Meet Report

From the SLP Benchpress/ Deadlift Championship at Hamilton, Ohio.





There were approximately 70+ lifters. It was held at Samson's Gym. A quaint little place that was cool ("except for the Spinning bikes" according to Shawn, who was there helping me.) And it got incredibly hot and humid. The a/c was fair but overworked. So they opened the doors and that made it worse. By the time we got to the deadlifts it was pretty miserable. I snacked and drank (alot) all day but like I said to Shawn near the end, "All I gotta do is get this lift." (And then the next one and the next one...)





I weighed in at 242 on the nose and was in the Master class (40-44 yoa). Warm-ups went well (as the warm-up area was in the basement and it was cooler down there). I took 420 for my opener and it passed easy. Next was 440 for a PR and that went up easy too. Shawn didn't tell me what my third was. He only said it was more than the other guy in my class and I had to "beat him". I took 455 for another PR and according to him and 4Board, it was my best lift of the day. (Later Shawn said, "I think you had 462-and-a half in you today and that was it!")





Warming up for the deadlift went ok. I took 405x1 with belt-on, suit on/ straps down for my last warm-up. I felt "tipsy" for lack of a better word on the lockout. Shawn said it looked fine and I attributed it to the sloping basement floor. I opened with 500 and it went up easy but again at the top I felt like I was going to fall over backwards. Shawn told me to pull the bar in closer at the start for the next attempt. This I did and 520 (a PR) came up easy with just a little bit of tipsiness on top. He called 530 for my last attempt and that was heavy but good for another PR. Six-for-six, not a bad day. I didn't feel tipsy on the last one.





The meet kind of turned into an endurance thing by the time the deadlifts came around due to the heat and humidity. There was no place to go in the gym to get any relief. I just kept housing water, etcetera, to stay hydrated. And I think that's why I was feeling loopy during the deads; I was getting dehydrated badly. What I learned from it was to have a better meal plan for the meet(s).



Afterwards we made the traditional stop at the Mexican restaurant in Middletown for dinner. Great food, nice scenery. Shawn commented on the tasty cheese littering his half-a-dozen tacos. So on the way out I stopped the nice looking waitress and asked her what kind of cheese was on the tacos. "Well, it's shredded cheese", she replied. Yeah but what kind said I. "White cheese", she said again. So I took it to the next level (recovering from dehydration at this point). "What kind of white cheese?" "Shredded, white cheese", she said. Obviously this was going nowhere and Shawn was standing behind the waitress giggling, so we got my dollar's worth of entertainment from it and on we went. El Rancho Grande is highly recommended nonetheless.





Training partners: I wouldn't have made the progress I did without great training partners. So a tip of the cap to Shawn and 4Board. When I was chalking up for my final benchpress, a guy Shawn trains with sometimes came up behind us and told him not to chalk my back as it would cause me to slide on the bench (probably due to the velour-like covering on the bench). I heard the conversation and instead of getting amped up about it, I kept getting ready, never turning around to address it. Because I knew he would take care of it! That's the kind of faith I have in my training partners and that's a small picture of the invaluable contribution they made to my success! Thanks Smitty (I think that's his name) and thanks to Mike Wolfe for his help in the warm-up room. Little things but together they add up to why weightlifting/ powerlifting is one of the greatest sports on earth! Guys that could kick my ass under the bar but are the first to help out! I had a great day!



Thank you,

Ed T.