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Oh man, I couldn’t have asked for anything more. Yes, there were some things I could have done better. But overall, I was happy with my performance. In a nutshell, I broke the national squat record, the national bench press record, and the national overall total record, PLUS I won the Best Lifter award, and it feels so awesome to get that honor and validation. My hard work paid off! ::::contented sighs:::

Well, where should I start… I guess I’ll start from a macroscopic perspective then shift the focus a bit more granularly.

Preparation from a Macroscopic Perspective

So, I had set the intention of competing in this meet (the United States Powerlifting Association’s Old Skool Iron Classic) around Christmas time, so that gave me a bit over 5 months to specifically train for this competition. I started out with hybrid training, alternating bodybuilding days and powerlifting days…but as I progressed in time, I realized that bodybuilding training was truly interfering with my powerlifting training, and I had to make a choice. I decided to forego all bodybuilding workouts (which was really sad for me) and focus solely on powerlifting , so I could set myself up as well as possible for the competition.

Bench Press: Bench has proven to be my strong point, and I credit early childhood gymnastics as the incipient source of upper body strength, which was continued through my upper-body-centric selections in activity later in life (e.g. breakdancing, boxing, etc)….However, my bench had stagnated hardcore. I had been doing a mix of bodybuilding workouts, and one day of week of benching with Dan…and after months of training…we were exactly where we started. Dan concluded that I need to actually BENCH MORE. Be extremely specific. So we changed the split, and this included having to take out a day of BACK training, and instead doing a little bit of back exercises on most days, at the end of the workout. Instead of ONE day of bench, we did THREE days dedicated to improving my bench. Two days of straight benching and its variations, and one day of shoulders and triceps, targeting improving my bench (such as standing barbell overhead press, to emulate a barbell bench press). This seemed to do the trick. My bench was improving. My technique was getting dialed in, too, with some tweaks including lifting my head up at the bottom of the press, and nailing the leg drive, and working on consistency of the bar path from the descent of the bar, to the end of the press.

Squats: For a long time I thought that my squats were super weak, but since I started working with Dan, I just realized I needed to shift my technique, and now I have some decent numbers. It truly this whole time has been about refining technique, as opposed to developing more muscles or strength in my legs or other body parts for the squats. The more recent refinements have included trying to dial in my balance, such as not drifting onto my toes; trusting myself to lower deeper, so that I can utilize a stronger drive up; clutching the bar with my hands with a little narrower distance between my hands, to help with keeping my back tight; and training the high bar/low bar/and hack squats with quick and explosive force driving up from the ground.

Deadlifts: I had always thought my deadlift to be be pretty decent, but as training progressed, it has turned into my worst lift and I am okay with that. I felt my back go wonky on me a few months ago during a deadlift session in which I pushed really hard. Ever since then, my heart hasn’t been in the deadlift as much, as NOTHING is worth a back injury. So, I have only been working the deadlift in so much to work toward a total, but considering it as a lift that I don’t want to push because I don’t want to injure myself. So, deadlifts were de-prioritized below bench and squats.

Recap of Friday and Saturday (weigh ins and day of competition)

I trained with ferocity for months and months and had my last session the Monday before the meet. I gratefully rested Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, though I didn’t quite feel well-rested until Friday, because I was still on my feet all day training clients and such until Thursday night. Anyway, I laid off the caffeine Tuesday through Friday, did not work out Tuesday through Friday, and still precisely followed my specified macros.

Friday I drove up to Vacaville to Old Skool Iron, and was surprised to see such long lines for the weigh ins! Everything moved efficiently, though, so weigh ins, equipment check, and rack height measurements went smoothly. After that, I made my way over to Davis to meet up with my wonderful nutrition coach, Michelle Shepherd. It was totally perfect because Friday was carb loading day, and we planned to get in some tasty amazing carb nomminess with sum SUSHI. And SHE would order everything for me, because she is the sushi macro queen, so I didn’t have to worry about calculating sushi macros, because she took care of it all! Nicceeeeee!

We hung out for a while, then I headed back to the hotel that Emily and I split, and laid out in the sun reading a book and putting my feet up. It was at this time that I finally felt rested. Emily came at night, I passed out, and next thing you know, it’s game time!

I had oatmeal, protein powder, and banana for breakfast, with a coffee (…throughout the meet I also had vitamin water, BCAA’s, an electrolyte tablet, pre-workout powder, a protein pancake [courtesy of Michelle], and steak and rice.) I made my way to Old Skool Iron and before you know it, it’s time to squat.I have hit a PR before of 325, so hopefully you would think that with all the rest and carbs, I would hit a new PR at the meet, but alas, that was not the case. I did 280, and that was fine. Next was 308, and it felt surprisingly tough. My third attempt was for the state and American record, at 320 pounds, and it was kind of a grind but I made it. My extra, fourth attempt was 325, and actually that squat felt the best of them all! I was able to generate some power and drive up a bit cleaner. So, I squatted equal to the most I have ever squatted, plus got the national record, so I’m not mad 😉

Next up, was bench press. Opened with 198. Next attempt was the state and American record, and easily hit 220. Third attempt was 231 (equal to my previous PR) and it felt solid and strong! Extra, fourth attempt was 237, and it felt good! YAY! So, not only did I break the national record, but I also hit a personal best!

Last up was deadlifts. There was an issue with my belt because I was using someone else’s belt and it didn’t feel right. The last week or two of training, I only did like 1.5 deadlift workouts, and they were sub-max. The belt had felt funny, but MY belt was too narrow, Dan said. So I borrowed someone else’s belt, and it was super wide and thick, but felt restrictive, like I couldn’t bend down with it. So, anyway, that’s parenthetical. But perhaps very relevant. Anyway. Opened with 315. Actually felt hard : / Then, jumped to 347. Was super hard. Stupidly hard! Even tho my max has been 358, so I should have done OVER that in the competition. Third attempt was 358, and I couldn’t even make it. Had to let the bar drop down. So. I don’t know HOW I would have done if I had worn my own belt, but in any case, the deadlift could have gone better. But that’s an opportunity for growth in the future, right?

More importantly, the deadlift contributed to my overall total. One that broke the national overall total record. :::HUGE CHEEZY GRINZZZZ::::

Ahhh, feels so good.

But I would have to say one of the best feelings was receiving the BEST LIFTER award. Best Lifter is determined as pound-per-pound strongest lifter using the Wilks formula, whereby the total weight lifted is multiplied by the Wilks coefficient to find the standard amount lifted normalized across all body weights. To earn Best Lifter award was such as honor, and it feels so good to have my hard work validated with this honor and added bonus!!!

Overall, also, the meet was well run, on time, and full of good vibes. There were a lot of other girls lifting, and they were super nice, and all the people running the meet were super nice. The people from Boss Barbell who came to support were also very helpful and supportive, and I could feel the love. Michelle and her friend stayed the whole time and lent support (and provided me with the crucial protein pancake, teehee). Emily was there. Dan was an awesome coach the whole time. Good vibes, good times.

HERE IS THE VIDEO REEL OF MY LIFTS!!!!!!!! CHECK IT OUT!?!!?!?! 😀 😀 😀

Random highlight: I walked into the restroom at Old Skool Iron and guess what was was on the wall?!?! A poster of ME?!!?!? Front and center, baby. Throwback from 2011! Such as awesome surprise to see that there, too 😉

Gratitude

I couldn’t and wouldn’t have even attempted to achieve the goals of breaking several national records without the invaluable guidance of my powerlifting coach, Dan Green. With him, I felt all things were possible.

Future Directions

Now I have a more free mind, and I can focus on the next goal I put forth in front of me: women’s physique. I want my IFBB pro card. This is a very lofty ambition, but I will focus on this with as much single-minded determination as I can produce. I have just started with my physique-style workouts, and they are feeling like a fun change of pace. Now that strength performance is no longer my number one priority, I can start dieting more aggressively, and we will see how I handle this. Then see which shows look reasonable to pursue. Definitely NPC SF on Oct 4th, but let’s see if there is anything possible before then.

So…in conclusion….what an amazing experience. A long time training, working working working, DEDICATED, giving it EVERYTHING, prioritizing working toward THIS ONE goal…this meet…then to rise to the challenge….feels great 😉  And now my eyes are focused on getting shredded….and getting my pro card….and I look forward to my next journey.

Sending love and appreciation,

Kristina