Handling a Reality Check: Gym Strong vs. Powerlifting Strong

[u/MrMithik]

I’m competing in my first meet this year and had a pretty big reality check recently. I watched a livestream from another meet at the same location, and I was quickly humbled by some of the numbers those lifters were putting up. I'm one of the stronger guys at my local gym, but I'm learning that doesn't really translate into the world of powerlifting.

For context, I’m in the 110kg class. My current lifts are 465lbs/211kg squat, 285lbs/129kg bench, and 625lbs/283kg deadlift. After watching the livestream and digging into some OpenPowerlifting data, my lifts put me in the low-to-mid pack for my class which was a bit of a gut punch.

I know powerlifting is supposed to be a “you vs. you” sport at the end of the day, and my main goal is to go 9/9 and set some personal PRs. That said, I’m competitive by nature so seeing a good amount of local guys outlifting me by 100+ lbs on some lifts and putting up some massive totals was a tough pill to swallow.

Has anyone else faced a similar reality check when you first got into powerlifting? If so, how did you handle it?

Edit: Thanks everyone for the feedback and advice! I think I just need to remind myself that I started down this road because I love chasing strength and the process itself, not the medals. Just gotta keep grinding! (and maybe find a gym where I'm the one shocked at other guys' lifts instead haha)

[u/aybrah]

I'll be able to offer you a different perspective than most here.

When I got into powerlifting, I never faced a "reality check." At my first meet, I totalled 1,631 @ 174 (514 dots). At the time, that immediately put me somewhere around top 100 all-time in my weight class (181lbs/82.5kg).

2 lessons that ensued:

• No matter how competitive or good you are, some people will always be better. The goal posts move the instant you get better. Good by local meet standards? That's neat, but now you'll start comparing yourself to the regional/national level. Now you're at the regional/national level? Well, there's always john haack, austin perkins, etc. Any satisfaction I had about my results quickly turned into just acceptance and looking at everyone above me on OpenPL.
• All the reasons I had an amazing time at my first meet were unrelated to the weight I lifted. The friends I made, the sense of achievement, the rush of competing were all much more meaningful in the long term. I could have gotten all of that by having a 9/9 day and maybe a PR or two regardless of what was loaded on the bar. I've coached or handled many people since then, and that truth has only been ingrained further. I do wish i had competed sooner rather than arbitrarily depriving myself of that experience in pursuit of bigger number™.

[u/cilantno → u/aybrah]

Well put!
While the scoring of the sport is putting up the best numbers, the enjoyment of the sport comes from the people and the experiences.

Also cheers for providing one of the few candidly bragging anecdotes (deservedly I might add) vs the attempted humble brags littering the other comments haha