The Northern Region Champs took place at HMNB Clyde and this time I entered the competition full power rather than single lift deadlift. I haven’t competed full power for 12-18months and in all honesty I’ve missed it. I’m thankful for my success in deadlift, but competiton days drag when you’re the last to lift at every event, and so today was a welcomed change. I opened my squat with 120kg, followed by 130kg as a second lift and a third successful PB lift of 140kg. This is a huge improvement from my last full power where my PB was set at 120kg. The bench press has always been a weakness of mine and again it showed. I opened at 85kg to the progress to 90kg as a second successful lift but failing my 3rd lift at 92.5kg. Any hints and tips for those of us with longer leavers would be greatly appreciated. Finally the deadlift, which is always a favorite of mine for obvious reasons and thankfully I had last weeks combined services to base my lifts upon. I opened at 200kg, opted for 215kg as my second lift and 220kg for my third lift, to which I was successful. A better performance since the last 2 competitions and after weighing in at 73.3kg I’m back up to 3x body weight.

Although the majority of lifters at today’s comp were new to the sport, I’m pleased that I won overall and with my own lifts. It’s the kick I’ve needed to get me back into the sport and hopefully I can progress from here on and be successful at British Nationals next year.

Last week was the combined services champs, this year being hosted by the Army but due to a problem with their venue it took place at RAF Shawbury. I was lucky enough to be selected again for the Navy team as a single lift deadlifter, weighing in @73.3kg.

After my disappointment at Worlds, my training and diet slumped slightly and it took me a while to snap out of it and get myself back in the gym. As such I went to combined services not really knowing where my 1RM was and so I played it quite conservative, opening at 200kg. I lifted this quite comfortably and opted for 215kg as my second lift, to which I was successful. After some discussion with the Navy team manager I went for 227.5kg as my third lift, which I failed. I can make excuses all day long and there are other factors that come in to play with why my form has been poor, but ultimately its my own fault and it comes down to poor diet and lack of training.

After a successful British Nationals, and qualifying for the World champs I had just 8 weeks to prepare for the biggest challenge to date within my powerlifting career. I am pleased to announce that I finished 2nd and can proudly say that I am the 2017 World Number 2 for deadlift within the 75kg catergory of the World Drug Free Powerlifting Association (WDFPA)

However, on a personal level, I had a poor performance and after some reflection there were a few reasons why.

The Nationals gave me great confidence, pulling a PB and setting a new Navy record of 230kg, while narrowly missing out on 235kg. My expectations were high for Worlds and my aim was to hit that 235kg. Unfortunately this didn’t happen, and after a successful opener of 215kg I jumped to 230kg and failed it twice. My rest week leading up to the comp was tied in with a wedding in Aya Napa, not ideal! Although I restricted myself to only 2 nights of drinking, this is far from what I should be doing in the lead up to a world championship! However, I was the best man and it was just poor timing, something of which I couldn’t really help.

I opted to continue with a bulk after nationals and really struggled to cut the weight. This was poor planning and I think played a massive part in my poor performance. Prior to nationals I had always maintained my BW below 75kg and this allowed me to continue dieting relatively carefree. I felt that a bulk would help give me that extra bit of strength to pull the 235kg, which if I had managed, would of given me 1st place. This was not the case and my poor planning meant that I was still cutting on my rest week, where I should of been carbing up and flooding my muscles with glycogen ready for the big day. Instead I went into the competition relatively depleted of energy and although I had 2 hours after weigh in to eat, it was way too late. In previous competitions I have had a 3 day carb load and I am a big believer in the benefits that this can bring, especially because of the energy demands that are forced upon us during a day of lifting.

I also struggled with being on my own, nearly everyone had some sort of support, which makes a huge difference. For me I appreciate the advice and second pair of eyes on the opening lift and those there after. Deep down I knew that my opening lift didn’t feel as comfortable as it should have and I shouldn’t of jumped to 230kg. But I was heart set on a new PB and Navy record of 235kg, which was my downfall and another lesson learnt.

All in all, I learnt a lot in terms of competition prep and competition discipline, with regard to listening to my gut and not my own expectations. It was an absolute privilege to represent the UK in sport and we did come away with a British 1st and 2nd within the 75kg category. Along with a UK overall win. I appreciate everyone’s support over the last year and I’m looking forward to improving on last years performances. Eat plenty, and lift heavy!