Pastor David pressed his way to a 1st Place! - Divorce Minister

Yesterday, I competed in my very first powerlifting competition. It was sanctioned under the UPA Powerlifting federation.

My goal was to break a small national record held for my specific age group and size. I achieved that goal.

For those interested in more details, I have this to say about the event:

Some last minute complications arose as they do.

It was only the second time I actually lifted in the two-ply bench shirt I used Saturday at the competition; although, I had used a similar 3-ply shirt in the past. Since I had familiarity with the 3-ply shirt and had touched in training with this newer 2-ply shirt, my coach and I felt comfortable going forward using the 2-ply shirt.

Another complication was my coach could not make it to the meet. So, I went as a solo lifter. Thankfully, I made new friends there who helped me. The powerlifting community can be rather supportive.

In these competitions, the lifter gets three attempts to complete a successful lift as judged by three judges.

My first attempt was at 567lbs, and I was unable to lift it cleanly in my shirt. Essentially, I could not make it go down far enough to touch and started to dump the weight when the spotters caught it and racked it.

I didn’t loose heart–although, I was second guessing myself a little at this point. I decided I needed more weight to touch in this shirt. So, I went up just a little above the record as a bench shirt sometimes needs to have more weight in order for the competitor to achieve a touch.

My second attempt was successful at 639lbs. It was a new federation record for my age and size. I had achieved my competition debut goal! PTL!!!

But I had one more lift left…

In this last lift, I wanted to make it on the books as an official 700lbs+ bencher. This is something I have achieved in the gym but have not had the chance to make official at a meet, of course. So, I decided to go for 727lbs/330kg.

I took the weight, brought it down, and snapped it up for a successful lift!

So, I broke the record I had just set previously, and now, I set it nearly 100 pounds heavier than it was prior to the meet. It was a very successful day. Below is the short video of me lifting 330kg/727lbs:

There is still a lot to learn in this sport, and I know I have not tapped out my potential. However, I rejoice with this achievement. It earned me a 1st place as you can see in the picture.

I will be getting back to the regular postings in the next few days. Thanks for indulging me in my side hobby by reading this!

-Pastor David aka DM

PS Below is the short video of me lifting 330kg/727lbs: