They've now been posted:
Here are the official meet results from the USAPL YMCA Seattle Summer Classic!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
The First 48 in Seattle: Part One
OK, that probably sounds like a crime being investigated in this city where I had just competed (and, actually, I do enjoy watching that show on A&E).
But there was no crime here: I'm talking about the approximately 48 hours I spent in Seattle just to try to accomplish breaking the 800 total barrier in the Women's 105 Open class.
This experience turned out to be about more than that, though. I met lots of new folks, as well as familiar faces, and learned a lot about them -- and about myself, too.
There was a healthy-sized crowd of enthusiastic supporters at the Meredith Matthews (Downtown Seattle) YMCA on hand -- families, friends, all-around powerlifting fans -- cheering the lifters on, wearing team t-shirts, and even holding up signs. It was a warm and sunny day; despite the warm temps in the gymnasium, there was a pretty great energy level that helped a ton.
I set out on my mission, but the tempo was aptly set by my coach for the day, who was brazenly wearing a purple Inzer shirt that said, in bold, white capital letters across the back: "IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH, THEN DON'T ASK FOR IT."
Gettin' Down
Training had been going so well (as I'd described in previous blogs), and I felt more than ready for another full meet. With help from veteran lifter and former 242 lb. USAPL National Champ Kevin Stewart, along with 220 lb. Nationals veteran and Washington State bench press record holder Ken Gack, I was able to achieve my highest competition total and Wilks points thus far.
Between the plane trip to Seattle, the carb-cutting/protein-loading, trips to the local coffee shops, a tour of downtown Seattle and Alki Beach, watching everyone go bowling (while I yearned to join in, and -- instead -- took brisk walks around the parking lot), and raiding Kevin's and Rhonda's kitchen to survive on tuna, egg whites, and his awesome cooking (who knew his homemade fried chicken, cornbread and green beans would send me toward 103 lbs.?), I shed the few pounds to get down and boogy. Also, I was not "sleepless in Seattle" the night before at all: Kevin threw an ample pile of thick blankets onto my super-cozy guest bed for me to hide under. I didn't realize I'd end up losing more weight than I needed to!
SQUATS: "Your job is to just listen and squat that."
Opener: 253 lbs.
2nd: 281 lbs.
3rd: 292 lbs. - state and personal record
Throughout squats, I sat next to Katherine Clark, 2nd place finisher at the 2009 Con-cret Raw Challenge at the Arnold. A strong 123 lb. competitor, she was very personable, fun to lift with, and focused -- and this was her very first meet in gear! All she had to do was peel the seal off her little bottle of Nose Tork and hand me the paper, and that was enough for me. It got us through some of the time it took, waiting (as this was a long meet with about 63 lifters, broken into 4 flights, with two in the morning session, and two in the afternoon... we had a big flight of masters men lifters go before us, and then there was our flight of 16 women). With the numbers she was throwing around, we were vying for Best Female Open Lifter -- awesome competition!
My insurance policy at every full meet is to have a "depth call" by whoever is coaching me. Having seen old pics of Kevin squatting his money-maker down to China, I was a little concerned about how low he was going to make me go. Plus, he had never seen me lift in person before, let alone coached me. Having about 8 other lifters there on our team (who told me it doesn't pay to argue with Coach Kevin the Drill Sergeant), I was confident I was in very good hands. But after each time I wrapped my knees (with the Inzer wraps he ordered me to wear, LOL) I couldn't help but say, "OK, not too low now. I mean, just below parallel, is good..."
"Your job is to just listen and squat that," he confidently ordered.
So I was just going to keep gettin' down and then explode upon hearing "UP!" (which could probably be heard clear across the entire distance of my Northwest Airlines plane trip. I was told by another lifter on K's team that you can't help but follow through after hearing that yell).
And then we saw what was on the squat videos I posted here (June 28, 2009).
No doubt. No doubt.
Ken (Gack the Ripper) was a huge help with getting my wraps off my knees and turning in my numbers. I think he might have been surprised with my preference to have them hand-rolled, rather than make use of the wrap-roller they had (I conveniently found out, while wrapping for my opener, that wraps too tightly wrapped, will literally jump out of my hands and unravel). And that I wrap my own knees, tourniquet-like, despite the stars and spots in my eyes before each lift even begins.
This used to be my worst lift -- and most dreaded -- but that has been why I've been dedicating so much more effort toward it. Knowing a lot of it is mental. Mentally, I really wanted to get a PR and a state record again. 290 lbs. was the most I'd ever squatted, and that had been in training. It was an awesome feeling to grind-out and stand up with 292!!
Thankful to God for getting me through the first lift with precisely what I had wanted to accomplish, I texted Mitch about what had just gone down -- and up (we called each other and I texted updates after each lift's 3rd attempt, sort of in Twitter-like style). Then, it was on to the next "battle" -- the other lift I had been busting just about everything to improve -- the bench press.
To be continued...
But there was no crime here: I'm talking about the approximately 48 hours I spent in Seattle just to try to accomplish breaking the 800 total barrier in the Women's 105 Open class.
This experience turned out to be about more than that, though. I met lots of new folks, as well as familiar faces, and learned a lot about them -- and about myself, too.
There was a healthy-sized crowd of enthusiastic supporters at the Meredith Matthews (Downtown Seattle) YMCA on hand -- families, friends, all-around powerlifting fans -- cheering the lifters on, wearing team t-shirts, and even holding up signs. It was a warm and sunny day; despite the warm temps in the gymnasium, there was a pretty great energy level that helped a ton.
I set out on my mission, but the tempo was aptly set by my coach for the day, who was brazenly wearing a purple Inzer shirt that said, in bold, white capital letters across the back: "IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH, THEN DON'T ASK FOR IT."
Gettin' Down
Training had been going so well (as I'd described in previous blogs), and I felt more than ready for another full meet. With help from veteran lifter and former 242 lb. USAPL National Champ Kevin Stewart, along with 220 lb. Nationals veteran and Washington State bench press record holder Ken Gack, I was able to achieve my highest competition total and Wilks points thus far.
Between the plane trip to Seattle, the carb-cutting/protein-loading, trips to the local coffee shops, a tour of downtown Seattle and Alki Beach, watching everyone go bowling (while I yearned to join in, and -- instead -- took brisk walks around the parking lot), and raiding Kevin's and Rhonda's kitchen to survive on tuna, egg whites, and his awesome cooking (who knew his homemade fried chicken, cornbread and green beans would send me toward 103 lbs.?), I shed the few pounds to get down and boogy. Also, I was not "sleepless in Seattle" the night before at all: Kevin threw an ample pile of thick blankets onto my super-cozy guest bed for me to hide under. I didn't realize I'd end up losing more weight than I needed to!
SQUATS: "Your job is to just listen and squat that."
Opener: 253 lbs.
2nd: 281 lbs.
3rd: 292 lbs. - state and personal record
Throughout squats, I sat next to Katherine Clark, 2nd place finisher at the 2009 Con-cret Raw Challenge at the Arnold. A strong 123 lb. competitor, she was very personable, fun to lift with, and focused -- and this was her very first meet in gear! All she had to do was peel the seal off her little bottle of Nose Tork and hand me the paper, and that was enough for me. It got us through some of the time it took, waiting (as this was a long meet with about 63 lifters, broken into 4 flights, with two in the morning session, and two in the afternoon... we had a big flight of masters men lifters go before us, and then there was our flight of 16 women). With the numbers she was throwing around, we were vying for Best Female Open Lifter -- awesome competition!
My insurance policy at every full meet is to have a "depth call" by whoever is coaching me. Having seen old pics of Kevin squatting his money-maker down to China, I was a little concerned about how low he was going to make me go. Plus, he had never seen me lift in person before, let alone coached me. Having about 8 other lifters there on our team (who told me it doesn't pay to argue with Coach Kevin the Drill Sergeant), I was confident I was in very good hands. But after each time I wrapped my knees (with the Inzer wraps he ordered me to wear, LOL) I couldn't help but say, "OK, not too low now. I mean, just below parallel, is good..."
"Your job is to just listen and squat that," he confidently ordered.
So I was just going to keep gettin' down and then explode upon hearing "UP!" (which could probably be heard clear across the entire distance of my Northwest Airlines plane trip. I was told by another lifter on K's team that you can't help but follow through after hearing that yell).
And then we saw what was on the squat videos I posted here (June 28, 2009).
No doubt. No doubt.
Ken (Gack the Ripper) was a huge help with getting my wraps off my knees and turning in my numbers. I think he might have been surprised with my preference to have them hand-rolled, rather than make use of the wrap-roller they had (I conveniently found out, while wrapping for my opener, that wraps too tightly wrapped, will literally jump out of my hands and unravel). And that I wrap my own knees, tourniquet-like, despite the stars and spots in my eyes before each lift even begins.
This used to be my worst lift -- and most dreaded -- but that has been why I've been dedicating so much more effort toward it. Knowing a lot of it is mental. Mentally, I really wanted to get a PR and a state record again. 290 lbs. was the most I'd ever squatted, and that had been in training. It was an awesome feeling to grind-out and stand up with 292!!
Thankful to God for getting me through the first lift with precisely what I had wanted to accomplish, I texted Mitch about what had just gone down -- and up (we called each other and I texted updates after each lift's 3rd attempt, sort of in Twitter-like style). Then, it was on to the next "battle" -- the other lift I had been busting just about everything to improve -- the bench press.
To be continued...
Sunday, July 12, 2009
The (Powerlifting) World According to Gack the Ripper
This is pretty cool: a powerlifter who enjoys writing, like I do!
Ken Gack was one of my handlers/helpers at the USAPL YMCA Seattle Summer Classic. He humbly calls himself the "lowly apprentice" to Kevin Stewart, who was my Coach for the day there.
Check out some of Ken's online articles and videos on the basics of powerlifting and other lifting movements!
Ken Gack was one of my handlers/helpers at the USAPL YMCA Seattle Summer Classic. He humbly calls himself the "lowly apprentice" to Kevin Stewart, who was my Coach for the day there.
Check out some of Ken's online articles and videos on the basics of powerlifting and other lifting movements!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Raw Deadlift Surprise Today, Meet Attempts Last Saturday
I know I'm taking a while to write about my meet, but since I am crunched for time at the moment, I thought I'd mention two things:
Raw Deadlifts Today
In my first day of training since the Seattle meet, I trained deadlifts raw today (no gear) and somehow got up to a 270 lb. pull!!! Mitch put 2.5 lb. plates on each side of the 265 I loaded, which already seemed like a lot to me (for ungeared pulling) since my best raw deadlift has been 245 lbs. (I just don't train deadlifts raw, past 225 lbs. usually.) Based on how I pulled the 270, somehow Mitch thinks I have an over 300 lb. raw pull. That was pretty cool to do that today -- unexpectedly!!!
Meet Attempts Last Saturday
Here were the sequences of my meet attempts in Seattle last weekend (in lbs.):
SQUAT:
1st - 253
2nd - 281
3rd - 292 -- new state and personal record
BENCH PRESS:
1st - 165 (never opened with this before)
2nd - 182
3rd - 193 -- new state and personal record
DEADLIFT:
1st - 303
2nd - 325
3rd - 342 (missed)
TOTAL: 810 lbs. -- new state and personal record
Here's a video of the 342 lb. deadlift I missed...it slipped out of my right hand: [added 7/3/09]
Raw Deadlifts Today
In my first day of training since the Seattle meet, I trained deadlifts raw today (no gear) and somehow got up to a 270 lb. pull!!! Mitch put 2.5 lb. plates on each side of the 265 I loaded, which already seemed like a lot to me (for ungeared pulling) since my best raw deadlift has been 245 lbs. (I just don't train deadlifts raw, past 225 lbs. usually.) Based on how I pulled the 270, somehow Mitch thinks I have an over 300 lb. raw pull. That was pretty cool to do that today -- unexpectedly!!!
Meet Attempts Last Saturday
Here were the sequences of my meet attempts in Seattle last weekend (in lbs.):
SQUAT:
1st - 253
2nd - 281
3rd - 292 -- new state and personal record
BENCH PRESS:
1st - 165 (never opened with this before)
2nd - 182
3rd - 193 -- new state and personal record
DEADLIFT:
1st - 303
2nd - 325
3rd - 342 (missed)
TOTAL: 810 lbs. -- new state and personal record
Here's a video of the 342 lb. deadlift I missed...it slipped out of my right hand: [added 7/3/09]
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Results from Seattle: 810 lb. total!!
Just got home, and I'm thankful to say... I busted 800 and got three state records, personal records, and almost had another perfect meet, grabbing 8 for 9!!!
Here's a brief news report with my meet results from yesterday at the USAPL YMCA Summer Power Classic in Seattle!
SQUAT: 292
BENCH PRESS: 193
DEADLIFT: 325 (missed 342)
TOTAL: 810!!
If you're wondering how in the world I added 17 lbs. to my best competition bench, which I had been stuck with for literally YEARS... that was Kevin's incredible coaching!! (I didn't even know what I had actually benched until AFTER I did it.)
Here's a video of that 292 lb. squat, my third attempt:
And a video of my 253 lb. squat opener: [added 6/30/09]
More details, pics and videos to be added... please check back soon. Thanks very much!
Here's a brief news report with my meet results from yesterday at the USAPL YMCA Summer Power Classic in Seattle!
SQUAT: 292
BENCH PRESS: 193
DEADLIFT: 325 (missed 342)
TOTAL: 810!!
If you're wondering how in the world I added 17 lbs. to my best competition bench, which I had been stuck with for literally YEARS... that was Kevin's incredible coaching!! (I didn't even know what I had actually benched until AFTER I did it.)
Here's a video of that 292 lb. squat, my third attempt:
And a video of my 253 lb. squat opener: [added 6/30/09]
More details, pics and videos to be added... please check back soon. Thanks very much!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Next Meet: This Saturday in Seattle
I guess the word got out via PowerliftingWatch.com today, LOL. Jon asked me when my next meet would be, and I told him that I'd let him know what happens after the meet.
Next thing I know... I am on Powerlifting Watch... complete with my training vids!
Thanks to everyone for their support. I've never visited Seattle before, and I will have Kevin Stewart as my handler/coach for the day -- should be a blast!! I heard there will be 60+ lifters, two sessions at the USAPL YMCA Seattle Summer Classic.
Next thing I know... I am on Powerlifting Watch... complete with my training vids!
Thanks to everyone for their support. I've never visited Seattle before, and I will have Kevin Stewart as my handler/coach for the day -- should be a blast!! I heard there will be 60+ lifters, two sessions at the USAPL YMCA Seattle Summer Classic.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
2009 RANKINGS on POWERLIFTING WATCH
Powerlifting Watch publishes up-to-date men's and women's powerlifting rankings, encompassing all organizations and gear divisions across the U.S.
This is the place to obtain the most current 2009 USAPL standings -- as well as those from 2008 -- as USAPL has discontinued using its previous rankings database and Powerlines meet results listings.
By choosing "single-ply" from the "equipment" selection, USAPL rankings can be drawn from the Powerlifting Watch database, as each listing includes full lifter name, date of lift, and federation/organization in which it was accomplished. Even a link to a video of the lift is provided, where available!
In the latest 2009 Women's standings among Top 105 Class Lifters, competing in single-ply gear, here are the top three for each lift:
2009 TOP 105 LB CLASS LIFTERS
SQUAT
1 - Cheryl Anderson - 287 (USAPL 2/15)
2 - Michelle Van Dusen - 287 (USAPL 4/5)
3 - April Shumaker - 281 (USAPL 2/15)
BENCH PRESS
1 - April Shumaker - 209 (USAPL 4/18)
2 - Cheryl Anderson - 176 (USAPL 2/15)
3 - Ann Leverett - 165 (USAPL 2/15)
DEADLIFT
1 - Cheryl Anderson - 336 (USAPL 2/15)
2 - Michelle Van Dusen - 319 (USAPL 4/5)
2 - April Shumaker - 319 (USAPL 4/18)
TOTAL
1 - Cheryl Anderson - 799 (USAPL 2/15)
1 - April Shumaker - 799 (USAPL 4/18)
3 - Michelle Van Dusen - 749 (USAPL 4/5)
Thanks very much to Jon at Powerlifting Watch for providing up-to-date news and ongoing rankings/stats to powerlifters around the world. For more info, visit PowerliftingWatch.com.
This is the place to obtain the most current 2009 USAPL standings -- as well as those from 2008 -- as USAPL has discontinued using its previous rankings database and Powerlines meet results listings.
By choosing "single-ply" from the "equipment" selection, USAPL rankings can be drawn from the Powerlifting Watch database, as each listing includes full lifter name, date of lift, and federation/organization in which it was accomplished. Even a link to a video of the lift is provided, where available!
In the latest 2009 Women's standings among Top 105 Class Lifters, competing in single-ply gear, here are the top three for each lift:
2009 TOP 105 LB CLASS LIFTERS
SQUAT
1 - Cheryl Anderson - 287 (USAPL 2/15)
2 - Michelle Van Dusen - 287 (USAPL 4/5)
3 - April Shumaker - 281 (USAPL 2/15)
BENCH PRESS
1 - April Shumaker - 209 (USAPL 4/18)
2 - Cheryl Anderson - 176 (USAPL 2/15)
3 - Ann Leverett - 165 (USAPL 2/15)
DEADLIFT
1 - Cheryl Anderson - 336 (USAPL 2/15)
2 - Michelle Van Dusen - 319 (USAPL 4/5)
2 - April Shumaker - 319 (USAPL 4/18)
TOTAL
1 - Cheryl Anderson - 799 (USAPL 2/15)
1 - April Shumaker - 799 (USAPL 4/18)
3 - Michelle Van Dusen - 749 (USAPL 4/5)
Thanks very much to Jon at Powerlifting Watch for providing up-to-date news and ongoing rankings/stats to powerlifters around the world. For more info, visit PowerliftingWatch.com.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
