NAPF North American Regional Powerlifting Championship Wrap Up

Last week I traveled to the Cayman Islands in order to compete in the 10^th Annual North American Regional Powerlifting Championships.  This was my first ever NAPF meet and chose this one to try to qualify for both the 2013 Arnold Classic and the 2013 World Games.

I was scheduled to lift on Saturday, July 28^th so I arrived to the hotel on Thursday to give myself a few days to rest up.  Also making the trip with me were my wife, Nicole, and training partner, Bill McDonough.  Having them both able to make the trip with me was a huge advantage as they helped make sure I didn’t have to worry about anything other than lifting.  As soon as I got to the hotel I jumped on the scale and was surprised I was already under by a few pounds.  This allowed me to eat regularly leading up to the meet and I didn’t have to worry about cutting any weight.

As Saturday approached Bill and I came up with numbers which we thought would not only win the meet, but put me in place to qualify me for the above mentioned meets.  The only thing that I was concerned with was my bench press because it hadn’t been going good up to the meet.  However, I knew if I could get personal bests on both my squat and deadlift I could still come out with a great total.

I weighed in at 9 A.M. on Saturday at a light 261 pounds and immediately started eating and getting liquids in me.  Even though we only have a two hour weigh in before the meet, I am still able to gain several pounds before lifting which ensures all my gear fits just a little bit tighter.  After this I made my way to the warm up room and secured a nice little corner to put all my gear in and started warming up for the squats.

Lifting started and it sunk in that there were only seven people in our flight.  This meant extremely short rest periods between attempts.  In the bench and deadlift this doesn’t affect me much but the squat takes a little more out of me and the recovery time between lifts really helps.  I opened up on the squat with 804 which felt really comfortable and easy.  I made my projected jump up to 843 which also felt great.  I was hoping to take a little bigger jump for my third, but with the small flight I decided it just wasn’t the day for it.  I ended up taking 871, and it was the right call.  Walking out with this weight I was a little shaky setting up.  I think this was a combination of never having this much weight on my back and having such a short flight.  Once I got the squat command though the lift went great and brought three white lights.  With this lift I am closing on a 900 pound squat and I know it’s only a matter of time before I crack it.

The bench was next and I wasn’t expecting a big number here because my training hadn’t been the best.  It seemed like with my weight loss, the bench was the only thing that suffered.  I opened up with a light 524 in order to make sure I got a lift in and was relieved when it went up easy.  I bumped it up to 551 which also went up well.  While I am usually around a 600 pound bench, I knew my body wasn’t anywhere close to that number at this particular meet.  Wanting to bump up my wilkes total I attempted a small jump to 574 in order to add to my total but it wasn’t happening.  I missed the lift at the lockout and just couldn’t finish it.  My subtotal after squats and bench put my in first place and couldn’t wait for the deadlifts.

There is a saying “The meet doesn’t start until the bar hits the floor” and I couldn’t agree more with it.  I opened up with 750 and it flew up.  I bumped this to 788 which I needed to qualify me for next year’s Pro Deadlift at the Arnold Classic.  This was also a good lift so I decided to bump it up to a full meet personal record of 816 and was awarded with three white lights.  Looking back I probably left some pounds here as I feel like I had some left after my third pull.

After it was all said and done I ended up taking the 120 Kilogram (264 pound) class and also the best overall lifter of the meet.  I also now own three North American Regional records with my 871 squat, 816 deadlift and a 2238 total.  With my deadlift and total I am hoping to receive invitations to the Pro Deadlift at the Arnold and to the 2013 World Games.  These will probably come sometime in November so I am going to continue training with these meets on my mind.

I want to thank Titan Support Systems for providing the best powerlifting equipment in the world and also to 1^st Phorm and HMB for providing the absolute best supplements on the market.  I also want to thank my wife for supporting my lifting and putting up with a lot so I can get my training in.  Lastly I need to thank Bill McDonough for making the trip with me and also to all the guys at Max Effort Strength & Conditioning for getting me ready for this meet.

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