Success Story: How I Powered My Way to Powerlifting Victory - Part 2
In my previous blog, I revealed how I got ready for the British Drug Free Powerlifting Association (BDFPA) Welsh Open Championships including my training routine and diet. So after all that work, how did I get on?
The big day: BDFPA Welsh Open Championships
The BDFPA Welsh Open Championships were held on Saturday 18 January 2014. Competitors are split into age, weight and gender categories and perform three lifts in the Squat, Bench Press and Deadlift disciplines, taking their best successful lift in each to get a total cumulative score.
I competed in the Men's Open 100kg Class, weighing in on the day at 97.4kg and performed my lifts alongside the other heavyweights. (I was mixed in with the 110kg and 125kg+ competitors). As 'the new guy' this was a daunting prospect at first. Imagine being one of the smallest in a group of muscular men all focused on proving who's the strongest! But the truth of the matter was every single one of them was a gent and all offered encouragement to each other, devoid of attitude or gamesmanship. I've not experienced anything like that in sport before, and it was an incredibly positive atmosphere to lift large amounts of weight in!
Here’s a summary of how I did overall:
- Squats: I hit all three squats, finishing on 175kg
- Bench Press: set a new Welsh Divisional Record in full power at 100kg with a lift of 152.5kg
- Deadlifts: hit all three with the third being 210kg, finishing on a total of 537.5kg