Two weeks ago I did something I had never done before. I entered a
lifting contest. Strongest in the AOR it was called. AOR is a military
abbreviation for Area of Responsibility, which in this case means the
Middle East. I didn't prepare for it. I was just in the middle of my
normal training when I signed up on the second to last day for sign
ups. I don't know what made me do it but I just decided to go for it.
The competition took place over 3 separate days. Monday was bench
press, Wednesday was squat and Friday was dead lift. The competitor
picks the weight to lift and they get three lifts with the best of the
three taken as their result.
When Monday came around, I was nervous and excited. I don't know why
I was nervous. I didn't expect to win at all. I suppose I just wanted
to test myself. I had zero experience in any type of lifting
competition. I didn't know where to start my lifts. The head judge
advised us to start off with a weight we could do for three easy reps.
I chose my first weight for bench press to be 245 pounds. 2 days
earlier I lifted 230 for 6 reps so 245 for one shouldn't be a problem.
Going off all my tracked workouts, my 1RM should have been somewhere
around 275 but I hadn't tested that. I struggled slightly with the 245
but I got it up. I chose my second lift to be 255. Oh by the way, we
were on a stage and there was a small crowd. When it came to be my
turn, I unracked the bar, brought it down to my chest and lifted it
about halfway up before my arms just stopped. I couldn't go any
further. I failed on only my second attempt. I was extremely
discouraged. I've done more than that before so why couldn't I get that
up? I will admit, the crowd got to me. I wasn't expecting people to
watch. On my third attempt, I chose 255 again. You can't go down in
weight once you declare a weight or even if you fail at a weight. The
third time, I almost got it all the way but couldn't quite make it. I
failed again. It was very discouraging.
I learned a lot on that first day however. I didn't get a chance to
warm up properly because I didn't know how the competition was going to
proceed. I wasn't expecting the crowd. I couldn't tune them out and
clear my head and go through my normal mental routine before a big
lift. I felt rushed. So my final weight for the bench press event was
245 pounds. Note: at the end of the week, I maxed out on bench and put
up 265 pounds, a PR.
Wednesday brought the squat portion of the competition. I knew a bit
more how it worked so I was a little more prepared. I got to the
weight room early to warm up and discovered that this lift wasn't on
stage in front of a crowd. It was in the normal weight room where I work
out every morning. I got my warm ups in and was ready to go. I still
was unsure of which weights to pick. According to all my tracker
calculations, my squat max should have been 360 but I didn't want to
rely on that again. So I went a little conservative on the first lift.
I chose a weight that I put up 6 times a week prior, 295 pounds. I
squatted it with ease. I still was unsure what to choose for my next
weight so I just went 10 pounds more and chose 305. That was fairly
easy as well. Again, not sure how high I should actually go but I went a
little higher and chose 325 for my final lift. No problem. I could
have gotten more reps with that weight. So 325 pounds was my best lift
for the squat portion of the event. The person that lifted the most
lifted 600 pounds!
The final day of the competition was on Friday and was the dead lift
event. I learned yet a bit more. I arrived to the gym early to get my
warm up in. This time the event was in front of the stage where the
bench press event was held. It was a Friday night so a larger crowd
drew. I didn't care this time. Yet again, I was still unsure which
weights to choose. I started out with 315 and lifted that with ease.
My second lift was 335 and that was a little more difficult but I got it
up no problem. My third and final lift was 360. It was a bit
difficult but I got it up and probably could have done one or two more.
So my best lift for that event was 360 pounds. Both the squat and dead
lift weights are PRs for me.
I ended up placing 13th out of 14, so not last! But all in all, it
was a great experience. I failed but also set some PRs. I learned a
lot. I'll be way more prepared prior to the next competition. I'm
really glad I took the leap and decided to enter. Sometimes you gotta
step out of your comfort zone and try something new. Don't ask why,
just fucking do it.
