The first competition I promoted and training for the Worlds

All B&W photos courtesy and property of  Riku Ritamaki

Paimio Power Weekend and my own training

Time has passed and it is now due for me to recap the recent months!

After my marriage, acceptance to University and official move to UK, time has been running like a Somali after unemployment benefit! I have been to Texas, ran a relatively large powerlifting competition in Finland, have been part of a few in UK, studied, trained, coached and above all spent time with my lovely wife. So, rather good (note the word “good”, not “easy”) times and now heading towards the World Championships in Portugal.

Not all sunshine of course, money is scarce for a student and in the beginning of the week I had very bad news that require a visit to Finland. But all in all, life is good, I am still alive and loved by at least few, so no complaints!

Let’s dissect a little, starting in this instalment on the comp I pulled off:

Paimio Power Weekend:

Pictures

Finally, being part of many competitions in one form or another, I hosted one, first time as the actual promoter. And of course I did not start out small to gain experience etc. I set my aims high and wanted to host the biggest Pro comp in Finland this year, wanted lifters to set records and lift obnoxiously large numbers, wanted to attract new lifters, wanted to hand out money, wanted to support charity, wanted to involve the community of my hometown, wanted to add in extra show, prize money, sponsors and fun!

Press coverage, positive image for the sport, everything!

Everything and now!

And I came to Finland one day prior to the comp...

Well, how did it go? 

To put it in one word, stressful. But to put it another way, a success. Not the World Championships, but a large, two-day comp that got media coverage in 7 different newspapers, gathered hundreds of spectators, Around 40 first-time lifters and a host of novice and of course the experienced on their own day. All in the settings of a sports hall of my petite hometown of Paimio.

Ano and Minna Turtiainen of Metal Sport and Wear were also in attendance, refereeing and representing Metal

I worked in collaboration with a local sports group and we gathered money for their youth team, and most importantly we had a really positive articles in newspapers, attracting attention, in a good way. And I did all in my power to get the attention, as this video, filmed 2 days before the comp as a last advertisement, tells:

Everyone was excited about the novice comps, which are not typical in Finland. And this and much else I owe to Emma, she really did help me out with many aspects, but first and foremost set the example with BPU on how important and rewarding it is to focus on new lifters.

Esko "Iron Grandpa" Ketola, former head coach of IPF Finland, 5-time World Champion coaching a novice competitor Tiia "Myy" Weckman

That is the future, and they always bring something new to the table in a unique way that sometimes is missing from the more seasoned lifters. So thank you once again to my beloved, patient wife. She let me do the mistakes I needed to do and stood aside and supported as she does with everything I do.

In the comp we had many highlights, from Faisal Hercules, 16-year old BPU lifter making his entrance to International competition alone and far from his family, to hard-fought, standing ovation inducing lifts made by lifters of all weight, age, gender and experience classes.

Faisal, who had a hard competition but who finally made it after nearly bombing out. A young man with dedication and spirit.

The most publicised achievements were probably Zahir Khudayarovs all-time records. He squatted more than any man before him in raw with knee wraps class, all weight classes included. He also did the 125kg weight class all-time biggest total and the second biggest total ever. Quite a spectacle!

We had weights on the bench up to 390kg equipped and 260 RAW, 350-380kg pulls in 110kg class RAW and national records broken in many age and weight classes.

Zahir with 472.5kg of iron on his back

Also, I am obliged to mention the bench press for reps challenge, done feet in the air and Raw, which my wife won and I, ashamed to admit, lost!

Rules dictate men do reps with their bodyweight and women with two thirds of their weight, and I only got 19 reps wit the 115kg. I have to put that one up to tiredness. Or some other excuse, as long as I don’t have to admit my failures!

Well, the smaller men did more reps, and when a guy hit 37 reps, everybody thought the game is over. But Emma entered the comp with high-heels, without warm-up straight from the refs seat, having weighed in earlier, and actualy got by mistake 2.5kg too much weight on the bar. She smashed 39 reps out and I put everyone else in shame. Well, at least I saved in the prize money! 

(Before somebody takes up the fact that I did not pay the prize money to my wife, I have to add she refused it)

Laughing and talking to the audience before the winning performance. No doubt motivated only to show off to her husband!

All in all a great weekend, even though many things I do want to do better next time. But it is a learning curve, at least I didn’t start the learning by being conservative and running a low-risk, low-stress comp suitable for a full-time student. That wouldn’t have suited my style.

Instead I overreached a bit for my timetables and monetary situation and went for a sex life jeopardizing, traveling requiring, long hours demanding comp that was financially unsure. But I’m glad that I did, it was an experience, and I have had many thanks afterwards. As fasr as thnak yous are considered, the most generous was being chosen to host the single lift Nationals of Finland next year!

Doing the final scores on Sunday with Emma

Thank you once again to all my sponsors and all competitors, and especially the help I received. Will not go on to describe everyone, because doing that would mean that I forget many, and piss off all of them. All who contributed deserve a great big thank you on my behalf and on behalf of the sport for this one small step towards making it more popular in Finland.

One of the sponsors

My own training

Do I even train? Yes I do, 5 times a week, no matter what country or city I am in. Most sessions we do together with my wife, but we have our individual training programs, sometimes ones that are tweaked and changed on the run. Many similarities in them enable us to train together rather efficiently.

I am going to incorporate martial arts elements to my training after the Worlds, but for now (and for some time now) I am training like this:

Monday: Bench (recently only 140 raw and then shirted to 290-340 depending on the week), assistance+stretching exercises for chest, with Andy Boltons team in Leeds when possible

Tuesday: Lockouts in the power rack (In recent weeks up until 200-240kg, depending on the feel for reps or singles),  assistance+stretching exercises for arms

Wednesday: Easier day, light long sets of behind the neck pressing (50-65kg) for mobility, then Arnold presses (7x48kg now the heaviest set) and other pumping movements for shoulders.

Thursday:Back, starting with partial deadlifts for sets of 10 (up to 250) and then multiple assistance movements, geared towards benching of course

Friday: Legs, starting with squats, usually around 180-200kg for singles to be properly warmed up and then longer sets (recently 19x150 with out belt the best), and then more by the feel.

This gives a good flexibility in the training. If we miss a session, there is Saturday and Sunday to add it in, and if we have a good week with good recovery it is possible to add in extra Saturday session and still have Sunday off before the “Big Day” of benching.

Not the most conventional of approaches, but works for now and is good for me because I do like to bodybuild a little and keep the integrity of the body by training with multiple movements. Not suited for most I think, and actually far from what I usually advocate for my own trainees. But you have to have an open mind for different things. Off-season will look again very different with the martial arts thrown in etc.

That is it for now, in the next installment I will actually stop talking about myself for once, and introduce a couple of my trainees, two of whom did a competition debut in the aforementioned Paimio Power Weekend!

Arttu, one of the crew I coach, doing his first meet with a bench shirt, only getting to try on a shirt for the first time 2 days before.

Until next time!