All,

How have you found training frequency to affect your workout results? What would be the difference if you bench pressed only once per 10 days compared to 2-3 times per week?

The biggest ever IPF worlds kicks off on the 11th June with 401 lifters nominated across the 16 weight classes in Valletta, Malta.

Timetable

https://ipfmalta.com/ipf-competition-schedule/

Nominations

Male

Female

Where to Watch

Livestreams on the Olympics Youtube channel

Live scoreboards on Goodlift

The primetime sessions on Friday 16th and Saturday 17th will be broadcast live on TV on Eurosport 1 and Eurosport Asia

Sheffield 2024 Automatic Qualifying Totals (applies to weight class winners and the best runner up measured by % of WR)

Male

-59: 636.5kg

-66: 675kg

-74: 751kg

-83: 799kg

-93: 840kg

-105: 891kg

-120: 930kg

+120: 1,095kg

Female

-47: 407.5kg

-52: 437kg

-57: 478.5kg

-63: 529kg

-69: 521.5kg

-76: 570kg

-84: 613kg

+84: 646kg

(Jesus Olivares and Evie Corrigan have already secured Sheffield places)

My OpenPowerlifting

Overview

After browsing through tons of meet recaps, I have yet to notice a post by a teenage powerlifter, so I decided to make this post to showcase an alternative perspective to a powerlifting meet. This is the recap of my meet on 5/7, which I am currently writing a month later to capture the meet in full retrospect.

Not only was I a complete amateur in the sport of powerlifting, but this meet prep was as unconventional as it gets. At the time, I had been lifting consistently for around a year and a half and began actual powerlifting training just a mere 2 months before my meet, and it wasn't until 6 weeks out that I properly programmed a peaking cycle. Additionally, I also switched from sumo to conventional two weeks out as while pulling sumo, I would hitch anything over 350 pounds on my legs.

Nevertheless, with minimal prep and a self-made program incorporating Dr. Mike Israetel’s teachings, two friends and I drove from Charlotte to Atlanta, ready to take on my first powerlifting meet.

2-1 Days Out

Two days out from my meet, I began a water cut from my normal weight of 76-77 kg /167-169 lbs down to 75kg/165 lbs. On weigh-ins 1 day out, I made it at around 3 pounds lighter than what I needed. Thanks to USPA’s 24-hour weigh-ins, I was able to have an entire day to carb up so the water cut wouldn’t be as brutal.

Squat

Attempt 1: 162.5 kg/358 lbs ⚪️⚪️⚪️

Opener flew at around RPE 6. Here is a video of it

. I was extremely nervous going into this squat and I walked out feeling a lot better.

Attempt 2: 172.5 kg/380.3 lbs ⚪️⚪️⚪️

Moved a bit slower than the first but still got it up at around RPE 7.5. I felt good and my friends urged me to go into the 400s for my third. The most I’ve ever done on squats was 425. However, my form sucked and I didn’t hit competition depth. So it was definitely risky but we went for it nonetheless.

Attempt 3: 182.4 kg/402.3 lbs ⚪️⚪️⚪️

Biggest grind on a squat single in my life. Here is the video

. When I was in the hole, I genuinely thought I wasn’t able to get it up. My form also significantly faltered on the ascent and it messed up my right elbow. I think I may have overextended my shoulder a little which caused elbow pains to flare up, or it could just be me using my arms to hold the bar instead of my rear delt. But overall both the crowd and I were very hype. I got the lift up and I felt like all my prep finally paid off at the end. I was also super happy with the 9/9 white lights.

Bench

Attempt 1: 94.5 kg/209.5 lbs ⚪️⚪️⚪️

After I iced my elbow for around ten minutes and massaged it extensively. The pain subsided and I felt ready for the bench, which is my worst lift by proportion. I went into this attempt really unprepared as my name was on the board a lot sooner than expected. I went in and got the lift up at RPE 5 without wrist wraps.

Attempt 2: 97.5 kg/215 lbs ⚪️⚪️⚪️

Just a five pound increase from my opener but it moved a lot slower. I misgrooved when I was locking out and it didn’t really feel right. Also if you watch the video

, I had a completely unnecessary and stupid interaction with the announcer, which was on my part. But I apologized to him after and he was completely cool with it.

Attempt 3: 102.5 kg/225.9 lbs 🔴🔴🔴

This is a weight I’ve previously hit in prep and I felt like I should’ve got it. I had a huge struggle around 4 inches up from my chest and it didn’t bulge. Looking back at the bench attempts, the weights I chose were pretty stupid: a 6 pound jump from a smooth opener to a misgrooved second attempt into a 10 pound increase just feels awkward. This is what I would’ve done instead today.

• 209.5
• 220
• 226

Deadlift

Attempt 1:175 kg/386 lbs ⚪️⚪️⚪️

This is the heaviest weight I’ve done in prep conventional. With the bars they use at USPA meets I definitely like a couple inches were taken off from my range of motion, which made the opener easier than expected.

Attempt 2: 184.5 kg/407 lbs ⚪️⚪️⚪️

First time hitting the 400s in conventional. Moved at around RPE7. My form was most definitely terrible and I’ve done a lot of work recently to fix my lumbar rounding.

Attempt 3: 190 kg/418 lbs ⚪️⚪️⚪️

Deadlift ATPR attempt. I was very pumped on caffeine and ammonia salts and may or may not have yelled at the top of the lift. I was ecstatic I hit most of my goals at my first meet and went 8/9; 24/27. I came in first for my weight class of 75kg and age group of 16-17 and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for me in powerlifting.

Thanks for reading

Meant to post this here but ended up on r/weightroom instead. Love that sub, but here tends to be better for powerlifting specific convo. In case anyone is wondering why they're seeing this twice...

Background and Training

This was my first meet, as ridiculous as that sounds. I’ve done powerlifting for around 3 years and lifting for 10+, including handling my girlfriend/fiance at two meets, but the stars never quite aligned for me to do my own meet. This year, after the USPA drama, II finally pulled the trigger and signed up for a local WRPF meet. In February, I started working with Matt Domney from Compound Performance for individual coaching. So far, it’s been an excellent experience and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend his coaching to anyone else.

Meet Prep

My prep into this meet was a funky one. I had come off a super intense 20+ week chunk of training at the beginning of January 2023. During that block, I added 300lbs to my total (transitioned to untested… hence the insane progress). I was pretty burnt out and needed a break. This also coincided with ski season, and I ski ~40 days a season. With that in mind, I didn’t realllllly start following structured training until ~8 weeks out.

At ~8 weeks out, I realized that if I was going to do this meet, it was time to buckle down and get serious--so I did. Things were going pretty well until about ~4 weeks out when a lower trap strain made low bar squats impossible. It was a major bummer, but thankfully I was able to continue deadlift and bench with minimal interruption. With lots of prehab-y movements + 2 massages I was able to start low bar squatting again ~1.5 weeks out. GF also had surgery ~2.5 weeks out, and this was a bigger interruption than I thought it would in terms of stress + sleep. Mentally, this prep was a bit of a struggle. I didn’t feel great for most of it, weights moved decently but below where I wanted. I had a lot of doubts and even considered dropping the meet on many occasions. I needed lots of reassurance but thankfully Matt and my GF were always there to provide it.

Taper + Water Cut

Hit final heavy workouts for squat and deadlift at just over a week out. Bench tapered a bit later. Had easy workouts on M/T/W on meet week, then completely off on T/F. I still went to the gym on both Thursday and Friday, but just did some yoga-type movements to move around. Did not touch a barbell. In hindsight, Matt absolutely nailed my peak and taper.

This was my first time water cutting and I was pretty nervous. My normal daytime weight was ~85kg / 187.5lb, so I knew it was a very doable cut. I looked at all the popular guides from reputable coaches and basically did a lazy amalgamation. Here’s roughly what I did:

• Monday: vaguely try to drink more water than usual. (avg weight 187.4)
• Tuesday: actually track 2 gallons + added sodium. Normal food intake. (Avg weight 190.9)
• Wednesday: 2.5 gallons, added sodium for 1st gallon, no added sodium after that. Cut carb intake in half (did not track, estimated). Cut fiber significantly as well. Dandelion root in the PM. (Avg Weight 191.3)
• Thursday. No water after 7am black coffee. No food other than raw walnuts, rice cakes, and peanut butter. Had ~100g of walnuts, 1 rice cake, and 30g of peanut butter. 100ml of water before bed to stave off the thirst. Dandelion root in the AM and PM. (AM weight: 185.x, PM weight before bed 181.7)
• Friday: Weigh in @ 9am. Was 179.8 upon waking at home. One more bathroom trip, and weighed in at 79kg / 174.1lbs on the calibrated scale. Guess our scale runs heavy? Upon weigh-in, drink 1L of gatorade with 1g added salt + 2 pop tarts. Sip another liter of water on the hour drive back home. From there I was basically eating carbs and drinking water with a pinch of salt continuously all day. The intent was to toe the line of uncomfortable and bloated but not in any real gastrointestinal distress. By the end of day, I was sitting back at 188.9 according to home scale.

Overall, my water cut went great. Thursday was predictably miserable, and I slept poorly, but not enough to truly be an issue. Next time, I’d probably track carbs more strictly. I’m good at estimating, but the peace of mind from actually knowing would be good. I would also start the water load ~12 hours earlier to be safe. I don’t think there’s any need to start much earlier than that. Recomp was also successful.

The Meet

This is where the nice things started—woke up on meet day feeling pretty decent. A little tired + nervous, but also weirdly at peace. I had spent so much time stressing the past several weeks that I was just ready to do the damn thing--regardless of the outcome. The hour of driving to the meet gave me a good opportunity to listen to some music and clear my head.

Matt provided a meet day sheet that had warmups, timing, attempt selection, and everything I needed. I shared this with my GF and she handled everything from there. I had two friends that did all my loading. It was honestly perfect. I didn’t do anything except focus on lifting and feeling good. GF let me know when to start warming up, when to take my last warmup--everything.

Once I started warming up for squats, I started feeling good. Lower trap felt the best it had since hurting it, and things were MOVING. After taking my first attempt, and seeing the video, I couldn’t help but laugh--it was so damn easy. From there, my confidence was sky-high. I let my GF call every attempt with no input from me. She was following the sheet (and knowing me as a lifter), so I knew that whatever she picked would be within my ability. I also texted with Matt all day.

Squat

• 242.5KG / 534.6lb, ⚪🔴⚪: Jumped the rack command--center judge gave me a warning. Fastest this has ever moved for me
• 257.5KG / 567.7lb, ⚪⚪⚪: Again, the fastest this has ever moved for me, gave me the confidence to go for my best-case 3rd attempt.
• 272.5KG / 600.7lb, ⚪⚪⚪: Perfect attempt I think. It was hard, but I got it. Huge milestone. Was genuinely on cloud 9 after this. All the doubts melted away.

Bench

• 145KG / 319.7lb, ⚪⚪⚪: Bumped my opener up 5kg which def stressed Matt a bit, but I was very confident based on warmups + how my bench strength scales. I wanted to bump my opener that way I could take smaller jumps to reach a realistic 3rd. Moved as an opener should.
• 155KG / 341.7 lb, ⚪⚪⚪: Another great attempt, felt very confident
• 162.5KG / 358.2lb, ⚪⚪⚪: Took my top-end 3rd attempt and again was perfect for the day. Hard but confident lift.

Deadlift

Fatigue and stress started coming in a bit here. Deadlifts were great all prep, but I had the most questions about my ability to push the weights here. My heaviest pull all prep was a 302.5kg @ 9.5 (@8.5 if you ask my coach). Again, though, my final warmup at 265kg/585lb was just so easy that it gave me more confidence.

• 285KG / 628.3lb, ⚪⚪⚪: Smoke. Felt great
• 305KG / 672.4lb ⚪⚪⚪:: lifetime PR, and it was RPE 8.5-9
• 317.5KG / 699.9lb \(I’m calling it 700 ok\), 🔴🔴🔴: Took a shot at a big lift and ran out of talent. So damn close, but techincally, wasn’t quite there. Got pulled forward and after i felt that downward motion, I knew I was done. Honestly, wasn’t even upset.

Total: 740kg / 1,631lbs

DOTS: 514

Placement: 1st and best lifter

124 all-time @ 181 (by DOTS, according to OpenPL)

Final thoughts

This was so much fun. All our friends showed up and cheered me on. I got so many compliments and comments of recognition from my fellow competitors. I would honestly list it among the best days of my life. It was incredibly validating to have everything go so well. All of my 3rds were in line with my best-case scenarios.

Plans for the future are to take a decent off-season and build some muscle. I was one of the smaller guys in my class, even at this local meet. My squat and deadlift are good; my bench still is by far the weakest link and should be low-hanging fruit to improve. Similarly, I think my pull has some technical limitations that become more apparent at the top end. That 700 should have been mine. It's not acceptable to have performance fall apart that quickly from 672 to 700. I think 82.5/83kg is the right class for me, and given that I weighed in at 79.0kg… I have room to grow. Haven’t had my post-meet call with Matt yet, but we’ll see what makes sense!

Very proud of myself for pushing through prep and performing the way I did on meet day. I was so locked in all day. There were a number of small annoyances about the meet that I’ll list below. Hopefully, the WRPF can continue improving on the local level:

• Meet registration said squat bar would be used for squats over 200kg. So… I made a point of training with the squat bar the last several weeks of prep. Well, they didn’t use the squat bar for my flight. I guess because not everyone in the flight was squatting over 200kg?
• On the note of flights, rather than organizing flights by opener, they did them by weight class. This meant that in the same flight of 12 people, there was a 92.5kg and 300kg deadlift 3rd attempt. Why? Slower meet and more work for the spotters.
• The gym the meet was held in was great, but, also had some issues for warmups. There were no deadlift bars for warmups. For squats, I had a Rep Sabre bar + bumper plates. Over 200kg, it was an absolute noodle with no knurling. There weren’t enough ‘real’ power bars and steel plates for everyone, or even most people to warm up on. Genuinely not trying to be a princess, but this is kinda rough for warmup equipment at a powerlifting meet.
• To be clear, this was a local meet, I’m not expecting a flawless experience with unlimited competition equipment for warmups. Additionally, I’m used to training on all manner of equipment, none of this threw me off. But, worth mentioning. It should have been better, and I will prioritize that for future meets.
• Officiating was consistent and fair. Everyone running the meet was friendly and accessible. No complaints here.

What are we all using to track training logs? I've been using a Google doc which is easy to use on mobile but doesn't do squat for analysis long term. I see plenty of lifters using old school notebooks. Has anyone moved into the 21st century?

So today I wrapped up my first real meet and it was great, I'm exhausted, but I'm pretty proud!

I started really lifting in January, so it hasn't been that long. Combine that with eating in a deficit since August to lose 60lbs+ (so far) along with some medical stuff, and it definitely felt early, but I did the damn thing!

Is 500lbs a lot? To the general powerlifting community maybe not, but to me, it's a starting point!

​

Breakdown:

Training: Been kind of training myself since January, started working out with other powerlifters at the gym in maybe April. Just doing my best. Night before: Tried to sleep, didn't. Morning of: Anxiety and nausea made eating difficult, but I powered through a great breakfast, knowing it might push me into the 100+ category, but I was fine with that. I had been hovering right around 216lbs fully naked before eating every morning, so clothed and with food in me? Totally fine with me if I was above 220. Had to wait what felt like forever in a 105 degree room for a female ref to be free to weigh me. But hey! I started talking to a few other lifters and made friends so it went well. Especially considering I was totally alone, no coach, friends, family, etc. Just me and my belt and a will to live lol

Then I got called up. I step in, ask a few questions, step on the scale. 97.6. Holy shit. That made me feel great! That was way better than I could have imagined.

​

The lifts:

Squat 1: 60kg - wanted to start light. Then, there were technical difficulties, so I had to stand in front of the crowd waiting for 2 minutes. This totally threw me off and got rid of my focus, built up the anxiety. I failed, racked before the rack command. That wouldn't happen again. 🔴🔴🔴

Squat 2: 62.5kg - I went up despite the person taking next attempts judging me for it. I had the lift, I knew I did, I just got nervous. 🟢🟢🟢

Squat 3: 67.5kg - big jump! 🟢🟢🟢 Smoked it. Could've gone up.

​

Bench 1: 40kg - bench is my weak point, and with the commands I got nervous on messing up again. 🟢🟢🟢

Bench 2: 45kg 🟢🟢🟢

Bench 3: 50kg - hemmed and hawed over 47.5 and 50, but wanted to give it a shot because yolo. 🔴🔴🔴

​

Now onto my personal favorite, deadlifts.

Dead 1: 100kg - ez. 🟢🟢🟢

Dead 2: 112.5kg - picked this because it was the total of my other lifts. 🟢🟢🟢

Dead 3: 120kg - never hit this without a hitch. Until today. 🟢🟢🟢

​

Took first in junior 100 and second in open 100. I'm sore, tired, but I feel really good.

​

With surgery coming up next week, my goals for next meet are: \* 55kg bench \* 100kg squat (huge jump I know but I want it) \* 130kg dead \* NOT be the lowest lifts on all 3 (I know very variable but it would be nice to go second lol)

So there you have it. Meet 1 / ?

I want to buy myself an Inzer lever belt, but from the official website thr shipping costs thr same as the belt itself 'cause I live in the EU. I found my desired belt on inzershop.de. Is this website and its broken Englisu trustable?

Hey guys, I’ve been lifting for about 11 months and I was wondering if my numbers are any good? I’m sorry if this is a cringy / bad question

Squat: 360 pounds

Deadlift: 405

Bench: 195

Age 17: weight: 180

A friend of mine started lifting around 4 months ago.

They started at a bodyweight of 160, with respective lifts of 225 squat, 265 deadlift, and 155 bench.

In around 4 months these lifts skyrocketed to a bodyweight of 180 with a 385 squat, 435 deadlift, and 285 bench, naturally, at the age of 20.

Just wondering if there is anyone else who has seen similar numbers or if this is some kind of anomaly.