[Meet Report] First Meet - USPA WA Pre Spring Fling - 297.5kg/655lb Total @ 60kg/132lb BW, 332 Wilks

So, I finally did my first meet! Figured I should do a write up for my own sake and to share. :)

Background/Training

24/F/5'6".

I started lifting a little over a year ago, doing StrongLifts until it stopped working, and then did GZCL style training/my own wishy-washy programming. I used Candito's 6 week program twice before the meet, and used the last cycle's squat/deadlift programming to peak for it. For bench, I used Smolov Jr.

Diet/Making Weight

Diet-wise, I loosely follow IIFYM (mostly I try to hit protein goals, and try to get more carbs on training days), and had bulked to about 140 pounds about 2 months before the meet. Against basically all advice to not cut for my first meet, I did it anyways, primarily because the WA USPA state record for the 60kg class was fairly low at 254 lbs, and I wanted to see if I could break it. I had hit a 255lb squat in the gym back in November, so I was fairly confident I could break the record.

To make weight, I started cutting down slowly from 2 months out until a week out to around 135 lbs, and did the rest via a water cut. Luckily, I had a 24 hour weigh in, so I had a decent chance at rehydrating after water cutting. About 5 days out I increased water to 2 gallons a day, and maintained drinking until 12 hours before weigh in. I made weight at around 131.7 lbs, whoop!

The meet

The meet itself started pretty early at 9AM, but I didn't lift till 3. We got there around noon, which maybe was too early cause I spent too much time sitting there stressing out. I spent this time picking my attempts, and making sure I knew what they'd be in kgs. My goal was to just make all of my lifts, rather than get big PRs. My strategy was to pick an easy triple weight for the openers, and a small PR for each lift as the third attempt. The second lift wound up being whatever was in the middle.

Squats

Warming up, I found it hard to hit depth, which normally isn't a problem for me. I think the water cut made my joints feel a bit tighter, and the 4 hour drive over probably didn't help. Because of this, I started stressing out even more.

• 105kg/231lbs: This moved quick, and helped me to finally relax. I had hit 235 for an easy triple two weeks out, so this was meant to be a confidence booster. 3 white lights!
• 112.5kg/248lbs: Also moved fast, but it felt heavy. Meant that I chose 259 as my third attempt instead of 264. In training, I usually film myself to figure out how easy a lift is, since pretty much everything feels hard and heavy after a certain point. 3 white lights.
• 117.5kg/259lbs: Picked this to beat that state record! Also, a 4lb PR. Felt pretty smooth so figured I'd YOLO it up and go for a 4th attempt. 3 white lights.
• 120kg/264lbs: I think I psyched myself out for this one, cause it felt WAY heavier and was only a few pounds more. Grindy cause I didn't keep my knees out. I feel like the depth here is questionable, but somehow got 3 white lights? 9lb PR.

Bench

So bench is my worst lift, but with Smolov JR leading up to the meet, I knew I'd probably PR and my form/set up was way more consistent.

• 50kg/110lbs: Got a nice hand off and this shot up. 3 white lights.
• 52.5kg/115lbs: I got in my head and started wondering if my grip width was right (I lift at a commercial gym with a million different types of bars with different markers at different widths), so I thought I would widen my grip. Wasn't a good idea and this was slower than I would've liked, which meant I picked my planned and safe 3rd attempt instead of going for a bigger PR. 3 white lights.
• 55kg/121lbs: This was slow but fairly smooth and now I'm bummed I didn't pick 126. Oh well, next time! 5 lb PR and 3 white lights.

Deadlift

By this time I was exhausted and we'd been at the meet for like 7 hours. Was already feeling stiff and sore, so was nervous again for deads. Warmups felt way better once I slapped on my belt though, so I figured I should be able to lift according to plan.

• 110kg/242lbs: Went smooth and fast. 3 white lights.
• 117.5kg/259lbs: This felt heavy and slow, but on film it moved pretty fast still. 3 white lights.
• 125kg/275lbs: I was so nervous for this, cause in training I only managed to hit 260 for a single when aiming for like... 4 reps. Everyone told me to just not let go until they fail the lift, so that's pretty much what I was aiming to do going into this. It went up though, and faster than I thought, so I think I have at least another 5 pounds in me. 5lb PR and 3 white lights.

Results

I got 1st! Out of 1 in my weight class, ahaha. I ended up with 3 PRs, all white lights, and state squat record, so overall I was super happy. Totalled 655lbs, which is ~332 wilks, and also learned how to do a water cut.

I'm probably going to do another meet at the end of the summer! Hopefully it'll give me time to make some real progress. Don't know if it's too ambitious, but I'd love to finally hit a 300lb deadlift and a 1 plate bench. Overall, this was a hugely positive experience, and the whole community was super motivating and encouraging. :)