My First Lifting Meet

2014-05-28

In short, I benched 225 for a 10 lbs PR, deadlifted 515 lbs for a 30 lbs PR, my new girlfriend saw me lift for the first time in the most badass setting possible, everyone I’ve seen for the last year at the gym but never actually talked to was hugely supportive, I got a kick-ass new profile photo for Facebook, it was fantastic and I’m high on life!

While this gym is the best around for serious lifters, we’re a small town and didn’t do things by the book — butts came off benches, and bars bounced off of or didn’t touch chests. It didn’t matter much – the strongest people did things correctly. Squats would have been a bigger problem though, which I think is why they just weren’t in this competition. I did go off to the side afterwards and do a rep at 365 lbs though, for a 1105 lbs unofficial total which I was thrilled about.

My overweight backstory:

In 2011 I was 245 lbs at 5’ 10”, 42” waist. I got my weight under control through dieting and jogging, ultimately bringing myself down to a < 34” waist, 169 lbs, with a 10 km record time of 44:51. Once I lost the weight, after encouragement from friends and the lifechangingly helpful /r/fitness FAQs, I decided to give it a shot putting on some muscle, starting StrongLifts last March. I felt a little silly on day 2, squatting with 2.5 lbs plates on the bar, but I stuck with it! After a few months I had a minor elbow injury, then a couple months later a minor hip injury, but I kept with it, and since December I’ve added dips, pull-ups, curls, and planks to my routine, and have been consistently hitting the gym 6 hours a week.

Now I’ve started a cut and incorporated some cardio in preparation for my second Tough Mudder, coming up June 21, and I can’t wait!

More from those years: strongest at 209 lbs (photos), the 515 lb deadlift on video, and later lifts — 665 deadlift, four-plate squat.