On Sunday the 1st of December three of our lifters competed raw at the GBPF South East Divisional Powerlifting Competition. Ian Coull (105kg category), Rob Hunter (93kg category) and Nate Shaw (66kg Category). For Ian and Rob this was their first competition. Nate had competed with me at the South West comp in April earlier this year. Simply to post a total was going to be an achievement in itself, however all three lifters well surpassed this breaking several PR's in the process.
The day started by meeting at Bridge Road Barbell in Camberley, before driving over together to Woking Power Gym. The order of the competition was laid out and as suspected the Masters and Women lifters were on in the morning, and so Ian, Rob and Nate had quite a bit of hanging around to do. However with several records being broken the lifting in the morning was very exciting to watch and I believe it did the guys a lot of good to soak up the atmosphere and calm their nerves.
The first our of lifters to take the platform was Nate around 1.30pm ish. Nate competes in the 66kg juniors and is currently 19 years old. Nate had set his sights on breaking the deadlift record for this category and we all had confidence he would do this. He open with a 130kg squat which shot up very easily and looked like a warm up set. His second attempt on the squat also shot up with 140kg and his last attempt of 155kg was still very quick and there was definitely more left in the tank. So next time undoubtedly he will be increasing his opening weights a fair bit. So 3 out of 3 so far.
He opened on the bench with 95kg which was once again no problem at all for him. On his second attempt we realised he was on to break the national record for his category. He did this with ease with 102.5kg. On his third attempt after a lot of resetting due to a lot of attention suddenly being paid by the judges to his foot position and contact with the floor he was unlucky to miss 107.5kg. We do believe that his feet were flat on the floor but that the shoes he was wearing were worn at the sides so looked like the outside edge was up. Either way for the first two lifts they were definitely planted flat and he was unlucky with his last attempt.
On the deadlift, which is Nate's favourite lift by a long stretch, you could tell Nate was building up to something special. The atmosphere in the warm up room had stepped up a gear and Nate was clearly fired up for his final three lifts of the comp. His opening deadlift of 185kg proved very very easy, so did his second attempt of 195kg. His third lift was to break another record and he did it with real ease lifting 202.5kg.
Nate also took the British record for the total getting 460kg. So 8 lifts out of 9, and 3 British Records. Pretty good going for a guy in his second year of training. Congratulations once again buddy.
Rob and Ian started their lifts at around 4pm so it had already been a long day for them and they both did well not to let nerves get the better of them. Both of them looked strong whilst warming up and all the hard work in training they had put in was paying off as their lifts were strong, fast and consistent in technique all the way through their warm up sets for each lift.
Rob opened on the squat perhaps more conservatively than he needed to, but wanted to be safe and make sure he hit his first lift comfortably which was sensible. 125kg shot up very easily. 135kg followed for his second attempt and once again looked like another warm up. He was taking the lifts very very deep and none could ever pick him up on depth. He was unlucky just to miss out on 155kg. This missed lift was not due to the weight being too heavy, but more likely a technical error and a rushed set up. Unlucky, but a lesson learned for next time. 2 out of 3 so far, and the bench to come next. Rob pressed a very comfortable 90kg and his second attempt 100kg again looked like there was plenty more in the tank. Unfortunately 105kg proved to be a problem and he missed he last attempt (which would have beaten his gym PR).
On the deadlift, Rob really excelled and hit 180kg on his first attempt, 190kg on his second and an all time PR of 205kg on his third attempt. There was definitely more there on the deadlift too and Rob should be good for at least a 220kg deadlift in April at his next comp. A great result for him going 7 for 9 on his first competition and coming away with a personal best deadlift.
Ian's squat was the highlight for me. He hit 170kg on his first, 180kg on his second attempt and an all time personal best by 5kg on his third attempt getting 190kg. His squat has shown huge progress in the last few months and for a tall guy he manages to squat very very deep now with ease.
On the bench, his 100kg opener looked like a warm up. 115kg followed and once again was very fast. He narrowly missed 125kg which would have been a 10kg PR. He controlled the descent beautifully and held for the pause under complete control, managed to drive it off his chest about 4-5 inches, but lost his line slightly and unfortunately couldn't recover it. Still doing well though, with 5 out of 6 lifts so far, he began to warm up for the deadlift. Ian had, similarly to Rob, opened a little conservatively on the deadlift, as this was a more inconsistent lift for him. He opened at 175kg, lifting sumo, unlike both other lifters who chose conventional stance. 175kg proved fast and strong. His second attempt, 190kg also moved with ease and no sticking points at all. I think Ian was set to go for 200 or perhaps 202.5kg on his third attempt, but after pointing out that Rob hit PR with 205kg Ian was easily coaxed into attempting the same. This he got again comfortably and same as both other lifters, there was a little more in the tank.
Although obviously the aim is to lift to your max on the day, the fact some of their third attempts still looked comfortable, shows that these guys simply haven't yet realised the potential they have, and subsequently attempts were set at slightly under what these guys could have perhaps made. Confidence plays such a big factor that it was best to ensure they attempted weights which they felt they could do.
All in all I could't be more proud of the guys for their results, the PR's and Nate's British Records. Thank you to Dan Rakauskas for coming along to support for the full day, and also to Jason Knight and Sze Lee for coming along also for a good section of the day. The guys hugely appreciated it, as I am sure they made you aware. I hope that by April next year we will have at least double the number of lifters competing and that these guy's performances inspire others to do the same.
Great days lifting.
I must also say a big congratulations to Nate's friend Yano who was also competing for the first time and who trains with Nate at his Uni gym. Nice to have met you mate, and hope you will have an opportunity to come down and train with us in the near future.
If you are interested in joining the powerlifting team and would like to train with us at BRB please contact Phil on info@bridgeroadbarbell.co.uk. We are always on the look out for new members and I am keen to encourage new lifters into the sport. You do not need to be at a certain level to compete and respect is given to anyone who steps up on to the platform regardless of strength levels.
Phil
