My first competition of 2005 was at Khalsa school in Surrey with the BCPA on February 13th ...I entered the bench press only section and went in with big aspirations,but ran into problems and had the misfortune of bombing at the end of a magical string of success recently.
I tried an opener of 501 and missed on my first attempt ...the handoff was crooked and i could hardly hold on to the weight let alone lift it.
On a 2nd attempt the hand off was a bit better better but still threw me off my groove ...On my third attempt --good liftoff --the magic was back and I rammed the bar up with great speed...after holding it for a long while at lockout...someone yelled 'lock it' --while still holding the bar --I talked back..."It IS locked" and without waiting for 'rack' --I threw it back into the stands...well, that was deemed a no lift...but I was very happy that the weight went up !! after all, ya cant be known as a big bencher one day and have the ability 'repossessed' the next, it's just not fair !
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Being off your arc or 'bubble' can make 500 feel like 600 and downright scary...when I made my 3rd lift the weight was back to feeling right again...and the bar speed made me feel if I had started properly I would've had 520 that day...but instead a NO LIFT and a lesson learned : pay attention to 'set up and form' and hyperlock when in doubt at the top --some judges need to see rigid lockouts to be sure that the weight is all the way up...
Some highlights of the meet !
Big Tom Horlitz who trains at Fitness Quest on main street battled hard with heavy weights and proved he'll be a strong favorite for the superheavy title at the BC Championships later this year...this kid is strong and determined to kick some butt in the sport of powerlifting...he has a great start for a junior !
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| Also Training with Tom at Fitness Quest is Wade Quayle --he is VERY strong and has to get used to the judging in BCPA many of Wade and Tom's lifts would pass in some of the big powerlifting federations in the states...but here extra emphasis on form will bring more white lights than brute strength !!! look for Wade to do fine lifting in the future !
he sure has the power !! and the Big Numbers are just a meet away !
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| My friend Nancy Carpenter did very well in winning her class with a 72.5 KG Bench press--she is ever improving and believe it or not--I know she'll do an astounding 90 kgs by the end of the year !!--realize this is another PR in this association.. Nancy always satisfies BCPA's High judging standards !--I was amazed as i watched the first flight of bencher Nancy was out lifting many of the men that day...I think 8 or 9 men came out before Nancy took her first attempt..good work Nancy !
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| Olympic Gold medalist in wrestling Daniel Igali was in attendance he won his medal in Sydney in 2000--He lives in BC and is originally from Nigeria...it was wonderful to see him come support the local lifters !
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| The Khalsa school held a packed house for this event and provided delicious Indian food, free of charge for the audience and lifters --this hospitality is a first for Powerlifting and every effort by the volunteers to put on a great day of lifting helped the BCPA expose our sport to an audience...many, who had never seen this type of event before...this effort is noted and appreciated by all who know how difficult it is to put on such an event !!
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| Bob Bradshaw a fine Bencher and tireless coach brought a team of lifters from Chilliwack to compete,among them Jane Smith who lifted to qualify for the Nationals--here they are enjoying the rest of the festivities !
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Here's Nancy Carpenter again standing with the late Andre' the Giant.....oh no...wait... that's Paul Wells who benched 137.5 kilos and had some near misses with 145 (319 lbs) both won 1st in their divisions... when the results are printed they will be here at the BCPA website to view !
What's Next ??? ----
I am taking care to train my bench press maximally for the CPU Nationals to be held April 7th to 10th in Calgary --read about it here. I have my eyes set on 2 IPF Masters Bench Press World records --I will enter the the 3 lift Powerlifting meet and the Single lift meet and hope to break both world marks by a substantial amount of weight !!
Soon you'll see reports of WABDL west coast meets with myself --Nancy and Bruce Everett Competing--I believe Tom Horlitz and Wade Quayle ... and even Paul Wells will give the varied WABDL summer season meets a go...of course it all culminates when the WABDL Worlds happens in November at the amazing Reno Hilton..700 lifters are assured to attend this event ...WABDL now has a full and huge roster of Canadian records and Myself,Nancy and Bruce are among the record holders...Colin Bonneau ..Mark Freedman..Joel Thiessen and Jody Cranston are others you may know in Canada to have set new marks for this association !
Coming soon to Powerlifting USA, Gus Rethwisch is penning his list of the best Masters Benchers ever..in an article to come out in April --tentatively I've made that TOP 6 list and will be featured in this piece by the WABDL President--Movie star and Worlds strongest man competitor..what an honor to be included !
NOW to train big and stay there !!
Lifters... Find a WABDL meet here
stay stunned there will be more here soon !
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