Sunday, April 01, 2007

My first full PL meet and MANY lessons learned...

Well - some days you get the bull and some days you get the horns - I got the horns yesterday and learned a LOT during my first PL meet. I will try to go through the day and the lessons learned as systematically as possible.

First - Up at 4:30 am to leave the house by 5 am and make the two hour drive to Erie to make weigh-ins by 7 am. Which I did and weighed in at 179 pounds (more on this in a moment). Then breakfast and rules meeting at 8:30 am and lifting started at 9:30 or so.

Squats - I was deep into the second flight and because the first flight consisted of 19 competitors (several children) it took much longer than expected and meant I warmed up too soon for my squats (a theme that continued for the rest of the day) - and here is where the fun began. As I watched the judging I let it get in my head and reduced my opener to 455 - (the judging was strict and inconsistent (not a great combo) where the side judges would disagree on depth and left a lot of doubt for people with where to take their squats- but long story made short - I let it get in my head).
So finally my squats 455 - red lights (didn't wait for the rack command), 455 - two whites, 500 - buried in the hole - I tried to take this deep to avoid any reds and just got stuck in the hole. A MAJOR rookie mistake not waiting for the rack command because I nailed my squat deep and easy but lost it on the rack command and decided to retake my opener so wouldn't bomb out.

Bench - Again - because of the very long first flight I was ready too soon. And the judging was strict with very long pauses. In the rules clinic they were talking about how the bar had to touch the chest and be motionless then a press command would be given. Well the bar had to be dead and buried - then a press command was given and there were very long rack commands - I fully understand the press commands and rack commands but these were excessive (and it is isn't just my whining - many of the other competitors agreed). So my benches - 295 - white lights, 325 - buried, passed on my third - no sense repeating the obvious.

DL - Finally my favorite event and the chance to end the day on a high note! Once again the first flight went long and the forth attempts by the kids made it even longer - but my deadlifts - 500 - 3 whites, 560 - 3 whites, passed on my third.

The Good - a 5# PR on the deadlift and a 1310 total in a very strict meet.
The Bad - very long first flight with forth attempts and kids lifting, somewhat inconsistent judging.
The Ugly - not peaking for a meet, making weight the wrong way, rookie mistakes.

Not peaking for a meet - deciding to do this meet just two weeks ago and the weekend following a push/pull meet was not the best way to "peak" for the meet - just happy to walk away with a small pr on the DL and my first total in a PL meet.
Making weight the wrong way - I hover close to my weight class so I perceive it to be easy to cut a little a few days before the meet but restricted fluids too much and came into the meet very flat. Need to get a good - consistent scale and make weight the smart way since I am so close anyway.
Rookie mistakes -Man I felt like a fool not waiting for the rack command!! Since the judging for depth was already in my head - this just made it tougher and wasted an attempt. Lesson learned.

So all in all a great learning experience and my first full meet in the history books with a small PR and my first total. Only 86 pounds to raw elite! (Man I left a lot of pounds off of that total - if I hit my bench (325) and my squat (500) - that adds 75 pounds to my total and means I am only 9 pounds off of elite!)

6 comments:

D Silveri said...

Impressive numbers Regardless of anything.

Good Job!

Mark Reifkind said...

well done chief, although you did it the hard way. and only 86 more pounds to your first goal? no problem.not even 30 a lift.

as you got very clearly a meet has it's own rythyms and bs to deal with.when you add gear it gets even more complicated and timing warmups is critical. thats also whyit pays to have someone handle you in meets. way to hard to do everything and be on top of everything at the same time.

all you want to think about is lifting.long ass meets and piss poor judging are as old as the sport and likely will not change. we'll talk.

good job getting it done though.

Dave said...

Great Job Brett. Congratulations

Randy Hauer said...

Brett,
Long waits are tough...not sure how PL meets are organized these days. In WL, each flight (session) the bar starts at the lightest opening attempt and always moves up, so it's pretty easy to count attempts and estimate time before your opener.

Making weight: It sounds like you managed it OK really...but rehydration is key and somewhat personal. The last GS meet I did I had to drop almost 2kg the morning of (sauna for 20 minutes, sweat suit afterwards and spitting in a cup for 2 hours before weigh in) Right after weigh in I dropped 4 KreAlkalyn Creatine caps, a piracetam and B complex cap, a venti mocha frappucino, a choco chip cookie dough meal replacement bar and over the next hour and a half a quart of gatorade. Carbs, caffiene electrolytes and creatine really help with the "flatness" I think. It's usually easier on you to drop weight quickly via fluid restriction the night before, spitting and sweating the morning of.
Nothing you can do about the officiating...sometimes you get gifts sometimes you get screwed...that's competition as you know. The best you can do is watch how the judges are calling early in your flight and adjust accordingly. Good job on the PR DL!!
Randy H.

Brett Jones said...

Thanks Dustin - you always want more -ya know- but I am very thankful for my performance.

Thanks Rif - kind of a disadvantage of training on my own and not having to deal with "changes" during my training - but I learned a lot - We will talk.

Thanks Dave.

Thanks Randy - I like your re-hydration ideas and will be using them next time (or making the early weigh-in) - What really threw things off was the long first flight with forth attempts by the kids - made it very hard to calculate times. Live and learn.

Christine said...

You still put up awesome numbers, and hey, you live and learn. I've missed the "rack" command on a bench attempt, I felt like a retard, but I learned!

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