[Warrior Challenge 1] Br0din calls upon his Warriors to Compete

[Br0din]

The time has come again Warriors, it's time to test our strength on the platform. All the workouts we put our bodies through, sometimes fun, sometimes painful, and sometimes monotonous, have all led up to this, showing what you've got and how you've progressed in those maximal displays of strength and power. Go dust off your armor, sharpen your blades, and prepare to grip it and rip it.

Every 4 months, the Warriors come out to play and hold our virtual lifting competitions, which the whole forum is welcome to come participate in.  When we start the actual Virtual Competition, a link will be posted here.  This mini-challenge is about getting ready to lift those heaviest of heavy loads.

Preparing your armor.

Before you go into battle, you need to know what it is you're up against. What you'll need to defend against and what type of armor to wear. If you plan on competing in any federation sanctioned powerlifting competition, you'll need to be a bit stricter about what you wear. During the virtual competition, you will not be forced to wear a singlet but in real competitions, these are a requirement.

Here is a list of the equipment that you can use in order to still be considered eligible for a "raw" lift.

You also want to know exactly what it means to successfully complete one of your lifts. These also become a bit stricter than your usual day at the gym, and it's also one of the biggest reasons we harp on you hitting at least parallel in your squats. Each of the three big lifts are described here and success requirements for each lift are laid out on pages 9 & 10.

Your Challenge: Familiarize yourself with the rules of powerlifting meets, especially when it comes to what ranges of motion you need to hit and where you need to pause in the lifts in order for them to count. +1 Wisdom for those who do.

Preparing your weapons.

Now that you know what you're up against, it's time we gave ourselves some weapons. The virtual lifting meet and sanctioned meets follow the same format: you get 3 attempts to lift as much as possible in Squat, then Bench, then Deadlift. 3 attempts, that's it. So, we need to know exactly what we want to try to hit on each of those attempts.

The first step is knowing what your theoretical 1 Rep Max (1RM) is for each of the three lifts. The easiest way to do this is to find a rep max for a lighter weight (say for 4 reps, but no way you'd get 5), and use a calculator like one of these: EXRX.net or T Nation(slightly nsfw). You can now use this number to plan out your three attempts.

First Lift / Your Opener: 
Let's get one thing straight, you're not going to put up great numbers if you don't hit your opener. This lift should be heavy enough to inspire confidence in you but light enough that you could roll out of bed with a hangover and hit it. What could you hit for a double or triple? Think somewhere around the 90-92% range.

Second Lift:
This is not where you go big. This is where you hit a lift that you are 100% convinced that you can make that will raise your total score. This should be a hard lift, but not so hard that you risk losing it. Think somewhere in the range of 94-98% of your 1RM.

Third Lift:
Here's where we go big. Time to try for a new personal best. How did the last lift feel? Good? Go for your 1RM + 5lbs. Great? Go for your 1RM + 10-15lbs. Cake? Throw a gorram plate on there. Here's the thing, you still want to hit this lift. You don't want to try and fail, so if the day is feeling crappy, it's also completely acceptable and smart to take a bit off your final planned attempt if you're just not in the groove. Make the last attempt, be happy you increased your score, and move on to the next lift.

Examples
My current 1RM for squats is around 475; I plan on looking for 485 at the end of the day. My attempts will look something like this:
1st: (475) @ 92% = 435
2nd: (475) @ 97% = 460
3rd: (475) @ 102% = 485

Reading material:

• Maryland Powerlifting writeup
• Andy Bolton, simple tip

Your Challenge: Plan out your three attempts for each lift. +1 Wisdom to those who do.

Prepare Your Body

Part of participating in a competition is making sure you are going in fresh so that you are at 100%. Lifting heavy weights takes a toll on the body and it needs to be prepared for that stress. The further along you are in your lifting journey, the larger the toll. As you become more adapt at lifting consistently, your body will become accustomed to certain levels of stress. That said, prepping for a competition is nothing like your regular "heavy" days.

For you novices, the workout before the competition should be a light day. Reduce your working loads by 20-30% and just get the reps in, keep the movement patterns ingrained and get the blood flowing. Avoid anything that requires work set level effort. This will give your body more time to recover before the competition and make sure it is ready to exert 100% effort rather than maybe 90-95%.

For you intermediates, in addition to the light workout before the competition, the two before that should also be light or medium. If you are on a weekly periodization program like the Texas Method, this is especially true. You have learned to put such effort into the lifts and take your body to such a level of exertion that it takes more than just 1 light workout for your body to fully recover. While a light day is 30% lighter than working sets, a medium day may only be 15% lighter. This allows you to still get work in and maintain strength, but does not put as high of a recovery toll on the body.

Personally, I like to do a light workout at 3 sets of 5 reps for each lift at around 50% 1RM 3-5 days before the competition, then take the rest off, focusing on getting really good sleep and food intake and making sure I'm at 100% for those lifts.

Your challenge: Take it easy, rest up, and prepare yourself as best you can to put in an all out effort on the day you put in your entry. +1 Constitution to those who do.
 

 

This mini is copied word for word from Gainsdalf who borrowed it from the two Seth did back in early 2013.  Since, I was called out for not citing my sources last time, so make sure you read it in Gainsdalf's voice.  

 

This Challenge will end on 26 FEB

[whatamidoinhere]

I'm in for the novice category.  Are there categories?

 

Thanks for posting the Challenge.  Looks fun.

[Rookiebeotch]

Oh man, this is bad timing for me. I just got back on the iron after a 4.5 month don't-give-a-fuck hiatus. I'm not sure I can even regain my neurological strength before the comp. When is it?

[spezzy]

looks like it ends the 26th.

 

i may have to bow out of this one, depending on how the next few weeks of training go. We'll see.

 

Healing > Title.

[Rookiebeotch]

Healing > Title.

In your injured state, you are still relatively way stronger than me in my best so far condition.

[Heather D.]

I'm doing a weightlifting meet in 10 days!

 

To all of you warriors who are iffy about competing even in this virtual meet - DO IT. It's fun to test your mental and physical limits! It will give you goals to reach for next time! 

[Br0din]

 

I'm in for the novice category.  Are there categories?

 

Thanks for posting the Challenge.  Looks fun.

 

No difficulty levels for this one.  Plan your lifts for what you think you can do.  When you preform your lifts, if it was too hard or too easy, adjust and do it again.  Figuring out your max is one of the most enjoyable things you can do.

 

looks like it ends the 26th.

 

i may have to bow out of this one, depending on how the next few weeks of training go. We'll see.

 

Healing > Title.

 

The actual competition will be later this month, but remember to all, that doing the lifts is only 1/3 of this challenge. (re)Learning the rules and planing your lifts are main points to this challenge.  

 

I only intend to compete in 1 event due to injuries.  Do what you can for this challenge.  

[Wolverine]

I'm in.  Won't be posting anything close to even novice levels, but I'm in!

[chairohkey]

This mini is copied word for word from Gainsdalf who borrowed it from the two Seth did back in early 2013.  Since, I was called out for not citing my sources last time, so make sure you read it in Gainsdalf's voice.  

 

Seth...I remember that guy. What ever happened to him? Oh that's right he started CrossFit and met a girl. RIP Panda.

[momoxstarx]

either this is good timing or bad timing for me.. good because i just got back into lifting and want my big numbers again. bad because i know i won't beat my 2 year old PR. I'm shooting for 200+lb in squat and deadlift.

 

~~~just checked on the squat leaderboard.. my last entry was from April 29, 2014... and it's still up there. ~~hoping to revalidate the ##s by April this year so i can stay on the board!

[miss_marissa]

Our two title holders might not be competing.... I may actually stand a chance. Except @specialsundae is probably competing so scratch that.

[stepping_out]

Depends on timing for me, have a real life competition on the 27th! It's a good nudge, though, I'll do a few sets to commands (in my head!) this week. I probably won't set my attempts before talking to my coach, but I have a fair idea of my openers. Will depend on how I feel on the day as well, though. My bench especially feel very unpredictable, but maybe I'm just a bit tired.

[SpecialSundae]

Our two title holders might not be competing.... I may actually stand a chance. Except @specialsundae is probably competing so scratch that.

I'm still slightly broken so may not take part. Might log for the weightlifting meet if I'm doing the full lifts by the 26th.

[SpecialSundae]

Depends on timing for me, have a real life competition on the 27th! It's a good nudge, though, I'll do a few sets to commands (in my head!) this week. I probably won't set my attempts before talking to my coach, but I have a fair idea of my openers. Will depend on how I feel on the day as well, though. My bench especially feel very unpredictable, but maybe I'm just a bit tired.

Previously extensions have been allowed for real competitions, although I'm sure Br0din or Brahwhey can confirm.

[Eureka]

This will be my first competition ever....Count me in!

[BattleBear]

So, I want to do this, but I've never found my 1RM. How do you find that?

 

Also, I'm not sure if my gym will let me drop the weights. In fact, I'm pretty sure they wont like that at all.

[Br0din]

So, I want to do this, but I've never found my 1RM. How do you find that?

 

Also, I'm not sure if my gym will let me drop the weights. In fact, I'm pretty sure they wont like that at all.

 

If you have a 5 rep max or better, you can use this:  EXRX.net to find your 1 RM.  

 

Powerlifting rules state that you have to control the deadlift all the way back to the ground, so you aren't dropping it, you are letting it down really fast.  And if you fail...  its one time and you beg for forgiveness.  

[Emerald_Dragonfly]

I'm (gulp) in.

[Rookiebeotch]

I'm (gulp) in.

Don't be afraid, it's fun. This event will take away your fears in the end.

[SevenofSeven]

Ok, count me in. Just hope I can get my IT guys ( Sons5+6 ) to get the video and upload with no drama.

[matty_mcfly]

My March 6th meet is a bit too long after the end of the virtual one, so I will likely sit out. 

 

Though, I will be comparing my lifts/wilks to all those that compete lol

[Br0din]

I did a near max set last night for bench and pr'd at 330.  However, I didn't do it in the PL lifting format so I will declare for the following lifts:  315, 325, 335 for new PR.

 

PL rules I need to concentrate on:  1.  Feet all the way on the floor.  2.  floating butt needs to stick to the bench.

[Emerald_Dragonfly]

Okay, so based on my projected 5 rep maxes for 2 weeks from now (with wiggle room built in - I am making linear progress on StrongLifts, but starting to stall here and there) here is my plan for the attempts.  

I have fractional/micro plates and will compete Thur, Feb 25 (I think).  

 

I reserve the right to change this if anything stupid is pointed out to me, or if my linear progression goes off kilter.  All weights are in pounds.  

 

Squats:  Projected 5 rep max: 170, theoretical 1 rep max: 190

Attempt 1: 171  

Attempt 2: 180 

Attempt 3: 190 

 

Bench:  Projected ( & actual current) 5 rep max: 115, theoretical 1 rep max: 135

Attempt 1: 121.5 

Attempt 2: 128  

Attempt 3: 135 

 

Deadlift:  Projected 5 rep max: 190 (although current 175 is not really a 'max' - it's heavy, but I don't feel in any danger of failing, but not trying to be a dingbat, so will continue to go up by 5 lbs each time), theoretical 1 rep max: 210

 

Attempt 1: 192

Attempt 2: 200 

Attempt 3: 210

 

Things to work on:  Hmm...squatting below parallel for PL rules.  Tight tushie and center for safety.  Not freaking out.  

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

either this is good timing or bad timing for me.. good because i just got back into lifting and want my big numbers again. bad because i know i won't beat my 2 year old PR. I'm shooting for 200+lb in squat and deadlift.

 

~~~just checked on the squat leaderboard.. my last entry was from April 29, 2014... and it's still up there. ~~hoping to revalidate the ##s by April this year so i can stay on the board!

 

You only have to be active on the forums at some point in the last year to stay on there, not have posted a new number. My squat PR is from over 2 years ago before I get injured I believe. Still working my way back, getting close to the workout weights I used to do back then.

 

Depends on timing for me, have a real life competition on the 27th! It's a good nudge, though, I'll do a few sets to commands (in my head!) this week. I probably won't set my attempts before talking to my coach, but I have a fair idea of my openers. Will depend on how I feel on the day as well, though. My bench especially feel very unpredictable, but maybe I'm just a bit tired.

 

Lifts done at a real life competition count for the virtual one as well. The competition will be from the 13th to the 28th. I always try to cover 3 weekends to give people plenty of time to work it in.

 

Don't be afraid, it's fun. This event will take away your fears in the end.

 This. Don't take the rules too seriously. Your first, especially virtual, competition is all about learning how to find your 1RMs, feel them out, and learn what 1RM max weights feel like.

 

My March 6th meet is a bit too long after the end of the virtual one, so I will likely sit out. 

 

Though, I will be comparing my lifts/wilks to all those that compete lol

The general rule of thumb is that real life competition lifts up to a week before or after the virtual ones will be allowed. I will not declare winners until after it's been done for a week.

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

For actual mini participation:

 

1. I know competition rules, skipping this one

2. Current best performances on the 3 lifts are:

 

425x2 squat at 8.5 RPE. Getting excited here, back when I set my 495 PR before my injury I was doing 425x5 at 8.5 RPE. My RPE scale was a bit off back then, I was allowing way more form variance in training than I do now. I could get 4-5 here on a really good day right now, which means I'm slowly approaching PR form.

 

280x3 RPE 9.5 Bench- My bench seems to be benefitting from the increased frequency.

 

565 single DL- I think this is what I hit at camp. Have not been deadlifting barely at all lately. Going to 3-4 times before I test, so this will be the hardest to predict. I've hit 500x5 in the last year though.

 

3. Planning attempts

 

squat- going to open at the 425 I double, then go for 455 if it's feeling like a good day. Based on how that feels, 465 or 475 will be #3.

bench- going to open at 295, then 3-5 or 310. Will plan attempt 3 from there.

DL- I have no idea yet. Will probably open at 495 or 515 depending on how the next few weeks go to put something on the board. Will judge off that, but I'm not seeing my 3rd being north of 555 or so.

 

Due to having to get the DL firing again, I probably won't compete until the last Friday of the comp on the 26th.