Over the weekend we had the pleasure of attending the “Barbell and Peaches – Girls Only Powerlifting Comp” as a team. The girls got to test out their strength and have some fun along the way with like-minded women.

If you have ever considered doing a powerlifting comp then we will go through what a typical day is like and it will give you some insight into what can be a rewarding experience.

Barbell and Peaches

Arriving to start the day

The competition was ran at PTC Sydney which was a fantastic location for an event that was packed to capacity.

Once the girls became accustomed with the location of important things such as the warm-up area and toilets it was time to weigh-in and select rack heights.

As this was a novice comp the girls weights were taking purely for their own records and there was no pressure to make a specific weight on the day.

In the “Barbell and Peaches” comp you are given 3 attempts at Squat, Bench and Deadlift

The aim is that you are trying to lift the most you can on one of those attempts.

Each lift has a series of commands and rules to make sure that each lift only counts if you get 3 white lights (3 judges = 3 lights).

For a lift to pass you must receive 2/3 white lights which adds to the atmosphere and intensity of the day itself.

After the weigh-ins the girls went to get the rack heights for their squat and bench press, this is when some of the nerves of the day started to set in.

The hardest part can be the waiting on the day and that is there is a real balance between relaxing and making sure you can control your nerves.

A good way to get in the zone can be going through any stretches and mobility work that you need before the day starts.

The Briefing

On the day you will complete the squat , bench and deadlift and each lift has a series of commands that run through starting the lift all the way to racking the weight and ending the lift.

The briefing is a good opportunity to go through the rules

It helps you understand what is expected of you for each lift and  the commands ,from the judges, that you will receive.

If you look closely you can see the pink tights and that is one of our girls right up the front 🙂

Once the briefing is over it is now time to continue to the lifts.

1.Squats

Squats can be one of the hardest lifts and luckily they are up first. Depending on how much you will be lifting on the day your warm-up can take about 20-30 minutes.

As this was the first lift the girls felt nervous and being able to get stuck into their warm-ups took some of the nerves away. On the day you lift in a “flight” which is an order of lifters which stays the same while you attempt your 3 attempts.

The warm-ups were complete and it was time for each of the girls to get through their attempts.

Results:

Michelle Thorne: 1st Attempt- 102.5 (SU)  ,2nd Attempt-107.5 (SU) , 3rd Attempt- 110 (UNS)

Caitlyn Barnett:  1st Attempt-102.5 (SU) ,2nd Attempt-110 (SU) ,3rd Attempt-115 (SU)

Nicole Greentree:  1st Attempt-105 (UNS) ,2nd Attempt-110 (UNS) ,3rd Attempt-112.5 (SU)

SU = Successful , UNS = Unsuccessful

2.Bench Press

Second lift of the day was the Bench Press which can be one of the harder lifts due to the amount of calls that must be obeyed during the lift.

For the Bench the calls are – Start > Press > Rack

Each command is given at parts of the lift and must be obeyed to get 3 white lights.

We had some trouble following the commands and received a few no lifts due to red lights.

Results:

Michelle Thorne: 1st Attempt-65kg (UNS) ,2nd Attempt-70kg (SU) ,3rd Attempt-72.5 (UNS)

Caitlyn Barnett:  1st Attempt-57.5 (SU) ,2nd Attempt-62.5 (SU) ,3rd Attempt-65 (SU)

Nicole Greentree:  1st Attempt-65 (UNS) ,2nd Attempt-70 (UNS) ,3rd Attempt-70 (SU)

SU = Successful , UNS = Unsuccessful

3.Deadlifts

Deadlifts is when all the nerves have passed and the girls were really having some fun with the experience.

This lift is when all the distractions have passed and you can just focus on lifting the biggest weight as possible.

Controlling the weight to the floor  to complete the lift is the main rule in Deadlifting .

Results:

Michelle Thorne: 1st Attempt- 115 (SU) ,2nd Attempt- 122.5 (SU) ,3rd Attempt- 130 (SU)

Caitlyn Barnett: 1st Attempt-112.5 (SU) ,2nd Attempt-120 (SU) ,3rd Attempt-127.5 (SU)

Nicole Greentree:  1st Attempt-107.5 (SU) ,2nd Attempt-115 (SU) ,3rd Attempt-120 (SU)

SU = Successful , UNS = Unsuccessful

In the End

In conclusion Powerlifting is not an easy sport and to competing in front of a crowd is never easy.

The girls loved the actual lifting part and setting PB’s (personal bests) on the platform. The hardest part will always be the initial nerves and lifting in a new environment.

Powerlifting is a sport that is open to anyone and events like the Barbell and Peaches novice comp is a really good chance for women to get some experience on the platform.

As a result I know I also speak for the girls when I say we can’t wait for the next one.