[Meet Report] USAPL Summer End - Spokane, WA (340kg@62kg|749lb@137lbs|369 wilks|Female Open)

BACKGROUND

25/F/5'6". I started about 1.5 years ago, starting first with Stronglifts and then dabbled in a bunch of different programs until my first meet in February. Since then I've been running GZCL UHF 5 week almost non stop, minus a 2 week break in June for a trip to Japan. I also made the switch from conventional to sumo for my deadlift, which has been a nonstop source of confusion cause my form is poo.

MEET PREP

I ran GZCL UHF 5 week for squat and bench, and Mag/Ort for deadlifts. The last 2 weeks before the meet, I switched off Mag/Ort to doing singles and doubles. In the last weeks of meet prep I hit 280 for a double for squats, 130 for a double for bench, and a 320 lb single in deadlifts. I took my openers the Sunday before the meet and otherwise only did a light squat/bench session on the Wednesday before the meet. Overall, the last week of prep went pretty horribly for deadlifts and I was feeling really run down. Weights that I could normally move would just be stapled to the floor.

Weight-wise I was walking around at about 142 lbs at the beginning of my last cycle of UHF. I decided I didn't want to do a water cut since it made me feel awful last time, so I just did a light cut. I started making weight the week of, but out of paranoia of inaccurate scale readings, I didn't move my macros back up to maintenance.

MEET DAY

Woke up bright and early at 6:30 for weigh ins starting at 7. Made weight at a pretty low 136.9, but I was feeling pretty good. Had my red bull, a banana, and a bunch of granola and basically waited around until lifting began at 9:15. The overall plan was to be fairly conservative to win my weight class of 4 + qualify for nationals.

SQUATS

Attempts

I was in flight B, so started warming up when the first flight started lifting. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that there weren't many people squatting (lots of push/pullers), so I was very rushed on the warm ups and starting to get nervous. Luckily, I was squatting near the end of my flight, so I was able to get my last warm up in.

Attempt 1: 120kg/264lb make. Went fairly conservative since I've tripled 270 in prep. This went super smooth and easy, and was my 4th attempt at my last meet.

Attempt 2: 125kg/275lb make. This was my planned second but went surprisingly smooth.

Attempt 3: 132.5kg/292lb make. Since #2 went well, I went off script and went with this instead of the planned 130kg. This felt pretty heavy and I definitely hit my sticking point, but was able to grind past it.

Overall, I got a 12 lb all time PR and a 28 lb meet PR! I think this meet taught me that I need to be a bit less conservative with my attempts for squats. I am very close to 300 and the state record of 303, which I'll definitely be taking a shot at next meet.

BENCH

Attempts

This meet was super well run and was clipping along at a pretty quick rate, which meant I didn't have time to grab a real lunch before bench. This time I started warming up too early, and wound up having to take an extra warm up right before we started lifting.

Attempt 1: 55kg/121lb make. I've taken this for 4, so it went smooth.

Attempt 2: 57.5kg/126lb make. This was also smooth, though slower. I was still running off of a high from the squat PR, so I decided to increase my third attempt from 60kg.

Attempt 3: 62.5kg/138lb miss. This barely even came off my chest, so probably should've stuck with 132 heh.

Even with missing my third, I got a small meet PR of 5 lbs. This just reinforced that my bench has very little room for jumping, and I should stick to 2.5 kg jumps until my bench weight starts moving higher. Wasn't too bummed though, since I have been wanting to be a bit more risky with my attempts.

DEADLIFT

Attempts

There were way more people benching, so I had time to go eat Jimmy Johns before deadlifts. With a full stomach and another red bull, i was feeling decent going into my most nervewracking lift. Started rolling out my stiff legs 2 flights before our turn, and took my warmups as soon as flight A started lifting. I accidentally took an extra warm up which was my opener though, since I couldn't plate math lolol.

Attempt 1: 130kg/286lb make. I've doubled this but also failed it off the floor, so I was tempted to start even lower. I wanted to hit at least a small pr though, so I decided this was the lowest I could start with. My lock out was weird and I felt off balance, but it felt fairly light.

Attempt 2: 140kg/308lb make. This felt even faster than the first off the floor, though I still had the same awkward lockout issue.

Attempt 3: 150kg/330lb make. Decided to move this up from the planned 147.5kg. Accidentally took a bigger than planned whiff of nose tork, which probably helped this move pretty smoothly.

Got me a 10 lb all time PR and 55 lb meet PR! I think I could've even gone for more, so I need to be more aggressive with my attempts. I think my deadlift responds very well to a week of rest, and I should factor nose tork adrenaline in as well.

CONCLUSION

This was a highly successful meet for me - went 8/9, totaling 340kg/749lbs for a 88 lb meet PR and a +37 wilks PR. This qualifies me for Nationals, and I got first for my weight class. :)

Moving forward, I need to continue working a lot on bench, and start refining my deadlift form. I want my hips closer to the bar! I'll probably stick with GZCL UHF, since I've been making fairly steady gains on it. I think for next time I need to be more aggressive with squat and deadlift attempts, and stay conservative with bench. Next up will probably be State in Feb, followed by Nationals???? possibly in Oct!

TL;DR: went 8/9, with a 749lb total at 137lb bodyweight, with a 88 lb meet PR for a 369 wilks. Qualified for nationals + got first in my weight class!