Picking the Opening Poundage - Bill Starr (1970)

 Picking the Opening Poundage - Bill Starr 

Strength & Health April 1970

The Philadelphia Open has built up a reputation throughout the years as the number one contest in the east. The primary reason for its seasonal popularity is that it is the first big open contest of the new year and the lifters are anxious to get in the thick of things and test their training programs. The Philly Open brings out a great audience and, this too, adds to its appeal. The fans that show up in Philly are knowledgeable and extremely responsive to good lifting. The level of competition is also a factor in the meet’s popularity. It is an ideal time to test your skill against some of the best in the nation. It is often referred to as the “Little Seniors” because of the pressure of tight competition. Every year a couple of fellows shine while others fail to meet the crowd’s expectation. The fun at Philly is largely due to the people there. Every official within 250 miles is on hand to assist Steve Stoyan with his show. To name them all would be to go through the AAU roster. And the audience is filled with lifters, some who have been through the course themselves such as Grippaldi, Shephard, and Mills and a large group who are watching and learning from the more experienced.

There is much to be learned from watching. Often one learns by observing the mistakes other’s make. It is often quite wrongly surmised that York lifters are so wise and confident that they never flub. York lifters do, perhaps, have a slight jump over some other lifters because of the high level of competition found in the gym each week, but they are far from being infallible.

Back to the Philly Open for verification. Frank Capsouras, Gary Glenney, and Bob Bednarski have been three of the team’s most consistent performers for the past three years. Yet they all failed out with poundages below what they had done in the past. Bill March missed all of his starting attempts, Jeff Moyer missed his first two snatches. I, too, increased my own anxiety by missing my first two presses. Now comes the question of the hour. If experienced lifters who have lifted on the international stage, such as Bednarski, Glenney, Capsouras, March and Moyer all have, are having problems picking starting attempts, then how can a Class III or Class II lifter expect to be able to pick weights wisely? Tough question. It is a question that plages every international coach and every lifter at every level at every meet.

The advice contained in this month’s “Behind the Scenes” should help you set some realistic guidelines on selecting starting poundages, but it is no guarantee – since the human factor is involved. The following are some of the factors you must take into consideration before putting ain a starting poundage. First of all you must set your starting poundages from what you have done in prior competition and not from what you have done previously in the gym. I say this for two reasons. The one being that a contest has its own set of variables and these variables, such as long delays, added pressure, etc… influences a lift considerably. The other reason is that some lifters do much more in a meet than they could ever hope for in the gym whereas others must make a weight in the gym before accomplishing the same in a contest. Louis Riecke, for example,

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never remotely approached his best in the gym. For him to start with 265 or 270 in the snatch because that was the best he could muster in training would be foolish. Likewise, for Bednarski to start with a weight 20 pounds over what he can make in the gym would be a mistake. So, you must go by competition standards, not training standards. If your best press in a contest is 250, then a safe start would be 235 or 240 regardless of whether you just made 260 in the gym two weeks before.

A second major factor is, of course, your physical condition going into the contest. Have you been making gains? Is your overall strength level up? Are you satisfied with your technique on the three lifts? All of this is important as you approach contest time. And you must realistically consider injuries. Does your injury really slow you down or hurt your lock out? Has your injury curtailed hard training on critical areas such as the legs and back, thus affecting your pull? I said that you must look at your injury or injuries realistically. Some use injuries as an “out” – an excuse to explain poor showing, but this type of lifter never gets far anyway so time will not be wasted on him. An injury to the wrist or shoulder might necessitate a lower starting poundage even though your strength is up, just because of this new variable.

Another factor to consider in picking a starting poundage is the level of competition. This is not to suggest that you should be lazy and pull your starting attempt back to a ridiculous weight when the going is easy, but conversely, one should not sacrifice a win and team points because of a too-high start. You can always jump 20 pounds after you get in the contest. It should be added too, that you may have to start a bit higher if the contest is fierce and the stakes are high since every pound is essential. Bill March started with 360 at Seniors since the stakes was an international trip. At Philly 340 sufficed since a trophy was not as important.

Probably the number one factor to consider when selecting the starting poundage is your warm-ups. You can generally tell whether you are in the groove or not. If the weights feel unusually heavy, then it would be wise to drop the start back. If they are really zinging overhead, then perhaps a higher poundage than previously planned can be taken. I have actually seen cases when a too light poundage for a starting attempt has created more trouble than a slightly heavier one. Bednarski missed a 400 press twice in Monroe last year, moved to 420 and made it smoothly. The 400 was moving so rapidly that he lost his balance. The 420 was heavy enough to make him keep his balance. A lifter that is exceptionally strong on meet day would do well to adjust his start so as not to give anything away. It is extremely commendable to make nine out of nine, but any lifter could do that if he chose to sacrifice top weights. The trick is to make all the attempts and have the last attempt to be an absolute maximum. There’s few things more frustrating than to make a successful third attempt and know you could do 10-15 pounds more – and then end up losing by 5 pounds.

One final factor to consider is your mental attitude for the meet day. If you are bubbling with enthusiasm and confidence you just might turn a mediocre day into a good one. Should you, however, be in a mood of dejection then all the good training, strength, and technique may not make the difference. How to fight dejection and depression is the subject of another article, but at this point you should be wise enough to recognize mental states in yourself.

In summary, selecting a starting poundage is a most difficult task. The rule of thumb I learned was that the opener should be 10-15 pounds under you best (in competition), the second attempt should approximate your best, and the third idealistically should be a shot at a personal record. But all of this has to be considered on a given day. Your previous best in competition, your prior training, your injuries or lack of injuries, your mental state, the level of competition, and your warm-ups on meet day all have to be considered. Taking these factors into consideration might help you finish more contests than you have in the past, but as long as human factors intervene there is no guarantee of success. It has been found that if a lifter starts off well, with successes, he will generally build on this and proceed on to better and better lifts. All the more reason to make that first one.

Enjoy your lifting!