GBPF East Midlands Unequipped Powerlifting Championships 2013

On Sunday 10th February 2013, I competed in the Great Britain Powerlifting Federation East Midlands Unequipped Powerlifting Championships 2013, at Letchworth Weightlifting Club.  This was my first powerlifting event which I plan to write about in reasonable depth - some info may be obvious to some but useful to others, so bare with me.

Firstly, let's clarify the event.  Powerlifting consists of 3 attempts at 3 lifts (so 9 lifts in total) - squat, bench press and deadlift.  The unequipped means you are limited to wearing a lifting belt, wrist straps and knee sleeves, specifically singly ply neoprene (GBPF allow this in the unequipped / raw meets but other federations do not).  I used the belt and wrist straps (for the bench press only), but not the knee sleeves.

I arrived at 9:30am on a rainy Sunday morning.  First task was to weigh in - 78.9kg so comfortably in the 83kg class.  This was where I thought I would be.  To be honest it did not matter what class I was in.  Coming into the event I knew where I was lifting wise, and I would not be breaking any records.  For reference, the GBPF records for Senior (over 23) unequipped in the East Midlands division at this weight class are 200kg squat, 130kg bench press, 270kg deadlift and 600kg total, whereas my best total in training is about 2/3 of that.  But this is the beauty of powerlifting - unless you are elite level, you are only chasing your best lifts and aiming to beat them, not beat records and other lifters.

Lifting commenced at 11am.  I was in the second flight.  Flights mix together certain weight classes and then work through all 3 attempts at a lift, then the next flight does their 3 attempts at a lift, then you move on to the next lift until all 3 lifts are complete.  Thankfully 83kg was the heaviest weight within the first two flights - the 93kg class and above had to wait until 2pm before lifting!

I began with the squat.  My best training lift was 142kg.  I was hoping for 125kg, 140kg then an attempt at 150kg.  I managed to get 125kg ok, then I failed at 140kg.  I completed the lift but powerlifting is very strict on following commands.  In the squat there are two - first one to commence the squat once the lifter is deemed in place and ready, and the second once the squat is complete prior to racking the bar.  I finished the squat and began to rack the bar before I got the command, so got two red lights.   You have 3 judges - one head judge face on, and one on each side.  Each judge scores the lift white (good) or red (fail), and a good lift requires 2 out of 3 white lights (remind anyone of X Factor?!)

My confidence was a little knocked at this point.  I did not want to try 150kg, fail and end up with a 125kg score, far from my best.  So I ignored my ego and opted for a safer, yet still personal best attempt of 142.5kg, and thankfully got 3 white lights!

Next up as bench.  As I train alone, I do not push the bench press as far as I possibly could.  Lack of spotter means I adopt the "bounce" off the chest at the bottom of the bench, so I do not get stuck under the bar.  In powerlifting, this is a no-no.  The bar must touch the chest and come to a pause, before being given the command to press.  This is a whole different ball game!  My best bounced bench press in training as 90kg, but as I had to pause I opted to lower my opener from 80kg to 75kg, to ensure I got a lift on the board.  75kg was successful, so I went on to 85kg.  This was much more difficult but I ground it out, just.  I played safe and tried a third lift of 87.5kg, but I could not press it.  A little disappointed but if I'm honest, 85kg was a good lift for me with the pause.

As an aside, powerlifters tend to adopt a very arched back when benching, so that only their shoulders and butt touch the bench.  This is advantageous by reducing the range of motion, but also putting the bench press onto a slight simulated decline.  I will need to learn to do this!

Last up was the deadlift.  My best training lift was 175kg and a few times I have tried 180kg and I could not move it.  This was therefore my goal today.  First lift 155kg, was ok.  Second lift 170kg was better.  Third lift was 180kg and BOOM, nailed it thanks to the cheering in the crowd from my wife and brother.  Very pleased. 

This meant I had an overall total of 407.5kg, which I will happily take.  In the under 83kg senior class, this put me in last place.  However when I got my certificate I was told 4th (out of 4).  There are no losers in powerlifting - hell I may have come last but I got some personal bests, and some great experience which will shape my training for the next few months and drive me to improve.

A few other points to note.

Thankfully this was a shorter day than at first thought.  I began lifting at 11am and finished about 2pm.  Food wise I ate a few bacon sandwiches - one before the squat and one before the deadlift.  In between lifts I ate bananas, cereal bars, and drank coffee and sports drinks.  I found it kept my energy levels high.

The warm up area was 3 areas which had 3 squat racks (prior to the squat), 3 benches (prior to the bench) and just a bar and weights (prior to the deadlift).  Plenty of space, plenty of weight and good areas for prep.

The atmosphere was also great.  There was a total of 37 lifters, of which there were maybe 8 or 9 in my flight.  Lots of cheering from the crowd, encouragement from the other lifters, and overall a great day.

I'm now hooked, and will be thinking about my training over the next few months so I can beat this total and keep progressing.  My goal by the end of 2013 is to get 455kg - this would equal 1001lbs.  Is this too much of an aspiration?  Maybe, but I'm going to damn well try to get there and smash some of my bests on the way!

I've had some ideas and have some questions after the meet, so I will endevour to write a short series of posts about these.

So, below is a video of my 9 attempts, 7 of which were good and 2 were fails.  Enjoy!

Progress - Chris M Front Squat 3s

Below is a video of member and Oly Lifter Chris banging out 3 rep front squats at 95kg.  In his words he had "trouble at this weight for a single not too long ago".  Now he's hitting an easy looking 3 reps.

Put in the effort and you will get the rewards.  Chris is certainly proof of that.



In training, Schwinners

Damien's Odd Lift No 9 - One Arm Bench (Barbell)

Odd lifts week 9
1 arm bench press
slightly forced in to this one today as I've hurt my left hand. had a load of trouble with this one, balance was impossible. managed a wobbly 40kg

A4. Bench Press – One arm
The rules of the Bench Press apply except that only one arm may be used in performing the lift. The bar is gripped in the center so it will be balanced when held. The non-lifting arm and hand must remain free and not touch the lifting arm or hand, the bar, the platform, or the bench during the lift. The bar is allowed to tilt or rotate provided

Damien's Odd Lift No 8 - Turkish Get Up

Odd lifts week 8
TGU

sure everyone knows this but it's on the list and I need to do more core work. wobbled my way up to 24kg with a kettlebell. forgot how hard it is. it may see it's way back in to my regular cycle. no video either, was by myself and the flipping camera kept falling over and other times I lined it up wrong and it was filming a wall or something.

I21. Turkish Get Up
A dumbbell, kettlebell or barbell is used for this lift. The lift begins with the lifter lying on his/her back on the platform holding the implement in one hand above the body with a straight arm perpendicular to the platform. Once in this position, an official will give the command to start the lift. The lifter must rise to a standing position, holding the implement overhead with a straight arm throughout. The lifting arm must stay perpendicular to the lifting platform. The lifter may use the free hand to brace against the body or the platform during the execution of the lift, but must not touch the implement or the lifting arm. The implement may rotate in any direction. Once standing with the implement overhead, the implement motionless and the lifter’s feet in line with the body, an official will give a command to end the lift.

 

Here is an old video of Turkish Get Ups.

 

 

Ben Seath's Youtube Channel (5/3/1)

I'm currently following 5/3/1 by Jim Wendler for the second time and seeing good results.  I am following the template for the main lifts, and doing 'Boring But Big' (5 x 10 reps at 50-60%) after the main lift. 

In my search for information on other accessory work to complement 5/3/1, I came across the youtube channel of Ben Seath.

Ben Seath's Youtube Channel

Ben is a raw powerlifter and at around 300lbs has a total of 2041lbs!  He's currently running 5/3/1 in his training and this is what his videos focus on.

See the following video of the lifts making up his 2041lb total:



I've found Ben's channel really useful.  As well as posting his main lifts, he video blogs about his diet, his technique, and also his accessory lifts after his main lift.  His method is to work on what was weak within his top set on the main lifts, so if he found his triceps were the weak link on his overhead press, he would target triceps in his accessory work.

I hope Ben continues to post great videos as he has done - I'll certainly be watching and looking forward to learning more in my quest to get stronger.

In training
Schwinners

Damien's Odd Lift No 7

odd lift week 7
one arm deadlift, no thumb

this will be quite familiar to anyone who did the Strength & Power series last year. the lift is identical to that except the thumb can't go over the top of the bar so essentially all the weight is hanging off you four fingers.
worked up to 80 and failed at 90. video of the 70s shown below. videoed the 80 as well but Ernie, our bulldog, decided to make a guest appearance and wandered under the bar

B11. Deadlift – No Thumb, One Arm
The rules of the Deadlift – One Arm apply except that the thumb of the lifting hand must not be covering the bar. The thumb may lie alongside and touch the index finger and bar under the bar or be held in the air not touching the bar. The thumb must not be touching the top of the bar.

Damien's Odd Lift No 6

Odd lifts week 6
reverse grip clean and press

today was my birthday so a few of the boys were around my place for the lift and a BBQ. the clean on this is ok but the press feels very weird. worked up to 90kg but couldn't clean the 100

A17. Clean and Press – Reverse Grip
The rules of the Clean and Press apply except that the bar must be gripped with a reverse grip, in which the palms of the hands are facing away from the lifter when the bar is on the platform. The reverse grip must be maintained throughout the entire lift, including the clean.



And here is Davie showing how not to do it:

Damien's Odd Lift No 5

Odd lift week 5
one arm clean and jerk

did this one today towards the end of my session at Crossfit Reading. nice lift but keeping it under control at the clean is really hard. I found two ways of doing it. firstly with you hand facing you, as you would in a normal barbell clean. it's very easy to clean in this manner but hard to keep under control at the top before jerking. in the end I settled for the second option of doing what looked like a bicep curl from the floor. only got up to 40kg on this one

A9. Clean and Jerk – One Arm
The rules of the Clean and Jerk apply with these exceptions. Only one arm is used to perform the lift. The bar is gripped in the center by one hand and may be cleaned in front or cleaned to the side. Any grip may be used by the lifter. The bar must be cleaned to the same shoulder as the lifting arm in a single movement. During the clean, the bar must not touch any part of the legs or torso. In receiving the bar at the shoulder, the bar must not make contact or rest on the shoulder or chest opposite to the lifting arm. The center of the sternum is the line of lineation. The non-lifting hand may be supported on the thigh or knee of either leg but must not contact the bar, platform, or lifting arm during the lift or it will be a disqualification. With a single distinct effort the lifter will jerk the bar to arms length above the head. The non-lifting hand must be clear of the body upon completion of the lift. The bar may be in any degree of rotation when overhead. Once the bar is overhead motionless, the lifter’s body in an upright position, the feet parallel and in line with the
torso, an official will give a command to lower the bar. Both hands may be used to lower the bar. The lift ends when the bar is returned to the platform under control.

Pyrros Dimas Training

Today I stumbled across the following training video of Pyrros Dimas, Greek Olympic Weightlifter and three time Olympic Gold Medalist.  I remember seeing this a few years back and I'm still as impressed as I was back then. 

Pistols a.k.a. One Legged Squats

One of my favourite bodyweight exercises are One Legged Squats, also known as Pistols.  As well as strength, they take a lot of flexibility and balance.  Forum member Lewis recently filmed a good progression to build up to doing them unassisted, using a basketball and a wall:



I struggle to do them unassisted but my preference is to hold a weight out in front of me to counterbalance:



Other ideas include placing a weight plate under the heel if flexibility is an issue.

Have a go!  If you've done a video doing pistols, why not post a link to it in the comments?

In training, Schwinners

Damien's Odd Lift No 4

Odd Lifts Week 4
Crucifix

not a lot to say about this one, looked really hard and it was! thought I might get 20kg a hand but only got 17.5 in the end and even that was bloody close!

also any jokes about my belly or me needing a bigger t-shirt or I'll find you and make you listen to my little brother tell you how awesome olympic weightlifting is! you don't want that people, trust me.

E8. Crucifix
Two evenly loaded dumbbells or kettlebells are used for this lift. The lift begins at the lifter’s discretion. The dumbbells are taken to arms’ length overhead with the palms of the hands facing each other and dumbbells touching. The lifter must bring the feet together so the heels are together and touching. The body must be upright at the start of the lift. Once in this position, an official will give the command to start the lift. The lifter will then lower the dumbbells to the side with arms’ straight and palms up. Elbows must be fully locked. The lifter may lean back to any extent when lowering the dumbbells. The wrists do not need to be held straight. The legs must remain straight and knees locked throughout the lift. The heels must remain together and the heels and toes must not rise during the lift. Once the arms are parallel to the platform, and the dumbbells motionless, an official will give a command to end the lift.

http://youtu.be/K8y8Xbfo514

More Strongman

The video below is a great documentary on the history of World's Strongest Man over the last 30 years.  Well worth a watch.

Strongman Training - Mark Felix

Check out this video of Mark Felix, who has regularly taken part in World's Strongest Man competitions over the years, training in a scrap yard, lifting odd objects and getting strong. 

'No Excuses'

5/3/1 by Jim Wendler

My current training is biased towards strength, and my training method of choice is 5/3/1 by Jim Wendler. Jim is a powerlifter and is very strong, so a great person to learn from. Check out this video of him squatting 540lbs x 7 - that's almost 250kg!



I will not try to explain 5/3/1 in this post so check out the following article on T-Nation where they interviewed him. Compared to some other methods, 5/3/1 does not yield fast gains in strength, however what it does yield is small consistent gains which over time accumulate into big gains. Plus the changes in reps over the cycle keep things fresh and reduces monotony.

Get strong!

In training, Schwinners

What is Crossfit?

In order to open the vault of Crossfit-inspired greatness, I have to introduce Crossfit itself. Its "guru," the "Coach" - Greg Glassman explains it thus:

"World-Class Fitness in 100 Words:

Eat meat and vegetables nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat.

Practice and train major lifts: Deadlift, clean, squat, presses, C&J and snatch. Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, rope climb, push ups, sit-ups, presses to handstand, pirouettes, flips, splits and holds. Bike, run, swim, row, etc hard and fast.

Five or six day per week mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense.

Regularly play and learn new sports."

In practice, how does this look? Please view video:

Crossfit can be done in your garage or a gym. It now markets itself as the "Sport of Fitness" and is  very poular in the USA. Hundreds of "boxes" (Crossfit term for gym, also termed an affiliate) have appeared all over the USA and we even have about a dozen or so in the UK now.

Class based gym instruction is the norm, with the emphasis on community, competition and a healthy team spirit. The evolution of Crossfit is very interesting with many different experts being involved in its progress. There has also been the advent of the Crossfit Games to find the "fittest on the planet."  

A recent affiliation to Reebok has turned Crossfit into a corporate force, a long way from the garage-gym based movement of the first years. The 2012 Crossfit Games will offer $250,000 to the male and female winner. Its evolution will continue to be very interesting for strength and conditioning enthusiasts.

Train Smart, Charlie.

Eoin Murphy - Olympic Lifting

As well as posts on people's home gyms, I also want to post entries about our member's training.

Today we begin with Eoin Murphy.  In 2011 he found a coach at his local gym to teach him olympic lifting, and his progress since then has been brilliant, as can be seen from this video below.  This shows him achieve an 87.5kg snatch and 112.5kg clean and jerk, for a 200kg total in training!



You can also follow Eoin's training log on our forum.

Eoin is competing in the nationals (which is awesome for someone who's only been training olympic lifting seriously for under a year) in the coming weeks, so we'll report back on his progress after that.

In training, Schwinners

Blair Morrison - Anywherefit

Anywherefit is another blog I follow closely. Blair Morrison trains anywhere and is a master at using his environment to create challenging workouts. There really are no excuses and the video above is testament to that.

"I am dedicated to the pursuit of the physical challenges our bodies were built to face, and the mental fortitude that comes from the ability to overcome them. "

He'd fit right in at WT... (Lewismansell "isometric squat" - Western Heights WW2 artillery positions, Dover 2010)

Train Smart, Charlie.

Ross Enamait - Rosstraining.com

Ross Enamait (www.rosstraining.com) is one of the great inspirations for Warrior Training. His "low tech-high effect" training has been part of our forum members' make up since WT's inception.
Take a look at this Rosstaining video to see that Ross definitely walks the walk:



A retired boxer turned strength and conditioning trainer, Ross provides training advice for anyone. His methods are cost effective and simple. The Rosstraining blog and forum are a great source of information and guidance. His books are chock full of great training information and sold at a very reasonable price. He has also written some great articles.

Personally, this is where I started my journey towards training enlightenment. I have all of his books and can attest to his methodology. Whenever I need to light a fire under my training, I reach for one of Ross's books.

Ross is also a damn nice guy, always replies to emails and as video shows he test drives his ideas himself. Truly a WT hero.

Train Smart, Charlie.

Testing out max box jump

Tested out max box jump last night at Crossfit CM2 and PB'd by 4" at 48". Still got more in the tank as well.