Backyard Meet of the Century Write-Up

[brentwillisbgw]

I got into Sacramento around 11:00pm Friday night. I drove there with my girlfriend and two of my friends from Bakersfield which is about a 4.5 hour drive. We checked in to our rooms and I ate some more food and then went to sleep. I got to the meet around 9:00 am and weighed in. I was 322 with my clothes and shoes on. Lifting started at 10:30 with 4 flights of squats. I can't remember what time benching started, but it was a long wait.

Bench:
My first attempt was 473 which was a meet and gym PR for me. It felt pretty solid so I went for 501 on my second, which also went up pretty fast. I thought I only had another 5-10 lbs in me for my third attempt, but I was talked into going for 523 which ended up being a good choice. I think I brought the weight out a little too far because it was pretty shaky going down, but it went up without a problem. This was a HUGE PR for me, and it really upped my confidence in my benching abilities.

I'm not sure why, but my body cramped up really bad after benching, especially my back. Between Friday and Saturday I consumed close to 1.5 gallons of Gatorade and 6 bananas, so the cramping was kind of confusing to me.

Deadlifts:
Warm-ups for deadlifts went pretty well. My speed felt like it was there and my lockouts felt strong. My abs were cramping up any time I adjusted my belt, though. Warming up with all of those amazing lifters was definitely one of the coolest lifting moments I've ever had.

I opened with 804, which felt pretty good. I wanted to end up with a PR so I went for 859 on my second and missed it at lockout. I tried it again on my third, and this time Vince Urbank slapped the **** out of my back right before I lifted so I was sure the weight would go up, but it didn't lol.

Even though my deadlifts didn't go as planned, this was still the best lifting experience I've ever had. I really can't say enough nice things about all of the lifters I met on Saturday. Dan Green sat down and talked about his training with me and answered a bunch of my questions. Vince Urbank and Lindsey were extremely helpful and gave me a lot of advice on how to help the lockout on my pull. The entire Lilliebridge family was unbelievably nice. Ernie Sr helped me a ton in warmups and with choosing my attempts, all while handling his sons and lifting himself. It was unreal how cool that guy was. I've known Eric a while through messaging, but this was my first time meeting him in person. He was by far one of the friendliest guys I've ever met, even outside of powerlifting. Super helpful and supportive. Ernie Jr was just as cool, too. I hung out with Pete and Chris for a while, both really cool and really down-to-earth guys. I got some bench advice from Eric Spoto. That was pretty sweet lol. I spent a lot of the day hanging out with George. He's one of the most awesome guys I've ever met. Brandon Lilly was unreal cool. I've followed him for a while through his articles and blogs and am a big fan of his approach to training and life so it was definitely an honor meeting him and lifting on the same platform as him.

I probably sound like a 14 year old girl who just got back stage passes to Justin Bieber, but this whole thing was really cool. I've looked up to a lot of these guys so being able to actually lift with them was a surreal experience. After the meet Stan took us all to dinner, which was pretty damn cool lol.

A big thanks to Mark, Creed, Stan, and everyone else involved for putting this together. I hope I get a change to be part of the next one.








I didn't get videos of my lifts.



Oh, and on a side-note I got an email today confirming my sponsorship from Universal Nutrition. It feels like Christmas lol.

[dlt76028]

Great job Brent, you really surprised me with your benching strength, it looked a lot like kk with the narrow grip. I wonder what that dinner bill was Stan paid for?

[LILFATBOI]

nice to meet you big Brent, congrats on the universal sponsorship that's cool as hell.

[B0R0]

Looked like you had a great meet man! 859 was soo close.. and congrats on the sponsorship from Universal, that's huge.. big fan of that company. looking fwd to seeing what you put up in the future!

[brentwillisbgw]

Great job Brent, you really surprised me with your benching strength, it looked a lot like kk with the narrow grip. I wonder what that dinner bill was Stan paid for?

I surprised myself man. I really didn't think I had it in me. And we went to pizza so it wasn't as bad as it could have been lol.

nice to meet you big Brent, congrats on the universal sponsorship that's cool as hell.

Nice to meet you too Chris. Your speed is crazy!

[simp3204]

I got to watch your bench and was really impressed. I knew you had a great pull, but I didn't know you had a great bench as well.

[adamsz]

Good write-up Brent. I remember watching the meet live and being like "I remember that dude! He's repped me before!" lmao.

The bench PR is massive, but too bad about the DL. You'll get it next time brotha.

And a major congratulations on the sponsorship! Seems like Universal and Animal have the best sponsoring of powerlifters out there right now... You're now part of a really sick elite group buddy.

[brentwillisbgw]

Looked like you had a great meet man! 859 was soo close.. and congrats on the sponsorship from Universal, that's huge.. big fan of that company. looking fwd to seeing what you put up in the future!

Thanks! I haven't seen my first attempt at 859 yet but it felt really close. And yeah I'm really looking forward to working with Universal. It should be a cool experience.

I got to watch your bench and was really impressed. I knew you had a great pull, but I didn't know you had a great bench as well.

Thank you! Weren't you there on Saturday? You should have said hi!

Good write-up Brent. I remember watching the meet live and being like "I remember that dude! He's repped me before!" lmao.

The bench PR is massive, but too bad about the DL. You'll get it next time brotha.

And a major congratulations on the sponsorship! Seems like Universal and Animal have the best sponsoring of powerlifters out there right now... You're now part of a really sick elite group buddy.

LOL thanks bro! Once I get my lockouts sorted out I should be able to pull something big.

Yeah I definitely lucked out with Universal. From everything I've seen they treat their athletes really well.

[B0R0]

Also, here's some video of your lifts I saw - Check the user's videos as well, he has some cool warm up room footage and highlights

[simp3204]

Thank you! Weren't you there on Saturday? You should have said hi!

I was. I was going to say hi, but there were so many big names around and I didn't want to interrupt anyone. Next time I see you at a meet I will say hi. allergic2rice was with me and thought you were Vince Urbank, which I think is a compliment.

[kayne695]

Honestly cant belive how fast 390kg comes off the floor for you... Once you strengthen your lockout a bit I'm sure you could have a 900lb pull

[koyongi]

Ha, you like Justin Bieber.

[shoefanatic23]

Awesome write up. I wanted to attend but had to head out of town. Congrats on those lifts too. I caught the ustream feed of the event and it looked like it was tons of fun. Btw I'm from Sacramento, what pizza place did you guys end up eating at? Haha

[breathinglife]

That is some unreal tricep power on the bench!

I think all you needed to do on the 859 was pull your shoulders back the tiniest bit, lift your head up, and give the judge the hey-look-I'm-making-eye-contact-because-I-locked-out look and he would have given you the down signal. I don't think I've ever see someone miss a DL that close to lockout, hah.

[HamburgerTrain]

Is Eric not wearing pants in those pictures?

[nvrstopworking]

Congrats Brent! Really impressive stuff along with the other guys there. Good lord your bench is monstrous!

When the meet thread was going on I mentioned that you looked like you could pass for Vince's brother.

Can't wait to see what you and George can get up to in the future.

[Claymore1]

Great job Brent, you really surprised me with your benching strength, it looked a lot like kk with the narrow grip. I wonder what that dinner bill was Stan paid for?

It wasn't that bad lol Stan and I took the guys to roundtable pizza.

Congrats Brent on everything!!!!!! Be sure to tell your pops hi from all of us, keep training hard and if there's anything you need just ask my friend.

[brentwillisbgw]

Also, here's some video of your lifts I saw - Check the user's videos as well, he has some cool warm up room footage and highlights

Yeah I was just talking to him on FB. Pretty cool of him to make that vid!

I was. I was going to say hi, but there were so many big names around and I didn't want to interrupt anyone. Next time I see you at a meet I will say hi. allergic2rice was with me and thought you were Vince Urbank, which I think is a compliment.

Those guys were so approachable, though.

I've heard that a couple times. Definitely a compliment haha.

Honestly cant belive how fast 390kg comes off the floor for you... Once you strengthen your lockout a bit I'm sure you could have a 900lb pull

Yeah that's the plan. I think an 880-900 lb pull would be reasonable once I bring my lockout up.

Ha, you like Justin Bieber.

I only liked him when I was a fourteen-year-old girl.

Awesome write up. I wanted to attend but had to head out of town. Congrats on those lifts too. I caught the ustream feed of the event and it looked like it was tons of fun. Btw I'm from Sacramento, what pizza place did you guys end up eating at? Haha

Thanks bro! It was a lot of fun. And we ate at Roundtable. It was pretty damn good lol.

That is some unreal tricep power on the bench!

I think all you needed to do on the 859 was pull your shoulders back the tiniest bit, lift your head up, and give the judge the hey-look-I'm-making-eye-contact-because-I-locked-out look and he would have given you the down signal. I don't think I've ever see someone miss a DL that close to lockout, hah.

LOL I think you're right on that. I just watched the video of that lift. Kinda disappointing haha.

Is Eric not wearing pants in those pictures?

Singlet

Congrats Brent! Really impressive stuff along with the other guys there. Good lord your bench is monstrous!

When the meet thread was going on I mentioned that you looked like you could pass for Vince's brother.

Can't wait to see what you and George can get up to in the future.

Thanks! I'm really happy with how much 531 has helped my bench. It's been phenomenal.

I'm positive George will hit 900 within the next year, probably sooner. I expect myself not to be too far behind. It would be cool if we could both pull at the Olympia next year.

It wasn't that bad lol Stan and I took the guys to roundtable pizza.

Congrats Brent on everything!!!!!! Be sure to tell your pops hi from all of us, keep training hard and if there's anything you need just ask my friend.

Thanks Creed I really appreciate it. You guys have been awesome.