The Highs and Lows of My 1st Powerlifting Meet

I did it! And it was awesome.

Three months ago, I told myself, I'm going to powerlift. I found an incredible coach and gym, purchased the minimal equipment required, trained my ass off and I did it. What a way to finish off 2014!

And I'm hooked. I'm already plotting and planning for my next meet!

I learned tons of stuff during this 14 hour endeavor and I want to share those moments with you all. Here are my highs and lows:

Highs:
1. People of all age, size, gender and walks of life are strong. From 17 years old to 75 years old, men and women, large and small, everyone showed up to test their strength and it was awesome. A young teenage girl set a world record!
2. I PR'd on all my lifts - squat by 5#, bench by 5# and deadlift by 15#.
3. The adrenaline rush you get before, during and after each lift is addicting.
4. People are supportive of you, no matter how much you are lifting. Some women lifted less than me, but most were lifting more. I loved that no one cared about how much weight it was, they just wanted to see you succeed in lifting it and setting PRs.
5. My coach is a serious badass. He is one strong dude and it was so awesome to see him in action. He lifted insane amounts with flawless technique, and I feel lucky that he's my coach.
6. I'm stronger than I think. Mentally I told myself I could break my PRs, but there's still a little voice in me that says "are you sure you can do that?" I shattered that voice, thank goodness.
7. I love this sport. I've gone from an endurance sport to a power sport and I have to say I like the power better.

Lows:
1. There is a LOT of waiting around. There's tons of down time between each lift as you watch others perform. It forces you to rest, however your mind goes crazy.
2. The day is long and your body gets restless, achy and tired.  Meets aren't normally as long as this one was, but it's nothing I can't handle compared to an Ironman -- THAT is fucking exhausting!
3. I didn't feel like eating and didn't know what to eat, but I had to in order to keep my energy up.
4. My pelvic floor muscles are weak. (Yeah, the ones that control your bladder...)

I arrived at NorCal Healthworks at 8 a.m. to weigh in, give my opener weights and set my squat rack height. I had time to snag a coffee and omelette at a cool coffee place down the street. Then I found my coach and teammates and settled in for the amazing day ahead of me. I felt relaxed and calm until we started warming up for the squat, and then my heart started to RACE...

First up was the squat. I was in the first flight of lifters, all women. We warmed up and prepared for our name to be called. I nailed my 1st attempt at 185# and after I finished that first attempt, I felt less nervous and gained a little confidence. I got my 2nd attempt at 200#, a 5# PR. I then tried for 210# for my 3rd attempt but missed. I was okay with that, as I already got one PR and this would have been icing on the cake. When I started my walkout, the weight felt heavy, I set myself into position and started to squat. I tried to stay tight, but as I went down, my back loosened up and the bar started to roll, bringing me forward. My coach grabbed the bar and helped me up. I think my strength was there, as my legs didn't give up, but my form and technique need more work. I need to focus on staying tight, elbows back and chest up. Now I have a goal to work toward, and I hope by next meet I can open with 210# and get a bigger PR.

Next up was the bench. This is my weakest lift by far. I lack upper body strength and I have long arms, two strikes against me. But many women can bench heavy, and I know I will eventually. I only started lifting weights about 2 years ago, so I feel I have progressed pretty well considering my lack of experience. But there's a ton of room for improvement. I hit all three attempts at 95#, 100# and 105#, a 5# PR. My first attempt was red-lighted because I racked too soon. I was so happy to hit that 105# though! I made that attempt a few times in training without success so it felt good to nail it. I hope to work my way up to the big plates for the next meet!

Lastly, my deadlift, my favorite lift of them all. There's something empowering about grabbing a bar and picking up heavy weight. I feel this lift really works your whole body more than the others. Normally I feel very confident about my deadlift, but it had been a long day, my body was tired and I had been experiencing some oblique pain prior to the meet, so I was worried. But, I told myself to stay strong and nail it. I smashed all 3 attempts at 235#, 250# and 260#. The last attempt was tough, not gonna lie. My form was not as good, as you'll see in the video, and it took everything in me to lock it out. I pulled so hard I peed my pants! I knew it happened at the time, but didn't realize it actually leaked out onto the floor until the next day when I watched the video. I laughed so damn hard! If my teammates or coach had seen it, they were nice enough not to tell me during my moment of glory for hitting the 15# PR. Thanks guys! But it happened, and seriously, I'm glad I'm sharing it with you all because women joke about it, but it's not a good thing.

Back in September, I listened to a talk by Ann Wendel about pelvic floor dysfunction and she said "it's common, but not normal." That should not be happening when we laugh, sneeze, cough or lift heavy weight. I was doing exercises to strengthen those muscles but apparently not enough. Before the meet, a fellow female powerlifter suggested to wear a pad. I thought she was being funny...I learned the hard way she wasn't. Oh, and maybe I'll change the filming angle too just in case. :) BUT LADIES, listen, if you are experiencing this, which happens usually after pregnancy or when you get older, DO something about it. And men, while you don't have to deal with this, I guarantee a women in your life -- mom, sister, aunt, wife, girlfriend -- is dealing with it, so be sympathetic and help her.

While the day was insanely long and exhausting, it was totally worth it. I absolutely enjoyed every minute and can't wait for the next one. My coach was very supportive during the entire meet even though he was also competing. The other guys and gal competing (all first timers) that I trained with did an amazing job and I'm very proud of them as well. More experienced lifters from the gym came to support us as well, which was immensely helpful.

So, as I said before, I'm now addicted. Two more days of rest and I'm back in the gym ready for a new training cycle. Now If I can just nail down when my next meed should be...

Packed and ready to crush it

It's less than 24 hours until my first powerlifting meet! I haven't been this excited and nervous since my first Ironman competition!

I'm all packed and ready to go...singlet - check, power shoes - check, CSA shirt - check, EliteFTS belt - check and deadlift socks - check!

My twelve weeks of training have prepared me well and all that's left to do is crush it! This first meet will put my official numbers "one the board" so that I have a baseline and I can set goals to work toward for future meets. Hopefully this is the start of a great road ahead! 

This never would have happened if it wasn't for inspiration from a few people. They will probably never see this, but I want to thank Julia Ladewski for being a strong female force in powerlifting and writing about how to prepare for your first meet on Girls Gone Strong, which first put the bug in my ear; thank you to Kellie Davis for writing about her first experience at a meet, which helped me realize that it's a goal I can reach too; and Jen Sinkler for writing about her experiences and asking me why I'm NOT signed up for a meet yet, which gave me that final push to signed on the dotted line! A huge, HUGE thanks to my coach, Jesse Burdick, who is an elite powerlifter, coach, dad and just all around awesome guy! Thank you Jesse for taking me in, teaching me proper technique and form, giving me tough workouts, pushing me to lift heavier than I thought I was capable of and making me laugh. I probably looked like a deer in headlights when we first met! And finally, thank you to my husband for his continual support, my children for giving me the smiles I needed to keep pushing, and my friends for always saying the right things to keep me motivated! 

Next blog post is a full report on the meet y'all! 

I really want to look better here...

"I really want to look better here..." This is the most popular saying I hear on a daily basis from clients, as they do a half-turn and point right at their booty. Every woman I know wants to either tighten their booty, lose the fat there or perk up a flat one. I can understand why, our society is obsessed with the backside. Just look at all the videos, songs, movies, comedians, etc., who discuss women with a bodacious butt.

Aesthetics is great, but there's a better reason to want a strong backside. It's because the gluteus is the strongest and most powerful muscle in the body. It's comprised of the maximus, medius and minimus and all

three work together to create one of our largest muscular areas on the body. But, the butt (hee hee) is LAZY. Oh that booty doesn't want to work at ALL and you have to MAKE it. Every time one of my clients is doing a primarily dominant glute exercise, I tell them, squeeze, contract, tighten and even feel your butt to make sure it's working! Fire it up, get it moving! Otherwise, it will just sit there and make your other muscles work harder then they should. When your glutes are strong, you experience less knee pain, back pain and calf pain because you've learned to use your glutes in every day motion.



Made of fast and slow twitch muscle fibers, the butt can get stronger and look better from both high-rep and low-rep exercises. My personal favorite for glute building is the hip thruster and here are my reasons: 1) it's simple so anyone can do it, 2) doesn't hurt your lower back, 3) easy to progress/regress and 4) variations allow for high or low reps and is just as effective. Here's me doing the hip thrust, 265# for 6 reps.

If you are not doing the hip thrust regularly, like at least twice a week, then you are not doing your booty justice! You have to try this out, and incorporate it into your workout routines. I promise, you will feel and see a difference. I do it at least two, sometimes three, times a week to both build and strengthen: high-rep band hip thrusts, medium-rep barbell thrusts with isometric holds and heavy low-rep barbell thrusts. Of course, you should also perform other glute-pumping exercises, such as glute-ham raises, kickbacks, fire hydrants, deadlifts, squats, box squats, back extensions, hypers, etc.

There are tons of myths out there about glute training, and recently Bret Contreras (aka The Glute Guy) just wrote an article for Fitness Rx for Women dispelling these myths. I suggest you check it out to get the ultimate dish on building your butt. He also provides a full tutorial on the hip thrust that you don't want to miss. I love Bret's work because: a) he backs it up with scientific research, b) he has client testimonials/photos to prove it, and c) he is a fellow ASU alum (Go Devils!). If you live in AZ, you HAVE to train at his Glute Lab...he's the only reason I would move back to AZ!