Powerlifting and weightlifting weight classes

I'm a super heavyweight in both weightlifting and powerlifting. I'm currently topping the scales at 332 lbs. I'm excited about transitioning into powerlifting because there's so many more weight classes than there was in weightlifting. In powerlifting I only need to drop 25 lbs to get into the next weight class. In weightlifting I'd have had to drop 113 lbs to get into the next one!!!! In the NASA powerlifting league the 5 heaviest weight classes are:
 (kilos/lbs)

90.01-100k/ 198.01-220 lbs

100.01-110/ 220.01- 242 lbs

110.01-125k/ 242.01- 275 lbs

125.01- 140k/ 275.01-308 lbs

140k+/ 308lbs+

I'm looking forward to all the possibilities in powerlifting. This is going to be fun. I'm not saying I'm going to actually lose weight. That's probably not a possibility. But there's a lot of great possibilities in powerlifting and it'll be great fun.

the 2016 US Powerlifting Association New Mexico state championships report

190/120/185/495k
Wilks 275.814

Today I competed in the US Powerlifting Association (USPA) New Mexico state championships in Albuquerque New Mexico . I entered in the masters Super Heavy Weight  (SHW) division and the Open SHW division. I weighed in at 142.8k.

First up was the squat. I love the squat. It's my best powerlifting event. I assumed I was stronger than the last time I competed in a powerlifting meet in April because I've been training really hard the last 6 months for olympic style weightlifting. And usually weightlifting transfers over well to powerlifting. Oh boy was I wrong! In warm ups everything felt heavy. When I tried 396 pounds for warm ups I barely got it up. My opening squat for the meet as 418 pounds. It was highly likely that I'd bomb out in the first event! On my first attempt I was able to lift the 418 pounds (190k), but it was close. I went up a few kilos and missed my 2nd and 3rd attempts. But that's ok, with one good lift i was still in the game. And my one squat was actually a state record!!!! I was pretty disappointed to find out my squat has gotten weaker in the last 6 months. I've been training so hard!

The 2nd event was bench press. I hadn't trained bench at all since April, and I was afraid pushing out a max on my first time bench pressing in 6 months would cause an injury, so I successfully lifted a 265lb (120k) bench on my first attempt and stopped there. And amazingly that was a state record! Ha! It's good to be a 40-44 age group SHW. There aren't that many of us left! Victory through attrition!

In olympic style weightlifting I never deadlift heavy. The most i deadlift is a 130k to warm up for clean and jerks. So I started light, 407 (185k). I had a birthday party that I invited a dozen people I've met since moving to Albuquerque so I had to leave after my first deadlift or I'd be late to my party. And believe it or not my one light deadlift was a state record!!

My total of 190/185/120/495 was a state record. I took first place in the 40-44 age group SHW raw division and the open SHW division. That makes me the New Mexico state champion in both of those divisions! It was a good day.

Once I got to the house I was pretty disappointed to see only one of the twelve people I invited showed up to the party. I'm finding it difficult to build a group of friends here in Albuquerque.

unresonable goal setting

My biggest trouble in Athletics is goals. I find a goal to focus on and a month later I drop that one and move on to another goal. My old triathlon coach, Pete Alfino of Mile High Multi-sport coaching was the first one to tell me, "what my problem is". He was right. He usually was. He wasn't very good at presenting things in a way that was good for me. He was more of a this is what I think f#cking deal with and quit whining kind of coach. He pissed me off and hurt my feeling a lot, but he was usually right.


My goal for a long time was to drop to the 105k (232pound) weight class for olympic style weightlifting. It's actually a very good goal, but it's to big and would take to long to get to. So I'd get frustrated or bored and give up on weight loss and just focus on weightlifting.

I'm currently 319 pounds. I need a more attainable goal. My nutrition coach Barry Schroeder helped me find a goal that'll help me keep my motivation up and give me a short term win: i love to compete in NASA powerlifting competitions. I'm currently in the super heavyweight division. To drop into the next division I'd need to get to 307.9 pounds. The next NASA powerlifting meet is July 9th. That gives me a couple months to lose 10 pounds. 1.5 pounds a week. It's doable, won't take much time, and is motivational. At my current strength I could set 11 national and 30 New Mexico state NASA powerlifting records. Now that's motivating!

So, Barry and I are back at it. Trying to get my big fat butt to lose some weight. Here it goes....

The 2016 USPA Regional powerlifting championships

I thoroughly enjoyed my first powerlifting meet a few weeks ago. I enjoyed it so much I've been dreaming of doing another one as soon as possible. I was going to compete in the NASA powerlifting national championships in Feb 2016 in OKC, Oklahoma. But yesterday a fellow weightlifter, Dana Ashcraft, told me that the 2016 USPA Regional powerlifting championships will be held in Feb 2016 right here in Albuquerque New Mexico, just an hours drive from my house! Competing here in New Mexico will save me a grip of money!  Every dollar saved and put into savings for a down payment for a home is a day closer to retiring from the prison! So I went in early this morning and got the day off from work, then registered for the meet! I accidentally registered for the 275 lb division. I meant to register for the 308 lb division. I'm hoping they'll change my entry form. I'm currently weighing 301lbs. My nutrition coach is having me lose 1 pound a week, so I'll probably weigh around 292 by then. If they're not willing to change my weight class I'll need to cut 17 pounds. This might be crazy,  but if I have to cut 17 pounds I'm going to ask my favorite MMA fighter of all time, retired MMA fighter and Albuquerque resident "the dean of mean" Keith Jardine for help. He was a big light heavyweight fighter. During his career he had to cut an absurd amount of weight for his fights. Very few people would know how to cut weight better than him. He retired from fighting a few years ago 34-11 in his MMA and boxing career.

New Mexico New year's classic powerlifting meet report

Squat 175k

Bench 132.5k

Deadlift 195k

Coefficient 1.4438

On December 5th 2015 I competed in The New Mexico New Years classic powerlifting meet in Roswell NM. The meet was put on by NASA (Natural Athlete Strength Association). This was the first powerlifting meet I'd ever done. I've been training olympic style weightlifting for two years, but nothing even close to powerlifting. 

I was wanting to compete in the SHW divisions which is 309lbs or more. I woke up that morning weighting 305 lbs. Before I left the house for the 3 1/2 hour drive to the meet in Roswell NM a drank a glass of water with a couple teaspoons of salt stirred in. I figured the extra sodium would help my body retain water. 10 minutes before weighing in I chugged as much water as I could. I weighed in at 312 lbs easily making the SHW minimum weight. 

I entered 9 divisions. It cost me a fortune, but it was one of the most fun and memorable experiences of my life! Totally worth every penny! These were the divisions I entered. 

1- clean only masters pure SHW

2- clean only masters one SHW

3- clean only law enforcement SHW 

4- power press masters pure

5- power press masters one 

6- power press law enforcement SHW

7- push pull masters law enforcement SHW

8- unequiped powerlifting law enforcement SHW 

9- power sports law enforcement SHW 

The first lift was the power clean. I was really glad the clean was first. I know how to clean well and I'm comfortable doing cleans since the clean and jerk is one of the two lifts I've been training at for the last two years. I lifted a 120k clean. It was the heaviest clean of the day and a state record.

The next lift was the strict curl. I hadn't done curls at all since 2003. So I had no clue what weights to attempt. i lifted 35k, 50k, and my third lift was a 65k.

The third lift was the squat. I built up to a 170k squat. Since that was a national records they let me attempt a fourth lift. 175k, good lift.

After the squat it was obvious to everyone I was a rookie at powerlifting. I was having to ask athletes and officials a thousand questions. A powerlifting coach, Vernon Smith, who owns Grow Strong strength and conditioning in Albuquerque New Mexico came up to me and offered to coach me the rest of the day. I gratefully accepted his generous offer. The rest of the meet was so much easier and less stressful with a powerlifting coach helping me.

The bench press was the fourth lift. I ended up struggling with this. Out of habit I didn't wait for the head referees commands. Even though I lifted the weight easily I was given three red lights at both of my first two lifts for lifting the weight off my chest and racking without the officials commands. On the third lift I had to remember to wait for the head judges commands or I'd end up bombing out. On my third attempt of 132.5k I got three white lights. 132.5 was super easy. I could have lifted a lot more,  but after  two "no lifts" I was only concerned about not bombing out. I only started training again in the bench press this summer. Until this summer my lifetime bench PR was 275lbs I set back in 1999 when I was 24 years old. This summer when I first picked up benching again I could only lift 245 pounds. So all things considered 132.5k (291.5 pounds) is pretty awesome. I was allowed a fourth attempt and I successfully lifted 135k.

The deadlift was the fifth lift. I had no idea what to try to lift in this lift either. I used to deadlift when I first started olympic style weightlifting, but the deadlifts were hurting my hips so my weightlifting coach stopped putting them into my programing. It had been 20 months since I'd done any deadlifts. I started out with a 110k deadlift- ridiculously easy. My 2nd attempt I jumped up to a 150k lift. Also ridiculously easy. I decided to try 180 for my third. Also amazingly easy. I was allowed a fourth lift and i lifted 195k.... easily. I learned a very valuable lesson. I should know approximately how much my max lifts are if I'm going to lift in a powerlifting meet- duh!

I set 9 state records and 4 national records.  I entered these divisions and next to each is my total and placing. 

 clean only masters pure SHW (Super Heavy Weight), 120k, state record

clean only masters one SHW, 120k state record

clean only masters law enforcement SHW 120, state record

power press masters pure 152.5k state record

power press masters one 152.5k state record

power press law masters enforcement SHW 152.5, state and national record

 push pull masters law enforcement SHW, 327.5k, state record and national record 

 unequiped powerlifting masters law enforcement SHW, 502.5k, state and national record 

power sports masters law enforcement SHW, 392.5k, state and national record

The NASA powerlifting trophies and medals are top notch!