Question: Anyone Who Has Attended or Participated in a PL Meet

[Bryan Kemper]

One thing to keep in mind with the squat is to keep your feet completely planted throughout the lift. In USAPL, the slightest foot movement will result in a red light lift.

The order of lifting will be lightest to heaviest first attempt, strip bar, lightest to heaviest second attempt, then third attempt. Compared to an Oly meet, this will take so much longer for your to do all three lifts. In an Oly meet, you could be done with all three attempts in as little as 6 minutes if you followed yourself each time.

You can find a singlet on Amazon or a wrestling website.

Make sure you bring all of your gear with you to the equipment check to include high socks and the underwear that you are planning on wearing. They almost had a problem with the Underarmor briefs that I had on my first meet since they appeared to be "supportive". I bought them specifically to help reduce the "junk" budge in the singlet.

Good luck

[Matt Haxmeier]

Originally Posted by Bryan Kemper

One thing to keep in mind with the squat is to keep your feet completely planted throughout the lift. In USAPL, the slightest foot movement will result in a red light lift.

This is true for Benching as well. Feet flat on the floor and they can't move around. In general, read through the rules for each lift and practice the form and cues. My wife missed her opening squat because she didn't wait for the "rack" command. Just nerves, but practice those ahead of time.

eastbay has lots of singlets as well:
http://www.eastbay.com/Wrestling/_-_..._REF=Wrestling (WFS)

[Dana Rice]

awesomeness. Thanks guys. Just sent in my registration. Nervous and excited.

I just ordered a singlet from Titan - it was $40, which seems to be pretty reasonable compared to others I saw, and its a PL singlet instead of wresting (if that makes any difference at all).

Guessing from Brian's suggestions - I don't show up to this thing wearing my gear right? I will wear normal clothes, have them OK all my stuff, then change before my lift? I would have never thought of the briefs thing - thanks for that. Guess I'll go buy some tightly whities.

I have lifting shoes (Romaleos), so keeping my feet planted is not a problem - will I be allowed to wear those? I was planning on wearing my OLY shoes for squat and chucks for Bench and DL - can I use more than 1 pair of shoes?

So many things to think about!!

[Sean Dunston]

Echoing the above, as you have some good advice in this thread.
I've competed at USAPL Virginia States the past couple of years, and Raw Nationals last year, and I plan to go again this year.

Yes - singlets are mandatory, as are a t-shirt under the singlet during squat and bench (you can remove your t-shirt during DL). I believe they also require long socks on the deadlift.

Read the short version of the rule book (lifter's handbook)and you should be alright (wfs):

http://usapowerlifting.com/liftersco...LHandbook2.pdf

As far as losing weight to get into a lower weight class goes - if you know how to cut, more power to you, but don't make that a priority for your first meet. Making your lifts should be your priority.

Remember that USAPL has same day weigh-in. you usually weigh-in at 7:30, and begin lifting at 9:00. If you are trying to hit the 181# class, at the smaller state events (50-60 lifters), that usually means you will be getting to your squats by about 10:00-10:30.

I always bring food - lots of it: chicken breast/steak, oranges, bananas, string cheese, lots of water, maybe a few sugar-free Red Bull, etc. I tend to go through a bunch of food throughout the day.

Yes, you can use as many shoes as you want - you just have to get all of your gear checked prior to your lifts, generally right after weigh-in. I usually bring WL shoes (Do-Wins) for my squats and I change into Chucks for bench and deads.

Good luck and HAVE FUN!

[Dana Rice]

Originally Posted by Bryan Kemper

The order of lifting will be lightest to heaviest first attempt, strip bar, lightest to heaviest second attempt, then third attempt.

Thanks Sean, I agree. I have never had to cut weight before, and don't want to experiment 5 weeks out. Just bought the singlet. Good to hear about the shoes. Are you allowed caffiene/energy drinks before the lifts? I sometimes down a 5 hour energy before a heavy day. In the waiver it says no "psychomotor stimulants". I assume those are things like amonia and smelling salts (maybe amphetemines?), but I have no idea. Google didn't help.

Do you have to turn your lift attempts in early - like at check in? or can you change them based on how your feeling?

Thanks again fellas - sorry for all the questions.

[Sean Dunston]

You give your opening attempts at weigh-in.
You are allowed to change your opening prior to your attempt (lower) as long as that weight in your lifting flight has not already been met/exceeded. You can bump it higher up to 3 times, I think.

I have never seen caffeine being an issue there. USAPL follows WADA guidelines.

wfs

http://www.wada-ama.org/en/World-Ant...ohibited-List/

Correction-
Caffeine appears to be on the list, but it is unspecified.
wfs-
http://list.wada-ama.org/by-substance/#C-group

the explanation for it not being specified here (wfs):
http://list.wada-ama.org/list/s6-stimulants/#caffeine

is as follows:

S6. Stimulants

If a Substance or Method is not defined in this list, please verify with your Anti-Doping Organization.

So - must check with USAPL.

edit #2
further clarification on caffeine:

S6. Stimulants

All stimulants are prohibited except for imidazole derivatives for topical use, and those stimulants on the 2012 Monitoring Program (buproprion, caffeine, nicotine, phenylephrine, phenylpropanolamine, pipradrol, and synephrine).

Advisory:

1. Athletes diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and are on stimulants and who are competing should obtain a Therapeutic Use Exemption for their medication. Athletes who are not competing do not need to obtain a TUE in order to use these medications.

2. Athletes diagnosed with narcolepsy, and prescribed medications that contain modafinil or armodafinil, for example, should obtain a TUE if they need to take these medications just prior to or during competition.

3. Pseudoephedrine is an ingredient in several over-the-counter cold and flu medications. WADA has issued an advisory to athletes that they should discontinue taking medications containing pseudoephedrine AT LEAST 24 hours prior to the time defined as “in-competition.” However, in some cases this may not be enough time for the substance to clear from the body. Athletes who intend to compete in the near future, or who are currently in-competition should examine the ingredient list of any medication they are using to ensure it does NOT contain pseudoephedrine.

4. Nicotine and caffeine are not prohibited. They are simply part of WADAs monitoring program.

[Kane Greene]

You can change shoes. But I would suggest wearing the oly shoes for bench and switch to the chucks for deadlifting. Good luck! Meets are a lot of fun.

[Mark Boyle]

Originally Posted by Eric Montgomery

Whether it's an all-day thing depends on how many flights there are, which depends on how many lifters signed up. It'll also depend somewhat on how fast they load the bars, how quickly each lifter does his/her attempt vs. milking the entire minute, etc. At mine they had raw flights for men and women and equipped flights for men and women, plus some doing just bench or just push/pull, so things took awhile.

They'll generally go in an order like: Flight A squat, Flight B squat, Flight C squat, then Flight A bench, Flight B bench, Flight C bench, then A/B/C in order for deadlift, which means you basically have to do your general warmup three separate times in addition to warming up for each specific lift. If I remember right I had somewhere in the neighborhood of 2 hours of complete downtime after my squats before I needed to start warming up for bench. I'd highly recommend bringing food unless you know there is food within walking distance of the event...unless it's a huge meet it's unlikely they'll have anything substantial for sale at the meet itself.

Yes, you'll need a singlet for any sanctioned PL meet. They can be found pretty cheap on any lifting equipment site, or a wrestling one will also do. You'll probably also be required to have a 100% cotton t-shirt on under it and 100% cotton whitey-tighties on as well.

Since you're not planning to win the meet you don't need to worry too much about tapering for it, but you'll definitely want to do some lifting the week before it. 70s Big has done a few posts about the weeks leading up to a meet but I can't find them at the moment. I'd say you'll be good lifting as normal 2 weeks prior to the meet, but make sure you do some heavy singles with commands so you're used to listening to them. For the week leading up to the meet you'll do something like working up to your final warmup rep on squat and bench on Tuesday, then maybe 2 sets of 5 at 50% of your bench and squat openers on Thursday. You'll want your last heavy deadlift day to be 10-12 days prior to the meet...on that day you could work up to your opening weight or somewhere near it for a few singles.

As the other Eric said, the main thing is that you don't want to bomb out of a first meet, so pick opening weights that you're confident you could get for a 3RM if you wanted to. Then you'll make jumps for subsequent attempts based on how you feel that day, not necessarily based on what you've done in the past. And make sure you're used to lifting by the commands so you don't get no-repped for an avoidable mistake.

Agree with this. To add/re-emphasize:
- most t-shirt logos aren't allowed (at least up here in Canada). To be safe, it is probably best to have a plain cotton t-shirt. If the meet is giving out shirts to competitors you should be able to wear that one as well.
- he's not joking about the tighty-whitey underwear. You can't wear boxers or boxer-briefs.
- practice with the commands. They sound easy, but lots of people mess them up when they're on the on the platform and the nerves are really kicking in.
- make your openers light. no one cares what you open with, so don't let pride mess with your head. Pick a weight you can do 3 reps with. For your opening squat, pick a weight you can squat deep, and then squat it deep. Leave no doubts. You can always make big jumps on your 2nd and 3rd.

[Mark Boyle]

Originally Posted by Sean Dunston

You give your opening attempts at weigh-in.
You are allowed to change your opening prior to your attempt (lower) as long as that weight in your lifting flight has not already been met/exceeded. You can bump it higher up to 3 times, I think.

I don't believe this is quite correct. You are allowed to change your opener up until 3 minutes before the start of your flight. Higher or lower doesn't matter. Basically, if your last warm-up sucks, you should consider dropping it a bit just to be safe.

Subsequent lifts cannot be changed (you have to submit your next attempt within 1 minute of the completion of your last one) with the exception of the final deadlift attempt which can be changed twice. There are some restrictions on this based on lifting order but I wouldn't worry about it for now - you likely won't be changing your last deadlift anyway.

[Mark Boyle]

Originally Posted by Dana Rice

Thanks Sean, I agree. I have never had to cut weight before, and don't want to experiment 5 weeks out. Just bought the singlet. Good to hear about the shoes. Are you allowed caffiene/energy drinks before the lifts? I sometimes down a 5 hour energy before a heavy day. In the waiver it says no "psychomotor stimulants". I assume those are things like amonia and smelling salts (maybe amphetemines?), but I have no idea. Google didn't help.

Do you have to turn your lift attempts in early - like at check in? or can you change them based on how your feeling?

Thanks again fellas - sorry for all the questions.

Lots of guys use amonia, so I'm pretty sure that is fine. But, you aren't allowed to use it in view of the "public". There should be an area that is partitioned off for lifters to wait between attempts. you can sniff it there before you go out if you want.

One final thing to add, the USAPL is part of the IPF. They're strict (IMO a good thing) so you likely won't be given a break because you're new. Make sure you know the proper execution of the lifts. There are details (like not being able to move your feet, another is not raising your head when benching) that they will call you on if you mess up.