Preparing for first meet, few questions

[DontTakeEmOff31]

I'm going to do a meet this november, little bit off but I wanted some time to get a bit stronger and then prepare. It'll be in the RPS federation, 220 weight class (looking to bulk another 10 lbs).

I've never competed before so I was hoping to get some advice. Specifically when squatting raw, do you need to dip below parallel? Is that what is typically done to avoid red lights?

I'm also doing 5/3/1 now, should I continue with that right up until the meet or should there be time time where I start practising competition form (pause on the bench) a month or two before?

Any advice is appreciated, thanks a bunch.

[ScottYard]

Gene's meet are judged fair but will require some kind of depth. You wont need to break paralell. But I suggest you at least get there. Do a search for RPS meets on youtube and that will give you an idea of depth needed.

As for 531. I would plan backwards and make sure the deload week is the week before the meet. Open super light and dont focus on getting a hitting a personal best. As of now you dont have a PR so what ever you do at this meet will be a new max. Meet lifts are not gym lifts so be prepared to find out how strong you really are.

Again.....Open very light. If you can bench 300 then dont open with more then 250. You have three attempts.

[larsen540]

good luck

[vdizenzo]

Scott's advice is perfect. Are you doing regular 5/3/1 or 5/3/1 for powerlifting?

[byronsru24]

x2 to what Scott said. Make sure you train your lifts to the rules. Start and Press Command on the bench, make sure to hit depth on your squat, and fully lock out your deads. On a side note, if its your first meet, don't try and make a certain weight class. My first meet my nerves were crazy, and cutting weight just made things worse. Made me end up bombing actually. I did so many things wrong, a buddy of mine Matt Ladewski wrote an article about it haha. First meet don't worry about competing in a certain weight class. Just open with something LIGHT on your opener, go for a PR on your 2nd, and for broke on your 3rd. Above all have FUN, and finish the meet. If you want to know what NOT to do, read the article Matt wrote about me.

http://articles.elitefts.com/trainin...t-time-lifter/

[DontTakeEmOff31]

Gene's meet are judged fair but will require some kind of depth. You wont need to break paralell. But I suggest you at least get there. Do a search for RPS meets on youtube and that will give you an idea of depth needed.

As for 531. I would plan backwards and make sure the deload week is the week before the meet. Open super light and dont focus on getting a hitting a personal best. As of now you dont have a PR so what ever you do at this meet will be a new max. Meet lifts are not gym lifts so be prepared to find out how strong you really are.

Again.....Open very light. If you can bench 300 then dont open with more then 250. You have three attempts.

I've talked with a few lifters I know that have competed, and they've basically said the same thing. Open really light so I can get the weight no problem. Sounds like a smart idea.

Why is it that meet lifts tend to be lower than gym lifts? Mix between judging and being tired from previous lifts?

Scott's advice is perfect. Are you doing regular 5/3/1 or 5/3/1 for powerlifting?

Right now 5/3/1, but I might switch my squats to 5/3/1 for powerlifting. I'm really confident with bench and deads and the way they are progressing but I think my squats need some more work to feel more consistent.

x2 to what Scott said. Make sure you train your lifts to the rules. Start and Press Command on the bench, make sure to hit depth on your squat, and fully lock out your deads. On a side note, if its your first meet, don't try and make a certain weight class. My first meet my nerves were crazy, and cutting weight just made things worse. Made me end up bombing actually. I did so many things wrong, a buddy of mine Matt Ladewski wrote an article about it haha. First meet don't worry about competing in a certain weight class. Just open with something LIGHT on your opener, go for a PR on your 2nd, and for broke on your 3rd. Above all have FUN, and finish the meet. If you want to know what NOT to do, read the article Matt wrote about me.

Thats what I'm planning to go, open light, and then see how the next to go. I'm not going to cut, going to continue to bulk. I'm thinking more long term as well and I would like to be at a solid 220 (210ish right now).

[Yosh86]

I agree with the advice already posted. Open light since getting 3 whites on the first attempt is a definite confidence booster. You don’t want anything too heavy since you just want to get on the board – remember that you can’t decrease the weight if it is too heavy. I’ve heard rules of thumb like using a 5RM weight, 90% of your max, or your last warm-up weight all as methods for determining an opener. For the bench press and especially deadlift, you have to factor in fatigue from previous max effort lifts.

I’m not familiar with RPS federation but I think in general breaking parallel on squats is proper form. To avoid red lights, you have to follow the rules including commands. If the rule in RPS is to achieve parallel on a squat and not break parallel then you are good to go with less depth.

I haven’t used 5/3/1 so I can’t provide more specific guidance on your meet prep but I would definitely add in practice with the commands. A paused bench is different and you also want to practice holding the weight until the “rack” command. You can dominate the lift, but if you jump the gun on the commands then it is no good.

[theBarzeen]

Some good advice here already...... good luck.