Why wait until November when there’s a Meet in July? Why indeed. Motivated by all the Powerlifting competition I’ve been watching, I summoned my courage and signed up for the USPA Meet July 24th.
I decided to scrap my $1200 investment in the RTS Emerging Strategies programming, which upsets me but it just wasn’t working. Not only did my Block Reviews show that I regressed using one of their templates to prepare for the Garage Gym Competition, but after a long Pivot Block, I started another one of their templates and less than one week in, I felt beat to shit and started dreading my next session. I think it’s too much volume for me, with high intensities and way too much frequency, especially for Bench Press. I don’t think I need all the Special Development Exercises they program either. I think I can make better progress sticking to the Comp lifts in various rep ranges and intensity zones. So I went back to what worked for me in last years Mock Meet, Izzy’s Programming to Win, and started his PIP2 Template.
So far, I feel better, my lifts feel better, and I’m excited to train. That means everything to me. My goal is to hit the same numbers I hit in the Garage Gym Meet, but this time on the platform in front of judges. I’d love to make a Top Ten placing in the all time USPA standings for my age group/weight class, and I’m within reach of it, but as long as my Squat starts with a 3, my Bench starts with a 2 and my Deadlift starts with a 4, I’ll be satisfied.
I’ve updated my gear for this meet. I went with the Stoic brand sleeves and wraps, mostly on the recommendation of Angelo Fortino of the 2 White Lights podcast, but also because I dig Stoic Philosophy. The wraps are awesome and the sleeves feel great. Not as much rebound as the EFS Knee Sleeves I’ve been using, but those aren’t IPF Approved, and while I’m not competing in the USAPL, I might in the future. So I wanted to get used to training in the gear I’d use for that.
All in all, I’m starting to actually feel like a Powerlifter, not just a guy who lifts like I want to be a Powerlifter. That’s a big step for me, since I’ve always liked training for a thing more than competing in a thing. That is about to change.
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