Thanks for the advice.
A few opinions:
Grow into the 165's, then the 181's, then the 198's, ect. Lifting weights is about gaining muscle SIZE and strength. Look into Ed "King" Coan's career as an example.
Spectacular squat depth!!! If I had had as much trouble locking out the 2nd squat attempt, I'd have passed on the 3rd. They give you 3 attempts, you don't have to take them. It may (or may not) have factored in to your later back problems. You don't want to go into the deadlifts with an injured back.
Work on bar speed off of the floor in the deads. At the meet try dive bombing (my preference), or pumping your thighs up and down to generate a plyometric effect (like Andy Bolton).
Spectacular video quality and camera positioning. I envy that!
Great job. Thanks for sharing...
-I really should go up in size, I think it will benefit me a lot. I wanted to do a 1000 total at 148, and I wanted to do a triple bodyweight deadlift raw (which would be 435 @ 148), but those goals might get pushed aside in favor of the fact that I'm just a better powerlifter heavier.
-Good point about the 3rd attempt on the squat. I guess the rationale was that the 2nd attempt was with a loose belt, maybe with it tighter on the 3rd, I'd hit another. In retrospect, probably not the best idea.
-My speed off the floor is definitely my biggest problem with my deadlifts. I have a very strong upper back - if I get the bar to my knees, it snaps up the rest of the way (like it does in the 391..soo close to the spot on the 402). I need to work on popping up off the floor.
-The girlfriend took the videos. I'm amazed she sat through the whole meet. Almost as hard as what I did
Nice job, Deeko. Those are some nice numbers at 148. One thing I noticed in the squat is that you still seem to "break" at the hips, meaning, your back comes down so much during the squat, making it much more difficult to get the weight back all the way up. Is there any way that you can assume a more upright position in the squat? That way you have to do less back work and can drive with your glutes and hammies more.
Its largely a flexibility issue. Especially with a lot of weight on the bar, I struggle to remain upright in the hole, especially with a wider stance like I use. Something I need to work on....
One more thing. You like myself, are cursed with disproportionately long arms. Assuming you're already using a 32" (max allowed) grip during the Bench, you're only chance of decreasing the range of motion (you're arch seems near maximal already) is to increase the size of you upper torso. That means rip cage expansion. Deep breath pullovers "might" have a small benefit as your rip cage might still be pliable enough for expansion. But mostly you're going to have to increase the thickness of your pecs, traps, and lats - then learn to tuck the lats under your back - via rotating your scapula inward - i.e. under your body.
Side note: Obviously it's preferred to gain muscle size over fat mass, but don't under estimate the benefit of body fat in improving lifting leverages. I often times quick bulk 20 pounds during my pre contest peak, just to drop it post contest for health and aesthetic reasons.
My opinions are just that, and not intended to be critical in nature. You're already double body weight squatting and deadlifting - both worthy of praise and respect.
Power on...
Yea, its kinda sad actually, someone short like me you'd expect to have short arms and thus a great bench. Unfortunately, my arms are long for my small height, and my lack of flexibility prevents me from really getting in to a huge arch. So my bench stroke is pretty long. Your tips are good though - the shorter bench stroke is another reason I think I'd be a much better lifter (bencher especially) at the 165s or 181s. I'm working on my bench form, and tucking my lats in and all that, but I'm not quite there yet. Need more work on that. I'm not competing again until December so I have some time to bulk up and to improve on these issues. I may go to gear in December, I haven't decided yet. Since my sticking point is towards the bottom of all of my lifts, I think I'd get a lot out of it.