I've been working with Sam for close to three years now. She first hired me when I was working as a 1-on-1 trainer because she was interested in powerlifting. We spent our 1-on-1 time together perfecting her technique and preparing her for her first meet. When we both felt like she was ready, she transitioned to online coaching. I knew from the first day I met Sam that she would do well in powerlifting, along with a strong base, she's also very determined.
It had been a year since her last competition, and she really stepped up her game in training. I could tell she broke through many mental barriers and was overall much more confident under the bar.
The result was going 8/9 with a 115lb increase in her total. She finished with a 396lb squat, 187lb bench and 391lb deadlift. This is a HUGE accomplishment, congratulations Sam!

I asked her to reflect on the prep and meet day. Below are her own thoughts on how everything went.

 

Going into this meet I was really looking to see where I could take my squat to!

I hadn’t competed in over a year, and have had some ups and down in the past year as far as my motivation. Starting a new job, driving all over the city, and I didn’t have a set end time, so my days were never the same.

By January I had finally established my work life and was ready to get back into the game, though still found it hard to find the motivation to get to the gym. I’ve always excelled more when there’s some accountability. Many of my friends seemed to have moved away or found a different gym, and I was finding it hard to get there on my own.

Training its self was great, but this time around I wasn’t really digging my deadlifts. I’d been finding it difficult to really tighten my upper back and was struggling with a tightness in my right glute. Nothing that prevented me from lifting, but mentally wasn’t helping.

Squats and bench were on point, I’d found my groove and depth in my squat, and through my entire prep was hitting PR after PR. You can see from my meet recap that the process and training really paid off!

I finally came into my benefits through work and took full advantage and got myself some massages. They really helped with the hip and glute tightness, we also worked on my pecs, which apparently are very tight, and causing some internal rotation which could be why I was feeling the lack of tightness in my upper back during deadlifts.

About 3 weeks out, my belt broke and I realized somewhere along with training at different gyms, I’d lost a deadlift slipper... So now I was on the hunt for a new belt. Thankfully my partner Ryan had the same belt albeit a little bit smaller. Between the two of us, we spent hours rolling it out and working it in, so I’d be able to comfortably wear it for the rest of my prep and my meet.

Two weeks out I attempted 385, the belt was pinching everywhere, and it was really messing with my head. I probably walked up to the bar 5 times, trying to get this belt to stop pinching. Well needless to say I failed that rep and called her a day. At this point, I would have been happy with 385 on my deadlift at my meet.

The night before my meet, I wasn’t feeling the best. I had stomach pains, but just put it up to nerves which I wasn’t really feeling mentally.

MEET DAY

I was really looking forward to seeing my friends and was mostly just excited to be lifting.

Squat Warm-Ups went really well.

1- 341 My first attempt could have been better. The floor was incredibly slippery and threw me right off, thankfully it was terribly heavy and I managed through it.

2- 375 2nd was better and I had no doubt that I could do it.

3- 396 3rd, I was pumped I wanted this lift more than anything else that day. Well, 396 felt like an eternity but am sooo so happy with how it went, looking back there was nothing I would have changed about my form. I am so happy with this!

Bench

1- 165 1st attempt went up no problem

2- 187 2nd attempt went up nicely but felt a bit of a cramp in my lower back,

3- 198 3rd attempt hand-off was great and strong and the descent was good, but my back cramped and I wasn’t able to get it up.

A 2pound pr, but 200 is there!

I’d been dreading deadlifts all day, I really didn’t want to do them. Surprisingly they went really well. The bar felt great in my hands, which is always my biggest worry with deadlifts. Over I’m really happy with how they felt. I am really surprised my 391 moved as fast as it did!

1- 341

2- 369

3- 391

Overall I’m really happy with how the meet went. Would have loved to PR more on my bench, but it’s there and I totaled exactly what I wanted to! I think our crew won for the biggest of the day! Each person that day played such an important role in my success and I’m so unbelievably proud of them, and thankful for their love.