The third edition of the TSF Team Champs is set to take place on March 12th. Camaraderie, teamwork and the social aspect of sport have always been fundamental pillars and values that we’ve strived to uphold at TSF, and nothing highlights that more than the Team Champs.

I’d like to unpack with you a little history, some stories and some of the reasons why we think running the Team Champs is so damn important.

Training for a powerlifting meet can be so much fun and can really encourage you to push hard in your training. You see all of your hard work come together as you step on the platform. You have a blast making friends in the warm up room and making some noise on your stage.

Then the bar hits the floor after your final lift. Now what?

The “post-comp blues” are a very common experience. Many lifters will report less consistent and less productive training in this post-competition period, which sucks. How you approach your off-season training is just as, if not more important than slamming your meet prep. This is where we lay our foundations.

So how can we set ourselves up for a productive off-season, rather than sinking deep in to the post-comp blues, and the lousy training that comes with it?

I competed a few weeks ago at the JPS Spring Showdown. It was an insanely fun day; the most fun I’ve ever had at a competition. I made some good lifts. I also made some shocking mistakes.

Each time I compete, I always have a period of self-reflection where I go through what I did well, what could have been better, my future competition aspirations, how I want to train on the other side of comp and any ideas for my training that I’d like to flag with my coach.

Here are my reflections from the JPS competition. Perhaps you learn from my mistakes. Or perhaps this just prompts some more reflective practices in you.

In a couple of weeks time, I’ll be hitting the platform in my 32nd powerlifting contest. Seven weeks before this meet, I flew to Singapore and the Philippines on a 23-day holiday. In that time, I trained three times — and one of those sessions was a dumbbell only workout in a hotel gym.

So it’s fair to conclude that I won’t be achieving anything spectacular at this upcoming meet. I won’t be in my best physical condition and I won’t be hitting any PBs. That said then, why am I doing it?

I’ve been strength/barbell training for almost eight years now. That sounds like a really long time, and it feels like it. I have learned a lot in my time in the gym. That sounds really philosophical, I get it. But I really have learned a lot from pushing my physical and mental limits.

Through all the phases of my life, physical exercise has played some part in it. As a kid, I played basketball and danced. While I didn’t really understand why at the time, I always felt good after a training session so I kept it up. When we played a tough game, or had a hard dance practice, the feeling of being able to push through the pain - physical and otherwise - gave me an unparalleled feeling of accomplishment.

As for my journey in to powerlifting, let me break it down in to timeline order for you

Powerlifting is a strength sport in which athletes practice the disciplines of the squat, the bench press and the deadlift. The total weight lifted across the three lifts are ranked against other athletes in the same weight class. The athlete who has the highest total in the weight class wins the competition.

It sounds pretty dry on paper, right? But many of us have found a huge amount of love for the sport. That’s not just because we’re strong and have won some big trophies. Our love for powerlifting comes from a lot more than our three-lift total.

I’ve learned a lot through powerlifting. Here’s where some of my love comes from.

I first wrote a version of this article in mid 2020 on my personal website. It is one of my most-read articles. With so many changes in the Australian Powerlifting landscape over the last two years, it is due for a refresh.

In contemplating entering your first powerlifting competition you probably have a lot of questions: What are the rules? What do I need to wear? How much does it cost? What does the belt do? What’s with the suit?

This is not a comprehensive guide, nor is it designed to replace the role of your coach in educating you on how to prepare and what to expect. Rather, my hope is that this article will give you a little more insight in to how competitions run, and some things to consider in preparation.