Date: Thu, 03 Sep 1998 12:55:06 EDT From: Thomas A Anderson Subject: apf n.h. push/pull meet i went to a push/pull meet this past weekend in new hampshire, put on by the apf. it was fairly small and while it did not have a raw division, i thought it might be a good way for me to break into raw competitions. the bench and deadlift were separate meets and obviously there were at least twice as many benchers. i decided to drop to the 181lb class since my recent bodyweight has been hovering at about 190lb. 10 days out from the contest when i started taking creatine i discovered my weight had jumped to 194lb. i was also silly enough to wait until 6 days prior to the meet to start cutting weight. but when i weighed in friday night- 180lb. i think it was the most painful thing i have done for a while. i would not recommend this type of action to anyone. for the week before the contest, i ate a whole lot less and cut my water intake. i also biked for 1 hour every morning before eating. friday i got up late, weighed myself. i was still a couple pounds off so i biked and then refrained from eating until weigh-ins. after weigh-ins was a whole different story. homemade tortellini alfredo never tasted so good. (if anyone wants the recipe..........but that is for another time). the meet started pretty late on saturday so that was a plus. i was a bit wired friday night, i am not sure if it was just nervousness or my body was going wild with all the food i had taken in. anyways, the bench contest was first. i had a couple of people in my weight class. since i was not using a shirt i went a conservative 325 on my first attempt. it flew off my chest. i heard someone yell 'put some weight on that bar'. it felt way too easy. second attempt, 365lb was pretty easy. it was what i wanted, double bodyweight. i missed my 3rd attempt, 375lb. i should have had it. i had trouble focusing. i was pleased to get 1st in bench despite everyone else using bench shirts. i was the only one in my weight class deadlifting. i got 480lb, 525lb (10lb pr) and missed my third attempt at 535lb. i have been doing some rack deadlifts after normal deadlifts, starting right below my sticking point. also, i have been doing high pulls, to help with my explosion and momentum from the start. i think both helped my deadlift. my sticking point for my 3rd attempt was higher than normal, i think momentum and explosion from the bottom got me through my normal sticking point and then it just died. i was so close to the top but i just could not get my hips in. i am glad i did the meet raw. i am ready to do a 3 lift raw meet if i can find one in the area in november or december. unfortunately, it is my squats which are going to suffer the most without the aid of all the supportive gear. Thomas A Anderson