RPS New England Revolution 2015-My First Meet (w/ Vid)

[LawBro]

I thought I would do a write-up of the 2015 RPS New England Revolution and my experiences leading up to meet day for all of those that are interested in competing in the future.

During December/January of this year, I decided that it was time that I sign up for my first power lifting meet. I am an ex-college athlete and have been lifting at commercial gyms for the past 4-5 years. In the past two years, I went from doing a normal bodybuilding split to powerlifting. I began with a 5/3/1 routine. However, after stalling, I switched to a modified 5/3/1 I found on powerlifting to win. Hitting legs twice a week from October of last year onward helped my progression enormously.

I approached a guy at my gym who I had noticed wearing a paid of AdiPower shoes and asked if he was a powerlifter and if he could recommend any good federations. He mentioned to me that RPS was having a meet in New England in the Spring and suggested I sign up. After doing some homework online, I filled out the application, sent the check and signed up. This was the hardest part. I had to work up the courage to make a commitment and a decision that I was going to go all-in and do this.

After signing up, I checked where I would be on the schedule (part of the Sunday overflow) and started to work backwards in terms of my training. Again, powerlifting to win was extremely helpful in guiding me towards meet day. I stayed focused on maintaining my current weight and peaking at the proper time. As the meet approached, I was a little over my division (165 lbs) weigh in at around 170. I didn't miss a single workout during this time and researched how to properly approach my openers and my max attempts. About 3-4 weeks out, I had already practiced my openers and knew what my goal total would be. For me personally, my goal was to crack 1,000 at the 165 lb raw amateur division and hopefully set PRs in each lift. As the meet got closer, I tightened up my diet. One thing that made a major difference was the almost complete reduction in alcohol. This did wonders for my recovery and strength. The final two weeks of the meet, I ate very clean. No cheat meals. Again, I wasn't trying to bulk or make any drastic cuts, I was just trying to ensure I would peak properly. In the last week leading up to the meet I did minimal training. Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday I tested each one of my openers. Thursday/Friday and Saturday I made sure to stretch and keep my joints loose.

Saturday night was the weigh in. I drove down to the meet location and watched a couple of the other competitors before I weighed myself in. There was a huge crowd watching and the energy and atmosphere was terrific. It got me excited for the next day. After weighing in at 160, I went home and ate a big meal that my girlfriend cooked for me. Then I went to bed early and got about 9 hours of sleep.

The day of the meet I woke up and cooked myself a breakfast of turkey sausage, whole wheat english muffins, greek yogurt, strawberries, eggs, and a protein shake. The breakfast kept me full all day. In retrospect, I'm glad I ate such a large meal. The day of the meet was long.

After eating breakfast and going through a checklist of all my gear, I packed up and hopped in the car for the meet location. I got there about 15 minutes early for the rules clinic and hung out. I met some of my fellow competitors and chatted about weighing in, training, etc.

During the rules session, the meet director (Gene) asked who amongst us were first time competitors. About 3/4 of the room raised their hands. This was extremely calming on my nerves. At least I wouldn't be the only person who would be doing this for the first time. After the rules clinic, the flights were posted and the time of our lifting group was announced. I was posted in the first flight.

Going into the meet, everything ran extremely smoothly. The lifters were promptly announced and given one minute to perform each lift. However, the warm up area left a lot to be desired. It was cramped and set up fairly quickly. There were also a lack of weights and clips. That being said, I was able to warm up properly without incident.

Squat came first and I hit my opener. The jitters were gone and I was extremely happy to proceed with the rest of the event. After having taken some time off, I felt strong. I decided to go for a PR in squat and hit it on my third attempt.

After the first flight I had significant down time before bench press. I had taken a pre-workout before squat, but decided against taking another one before bench. The middle part of the meet hit a bit of a wall when one of the competitors got injured in the warm up area. Everyone was nervous and it definitely took the wind out of the sails of the competitors. Medics were attending to the injured competitor while I was trying to prepare for my bench attempt. I tried my best not to let it distract me.

I hit my first and second attempts at bench but missed my third (again a PR attempt). I was disappointed but still happy I had a 325 squat and 235 bench on the board so far. I only needed a 440 deadlift to hit my goal. During the break in between flights I chatted with other competitors and my girlfriend in the stands.

I can't stress enough how awesome the crowd, the other competitors and the environment was. Everyone was super friendly and I met some great people.

Going into deadlift I took another pre-workout, took off my t-shirt underneath my singlet and started to warm up. I hit my first two attempts easily and decided to try and set my PR in deadlift. It was the end of a long day and I pumped myself up to the max for the last attempt. While I knew my form would be pretty tough to watch on film, I wanted to hit that PR. 455 went on the bar and I got it up. I hit a total of 1,015.

After I was done, I gave my girlfriend a big hug and stuck around for the awards ceremony. I got a trophy (by default) and a great t shirt. Overall the experience was amazing. I will definitely sign up for another meet and would recommend RPS as a federation for anyone looking to compete.

I hope this post was helpful for those of you that are interested in trying to compete for your first time. No one is going to judge you for being weak or criticize your form. The top lifters are doing their own thing. Just stay out of their way and talk to the competitors that seem open to chatting. You'll learn a lot, make some friends, and have a great memory.

As promised, here are each of my max successful lifts:

[Rags85]

Good writeup. I was there Saturday watching, Looks like I missed you if you were Sunday overflow. Awesome grind on that 3rd squat attempt!

I've been to a few RPS meets now, and they have all been put together quite well.

[LawBro]

Good writeup. I was there Saturday watching, Looks like I missed you if you were Sunday overflow. Awesome grind on that 3rd squat attempt!

I've been to a few RPS meets now, and they have all been put together quite well.

Thanks man. Any recommendations you have going forward would be much appreciated. I have a lot to learn when it comes to powerlifting. I'd love to improve my numbers. Let me know of any programs you think would be helpful for a 165 guy trying to crack a 1,100 total.

[LawBro]

Also before people go to town on my form:

1. Yes I know my squat descent is TOO FAST. It is the first issue I am going to address before my next meet.

2. Yes I also know my deadlift form on my final attempt had a number of problems. Rounded back, head position and no leg drive. This is also an issue I plan on addressing.

Honestly I wish I had a coach or a gym to go to where someone could help with these issues. Youtube videos are helpful but can only go so far.

[SamTZ]

I competed on saturday! I was the only male lol!
here are my attempts https://youtu.be/4jhoV6SBoi0 weighed in at 146 so i was pleased with my performance.

This was definitely an awesome meet. I am doing a USAPL meet on May 30 in Johnston.

[LawBro]

I competed on saturday! I was the only male lol!
here are my attempts https://youtu.be/4jhoV6SBoi0 weighed in at 146 so i was pleased with my performance.

This was definitely an awesome meet. I am doing a USAPL meet on May 30 in Johnston.

Picture at the end lol. Good job man. You have very strong legs for your size.

[paulosantos0922]

Great job LawBro. I did an RPS meet a few years ago. Great meet.

[SamTZ]

Picture at the end lol. Good job man. You have very strong legs for your size.

Lol thanks man. You had a solid meet as well! You had said you ran 5/3/1 going into the meet, for your next meet, or even now, i would highly recommend canditos 6wk program. My final squat was a 20lb PR and it wasn't even that hard.

[NeverEnough89]

Get legs closer together or go Semi Sumo on your deadlift. Bench looked good, had quite a bit in ya. Squat you know your issue. Good job man. You saw Derek Poundstone tear a quad I think.

[LawBro]

Get legs closer together or go Semi Sumo on your deadlift. Bench looked good, had quite a bit in ya. Squat you know your issue. Good job man. You saw Derek Poundstone tear a quad I think.

I did indeed. Not pretty. I saw video and it looked like his knee buckled while he was coming up out of the hole. The spotters and chains saved him from having 700 lbs drop on his back. The guy is a total class act and is a great ambassador for powerlifting/strongman in the northeast. He had a big team there and all his competitors did great. I heard RPS will be holding a novice only meet sometime this summer in Connecticut, but they didn't elaborate on specifics. I hope it pans out since I would love to compete again against people with same experience level.

[Rags85]

I did indeed. Not pretty. I saw video and it looked like his knee buckled while he was coming up out of the hole. The spotters and chains saved him from having 700 lbs drop on his back. The guy is a total class act and is a great ambassador for powerlifting/strongman in the northeast. He had a big team there and all his competitors did great. I heard RPS will be holding a novice only meet sometime this summer in Connecticut, but they didn't elaborate on specifics. I hope it pans out since I would love to compete again against people with same experience level.

From what Gene and Poundstone have said, the novice meet will be held at Poundstones gym in July. I don't think specifics are available yet.

[UFpwrLifter]

I saw how much you wrote and was sure I wasn't going to read it all. After reading select paragraphs, I ended up reading the whole thing and watching the video. Nice job at your first meet and a well written summary.

[ats94]

nice job dude!!

[LawBro]

I saw how much you wrote and was sure I wasn't going to read it all. After reading select paragraphs, I ended up reading the whole thing and watching the video. Nice job at your first meet and a well written summary.

Thanks for reading it. I thought I'd provide as much info as possible about the entire process for others who are thinking about competing. There's a lot of information out there in different places so I thought I would just relate my experience from the perspective of training/diet/prep/and the actual experience itself. There's a lot that doesn't come across from a simple checklist or article describing how you should approach your first meet. Anxiety, nerves, and social interactions are never mentioned in these articles. For a lot of us, it's a rare opportunity to come together and meet like minded individuals. No one where I work cares about how much I deadlift, or what routine I'm running, but at a powerlifting meet, everyone has the same interest. It's a nice reminder that you're not alone in your pursuits and there are plenty of other people out there with the same goals as you.

[nsurdis]

Also before people go to town on my form:

1. Yes I know my squat descent is TOO FAST. It is the first issue I am going to address before my next meet.

2. Yes I also know my deadlift form on my final attempt had a number of problems. Rounded back, head position and no leg drive. This is also an issue I plan on addressing.

Honestly I wish I had a coach or a gym to go to where someone could help with these issues. Youtube videos are helpful but can only go so far.

Hey nice job. I kind of laughed at the comment about the warmup area. As far as meets go -that was actually pretty spacious haha. The plate supply was lean tho. We've had warmup rooms the size of bedrooms though.. anyhow, i wanted to let you know if you wanted to train a few sessions per month or whatever, I have a powerlifting gym I run out of my garage in massachusetts. We are probably about 35 minutes from metro providence, we would be glad to have you anytime you wanted to train in with us. If you are interested, you can check us out online at lakevillepowerlifting.com or on ********. Anyhow- nice job, good writeup - and good luck in the future! Nick

[DerAlta]

I remember you at this Meet. You looked like you enjoyed it, and are now hooked.

A few notes for you, The Warm-up area was Cramped due to there being 3 Monolifts, 3 Benches, and 3 Deadlift Platforms. You won't find many Meet with that much warm-up equipment. It was a bit messy, as you were in the 4th session of the weekend, and 130+ lifters into the Meet. The young lady who got injured, was foam rolling after her squats, and another lifter pulled the plates off one side of the bar on the Mono. The bar flipped and the 100lb plate came down almost directly onto her lower leg.

RPS has two Beginner/Novice Meets this year. The CT Battle Ground (Push/Pull) at Poundstone Performance, July 19th, and the Southern Mass Blast (Push/Pull) at Synergy Functional Fitness in Lakeville, MA on August 23rd. I know the one in Lakeville will be a great event, because I'm the Meet director.

One a small note, I'm the guy back spotting you in your vid. I'm also the loader on the left side of the Deadlifts. I worked the Meet, Spotting & Loading all weekend. 8am to 8pm each day. It was a long, long weekend, then pack up and drive home Sunday night. As someone helping at the Meet, I'm glad to hear you had a great Meet.

The Big question now, is When's you next one?

[wwkingms]

ive done 3 or 4 of Gene's meets, the first being when he ran IPF meets..

its a great experience and very beginner friendly, my session in October had almost 50 lifters, 3 flights and we were done by 2pm.. but in no way felt rushed.

i know Gene's expanding and i highly recommend anyone in an area he holds a meet to try it out, you wont be disappointed.

I wanted to do this RPS new england meet myself but it was a little too far for me this year but anyone planning on doing the power challenge in October ill see you there hopefully!