Perspiration could be smelled in the humid air when the doors to the field house opened. A dim roar concealed itself behind stone walls until turning into the weight room, when the hollering of power lifters, coaches and athletic trainers became overwhelming.
The powerlifting team hosted a practice meet in the field house. Powerlifters came to the meet from different MISD schools to prepare themselves for the season. The first meet of the 2015 season will be at Summit on the 21 and 22 of January.
Competitors arrived at 4:30 p.m. ready to work. They received a competitor number that, in lieu of a name, would be written on their cards and called out in the lineup. Almost all the competitors wrote their number on the back of their hand with a sharpie so they couldn’t forget it.
When the meet began, powerlifters went to their assigned station, the first powerlifter at one station sported a Lake Ridge t-shirt, Coach Rahn Smith yelled out a weight and two Legacy students began placing plates on each side of the bar as the powerlifter got into position. A coach from Lake Ridge sat behind the bench press to watch the powerlifter and the same students that loaded the bar got ready to act as spotters.
The powerlifter took a deep breath and started, he began bringing the bar off the rack and slowly lowered it to his chest. “Press!” yelled the Lake Ridge coach sitting behind the powerlifter. The powerlifter fully extended his arms, raising the bar as high as he could, before the command came from the coach, and the bar rested once again on the rack. Helpful criticism flowed from the coach’s mouth, praising the power lifter’s ability to bench so much weight, but offering tips for better hand placement on the bar.
“503 you’re up!” Coach Smith said. “407 you’re on deck, 403 you’re in the hole!”
The power lifter got up and wrote the weight he lifted on his card while another power lifter took his place, when the round of benching ended powerlifters got ready for squats.
“Let’s go you’re up!” Coach Smith said. “503!”
A powerlifter dove on to a bench and hoisted a leg in the air as an athletic trainer grabbed it and hurriedly put a knee wrap on each of his legs. The powerlifter jumped up and ran to his station where his bar had been set with the correct weight, while strapping a powerlifting belt around his middle to protect his back.
“Ready?” The Lake Ridge coach said.
The powerlifter performed his squat and when he finished, the coach gave him tips about how to place his feet to evenly distribute the weight, reminding him his belt should be so tight he must almost not be able to breath, in order to help him.
The tournament continued with two rounds of benching, squatting and deadlifts. When all the powerlifters completed their rounds, they trudged back to their cars and busses, tuckered out, but ready for the coming season.
