USPA Western Regionals meet report/personal

[PhDPepper1111]

Meet held in Hallmark resort/hotel in Newport Oregon.
Put on by Downings Gym - a two-day event with the first day untested, the second day was drug tested.
The referee team was very friendly and overall did a good job.
The spotter/loader crew was outstanding, with some great saves and super fast on transitions.

My workout partner had a great meet the first day, winning his division and setting a state record on bench in the process.
Was great to have a day to watch the whole meet environment without having for focus on competing.

Overall was a great event and loved the atmosphere. Got to see some great lifters and some national records fall.
__________________________________________________ ______________________________
Personal/meet report:
I felt fantastic the week or so in build up with PRs in all three lifts.
My workout partner/coach did a water load/cut, so I did the same, I only cut calories on Friday before weighins Sat am.
Weigh ins went well, and I was my lowest weight in 30 years at 192.2
For breakfast I had eggs benedict, 3 sausage links, hash browns and a cinnamon roll. Didn't eat all of it. I'll spare the details of everything I ate but it factors into the report.
Had some GI issues throughout the day but felt ok.
Didn't sleep great - this was my first meet staying in a hotel the night before.

Morning of the meet, woke up at 4:40 with nerves/excitement.
After rules briefing found out I'd been moved to flight D so I had a lot of time.

Squats:
Watched the first two flights and then warmed up.
During warmups I generally felt ok, but the last few did feel a little heavier than expected.
Planned to open at 468 which was my second lift in the previous meet.
425 was my last warmup and it didn't feel bad, but still a bit heavy.
On platform, the 468 definitely felt more of a grind than I expected, and got two reds.
I think it's pretty close - see below - but in any case I need to be a little lower, and maybe a slower descent to leave no doubt.
My second attempt at 468 my depth was about the same and the judges said no lifts - and it was a real grinder to get up.
I tried the third and obviously my head wasn't in it - I took a shuffle wider after the squat command to try to get depth but ended up tipping forward and losing it.


My energy and strength just weren't there.
Definitely a huge disappointment and lost out on a bunch of state records. I was thinking of leaving but the referee team were great an encouraged me to stay so I did, and treat it as a practice/learning experience.
One of the referees - an IPL international ref - said I 'just looked flat' and asked if I had cut for the meet.

Bench went pretty much the same, with not feeling terrible but my strength and energy just weren't there.
I benched 10lb below my opener for my last warmup with no issue so kept it at 286.
286 went up with no problem but I knew my energy was low so dropped my second from a planned 315 attempt to 308 and still couldn't lock it out. Third I got halfway up before stalling.

Same for Deads. I did 466 in warmup and it felt ok. Kept my opener at 485.
Initiated my lift - see below - and something really felt off. I stopped before breaking the floor and was able to reset and get the lift - and the weight was light but I still knew I didn't have much energy so I dropped from a planned 513 to 508 and still couldn't finish it off either, so called it a day.
Both my bench and DL openers (and squat) were easily state records in both tested and untested categories for Masters III, but none count since I bombed the squats.

[PhDPepper1111]

*****continued*******
Lessons learned
Sometimes you gotta learn the hard way, and sometimes what works for one person won't work for another. And sometimes, $hit happens.
1. Cut. Probably the biggest culprit. I'm 50 years old. I was already 25lb below my starting weight at almost 220 when I started this journey last October. I dropped to 192 which was lighter than I'd been since early college 30 years ago. I felt great with PRs at 198ish the previous week, but I think 192 was just too much. I never cut hard and most of the weight was at a 1/2 lb a week pace, I think it was the total cut and the drop the last week that did me in.
2. Eating after weigh in. This was the first time I weighed in 24 hours before. I don't think I ate too much, but I think I did eat too rich/greasy foods which did not agree with my GI system after the cut prior.
3. Openers. I think the openers weren't too far off given how I'd done the week before, but I think I still could have recognized how I was feeling in warmups and ensured I at least got my opener. A lower opener would have kept me in the meet and allowed me to get all the state records. It still would have been a very low total compared to my PRs, but I would have been on the board. I'll hit a squat opener I can triple at my next meet - which is something a lot of people recommend.
4. Curse of the wife. This was the first meet my wife attended. We joke about it, but for 22 years, every sporting event she's attended I've done poorly in. I don't believe there is anything metaphysical about it, but I certainly do think it's possible that it affected my focus mentally. That's on me.

Goals/moving forward:
I already qualified and signed up for IPL worlds as a 50-54 lifter at 220 for November.
Having been on a cut for 7 months, I plan to go on a slow bulk 1/2lb a week - and see how much strength I can add for the next meet.
I'll take my lessons above to heart and work to do better at the next one!
I have my lift goals already but I'll keep those to myself for now.

I hope that this report is of interest to some folks and maybe helpful in the lessons learned.
Cheers!

[ChazWood]

Dude, freakin' awesome across the board and super inspiring stuff!

From where I'm sitting, you should be proud of yourself and no doubt will reflect positively on the experience.

and for sure the wife is reducing maximum beast mode for your lifts. At least that's how I would feel if in that situation. I think on a subconscious level, we dont want our women to see our full beast mode.

Anyways, really dug the write up and positive energy. Keep on killing it, brother. Lots of tread still on the tire! haha!

[HomeGymChains]

Very impressive!!!

[bodyhard]

Awesome man and great write up!

[PhDPepper1111]

Dude, freakin' awesome across the board and super inspiring stuff!

From where I'm sitting, you should be proud of yourself and no doubt will reflect positively on the experience.

and for sure the wife is reducing maximum beast mode for your lifts. At least that's how I would feel if in that situation. I think on a subconscious level, we dont want our women to see our full beast mode.

Anyways, really dug the write up and positive energy. Keep on killing it, brother. Lots of tread still on the tire! haha!

Thanks Chaz! I agree, I suspect 'full beast mode' is something I may not want the wife to see :P
Not done yet for sure!

Very impressive!!!

Thank you HG! Love the comment on your sig too! (at 62, not over the hill)

Awesome man and great write up!

Thanks brother!

[bustasinclair]

Great write-up, Pepper. I cannot imagine how it would feel to bomb out on the first lift, but my training partner did it back in our first Meet in 2010. He was so bummed, it was all over his face; I felt bad for him.

Remember muscle is made up of like 75-80% water, so being fully hydrated is THE most important thing. I know you know this, but I guarantee you were a bit dehydrated and that affected your performance. You'll get it next time!

[PhDPepper1111]

Great write-up, Pepper. I cannot imagine how it would feel to bomb out on the first lift, but my training partner did it back in our first Meet in 2010. He was so bummed, it was all over his face; I felt bad for him.

Remember muscle is made up of like 75-80% water, so being fully hydrated is THE most important thing. I know you know this, but I guarantee you were a bit dehydrated and that affected your performance. You'll get it next time!

Thanks brother!
Yes, definitely had a few moments of being significantly bummed.
I certainly have no reason to be doing any late/significant cutting for my next meet either - and realistically probably never need to in the future

[RonaldBolles]

super inspiring, thanks for sharing, hope someday to reach his muscle mass

[PhDPepper1111]

super inspiring, thanks for sharing, hope someday to reach his muscle mass

Thank you RB!!

[Forelight]

Sorry to hear about the bomb on squats. I've competed at 165, 148 and 181. 165 is the weight I score best at on Wilks and feel best at is 165 and it is what I will compete at again when I find the lifts and time. I'd say not to worry about state records or whatever, try to compete at your natural weight. I'm not being a dick, it's just some advice (unsolicited I know - take it or leave it!). When I was a junior I held some records, but in hindsight they weren't really that worth it. I'm trying to get back into decent enough shape to compete as an open lifter right now. Brave to give the write up after bombing the squat. I've competed about 10 times in the past. Never bombed, as I tend to open with a light opener to get on the board (maybe something you should think about next time to ease into the meet). Lifters I know have bombed before I started competed and it was not pleasant to hear about. Regardless, good write up and still a good learning experience for you. Every meet is a good experience regardless of what happens. The golden meet is 9/9, happened once for me. Something you should aim for after bombing Imo. Again, I'm not trying to be annoying by giving advice. Just giving advice I'd give myself after competing as many times as you did if I bombed out. Thanks.

[PhDPepper1111]

Sorry to hear about the bomb on squats. I've competed at 165, 148 and 181. 165 is the weight I score best at on Wilks and feel best at is 165 and it is what I will compete at again when I find the lifts and time. I'd say not to worry about state records or whatever, try to compete at your natural weight. I'm not being a dick, it's just some advice (unsolicited I know - take it or leave it!). When I was a junior I held some records, but in hindsight they weren't really that worth it. I'm trying to get back into decent enough shape to compete as an open lifter right now. Brave to give the write up after bombing the squat. I've competed about 10 times in the past. Never bombed, as I tend to open with a light opener to get on the board (maybe something you should think about next time to ease into the meet). Lifters I know have bombed before I started competed and it was not pleasant to hear about. Regardless, good write up and still a good learning experience for you. Every meet is a good experience regardless of what happens. The golden meet is 9/9, happened once for me. Something you should aim for after bombing Imo. Again, I'm not trying to be annoying by giving advice. Just giving advice I'd give myself after competing as many times as you did if I bombed out. Thanks.

Thanks - all good. I agree about focusing on what the body needs. I did get overzealous in the cut obviously although that's easy to say in retrospect lol.
I had been repping 468 a week before so had no indication that it would be heavy... still, yes I plan to open at truly easy weights next time around :P
I actually do find records motivating even though they are not the true end goal, and I do like trying to challenge myself, so I really don't care about 9/9. If it happens awesome, but I also do want to genuinely go for a PR on lift #3 whenever I can.
My game plan for November is:
1) bulk back up. I've added 1000-1500 calories a day for the past few weeks and will monitor as I go. I like being a little lighter, but if my body will put on more muscle I'm good with sitting above 200.
2) Apply lessons learned to the next meet as summarized above, including super easy openers, then a solid 2nd that will tell me what to try for #3
3) take my daughter instead of my wife :P

[Forelight]

Thanks - all good. I agree about focusing on what the body needs. I did get overzealous in the cut obviously although that's easy to say in retrospect lol.
I had been repping 468 a week before so had no indication that it would be heavy... still, yes I plan to open at truly easy weights next time around :P
I actually do find records motivating even though they are not the true end goal, and I do like trying to challenge myself, so I really don't care about 9/9. If it happens awesome, but I also do want to genuinely go for a PR on lift #3 whenever I can.
My game plan for November is:
1) bulk back up. I've added 1000-1500 calories a day for the past few weeks and will monitor as I go. I like being a little lighter, but if my body will put on more muscle I'm good with sitting above 200.
2) Apply lessons learned to the next meet as summarized above, including super easy openers, then a solid 2nd that will tell me what to try for #3
3) take my daughter instead of my wife :P

Take your daughter and your wife.