Motivation for USAPL Men's Nationals

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerlifting & Strength Sports
41

[quote]PlainPat wrote:

[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:

[quote]PlainPat wrote:

[quote]michael_xyz wrote:

[quote]HARA wrote:
Vinny Dizenzo and I were chatting at a meet a few years ago and said “look at these guys eye balling each other and looking all mad…the meet is the fun part, the training that got you here was the tough part…enjoy yourself”

I forgot how much he benched that day but I’m sure it was bigger than most of the deadlifts done.[/quote]

I really like that.

[quote]PlainPat wrote:

[quote]michael_xyz wrote:
To each his own but I don’t see why you want to have the desire of demoralising others. Maybe that makes me a
loser, I don’t know.

I think it all depends if you are truly any good or not. I know that I’m not the next Ed Coan and I accept that. I won’t be dedicating my life to lifting and that’s what it takes to be a champion. But I’d like to think I still want to be a winner in my own right.

I’d rather people admired me than hated me personally. I’d rather hit a total and for people to think “Wow, he didn’t have great genetics or anything but he worked really hard for many years to hit that” instead of “Wow, what an asshole, I hate this guy!”. Of course people will think what they want to think but I’d rather give off that kind of mentality - to inspire - rather than demoralise.[/quote]

Why don’t you think you can inspire people by literally destroying them in competition? Don’t you get fucking angry when someone beats you? I don’t know if you do or not but losing for me is a kick in the ass I hate it more than anything and it only makes me go after people harder to absolutely demolish them the next chance I get.[/quote]

No, fair enough, you can do both at the same time. It’s more I was questioning having a strong desire to demoralise other lifters. Of course in the heat of the moment when you’re all pumped up you might want to think that to help you get psyched up or whatever but in a normal, calm environment it’s a bit odd to think it.[/quote]

I wouldn’t go around telling other athletes that they’re complete shit and that they should just give up or anything like that, but I find it hard to believe that inside yourself you don’t silently harbor a feeling of hate for someone that beat you and that you should be doing everything in your power to repay the favor.[/quote]

I don’t mean to be cynical, but if you’ve never actually down a powerlifting competition, why are you even commenting on a thread in the PL forum about competing in PL’ing?

I’m sure like most people here, you have engaged in some sort of athletic endeavour in your life (wrestling or whatever). I competed as a D-1 athlete and I can certainly tell you that unless you are competing at an international level in Powerlifting, it is not at all the same. I get more passionate about my co-ed rec basketball league than I do about Powerlifting competitions.

Do you know why?

In literally every other sport, the underdog can win. Football, basketball, wrestling, golf, whatever. If that dude is having a particularly stellar day and the person he is playing against is a bit off, then that guy can win. This absolutely does not happen in Powerlifting (save for cases where the competitors are roughly equal skill).

I could play Shaq in basketball 1 on 1 one hundred times and maybe win 5 of those. On the other hand, if I competed against Mike Tuscherer head to head 100 times in PL meets, how many of those do you think I’d actually come out on top in? Not to get down on myself, but I don’t stand a chance. The strength discrepancy is that large that it is absolutely ridiculous to compare myself to him or expect to “beat him”.

On the hand other, I can certainly compete against myself and smash my previous PR’s.

This is not even considering the fact that, as I mentioned before, PL is so divided and fractured, who the fuck are you exactly even competing against anymore? Each federation has their own nuances that makes comparing across them a bit silly.

Not only that, but in most sports, there is actually a set schedule for competitions. Meaning you start out the season, play a lot of your opponents, and the best ones keep advancing culminating in some sort of national championship. Along the way, if you are one of the better players (or teams) you will end up playing another one of the better players (or teams). In powerlifting, individuals deicde what meet they are doing and since there are so many of them, it is quite possible you could go your entire career not ever seeing one of your “competitors” at an actual fucking competition.

So considering this, how do people decide they want to act like flaming douchebags to people at meet, and get to the point where they think people are “out for them”, or actually even give a fuck about them in the first place? Maybe I lack the “competitive drive” or whatever people have been harping on here, but that makes you a chump in my book.

So as I said before, if you are actually competing in international competitions, where the actual cream of the crop are actually showing up and you are REALLY competing against them, then so be it. Go out there and do you man. But for 95% of the people on this forum swinging dicks? Its laughable.[/quote]

I understand what you’re saying but are you really gonna tell me that if you entered a meet and you knew that the guy you were going against was really close to your numbers, just a little over, that you wouldnt try to bust your ass to come out on top? I’m not saying like stomp around and be an asshole to everyone, but have a mental storm going and really want to be able to beat the guy?[/quote]

Yup, that’s pretty much what I’m saying.

First off, I don’t go research the people before the meet, so going into it I really have no idea who my “competition” is or how big or small our strength discrepancy is.

Secondly, I don’t really talk to the other guys at the meet about future attempts, etc. So how am I supposed to even know what lifts I need to hit in order to “beat” him?

Thirdly, I set my meet goals about 2 months or more before the meet. I find this helps me plan my lifts at the meet as well as my training leading up to it. I don’t see a need to deviate from that.

So I admit, if I’m on my 3rd pull of the day, and somehow I’ve been made aware that some guy who is close to me in total has already completed his lifts, and I only need to add 5 pounds or something to my planned attempt in order to move ahead of him, I will likely slap that extra 5 pounds on there to get the higher total. I mean, I am human. But this situation has not yet presented itself to me at the meet.

I don’t need to know what other guys are lifting to set off a mental storm in my head to try really really hard. Going in I know what I want to hit, and that is my goal. That is where my drive comes from–not from joe blow on the other platform. Again, Powerlifting is VERY different in this regard from any other competitive endeavour I have ever engaged in. Chess, Co-ed rec league basketball, pick up flag football games–yeah I want to dominate and demoralize my competition. Powerlifting? Meh, not so much.

Maybe I’m the weird one.

42

I just recently worked the attempts/scoring table at USAPL Masters Nationals. And I will tell you that it’s a busy place in terms of the numbers because the high-level lifters who are in close contention are jockeying their numbers around based on what their competition is doing. Especially at third DL attempts, where numbers can be changed up until the bar is loaded. I think people tend to focus more on PRs at local meets. When you get to the national and international level, it’s way more about winning.

43

[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:

[quote]PlainPat wrote:

[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:

[quote]PlainPat wrote:

[quote]michael_xyz wrote:

[quote]HARA wrote:
Vinny Dizenzo and I were chatting at a meet a few years ago and said “look at these guys eye balling each other and looking all mad…the meet is the fun part, the training that got you here was the tough part…enjoy yourself”

I forgot how much he benched that day but I’m sure it was bigger than most of the deadlifts done.[/quote]

I really like that.

[quote]PlainPat wrote:

[quote]michael_xyz wrote:
To each his own but I don’t see why you want to have the desire of demoralising others. Maybe that makes me a
loser, I don’t know.

I think it all depends if you are truly any good or not. I know that I’m not the next Ed Coan and I accept that. I won’t be dedicating my life to lifting and that’s what it takes to be a champion. But I’d like to think I still want to be a winner in my own right.

I’d rather people admired me than hated me personally. I’d rather hit a total and for people to think “Wow, he didn’t have great genetics or anything but he worked really hard for many years to hit that” instead of “Wow, what an asshole, I hate this guy!”. Of course people will think what they want to think but I’d rather give off that kind of mentality - to inspire - rather than demoralise.[/quote]

Why don’t you think you can inspire people by literally destroying them in competition? Don’t you get fucking angry when someone beats you? I don’t know if you do or not but losing for me is a kick in the ass I hate it more than anything and it only makes me go after people harder to absolutely demolish them the next chance I get.[/quote]

No, fair enough, you can do both at the same time. It’s more I was questioning having a strong desire to demoralise other lifters. Of course in the heat of the moment when you’re all pumped up you might want to think that to help you get psyched up or whatever but in a normal, calm environment it’s a bit odd to think it.[/quote]

I wouldn’t go around telling other athletes that they’re complete shit and that they should just give up or anything like that, but I find it hard to believe that inside yourself you don’t silently harbor a feeling of hate for someone that beat you and that you should be doing everything in your power to repay the favor.[/quote]

I don’t mean to be cynical, but if you’ve never actually down a powerlifting competition, why are you even commenting on a thread in the PL forum about competing in PL’ing?

I’m sure like most people here, you have engaged in some sort of athletic endeavour in your life (wrestling or whatever). I competed as a D-1 athlete and I can certainly tell you that unless you are competing at an international level in Powerlifting, it is not at all the same. I get more passionate about my co-ed rec basketball league than I do about Powerlifting competitions.

Do you know why?

In literally every other sport, the underdog can win. Football, basketball, wrestling, golf, whatever. If that dude is having a particularly stellar day and the person he is playing against is a bit off, then that guy can win. This absolutely does not happen in Powerlifting (save for cases where the competitors are roughly equal skill).

I could play Shaq in basketball 1 on 1 one hundred times and maybe win 5 of those. On the other hand, if I competed against Mike Tuscherer head to head 100 times in PL meets, how many of those do you think I’d actually come out on top in? Not to get down on myself, but I don’t stand a chance. The strength discrepancy is that large that it is absolutely ridiculous to compare myself to him or expect to “beat him”.

On the hand other, I can certainly compete against myself and smash my previous PR’s.

This is not even considering the fact that, as I mentioned before, PL is so divided and fractured, who the fuck are you exactly even competing against anymore? Each federation has their own nuances that makes comparing across them a bit silly.

Not only that, but in most sports, there is actually a set schedule for competitions. Meaning you start out the season, play a lot of your opponents, and the best ones keep advancing culminating in some sort of national championship. Along the way, if you are one of the better players (or teams) you will end up playing another one of the better players (or teams). In powerlifting, individuals deicde what meet they are doing and since there are so many of them, it is quite possible you could go your entire career not ever seeing one of your “competitors” at an actual fucking competition.

So considering this, how do people decide they want to act like flaming douchebags to people at meet, and get to the point where they think people are “out for them”, or actually even give a fuck about them in the first place? Maybe I lack the “competitive drive” or whatever people have been harping on here, but that makes you a chump in my book.

So as I said before, if you are actually competing in international competitions, where the actual cream of the crop are actually showing up and you are REALLY competing against them, then so be it. Go out there and do you man. But for 95% of the people on this forum swinging dicks? Its laughable.[/quote]

I understand what you’re saying but are you really gonna tell me that if you entered a meet and you knew that the guy you were going against was really close to your numbers, just a little over, that you wouldnt try to bust your ass to come out on top? I’m not saying like stomp around and be an asshole to everyone, but have a mental storm going and really want to be able to beat the guy?[/quote]

Yup, that’s pretty much what I’m saying.

First off, I don’t go research the people before the meet, so going into it I really have no idea who my “competition” is or how big or small our strength discrepancy is.

Secondly, I don’t really talk to the other guys at the meet about future attempts, etc. So how am I supposed to even know what lifts I need to hit in order to “beat” him?

Thirdly, I set my meet goals about 2 months or more before the meet. I find this helps me plan my lifts at the meet as well as my training leading up to it. I don’t see a need to deviate from that.

So I admit, if I’m on my 3rd pull of the day, and somehow I’ve been made aware that some guy who is close to me in total has already completed his lifts, and I only need to add 5 pounds or something to my planned attempt in order to move ahead of him, I will likely slap that extra 5 pounds on there to get the higher total. I mean, I am human. But this situation has not yet presented itself to me at the meet.

I don’t need to know what other guys are lifting to set off a mental storm in my head to try really really hard. Going in I know what I want to hit, and that is my goal. That is where my drive comes from–not from joe blow on the other platform. Again, Powerlifting is VERY different in this regard from any other competitive endeavour I have ever engaged in. Chess, Co-ed rec league basketball, pick up flag football games–yeah I want to dominate and demoralize my competition. Powerlifting? Meh, not so much.

Maybe I’m the weird one.

[/quote]

Ok, just differing opinions then. I get a lot of drive knowing that someone out there is better than me because I don’t enjoy being beaten/outlifted/whatever you want to call it.

44

[quote]PlainPat wrote:

[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:

[quote]PlainPat wrote:

[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:

[quote]PlainPat wrote:

[quote]michael_xyz wrote:

[quote]HARA wrote:
Vinny Dizenzo and I were chatting at a meet a few years ago and said “look at these guys eye balling each other and looking all mad…the meet is the fun part, the training that got you here was the tough part…enjoy yourself”

I forgot how much he benched that day but I’m sure it was bigger than most of the deadlifts done.[/quote]

I really like that.

[quote]PlainPat wrote:

[quote]michael_xyz wrote:
To each his own but I don’t see why you want to have the desire of demoralising others. Maybe that makes me a
loser, I don’t know.

I think it all depends if you are truly any good or not. I know that I’m not the next Ed Coan and I accept that. I won’t be dedicating my life to lifting and that’s what it takes to be a champion. But I’d like to think I still want to be a winner in my own right.

I’d rather people admired me than hated me personally. I’d rather hit a total and for people to think “Wow, he didn’t have great genetics or anything but he worked really hard for many years to hit that” instead of “Wow, what an asshole, I hate this guy!”. Of course people will think what they want to think but I’d rather give off that kind of mentality - to inspire - rather than demoralise.[/quote]

Why don’t you think you can inspire people by literally destroying them in competition? Don’t you get fucking angry when someone beats you? I don’t know if you do or not but losing for me is a kick in the ass I hate it more than anything and it only makes me go after people harder to absolutely demolish them the next chance I get.[/quote]

No, fair enough, you can do both at the same time. It’s more I was questioning having a strong desire to demoralise other lifters. Of course in the heat of the moment when you’re all pumped up you might want to think that to help you get psyched up or whatever but in a normal, calm environment it’s a bit odd to think it.[/quote]

I wouldn’t go around telling other athletes that they’re complete shit and that they should just give up or anything like that, but I find it hard to believe that inside yourself you don’t silently harbor a feeling of hate for someone that beat you and that you should be doing everything in your power to repay the favor.[/quote]

I don’t mean to be cynical, but if you’ve never actually down a powerlifting competition, why are you even commenting on a thread in the PL forum about competing in PL’ing?

I’m sure like most people here, you have engaged in some sort of athletic endeavour in your life (wrestling or whatever). I competed as a D-1 athlete and I can certainly tell you that unless you are competing at an international level in Powerlifting, it is not at all the same. I get more passionate about my co-ed rec basketball league than I do about Powerlifting competitions.

Do you know why?

In literally every other sport, the underdog can win. Football, basketball, wrestling, golf, whatever. If that dude is having a particularly stellar day and the person he is playing against is a bit off, then that guy can win. This absolutely does not happen in Powerlifting (save for cases where the competitors are roughly equal skill).

I could play Shaq in basketball 1 on 1 one hundred times and maybe win 5 of those. On the other hand, if I competed against Mike Tuscherer head to head 100 times in PL meets, how many of those do you think I’d actually come out on top in? Not to get down on myself, but I don’t stand a chance. The strength discrepancy is that large that it is absolutely ridiculous to compare myself to him or expect to “beat him”.

On the hand other, I can certainly compete against myself and smash my previous PR’s.

This is not even considering the fact that, as I mentioned before, PL is so divided and fractured, who the fuck are you exactly even competing against anymore? Each federation has their own nuances that makes comparing across them a bit silly.

Not only that, but in most sports, there is actually a set schedule for competitions. Meaning you start out the season, play a lot of your opponents, and the best ones keep advancing culminating in some sort of national championship. Along the way, if you are one of the better players (or teams) you will end up playing another one of the better players (or teams). In powerlifting, individuals deicde what meet they are doing and since there are so many of them, it is quite possible you could go your entire career not ever seeing one of your “competitors” at an actual fucking competition.

So considering this, how do people decide they want to act like flaming douchebags to people at meet, and get to the point where they think people are “out for them”, or actually even give a fuck about them in the first place? Maybe I lack the “competitive drive” or whatever people have been harping on here, but that makes you a chump in my book.

So as I said before, if you are actually competing in international competitions, where the actual cream of the crop are actually showing up and you are REALLY competing against them, then so be it. Go out there and do you man. But for 95% of the people on this forum swinging dicks? Its laughable.[/quote]

I understand what you’re saying but are you really gonna tell me that if you entered a meet and you knew that the guy you were going against was really close to your numbers, just a little over, that you wouldnt try to bust your ass to come out on top? I’m not saying like stomp around and be an asshole to everyone, but have a mental storm going and really want to be able to beat the guy?[/quote]

Yup, that’s pretty much what I’m saying.

First off, I don’t go research the people before the meet, so going into it I really have no idea who my “competition” is or how big or small our strength discrepancy is.

Secondly, I don’t really talk to the other guys at the meet about future attempts, etc. So how am I supposed to even know what lifts I need to hit in order to “beat” him?

Thirdly, I set my meet goals about 2 months or more before the meet. I find this helps me plan my lifts at the meet as well as my training leading up to it. I don’t see a need to deviate from that.

So I admit, if I’m on my 3rd pull of the day, and somehow I’ve been made aware that some guy who is close to me in total has already completed his lifts, and I only need to add 5 pounds or something to my planned attempt in order to move ahead of him, I will likely slap that extra 5 pounds on there to get the higher total. I mean, I am human. But this situation has not yet presented itself to me at the meet.

I don’t need to know what other guys are lifting to set off a mental storm in my head to try really really hard. Going in I know what I want to hit, and that is my goal. That is where my drive comes from–not from joe blow on the other platform. Again, Powerlifting is VERY different in this regard from any other competitive endeavour I have ever engaged in. Chess, Co-ed rec league basketball, pick up flag football games–yeah I want to dominate and demoralize my competition. Powerlifting? Meh, not so much.

Maybe I’m the weird one.

[/quote]

Ok, just differing opinions then. I get a lot of drive knowing that someone out there is better than me because I don’t enjoy being beaten/outlifted/whatever you want to call it.[/quote]

I think you need to compete in a meet to understand why this doesn’t really apply. Are you going to look through the registry and try to google every person’s previous meet history to figure out who is near you that you can try to beat? Are you going to keep track of everyone’s squat/bench totals to know what you have to deadlift in order to beat someone? There aren’t running totals being posted or anything like that. It’s hard to judge what weight you need to lift based on knowing people’s openers.

In my first meet, STB was there competing. Does it make any sense for me to go for a 1700lb total in my first meet when in all actuality 1100 would have been a good success?

The difference in PL vs. team sports is that YOUR PERFORMANCE AFFECTS THE COMPETITION. Me getting a rebound stops the opponent from getting the ball. Me blanketing a receiver makes it harder on them to score. Nothing you do on a platform is “against” anyone nor does it affect their total (you can’t play defense), so it’s retarded to judge yourself based on others.

Again - like VTB said - this is excluding those who compete on national/international stages. Of course they are competing against others and have good knowledge of the competition. I’m just talking about 95% of the people here, people who are trying to get Elite status or certain classifications, or just looking for PRs.

In basketball, I’m ok having a shit game if my team wins. In PL, I’d rather have a high total and come in last than a lesser total and come in first. How have you improved if your total sucks?

45

Sorry for the thread derail. Can’t wait to hear the results of Nationals, pulling for STB.

46

[quote]scj119 wrote:

[quote]PlainPat wrote:

[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:

[quote]PlainPat wrote:

[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:

[quote]PlainPat wrote:

[quote]michael_xyz wrote:

[quote]HARA wrote:
Vinny Dizenzo and I were chatting at a meet a few years ago and said “look at these guys eye balling each other and looking all mad…the meet is the fun part, the training that got you here was the tough part…enjoy yourself”

I forgot how much he benched that day but I’m sure it was bigger than most of the deadlifts done.[/quote]

I really like that.

[quote]PlainPat wrote:

[quote]michael_xyz wrote:
To each his own but I don’t see why you want to have the desire of demoralising others. Maybe that makes me a
loser, I don’t know.

I think it all depends if you are truly any good or not. I know that I’m not the next Ed Coan and I accept that. I won’t be dedicating my life to lifting and that’s what it takes to be a champion. But I’d like to think I still want to be a winner in my own right.

I’d rather people admired me than hated me personally. I’d rather hit a total and for people to think “Wow, he didn’t have great genetics or anything but he worked really hard for many years to hit that” instead of “Wow, what an asshole, I hate this guy!”. Of course people will think what they want to think but I’d rather give off that kind of mentality - to inspire - rather than demoralise.[/quote]

Why don’t you think you can inspire people by literally destroying them in competition? Don’t you get fucking angry when someone beats you? I don’t know if you do or not but losing for me is a kick in the ass I hate it more than anything and it only makes me go after people harder to absolutely demolish them the next chance I get.[/quote]

No, fair enough, you can do both at the same time. It’s more I was questioning having a strong desire to demoralise other lifters. Of course in the heat of the moment when you’re all pumped up you might want to think that to help you get psyched up or whatever but in a normal, calm environment it’s a bit odd to think it.[/quote]

I wouldn’t go around telling other athletes that they’re complete shit and that they should just give up or anything like that, but I find it hard to believe that inside yourself you don’t silently harbor a feeling of hate for someone that beat you and that you should be doing everything in your power to repay the favor.[/quote]

I don’t mean to be cynical, but if you’ve never actually down a powerlifting competition, why are you even commenting on a thread in the PL forum about competing in PL’ing?

I’m sure like most people here, you have engaged in some sort of athletic endeavour in your life (wrestling or whatever). I competed as a D-1 athlete and I can certainly tell you that unless you are competing at an international level in Powerlifting, it is not at all the same. I get more passionate about my co-ed rec basketball league than I do about Powerlifting competitions.

Do you know why?

In literally every other sport, the underdog can win. Football, basketball, wrestling, golf, whatever. If that dude is having a particularly stellar day and the person he is playing against is a bit off, then that guy can win. This absolutely does not happen in Powerlifting (save for cases where the competitors are roughly equal skill).

I could play Shaq in basketball 1 on 1 one hundred times and maybe win 5 of those. On the other hand, if I competed against Mike Tuscherer head to head 100 times in PL meets, how many of those do you think I’d actually come out on top in? Not to get down on myself, but I don’t stand a chance. The strength discrepancy is that large that it is absolutely ridiculous to compare myself to him or expect to “beat him”.

On the hand other, I can certainly compete against myself and smash my previous PR’s.

This is not even considering the fact that, as I mentioned before, PL is so divided and fractured, who the fuck are you exactly even competing against anymore? Each federation has their own nuances that makes comparing across them a bit silly.

Not only that, but in most sports, there is actually a set schedule for competitions. Meaning you start out the season, play a lot of your opponents, and the best ones keep advancing culminating in some sort of national championship. Along the way, if you are one of the better players (or teams) you will end up playing another one of the better players (or teams). In powerlifting, individuals deicde what meet they are doing and since there are so many of them, it is quite possible you could go your entire career not ever seeing one of your “competitors” at an actual fucking competition.

So considering this, how do people decide they want to act like flaming douchebags to people at meet, and get to the point where they think people are “out for them”, or actually even give a fuck about them in the first place? Maybe I lack the “competitive drive” or whatever people have been harping on here, but that makes you a chump in my book.

So as I said before, if you are actually competing in international competitions, where the actual cream of the crop are actually showing up and you are REALLY competing against them, then so be it. Go out there and do you man. But for 95% of the people on this forum swinging dicks? Its laughable.[/quote]

I understand what you’re saying but are you really gonna tell me that if you entered a meet and you knew that the guy you were going against was really close to your numbers, just a little over, that you wouldnt try to bust your ass to come out on top? I’m not saying like stomp around and be an asshole to everyone, but have a mental storm going and really want to be able to beat the guy?[/quote]

Yup, that’s pretty much what I’m saying.

First off, I don’t go research the people before the meet, so going into it I really have no idea who my “competition” is or how big or small our strength discrepancy is.

Secondly, I don’t really talk to the other guys at the meet about future attempts, etc. So how am I supposed to even know what lifts I need to hit in order to “beat” him?

Thirdly, I set my meet goals about 2 months or more before the meet. I find this helps me plan my lifts at the meet as well as my training leading up to it. I don’t see a need to deviate from that.

So I admit, if I’m on my 3rd pull of the day, and somehow I’ve been made aware that some guy who is close to me in total has already completed his lifts, and I only need to add 5 pounds or something to my planned attempt in order to move ahead of him, I will likely slap that extra 5 pounds on there to get the higher total. I mean, I am human. But this situation has not yet presented itself to me at the meet.

I don’t need to know what other guys are lifting to set off a mental storm in my head to try really really hard. Going in I know what I want to hit, and that is my goal. That is where my drive comes from–not from joe blow on the other platform. Again, Powerlifting is VERY different in this regard from any other competitive endeavour I have ever engaged in. Chess, Co-ed rec league basketball, pick up flag football games–yeah I want to dominate and demoralize my competition. Powerlifting? Meh, not so much.

Maybe I’m the weird one.

[/quote]

Ok, just differing opinions then. I get a lot of drive knowing that someone out there is better than me because I don’t enjoy being beaten/outlifted/whatever you want to call it.[/quote]

I think you need to compete in a meet to understand why this doesn’t really apply. Are you going to look through the registry and try to google every person’s previous meet history to figure out who is near you that you can try to beat? Are you going to keep track of everyone’s squat/bench totals to know what you have to deadlift in order to beat someone? There aren’t running totals being posted or anything like that. It’s hard to judge what weight you need to lift based on knowing people’s openers.

In my first meet, STB was there competing. Does it make any sense for me to go for a 1700lb total in my first meet when in all actuality 1100 would have been a good success?

The difference in PL vs. team sports is that YOUR PERFORMANCE AFFECTS THE COMPETITION. Me getting a rebound stops the opponent from getting the ball. Me blanketing a receiver makes it harder on them to score. Nothing you do on a platform is “against” anyone nor does it affect their total (you can’t play defense), so it’s retarded to judge yourself based on others.

Again - like VTB said - this is excluding those who compete on national/international stages. Of course they are competing against others and have good knowledge of the competition. I’m just talking about 95% of the people here, people who are trying to get Elite status or certain classifications, or just looking for PRs.

In basketball, I’m ok having a shit game if my team wins. In PL, I’d rather have a high total and come in last than a lesser total and come in first. How have you improved if your total sucks?[/quote]

I totally understand what you’re saying, all I’m trying to say is if I somehow found out that someone in the same weight class/divison as me was only slightly over one of my lifts I would be pretty amped up to try to outlift that person. For most people its probably never going to matter, it really doesnt in my case at this point in time either, but I still would want to outlift someone if we were close and I miraculously found this out. Just for the sake of doing it.

47

I think it all depends on why you lift. I would never do a powerlifting meet if I didnt think I could be the best. I mean powerlifting is a goofy cult sport, and I just dont see the appeal in it beyond proving yourself. I love lifting weights, but if I didnt want to put the smack down on some fools then I would just max out at my family fitness center. I mean why powerlift if you arent competitive with it.

Dont be a dick, as previously said, keep it all in your mind. You dont need to prance around givin people the stink eye during warm ups. But you better believe that at least for me, I am not looking for 2nd place. Everyone in powerlifting is very helpful and nice, I will help more out when I know more (I’m too young to really offer much advise), but I will never stay in this sport, I would never do any sport, if I didnt have a drive to do what is outside of my projected limitations.

Btw, I lost by 2.5lbs in my age/weight class at raw nationals last year, getting 2nd place. I friended the guy who beat me and chatted with him. He is extremely nice and we had a great talk. We both complimented eachother repeatedly. But you better believe that I’m not going to lose to him again. And I am sure he is thinking that he is going to beat me by way more next time.

I do think that 99% of the motivation from competition goes into the training. The meets are more of a showcase of strength than a competition to an extent. But I believe there is still a good amount of wiggle room in terms of numbers you put up, especially when it comes down to the deadlift at the end and you see where you stand. I went from 415 for my first attempt, then 435 (PR), then 473lbs. Now much of that huge PR is due to me not having enough experience deadlifting, but I know there is no way in hell I could have pulled 450 without the competitive rush

48

[quote]PlainPat wrote:

[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:

[quote]PlainPat wrote:

[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:

[quote]PlainPat wrote:

[quote]michael_xyz wrote:

[quote]HARA wrote:
Vinny Dizenzo and I were chatting at a meet a few years ago and said “look at these guys eye balling each other and looking all mad…the meet is the fun part, the training that got you here was the tough part…enjoy yourself”

I forgot how much he benched that day but I’m sure it was bigger than most of the deadlifts done.[/quote]

I really like that.

[quote]PlainPat wrote:

[quote]michael_xyz wrote:
To each his own but I don’t see why you want to have the desire of demoralising others. Maybe that makes me a
loser, I don’t know.

I think it all depends if you are truly any good or not. I know that I’m not the next Ed Coan and I accept that. I won’t be dedicating my life to lifting and that’s what it takes to be a champion. But I’d like to think I still want to be a winner in my own right.

I’d rather people admired me than hated me personally. I’d rather hit a total and for people to think “Wow, he didn’t have great genetics or anything but he worked really hard for many years to hit that” instead of “Wow, what an asshole, I hate this guy!”. Of course people will think what they want to think but I’d rather give off that kind of mentality - to inspire - rather than demoralise.[/quote]

Why don’t you think you can inspire people by literally destroying them in competition? Don’t you get fucking angry when someone beats you? I don’t know if you do or not but losing for me is a kick in the ass I hate it more than anything and it only makes me go after people harder to absolutely demolish them the next chance I get.[/quote]

No, fair enough, you can do both at the same time. It’s more I was questioning having a strong desire to demoralise other lifters. Of course in the heat of the moment when you’re all pumped up you might want to think that to help you get psyched up or whatever but in a normal, calm environment it’s a bit odd to think it.[/quote]

I wouldn’t go around telling other athletes that they’re complete shit and that they should just give up or anything like that, but I find it hard to believe that inside yourself you don’t silently harbor a feeling of hate for someone that beat you and that you should be doing everything in your power to repay the favor.[/quote]

I don’t mean to be cynical, but if you’ve never actually down a powerlifting competition, why are you even commenting on a thread in the PL forum about competing in PL’ing?

I’m sure like most people here, you have engaged in some sort of athletic endeavour in your life (wrestling or whatever). I competed as a D-1 athlete and I can certainly tell you that unless you are competing at an international level in Powerlifting, it is not at all the same. I get more passionate about my co-ed rec basketball league than I do about Powerlifting competitions.

Do you know why?

In literally every other sport, the underdog can win. Football, basketball, wrestling, golf, whatever. If that dude is having a particularly stellar day and the person he is playing against is a bit off, then that guy can win. This absolutely does not happen in Powerlifting (save for cases where the competitors are roughly equal skill).

I could play Shaq in basketball 1 on 1 one hundred times and maybe win 5 of those. On the other hand, if I competed against Mike Tuscherer head to head 100 times in PL meets, how many of those do you think I’d actually come out on top in? Not to get down on myself, but I don’t stand a chance. The strength discrepancy is that large that it is absolutely ridiculous to compare myself to him or expect to “beat him”.

On the hand other, I can certainly compete against myself and smash my previous PR’s.

This is not even considering the fact that, as I mentioned before, PL is so divided and fractured, who the fuck are you exactly even competing against anymore? Each federation has their own nuances that makes comparing across them a bit silly.

Not only that, but in most sports, there is actually a set schedule for competitions. Meaning you start out the season, play a lot of your opponents, and the best ones keep advancing culminating in some sort of national championship. Along the way, if you are one of the better players (or teams) you will end up playing another one of the better players (or teams). In powerlifting, individuals deicde what meet they are doing and since there are so many of them, it is quite possible you could go your entire career not ever seeing one of your “competitors” at an actual fucking competition.

So considering this, how do people decide they want to act like flaming douchebags to people at meet, and get to the point where they think people are “out for them”, or actually even give a fuck about them in the first place? Maybe I lack the “competitive drive” or whatever people have been harping on here, but that makes you a chump in my book.

So as I said before, if you are actually competing in international competitions, where the actual cream of the crop are actually showing up and you are REALLY competing against them, then so be it. Go out there and do you man. But for 95% of the people on this forum swinging dicks? Its laughable.[/quote]

I understand what you’re saying but are you really gonna tell me that if you entered a meet and you knew that the guy you were going against was really close to your numbers, just a little over, that you wouldnt try to bust your ass to come out on top? I’m not saying like stomp around and be an asshole to everyone, but have a mental storm going and really want to be able to beat the guy?[/quote]

Yup, that’s pretty much what I’m saying.

First off, I don’t go research the people before the meet, so going into it I really have no idea who my “competition” is or how big or small our strength discrepancy is.

Secondly, I don’t really talk to the other guys at the meet about future attempts, etc. So how am I supposed to even know what lifts I need to hit in order to “beat” him?

Thirdly, I set my meet goals about 2 months or more before the meet. I find this helps me plan my lifts at the meet as well as my training leading up to it. I don’t see a need to deviate from that.

So I admit, if I’m on my 3rd pull of the day, and somehow I’ve been made aware that some guy who is close to me in total has already completed his lifts, and I only need to add 5 pounds or something to my planned attempt in order to move ahead of him, I will likely slap that extra 5 pounds on there to get the higher total. I mean, I am human. But this situation has not yet presented itself to me at the meet.

I don’t need to know what other guys are lifting to set off a mental storm in my head to try really really hard. Going in I know what I want to hit, and that is my goal. That is where my drive comes from–not from joe blow on the other platform. Again, Powerlifting is VERY different in this regard from any other competitive endeavour I have ever engaged in. Chess, Co-ed rec league basketball, pick up flag football games–yeah I want to dominate and demoralize my competition. Powerlifting? Meh, not so much.

Maybe I’m the weird one.

[/quote]

Ok, just differing opinions then. I get a lot of drive knowing that someone out there is better than me because I don’t enjoy being beaten/outlifted/whatever you want to call it.[/quote]

Ed Coan is out there…have at it.

49

[quote]scj119 wrote:
I think you need to compete in a meet to understand why this doesn’t really apply. Are you going to look through the registry and try to google every person’s previous meet history to figure out who is near you that you can try to beat? Are you going to keep track of everyone’s squat/bench totals to know what you have to deadlift in order to beat someone? There aren’t running totals being posted or anything like that. It’s hard to judge what weight you need to lift based on knowing people’s openers.

In my first meet, STB was there competing. Does it make any sense for me to go for a 1700lb total in my first meet when in all actuality 1100 would have been a good success?

The difference in PL vs. team sports is that YOUR PERFORMANCE AFFECTS THE COMPETITION. Me getting a rebound stops the opponent from getting the ball. Me blanketing a receiver makes it harder on them to score. Nothing you do on a platform is “against” anyone nor does it affect their total (you can’t play defense), so it’s retarded to judge yourself based on others.

Again - like VTB said - this is excluding those who compete on national/international stages. Of course they are competing against others and have good knowledge of the competition. I’m just talking about 95% of the people here, people who are trying to get Elite status or certain classifications, or just looking for PRs.

In basketball, I’m ok having a shit game if my team wins. In PL, I’d rather have a high total and come in last than a lesser total and come in first. How have you improved if your total sucks?[/quote]
While I agree with the general theme of your post, every contest I’ve attended has always had the running total displayed for each lifter.

50

[quote]scj119 wrote:
Sorry for the thread derail. Can’t wait to hear the results of Nationals, pulling for STB.[/quote]

Thanks buddy.

51

Anything after your first meet should be with a goal to win.

If you are Elite or middle of the pack, if you lift competitively,then compete,don’t just participate.

I know of a lifter with 30yrs in the sport who was middle of the pack. This guy lifted in many feds in both the US and Canada. He won his first Nationals a few years ago because he was the best lifter on the day.
He told me " I know I’m not the best lifter in the world, but when I get on that platform, I know I’m going to win". He also told me “they can all be your friends after the last deadlift, but you should always be a gentleman at the meet”

I can only think one way no matter who is in my weight class. I go to win…period.