Powerlifting meet Personal Blog # 1-10

Week One of Nine Preparations For Powerlifting Meet 

Personal Blog 1 - Intro to powerlifting

The meet begins in nine weeks. Where I am competing at the heaviest  I have ever been, with proper training, coaching, and outside influence, the pressure is on. Powerlifting can be an experience, but not for me. It's business for me. 

   Week one went as planned, as the preparations begin, the atmosphere of the body begins to change as well. Ultimately, rep ranges change drastically from the traditional off season training. This can be stressful on one's body if not performed right. Since this week has just ended, the conclusions made are mainly focused on discipline. Discipline as in, to feel and understand your body to the level of competing. You're selling your body's performance, so no more junk food too. What you can take away from week one and the personal experiences overall, is to understand that it's okay if the numbers you were aiming to perform aren't un par with what you have thought to be.

 As progression can occur, you can always check if you have room on the scale to go up in body weight as well. And that's exactly what I did. I have 5.3 pounds personally to spare to put into this competition until the end, so a caloric surplus will help my power output as it does anyone else. Meaning, the more you weigh, the more you can lift for most individuals. Since this was just a walk through week, I had to make sure recovery was on par with what I have to be doing in the future. As the powerlifting program written by my team and coach allows me to look ahead into what I have to do in the future. This week consisted mainly of understanding the numbers, volumes, and time to get it down. And also practicing the movements of my deadlift, squat, and bench at roughly 60 percent of my one rep max. This is universal and this is what everyone should be doing, starting off light, and easing into it.

But it only goes up from here as the journey continues, I will see you guys next week as the battle has just begun. 

Written by Faizan Mehmood

Week Two of Nine Preparations For Powerlifting Meet 

Blog 2 - Mental Health Check

    

    This is going to be short and sweet. Like how this week went. Since it's week two, it was a lot of recovery as we don't want to exert so much energy into week by week, as it is a different type of training on the body already. To further explain, powerlifting itself is very hard and stressful on the joints and tendons, so recovery really matters. 

   

    As this week focused relatively more on form just like week 1, I was bound to be doing less exerting of volume of the weight, and rather more focused on the understanding of recovery and listening to my body. So this week, was a 4 day week with the 5th day being cardio recovery. As school work is beginning to pile up, the stress levels are high. Meaning active recovery is necessary for the mind and body. The reason why I took one day off was to make sure my mental health was in check, as stress takes a huge toll on your performance in the gym. 

    

     I also had to this week order my new sling for competition, since I am heavier than last competition, I want to be as comfortable as possible. In my deadlift also, I did a slight revamp to the form, as to where I wanted my feet to be completely straight yet my thighs and groin pushed out towards my elbows more. This can help me envision bending the bar more and to stay tight through the pull. 

    

    Now, Week 3 is soon, as I will work on my breathing techniques throughout the lift, recovery and the weight is going to get heavier so I will have to stay prepared. Until next time.

Week Three of Nine Preparations For Powerlifting Meet 

Blog 3 - Hurt?

  

Well week three is here. Confidence is key now, as the weight is getting roughly to 92.5% of training maxes. What this means is the one rep max that you are capable of doing, take 92.5% of that, and thats what I am training around at the moment. So roughly, it has been a pretty heavy week. 

    On the 3rd day, it's a bench day for this week. So benching is my weak point as I have had a rotator cuff tear and a impingement in my right shoulder that didn't allow me to compete earlier this year as well. The problem is, I am competing with pain still in my shoulder as I am still recovering. That puts me at a huge disadvantage already but I know to fight through it. 

    This issue brings underlying training issues as well. I discussed with my team of coaches to allow me to tweak the program a little bit. This is because the high repetitions on the bench press, is really hurting my shoulder. So I've been in the works of drawing up a new bench repetitions as my coaches agreed for me to do so as well. 

    Week three and week 4 are usually my hardest, since I am moving into the middle of program, I should be feeling more confident in the way the weight moves. There is an issue with this because I have been a little stressed about the shoulder pain, as anyone would too. The only idea I have is to keep pushing. As next week, I will be going for a heavy deadlift single that will be better then my last one rep max. This isn't part of my program, but my coaches won't know. I need the confidence, now its strictly business for me. Until next time!

Week Four of Nine Preparations For Powerlifting Meet 

Blog 4 - Halfway there!

    This weekend was very motivational following this week of lifting. The Mr Olympia was taking place and my favorite bodybuilder Chris Bumstead one for the 3rd time in a row. That was pretty inspiring to see physiques 

achieved to that level. Since I am powerlifting and not bodybuilding, I was trying to throw in some workouts to follow that regime as well for bodybuilding. 

    This week consisted of some heavier deadlifts. The only things that didn't move so smoothly was the paused bench press reps. In competition, you have to pause at the bottom and wait for the judges "up" command to push up. I was training that more as my friend was giving me the up command. The only issue with training this way, is it is significantly more difficult and can cause pain in the shoulders as well since you start at a dead stop. The weeks are getting harder and harder now. 

   

    I also had a sizing issue with my singlet as I stated earlier, my new one came in and it was still small! So now I must return it and hope the right size comes in for the next couple weeks so I can get used to the motion and tightness of the suit as well. Overall week 4 went as a 9/10 on the ready scale, and roughly 8/10 on the difficulty scale. Next week numbers increase close to old one rep maxes so things will begin to get interesting now. Until next time. 

Week five of Nine Preparations For Powerlifting Meet 

Personal Blog 5 - Getting serious

    Week 5 for any program you follow for powerlifting is always tricky, usually this marks the point where you should feel 100% comfortable with the weights that you decided to do in competition. The problem is, I am feeling a little too comfortable, so this week consisted of me pushing my limits to see where my limits stand.

    Regarding this week, I had to bench, the bench I was going to open up with originally in competition was 300. I think roughly now, It will have to change to 305-310 as opening. For the deadlift, I am opening up at 500 now instead of 495. I want to finish the deadlift on 3rd attempt going for an all time personal record of 575. I also for squatting want to at least get to 495. This is a tough battle as I just realized the times for the meet is going to be earlier than usual. So it gives me less time to prepare and warm up the day of. I have to make sure my stress levels are low as well. 

    This week was probably my favorite as it allowed me to push my limits more often. Next week is a true test with recovery though, as I will be checking my body with stretching and therapy to make sure i'm all ready and checking my blood levels to make sure I am going to not have my Central Nervous System all different. 

Week six of Nine Preparations For Powerlifting Meet 

Personal Blog 6 - Confidence

    Week 6 is usually the best week as it was for my last prep as well. This whole week consisted of me feeling more confident in my ability to perform.

    This week, I had to change the environment up, as I was beginning to set the stage a bit more. So, this was me switching to the gym with the bars and weights and platform that will be similar to the one in competition, allowing myself to get my head in the game a bit more. This is actually a good technique to be used as a lot of people get stage fright and the best way to sink in, is to get comfortable. 

     This method has been dated to be successful back when psychology of bodybuilding was discovered as well. This is because, it changes the perception as one can perform or not. Competition lifting is as hard and stressful as it is, but using a friend as a judge, and getting comfortable with the timings will help you be able to perform a lot better. I am a bit excited since Collegiate Nationals was announced to be taking place in Lombard IL, as I will try and qualify for that as well after this competition. 

                    Until next week, as I will be working towards above my previous one rep maxes. 

    

Week seven of Nine Preparations For Powerlifting Meet 

Personal Blog 7 - All I know is pain

    
 Week number 7 begins, and so does the pain. This is usually where Powerlifting gets to the extreme level on ones body. This week consisted o

f high intensity training at the previous one rep max level.

    Roughly you want to know the weights you will be doing in competition 2 weeks before competition begins. This is ideal for everyone and to get a rough estimate on where one stands. So for me, I broke my previous maxes total. I matched my previous one rep deadlift with ease. The squat was significantly easier as well. The bench is where I struggle most at, and still did it very easy. I think roughly I will be aiming to put on 100+ lbs to my total this time around from last time. 

    The morning after testing, I woke up with no shoulder pain, thankfully, but my lower right back always seems to get strained. This side has been an issue for years for me, and usually happens with this high intensity. I didn't hope for it to take place so soon. 

    This may revamp my workout routine and can hinder my ability to perform to the highest level. Let's find out, until next time. 

Week eight of Nine Preparations For Powerlifting Meet 

Personal Blog 8 - The end is soon

    

    Week eight is relatively the most exciting week and that is for anyone that has been in competition too. You get mailed the rules, and regulations, drug test, and also your weight class and timings. Now since I know when and how things will plan out, I feel a little bit more secure in how things will be going. 

    The stress level is through the roof at this point in time. There is a lot of stress to perform and stay in the weight class. I am competing at 93kg. This means I will be 198 plus or minus one pound as leeway as well. So, max I can be is 199. The good thing is, the heavier you are, the more weight you can exert. This week is a full carb week because carbs are equivalent to energy and that can be used as force, and in this case, strength. The program that I am told to follow actually ended this week. So Week 9 will just be determined on how I am feeling and what I need to work on last minute. 

    This week we were working at roughly 120% of one rep maxes, so I am locked in for what's coming in 2 weeks now. This can be determined that you want to push yourself a lot in this last week as the heaviest because everyone should de load on the last week. A de load is lowering the weights to 50% of the one rep max, so you can be well rested for the heavy weight the following week. This technique is used all around the sport of powerlifting as well. Now with that aside, next week, the tension will be high. Until next time. 

Week Nine of Nine Preparations For Powerlifting Meet 

Personal Blog 9 - Meet week!

    The most intense week ever. Meet week has your emotions all over the place. This is because, a healthy person only does meets twice a year, while being able to maintain what they have done. I have worked so hard this off season everyday to be able to do this. This week was very exciting but stressful with competition and school since finals week is right around the corner. 

    Being a student and a powerlifter is a hard work life balance. This is because, prolonged sitting in classroom settings can make muscles stiff so recovery has to be optimal especially this week. This week consisted of me doing recovery work. I had cupping done on Monday for my back. I also had to do sauna work as well to get some of the access water weight out of my system for weigh ins. This is a tactic used by many of the greats, such as Jamal Brouner, to make weight fast without depleting energy levels. 

    It was all recovery and walk throughs for me this week. Opening weights, basically doing 135 lbs. on all 3 of my lifts to perfect form, lockouts, make sure I don't get red lighted and go 9/9 on all my attempts overall. This is a technique used by WestSide Barbell, the group that took over the mechanics of powerlifting. They teach how the mechanics and leverages can help greatly with these lifts. It also consisted of many nights of watching my own form breakdowns as well to critique myself more. Now, its game time. 

Meet day

Personal Blog 10

    I just finished my powerlifting meet. This was such a great experience for me and I loved every aspect of it, now I can finally enjoy a burger without caring about weight. 

    The event first started at 8 AM, it was weigh ins. I weighed in exactly where I wanted to. Right after I got my carbs and hydrated up as well. I took pink Himalayan salt as well to help with blood flow and to boost my sodium levels. This helps me get the blood pumping easier. My events started at around 2 PM. 

    Since I was competing at 93kg, we were later in the day, so this gave me a lot of time to observe and talk to some other people to get my nerves off things. I was feeling very inspired. All of my friends came to watch. I was in the back warming up to my first lift, which is squat. So
everyone starts with squat then bench, then finishing with deadlifts. I was ready to go. I opened up with the weight I wanted to, felt comfortable, and everything went to plan. I later finished 3/3 on squats and closed at the weight I wanted to. I was feeling great and electric. 

    Next, came bench. I chalked up my hands from all the sweating from being nervous, and went 2/3 on benching. I missed on a technicality from one red light on my second lift, from my head slightly raising on the lift. Overall benches went well. 

       Finally, came my best lift, the deadlift. I knew if I hit my target weight, I would be top 5 in the weight class. So all the deadlifts moved smooth for me and went 3/3 on those as well. It was very easy. I broke my previous personal record and went for a 623 lbs deadlift and got it on my last lift. It felt like a 40 second lift and without everyone watching and screaming, I would not have gotten it. Later, I was awarded 6th place. I was satisfied, but the work isn't done. I will be top 3 next time. Well these are my blogs! Hope you guys enjoyed! Until May, for round 2.