Why do jocks do it? Participation in powerlifting competitions. Personal experience

Champion’s expert wellness coach Andrei Semeshov on why you should definitely participate in competitions:

Up until November 2018, I participated in sports competitions exactly zero times. And that was my big mistake. I’ve corrected it. You have a great opportunity to not repeat it!

Struggle for motivation

Admittedly, it’s hard for me to say how many years I’ve been doing strength sports. About 15 years, I guess. Maybe a little more, maybe a little less. But I definitely remember the excitement and anticipation of each training in the first couple of years, when there was a novelty factor in everything: in the body’s reaction to the load, and in new knowledge, and in new friends.

Then the novelty effect started to wear off. Fortunately, by that time, going to the gym had managed to become a habit. But here’s the thing – as soon as some load becomes habitual for our body, it adapts to it. And tries its best to maintain the status quo.

And it looks like this: you come to the gym, at first (1-2-3 years) you progress quite steadily, especially if you bring your nutrition in order. And the next “ten” years, if changes will occur, they will be almost imperceptible.

Go to the “dark side”: anabolics and protein cans.

At this stage, some guys (and sometimes even the fair sex), by the way, turn to the so-called dark side – anabolic steroids. Explaining to themselves that they have exhausted their “genetic potential”. Although in the vast majority of cases it is not about genetics at all, but about the need to modify and intensify loads, revise nutrition, rest regime and many other things. But change is always difficult, so we subconsciously strive to avoid it.

However, most people are prudent and prefer not to get involved in the hormonal background. They go to the gym, buy cans of protein and stay plus or minus in the same conditions. Which is great in itself, but…

Why the hell am I going to the gym?

… But I once asked myself a question: why the hell do I go to the gym for years, but if you look at the results, for example, in the bench press, they fluctuate approximately in the same ranges? Yes, once there was an excitement to press “hundred”, then – 120. Then the fervor waned a lot. Well, if I press 150 or 170, or, say, 115 – what does it change? Nothing, I checked. So where to get motivation, to overpower myself every time, to try to squeeze out a little more at every training session? You can’t get the thoughts out of your head: “You’re not 20 or 30 years old anymore, you’ve only recently healed your shoulder, your friends won’t squeeze the barbell lock from your chest, so why do you kill yourself so much?”.

Luckily for me, in one of the halls I met Vladislav Khadzhiev, a champion and medalist of various tournaments in powerlifting and bench press. He was just getting ready for another competition and was running group classes at the same time. I came to one training session, the second. And then it clicked in my head: “What’s stopping me from setting a goal and competing?”.

Competitions: when the reasons to feel sorry for yourself are over

It turned out that for amateurs like me, there are a lot of federations in various areas – from bodybuilding among the members of, for example, a network of fitness clubs, and ending with kettlebell lifting. You choose a tournament, pay the entry fee (the amounts are often quite humane) and start preparing.

Was I afraid to enter the first competition in my life? Very much!

Believe me, the realization that in a couple of months I will go to the competition post (and I chose, of course, on the most “lazy” discipline – bench press) is great energizing. And the thoughts of feeling sorry for yourself, shaking less or not showing up for training at all don’t even arise in your head. Was I scared to enter the first competition in my life? Very much! But as it often happens, all these fears were only in my head, nothing to do with reality.

Amateur championships are attended by exactly the same ordinary “walkers” in fitness centers, but they just figured out the main secret a little earlier: competitions are a great motivation for those who have already, for example, lost weight or pumped up. There are no challenges left in ordinary life. You’re already slimmer than everyone at the class reunion, and your biceps are bigger than those who occupy the neighboring beds on the beach.
So it’s time to challenge yourself and go to your first competition.

It’s quite simple for running enthusiasts – almost everyone who has gone beyond “a couple of runs in the summer while the weather is nice” signs up for marathons sooner or later. So for those who have chosen to train with “iron”, you need to adopt the experience sooner rather than later. Believe me, you won’t regret it!

Tips for beginners from Vladislav Khadzhiev

• The most important thing is to choose your sport. If you have achieved impressive success in bodybuilding, you can find open championships of fitness clubs on “beach bodybuilding and fitness bikini”. Love to bench press – there’s probably someone holding such a tournament in your city in the next couple months. You can compete separately in squats, deadlifts, and even biceps curls.
• Plan your training in advance. You will probably need at least 1.5-2 months to get in peak shape.

• Find a trainer. You are unlikely to be able to adequately assess the level of loads from the first time, choose the periodization, rest enough and “do not burn out by the start”. It is good if the appropriate specialist is in your gym. If not, it’s okay. Today, even participants of pro-tournaments prepare for the start by consulting with a coach exclusively via the Internet.
• Remember that your main opponent is yourself. There is no task to show the whole world that you are the strongest or the “driest” on the stage. Your goal is to exhibit your best form and prove to yourself that you are capable of more than you thought you were capable of.

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