Beginners Guide to Powerlifting; Competition Day

Competition Day

In previous articles I have focused on off season training and competition build up. This time of the year normally brings with it the first competitions for the year. This is usually the first chance for novices and seasoned lifters to get under the bar for the first time. The purpose of this article is to highlight some of the important things for you to consider on competition day.

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Entering

Be aware of the competition date and entry requirements well in advance. I suggest lifters plan their competitive year in January and schedule events. Make it your own responsibility to enter the event on time. I have seen lifters disappointed when they miss deadlines and are unable to enter events. There is nothing more devastating more than this after the dedication of a lengthy build up.

Making weight

Lifters will often look to lift in a particular weight class. This is usually for competitive reasons or to break records or set personal records. Strategies to make weight will be the focus of a future article.

My advice to novice lifters is to lift in their natural weight class and not to drop too much weight in the days leading up to an event. This will lead to the inevitable loss of strength and stress. Restricting food intake on the morning of weigh in is fine if you need to lose a few hundred grams. Weight loss of a kilogram or more will take at least 12 hours and is best reserved until you have had a few competitions under your belt.

Let's assume that the weigh in is at 9 am in the morning. I suggest have a normal breakfast at about 7.30 am unless your weight is borderline. Then eat immediately after your weigh in.

Weighing in

IPF events have a 90 minute weigh in period. The order is determined by lot draw. I suggest weighing as soon as you can so that you can eat. If you need to lose a few hundred grams following your weigh in then this is best achieved by some form of cardio that raises your body temperature. As noted above, any extreme attempt to lose too much weight should be avoided.

Beginners Guide to Powerfling; Your First Comp starts here

Your first powerlifting competition- your build up starts here

I can remember deciding to enter my first powerlifting competition.
It was probably one of the most exciting times of my life. If you are thinking about entering a competition in 2011, I hope you too are starting to get excited. Powerlifting is a great sport for several reasons. For me, I love having the chance to set goals and then work towards achieving these. And ultimately being able to showcase your hard work on the platform.

Most NZPF local associations will have either novice competitions and/or provincial competitions in March to May each year. These competitions are qualifiers to the North Island, South Island and National Champs later in the year. If you are an aspiring lifter, I encourage you to enter in a local provincial competition in the first half of 2011. This article is aimed at a novice lifter who intends to do exactly that.

Refer to the calendar on the NZPF website: http://www.nzpowerlifting.co.nz/cms/calendar

Let assume that you are entering a contest at the end of April 2011 which is approximately 17 weeks from the start of the new-year. I am going to break this into 2 parts:

Phase 1 (8 weeks): continuation of power-building;
Phase 2 (9 weeks): powerlifting specific build up.

Beginners Guide to Powerlifting, Squat and BenchTechnique

Powerlifting Technique

In the first part of powerlifting technique, I will talk about the squat and the bench. This discussion is designed to highlight some of the key things that I believe you need to focus on for the individual lifts. I believe that perfect practice makes perfect. I encourage you to seek out an experienced lifter to assist you top develop your technique. Then I suggest that you take this technique and you spend many hours doing many reps of practice. It is this perfect practice that will lead to success.

Video analysis is a great tool for reflection. Review these videos and focus on improving your technique. Be mindful of not changing too many things too quickly. I encourage my lifters to think about 2 or 3 simple things when they are completing a lift.

It is important to keep things simple. The discussion below has be deliberately been kept at a simple level. Ultimately, individual technique is just that. Having a few basic parameters to refer to initially, will help you develop your own technique.

The Squat
Bar Placement
Bar placement is very important. A good low position will lead to a more efficient squat as it allows for better leverage. However if the bar is too low this can cause problems with leaning too far forward.
I like to have the bar sitting on a shelf across my rear delts. The best way to create the "shelf" is by raising or rotating the elbows to the rear. If this is not easy, adjust your hand placement slightly outward. This will cause the traps to contract as well as the rear
delts. This position should be held through out the entire lift.

Beginners Guide to Powerlifting, Deadlift technique

The deadlift is probably the least technical of the powerlifts. However, there is still a lot that can go wrong. As will my approach to all of the powerlifts, I like to keep things as simple as possible.
At this stage I am going to focus on the conventional technique. At a later date I will talk about the sumo technique. I suggest beginners start with the conventional technique and master this before
thinking about a change.

The stance
Your feet should be placed at a point just narrower than shoulder width with your toes pointing straight ahead. The bar should lie very close to your shins. A rough bar will cause abrasions to your shins so long socks are desirable in training and compulsory in competition.

Hand placement
You should use an alternate hand grip with one hand over the bar and one hand under the bar. The choice of which hand is over and which hand is under is a personal one. I am right handed and place my left hand over the bar. My training partner is also right handed but places his right hand over the bar.

Be cautious of not having your hands too wide. This will require you to pull the bar further. Similarly, a grip that is too narrow may see your thighs disrupt your grip.

Beginners Guide to Powerlifting, part 2

So you want to be a powerlifter- part II

I am a big fan of powerbuilding. I cannot claim this term, it has been around for years. It really means a combination of powerlifting and bodybuilding. For me it means using bodybuilding as the basis for improving the powerlifts. That is, working the weak points and
building your physique to become a better lifter. The key is becoming stronger and becoming bigger.

I am a big fan of newbies building a base at the start of their powerlifting journey. This does not mean that they cannot compete. In fact quite the opposite. I encourage competition as soon as possible. But I believe all lifters need to develop a balanced physique. They
need to learn how to lift weights in general, not just how to squat, bench and deadlift. Obviously they need to become proficient in the big 3 lifts. But they can do this at the same time. Powerbuilding is a great way to get underway.

The training
I like to see new lifters in the gym at least 3 times per week and 4 times per week if possible. There is a balance to achieve. If they are also playing other sport I encourage them to continue with this. The initial goals will depend on the experience of the lifter. A beginner will focus on learning how to basically lift weights. An intermediate lifter will have the advantage of feeling comfortable in the gym.
However he or she will have weak points and probably bad habits. There may need to be a shift in mindset.

The training will not be vastly different. The initial intensity will vary depending on experience. The focus needs to be on perfect technique. Ed Coan spoke about the perfect rep. We should always strive for perfect technique. Or at least when we are learning how to
train.

A basic training schedule would look like this:

Power Building

Beginners Guide to Powerlifting; Competition Day

Entering

Making weight

Weighing in

Beginners Guide to Powerfling; Your First Comp starts here

Beginners Guide to Powerlifting, Squat and BenchTechnique

Beginners Guide to Powerlifting, Deadlift technique

Beginners Guide to Powerlifting, part 2

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