![THE STATE OF POWERLIFTING [HD VIDEO INCLUDED]](https://www.elitefts.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/IMG_773011.jpg)
The MONSTER GARAGE GYM/MAROSCHER COACHING LOG is a weekly Coaching Log by MGG owner, 2-Time WPC World Powerlifting Champion, Eric Maroscher, and is one of the Featured Coaching Logs at EliteFTS.
LIVE, LEARN and PASS ON.
MONSTER GARAGE GYM is one of the premier powerlifting gyms in the US.
Monster Garage Gym/Maroscher Coaching Log: (Log number LXX). “The State Of POWERLIFTING”
*NEW MGG COACHING LOG POSTED HERE EVERY WEEKEND!!!!
________________________________________
As with the famous quote about Mark Twain’s death, we say, “Reports of the death of powerlifting have been greatly exaggerated” as well. The 2016 APF IL State Powerlifting Championship with its 250 lifters is a great example of that exaggeration of said demise.
Sycamore High School, 2016 APF IL State Powerlifting Championships venue. Photo courtesy of MGG
The 2016 APF IL State Powerlifting Championship was a monster two day event. In total, competing was a packed roster of nearly 250 powerlifters, two 12 hours days of competition, 2 platforms, 2 sets of judges, 2 sets of spotters and loaders, 2 sets of tables each manned 3 meet officials running the computers, serving as expediters, running the meet and a packed house of supporters wildly cheering for these lifters.
Amy Jackson of the WPC/APF. Photo courtesy of MGG
This meet was steeped in detail as all of the WPC/APF meets run by Amy Jackson are. The venue, Sycamore High School was great as the warm up room and competition area were close to each other for convenience, but far enough away from one another where you could concentrate while in either location at the task at hand. For the lifters, the services of Monster Pixel were available. (Meet directors tip of the day: The gang at Monster Pixel is a great option as the lifters get the highest quality photos but of equal importance, this service allows for you to rope off the lifting area right behind the judges but in front of the audience so that space is not packed full of everyone’s mom, sister, friend and the neighborhood dog trying to snap a photo of their lifter with their iPad, smart phone, etc. Non-lifters as well as newbie lifters will never fully understand how in the way they are of the expediters, coaches, lifters and spectators when they are trying to take photos. If you are a meet director, here is their contact information:https://www.facebook.com/MonsterPixelpd?fref=ts and Casey.MonsterPixelpd@gmail.com ).
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmO5jf3Hncg&feature=youtu.be]
In my “real life” as an assistant principal who works in a high school, I took note of the facility as well as the custodians and maintenance folks working the event. 250 or so powerlifters over a two day period all in one venue can truly make a mess and this facility, restrooms, and restroom supplies were always stocked and there was constant cleaning up of baby powder, empty drink containers as well as the trashcans were being emptied all the time. Truth be told, the only time you notice custodial services at an event is when they are not there or doing a poor job. Big props to these custodial folks who were working hard to keep the venue clean and sanitary for the lifters.
Squat Prep: Photo courtesy of MGG
As with every meet, there were a few scares with spotting, but for the big weights, the seasoned APF judges allowed for the bigger lifters to have their own crew spot for them. This was key as some of the spotters were a little inexperienced. The younger spotters worked their tails off spotting and loading, but some things only experience can prepare you for. In Illinois, the land of Lincoln, Frantz and Coan, we all know each other’s lifting crew and when the judges are also familiar with the crews that can help out at a meet like this. When needed, the big Illinois meets can always count on the powerlifters from the major powerlifting gyms like Jakked, Barbell Central, Monster Garage Gym, 2XP Powerlifting, etc. This is the bonus of a tight-knit powerlifting community. Illinois (with it’s history of Frantz and Coan, much like Ohio with Simmons and Tate) is a hot bed for some of the best powerlifters on the planet and that only serves to help at the packed house meets like this one.
Team EliteFTS' Brandon Smitley at the APF IL State Powerlifting Championships. Photo courtesy of MGG
In the two days I saw just two mis-loads, both of which were caught prior to the lifters’ attempts, and when you are pushing through 125 powerlifters per day for two consecutive days, having few delays and issues is key, and the folks running the meet kept this train running smoothly for the duration.
Some members of the Monster Garage Gym/Maroscher Powerlifting Team. Photo courtesy of MGG
For a huge event like this, there is always room for improvement. The only constructive criticism would be the weigh-in issues. The weight in’s took in some cases 3 hours with lifters waiting in line who had not eaten and were dehydrating to make weight. Additionally, not having weigh-ins the day before forced some lifters to miss work and that is something worth pondering, especially with some lifters not having that luxury to miss work, thus they had to skip the meet. Those two very fixable issues aside, this meet was spectacularly run.
MONSTERETTES JuJu (1st place), Mz. Dawn (Best Lifter) with Jon Smoker trophies. Photo courtesy of MGG
The awards for the APF in Illinois are always worthy of the effort as Jon Smoker (long time APF RAW competitor) is the man who creates these awards. Most newbies know Jon from the awards, but the seasoned lifters know Jon as he is an excellent powerlifter who has decades of wins and big numbers to show for it.
An APF meet in Illinois is not complete without the presence of The Godfather of Powerlifting and founder of the APF, and we were all lucky at this meet because on day 2 of the competition, Ernie Frantz, The Godfather himself arrived. Ernie has forgotten more about powerlifting than most could hope to know in two life times. I always feel honored to steal a few moments with the great Ernie Frantz and he always seems to teach me something new, even after all of these years.
FRANTZ Disciples Maroscher and Brock. (Eric Maroscher, Owner MGG/WPC World Powerlifting Champion, left) (WPC World Powerlifting Champion, Steve Brock, right). Ernie Frantz, middle. Photo courtesy of MGG
Something I have noticed over the past 3-4 years, there has been a growing number of Xfitters at the APF Illinois meets. The numbers are always about 20-25 but the thing that caught my eye this time is the fact that these are not new Xfitters, but the same Xfitters year after year. Not only that, some of these folks were putting up some respectable numbers. Yes, in general they treat this like a social event with more hugs and high fives than is probably warrented, yes in general they don’t have a grasp of the history of this sport, and yes to a zillion other quirky things, but the bottom line for me is, they are not just competing, but they are competing each year, training for the meets and they even had a 600LB puller this year. We have all seen the Xfit fails videos, and those vids are pretty ridiculous, but I see some fails right here in powerlifting too. Lifters with only a meet or two under their belt, yet who are starving themselves into a weight class, lifters taking their opener in the warm up room, newbies putting the baby powder in the chalk bin, lifters picking an opener that at best should have been a third attempt, etc. So, my hats off to these folks as I truly feel that Xfit is in many cases a feeder program for the great sport of powerlifting.
The APF Illinois State Powerlifting Championship has always been a big event, as well as a tradition in the APF, but this year, with some 250 lifters shows that “Reports of the death of powerlifting have been greatly exaggerated.”
Powerlifting in 2016 is alive and well and growing!!!! Congratulations to all those lifters, spotter, loaders, officials and fans who made it out to this powerlifting tradition, the APF IL STATE POWERLIFTING CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!!!
MEET FOOTAGE FILMED IN HD.
If you like our coaching log content, please peruse the MONSTER GARAGE GYM online store and consider buying a MONSTER GARAGE GYM and/or Monsterette shirt: http://shop.monstergaragegym.com/
As with all of our coaching logs, if you have questions about any of the information or need further explanation, feel free to message us on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/MONSTER-GARAGE-GYM-122378057784944/
You can find ALL of the prior EliteFTS/Maroscher Coaching Logs at this link: https://www.elitefts.com/author/eric-maroscher/
________________________________________
As always, thank you for following EliteFTS and the MONSTER GARAGE GYM. We hope you find this coaching log as a whole of use to you in your training. Please let us know by your comment(s) if these logs are useful to you and what we can do to make the better. If you like them, we would appreciate it if you would share them. Ever Onward, Eric Maroscher.
________________________________________
You can follow Monster Garage Gym at:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/MONSTER-GARAGE-GYM/122378057784944
https://twitter.com/MonsterGarageGy
http://instagram.com/monstergaragegym
https://www.youtube.com/user/MPTPowerlifting
http://www.monstergaragegym.com/
http://shop.monstergaragegym.com/
1. 1 monolift in the warm up room. There were two flights warming up at the same time. And I don't believe there were even any other squats bars available.
2. The hour long break between squats and bench on a Sunday.
3. Crowd control - there were too many people standing in front of the platforms to watch (not video) without moving for the whole flight.
4. Disorganization behind the platforms. This again involved too many people standing around talking and not their to coach. Trying to get a lifter to the platform was terrible.
5. I will leave the spotting alone but more trustworthy spotters need to be used.