On The Platform

I’ve been training for powerlifting for the last 6 years, from those wobbly days where I was pushing the weight with nauseating form, I’ve progressed in the standard non linear fashion to where I am today: Obsessed with technical knowledge and perfecting every lift whilst getting strong and stronger.
I trained hard, I’ve done a bunch of weird and wonderful strength programs (such as Westside Barbell, Smolov, and the Cube Method), took a little break from training in the middle of 2018 when my heart just wasn’t in it, came back with a new love, watched my strength grow, had to drop the weight back down again to fix yet more crippling form errors, dove head first into learning anything and everything about mobility, had another strength drop come the pandemic due to a lack of equipment (This was the year I’d said to my self that I’d finally enter a powerlifting meet too). I spent a small fortune on plates and a barbell to keep myself sane, got stronger, learnt the lesson of over training, started doing less to gain more.
And then finally, at the start of this year, a friend ordered me to get myself entered in a meet, with the warning that she wouldn’t let me hear the end of it until I actually put an entry in.

So with 5 weeks to go and no knowledge on how to prep for a meet, I got to work and trained in a way I thought would be beneficial for preparing for the big day.

I did 2 weeks of training 3 days per week, aiming to do all 3 lifts on each day, altering the reps and weight accordingly, as a way to make sure I’d be able to handle doing all three lifts in one day. Normally I train 4 days per week, but with the knowledge of how much more taxing this would be on my CNS (Central nervous system), felt 3 was more appropriate.

Then I switched to focusing on the single lifts on each day: Monday was deadlifts, Wednesday was bench, Friday was squats. Allowing myself to do more accessories, something I really enjoy doing. I love pushing harder with a lower weight, feeling the muscle burn, getting a pump (Because who doesn’t love getting a good pump!?). However I dropped out my secondary movements for fear of over taxing the body, this was all very new territory.
But one thing I noticed, despite the fact that I was still aiming for the same level of effort in my big lifts and accessories, with the reduced number of days and shorter training sessions, it had a noticeable impact on my focus and mood.
I was more irritable, felt mentally stale, had more dips in my mood, and trying to focus to get any work done felt like torture. As someone who is very good with self discipline and focusing on work related tasks, this shook my sense of self a little.
I had to make sure I was being kind to myself, forcing myself to do the things that I know would benefit my mind, began meditating twice a day (I usually aim to meditate once every morning), and just had to keep the end goal at the forefront of my mind.
I know for future meet prep, I plan on keeping my training at the regular volume, just tapering in the last week and a half, for the sake of my sanity. The thing is, when you run your own business, you can’t just coast for a few weeks, you have to be switched on and able to show up strong each and every day to make things work.

So I’m sure you’re all wanting to know how the day actually went.

I weighed in at 74.8kg, putting me just inside the 75kg weight category, and opened on my squats at 85kg, closing on 95kg. I realised I was a little behind everyone on my squats, but thankfully the time I’ve put into building up my bench brought me back into contention. Opening on 65kg for bench, and closing with 70kg, I was now drawing for first place, it was all to play for on deadlifts.

I was opening on the same number as my competition; 125kg, which moved like butter. I knew I had 130kg for my second attempt, and decided to have some fun for the 3rd attempt at 140kg, which put me into first place for my category! I genuinely couldn’t believe it, definitely not what I expected for my first competition!!

I got 9/9, and all white lights throughout - my obsession with technical perfection in training certainly paid off. And not only did I win my category, I also received an award for best lifter (Again, totally unexpected!), and have qualified for British Championships in July - I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better result for my first time on the platform.

And not to mention how lovely everyone was during the day, it was wonderful to be a part of such a fantastic event, I felt completely welcomed by everyone.

I’m extremely grateful for Theresa Cesnik for pushing me to enter, and supporting and advising me throughout the day, it really helped to ease my nerves and guide me through it all. And also have to say a huge thank you to my friends who came to support me on the day and drove me there and home, and to my partner who, unfortunately couldn’t be there due to being unwell, but supported me from afar, and has encouraged and supported me through all of this.

The people who surround you and support you are worth their weight in gold, I am so grateful for all of them and truly blessed to have such amazing people in my life. Thank you to each and every one of you.