wrote:
Weill back’n ma day we ain’t do none of dem dere programmification do-hickies. We grabbededd dem dang old weights and slammed dem around. Dusk til dawn. Slammethin’ the weights. We ate meat, busted nutz, and slammed dem bars all over the floor I tell you wat. We’d go outta town. Dewa dere meet. Den git pissdrunk at dem dere bars. Hookahs n’ booz sonny.

/darazimpersonation[/quote]

hahahahahahaha…that’s great

edited in…

my bad…didnt mean to shlup up the thread . I did actually burst into laughter at Spar’s comment…and posted a bit too quick…sorry man

5

[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:
Not sure if I qualify here, but I’ll put my two american pennies in anyway. I compete all raw (not capitalized) with just a belt and singlet. This is how I compete, so this is also how I train:

-Meet prep I run 5-3-1 for Powerlifting.

-Run whatever offseason I want in between meets, but my meet prep is 8 weeks prior.

-First attempt: 85% of meet goal, Second attempt: 92.5% of meet goal, Third attempt: 100% of meet goal (obviously). The 5-3-1 for PL has you doing singles at certain percentages of your meet goal in the 8 weeks leading up, with the final week completely off. I also do bare minimum (mostly just the main lift and one assistance exercise, if that) for the final 4 weeks.

-Federation wise, I’ve done my last couple meets with 100% RAW (that’s when it should be capitalized since thats the name of the fed…RAWR)…They have both been great meets and a lot of fun. Run smoothly with good consistent judging and pretty quick. Lots of good lifters. Drug tested fed so there’s that if its your thing.

I have also done an SPF meet. It was a fucking blast. Music playing during attempts, the MC encouraging everyone to get rowdy, and some huge lifts. I saw good judging at this meet and didn’t see any egregious bad calls that they have become infamous for on the interwebz. It was a good meet and I definitely would do another one with them again.[/quote]

For sure man, I enjoy your write ups as well. Im training for a USAPL meet in Oct, but are thinking about doing a small meet in Georgia late July that would be SPF. Everything else is either too far or doesnt fit my schedule. Lots of people trash talk SPF but I hear it is always a good experience.

6

I used ranges for my meet goals during my prep. I kinda abandoned my plan when it mattered though. Also go in with the expectation of warmups being a clusterfuck and being rushed if your flight is small.

7

LOL I am no veteran.

Only had one meet, single ply, ran westside all the way up to it, backed off the last couple weeks, more backing off the week of. Worked alright for me, given the situation (flu, messed up rotator cuff, and upper back bullshit)

8

I thing worth checking - although I am unsure if it applies to USAPL or not…but over here the GBPF (IPF affiliate) has a rule that you can’t compete in other feds, if you do, you are barred for 1 year from competing again.

Just thought it might be worth noting as the USAPL is also an IPF affiliate.

Other than that, I am out - certainly no vet!

9

I wouldn’t say I’m a veteran after only 3 meets all within the last 2 years. The thing I will say though is that I have a wealth of knowledge from the people I train with - many whom have done 100’s of meets and all of which have competed at the world level.

I’ve tried westside, I’ve tried 5/3/1, I’ve tried random other things and finally settled on what works with me which is a mix of various things from various protocols.

I squat, bench and pull every week. It may not always be heavy every week but I do have allocated days where my focus is such. The farther out from a meet I am the more 5’s I do. About 6 weeks out I switch to hitting triples and singles - singles for the days I feel good, triples for the not so great days (similar to westside). At 8 weeks out I am doing the competition lifts and regrooving my technique. I know others don’t do the competition lifts until their openers but I have been making good technical progress doing things this way so I keep doing it.

Also when people type RAW - usually they’re talking about the actual federation “RAW” whereas “Raw or raw” is just sans equipment (with or without wraps depending on the federation obviously)

1st - Something I can hit on my worst day for a triple

2nd - Usually a small PR or something that is going to set me up well for my third. For instance this past meet I went 502/551/602 (failed) for my squat. 551 wasn’t a PR but I felt as though if I had gone any heavier I’d of likely blow too much energy for my 602 which would have been a PR and a huge personal accomplishment for me. After doing this I probably should have made the 551 my opener and gone 602 on the second - but I didn’t have a clue the 551 would come up that fast.

3rd - Go for broke. Some may disagree with this but for third I like to definitely get a PR, preferably a big one. Granted I’ve never gone better than 6/9 so maybe it’s not the best tactic. I feel though if it works - the payoff (emotionally) of hitting something that there was a slim possibility of hitting outweighs the benefit (usually) of something a good bit smaller that I have more confidence I can hit. I may play this safer at worlds since I’ll need every lb I can get if I want a world title.

Federations - Here are my criteria for choosing:

  1. Location - where do they mainly compete? Is it close? I’m broke and traveling all over unless it’s a huge meet just doesn’t make sense financially for me.

  2. Rules - do they allow wraps? Use monolifts? I prefer to lift with wraps and a monolift for safety issues. Squat stands really mess with my nerves and the idea of walking out with 600 on my back and putting it all one leg and shifting back and forth a bit to find my stance isn’t a huge plus in my mind either.

  3. Douchiness level - If I’ve lifted an a fed and I just don’t like the people or how they run the meet I won’t bother competing with that fed again. I’m happy so long as the judging is relatively strict (not so much that you just see everyone being red-lighted for the littlest of things) and it is consistent. There have been issues where that is not the case.

10

[quote]Achilles of war wrote:

[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:
Not sure if I qualify here, but I’ll put my two american pennies in anyway. I compete all raw (not capitalized) with just a belt and singlet. This is how I compete, so this is also how I train:

-Meet prep I run 5-3-1 for Powerlifting.

-Run whatever offseason I want in between meets, but my meet prep is 8 weeks prior.

-First attempt: 85% of meet goal, Second attempt: 92.5% of meet goal, Third attempt: 100% of meet goal (obviously). The 5-3-1 for PL has you doing singles at certain percentages of your meet goal in the 8 weeks leading up, with the final week completely off. I also do bare minimum (mostly just the main lift and one assistance exercise, if that) for the final 4 weeks.

-Federation wise, I’ve done my last couple meets with 100% RAW (that’s when it should be capitalized since thats the name of the fed…RAWR)…They have both been great meets and a lot of fun. Run smoothly with good consistent judging and pretty quick. Lots of good lifters. Drug tested fed so there’s that if its your thing.

I have also done an SPF meet. It was a fucking blast. Music playing during attempts, the MC encouraging everyone to get rowdy, and some huge lifts. I saw good judging at this meet and didn’t see any egregious bad calls that they have become infamous for on the interwebz. It was a good meet and I definitely would do another one with them again.[/quote]

For sure man, I enjoy your write ups as well. Im training for a USAPL meet in Oct, but are thinking about doing a small meet in Georgia late July that would be SPF. Everything else is either too far or doesnt fit my schedule. Lots of people trash talk SPF but I hear it is always a good experience. [/quote]

Depending on when your meet is and if I’m able to I may come on out and help you out if you want. It’s nice to have someone there “running” your meet so to speak and dealing with submitting attempts and your wraps/gear if you use.

11

^^YEAH! Come to edmonton and help me with my meet too.

Oct. 20th

kthanksbye

12

Good topics.

I like a variety of pre-meet cycles, almost all last 7-13 weeks long, some of them have been articles, should have another one in the works that is comprehensive. Westside style stuff is generally good although often needs modifications if you go raw.

The most simple guideline I give people when choosing weights is 87.5% on your 1st, 95% on your second, 100% on your third and your third is usually a 5-10 lb PR on what you have done before. When you get experienced you can tinker with this but it works very well most of the time. If you want to save energy on deads and feel you are good for just one big deadlift then I go 85%, 92.5% and then 100%.

I compete mainly with 100% RAW because they are local and well run and do single lift stuff as well. I also have done a lot with the USAPL and some with the AAU. Personally I prefer to compete in tested feds that are generally strict and emphasize more raw lifting. I am in VA and there are multiple meets in that state every year with both USAPL and 100% RAW.

Tim

13

[quote]LiquidMercury wrote:

[quote]Achilles of war wrote:

[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:
Not sure if I qualify here, but I’ll put my two american pennies in anyway. I compete all raw (not capitalized) with just a belt and singlet. This is how I compete, so this is also how I train:

-Meet prep I run 5-3-1 for Powerlifting.

-Run whatever offseason I want in between meets, but my meet prep is 8 weeks prior.

-First attempt: 85% of meet goal, Second attempt: 92.5% of meet goal, Third attempt: 100% of meet goal (obviously). The 5-3-1 for PL has you doing singles at certain percentages of your meet goal in the 8 weeks leading up, with the final week completely off. I also do bare minimum (mostly just the main lift and one assistance exercise, if that) for the final 4 weeks.

-Federation wise, I’ve done my last couple meets with 100% RAW (that’s when it should be capitalized since thats the name of the fed…RAWR)…They have both been great meets and a lot of fun. Run smoothly with good consistent judging and pretty quick. Lots of good lifters. Drug tested fed so there’s that if its your thing.

I have also done an SPF meet. It was a fucking blast. Music playing during attempts, the MC encouraging everyone to get rowdy, and some huge lifts. I saw good judging at this meet and didn’t see any egregious bad calls that they have become infamous for on the interwebz. It was a good meet and I definitely would do another one with them again.[/quote]

For sure man, I enjoy your write ups as well. Im training for a USAPL meet in Oct, but are thinking about doing a small meet in Georgia late July that would be SPF. Everything else is either too far or doesnt fit my schedule. Lots of people trash talk SPF but I hear it is always a good experience. [/quote]

Depending on when your meet is and if I’m able to I may come on out and help you out if you want. It’s nice to have someone there “running” your meet so to speak and dealing with submitting attempts and your wraps/gear if you use.[/quote]

LM it would be July 28th in Buford, Georgia right outside Atlanta. Ill send you a PM later today and perhaps we can work something out. I lift raw but I believe SPF allows knee wraps, I also need lots of guidance picking attempts -.- and so on.

14

.I believe I’m in town that weekend though I’ll have to check my schedule for sure. I live on the Northside of Atlanta and Buford is maybe 30-40 minutes from me so not too bad at all.

SPF does allow knee wraps - if you haven’t used them start now and learn how to use them because it will change your lift some. Also get some practice with having them wrapped tighter and tighter which will give you more rebound. If I make it to the meet I’ll wrap you which will be much tighter then you’re able to get for yourself.

We can talk about attempts and what not as we get a bit closer and see how you feel and how training is going. You’ve still got a solid 4 weeks of real training before I’d suggest you hit openers and deload before the meet.

15

[quote]Spock81 wrote:
^^YEAH! Come to edmonton and help me with my meet too.

Oct. 20th

kthanksbye[/quote]

Just a hop skip and a bit north.

16

[quote]Achilles of war wrote:

[quote]LiquidMercury wrote:

[quote]Achilles of war wrote:

[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:
Not sure if I qualify here, but I’ll put my two american pennies in anyway. I compete all raw (not capitalized) with just a belt and singlet. This is how I compete, so this is also how I train:

-Meet prep I run 5-3-1 for Powerlifting.

-Run whatever offseason I want in between meets, but my meet prep is 8 weeks prior.

-First attempt: 85% of meet goal, Second attempt: 92.5% of meet goal, Third attempt: 100% of meet goal (obviously). The 5-3-1 for PL has you doing singles at certain percentages of your meet goal in the 8 weeks leading up, with the final week completely off. I also do bare minimum (mostly just the main lift and one assistance exercise, if that) for the final 4 weeks.

-Federation wise, I’ve done my last couple meets with 100% RAW (that’s when it should be capitalized since thats the name of the fed…RAWR)…They have both been great meets and a lot of fun. Run smoothly with good consistent judging and pretty quick. Lots of good lifters. Drug tested fed so there’s that if its your thing.

I have also done an SPF meet. It was a fucking blast. Music playing during attempts, the MC encouraging everyone to get rowdy, and some huge lifts. I saw good judging at this meet and didn’t see any egregious bad calls that they have become infamous for on the interwebz. It was a good meet and I definitely would do another one with them again.[/quote]

For sure man, I enjoy your write ups as well. Im training for a USAPL meet in Oct, but are thinking about doing a small meet in Georgia late July that would be SPF. Everything else is either too far or doesnt fit my schedule. Lots of people trash talk SPF but I hear it is always a good experience. [/quote]

Depending on when your meet is and if I’m able to I may come on out and help you out if you want. It’s nice to have someone there “running” your meet so to speak and dealing with submitting attempts and your wraps/gear if you use.[/quote]

LM it would be July 28th in Buford, Georgia right outside Atlanta. Ill send you a PM later today and perhaps we can work something out. I lift raw but I believe SPF allows knee wraps, I also need lots of guidance picking attempts -.- and so on.[/quote]
Fack you couldn’t wait brah?

17

[quote]LiquidMercury wrote:
.I believe I’m in town that weekend though I’ll have to check my schedule for sure. I live on the Northside of Atlanta and Buford is maybe 30-40 minutes from me so not too bad at all.

SPF does allow knee wraps - if you haven’t used them start now and learn how to use them because it will change your lift some. Also get some practice with having them wrapped tighter and tighter which will give you more rebound. If I make it to the meet I’ll wrap you which will be much tighter then you’re able to get for yourself.

We can talk about attempts and what not as we get a bit closer and see how you feel and how training is going. You’ve still got a solid 4 weeks of real training before I’d suggest you hit openers and deload before the meet.[/quote]

If I followed my plan right now it would have me hitting openers the 4th, 24 days before the meet, is that too soon?

Also yeah I have used knee wraps but i do not put them tight, my friend did it for me once and it was a completely different experience due to the rebound prevalent that i dont get from how loose i tie them.

Ill be back on my comp later (lifting at 5) will message you then and we can talk more. Thanks for the help.

18

Too soon in my opinion. Generally I prefer to hit openers 2 weeks before the meet as well as dialing back the accessory stuff and take the entire week off before the meet. It’s always left me fresh this way but with some pent up rage and frustration at not being able to lift for the last week.

I believe APT has a few videos up as does EFS on the various ways to wrap but having someone do it for you is a whole different level and I wouldn’t want you to have a “shit get these fucking things off me” moment before you even managed to get up to the monolift (I had that the first time someone wrapped me and it took me about 6 weeks of being wrapped to get used to it).

19

^^^Regarding wrapping the knees, maraudermeat had an excellent video up in his log about that about a year and a half ago…no idea where in his log it would be but you might be able to find it on his youtube channel.

20

When you guys choose your attempts will it make any difference if you’re doing a single-event meet?
I’m doing a deadlift-only meet on july 14, it will be my first comp and i have no clue of what to choose as my opener and second attempts. My goal is to pull 220Kg and I was thinking 190, ???, 220. Or should i make 220 my second?.
My gym PR is 214Kg with shitty bar and smaller-than-standard plates.