The Year of Momentum | Bryan Dermody

On July 8^th, I competed in the USAPL Iowa State Powerlifting Championships. This was my first contest since the Arnold Sports Festival back in March. The USAPL Championships was a full powerlifting meet. I competed raw in the open division 120 kg-weight class. Since the beginning of this year, I have been calling 2017 “The Year of Momentum”. My goal has been to make small improvements every time I compete and build momentum from there.

I started at the Arnold, probably a little too conservatively, by going for a weight I knew I could hit on my third attempt. I walked away from that meet with my heaviest deadlift yet on the Arnold stage. My plan to keep that momentum rolling into the USAPL championships in July was, again, to make small improvements on all three lifts in the competition. I figured if I could walk away having set four personal meet records (squat, bench press, deadlift and total), I would have no regrets. This translated into planned third attempts of 584 lbs. on the squat, 364 lbs. on the bench press, and 738 lbs. on the deadlift. I knew I was capable of more, but again, wanted to be sure I hit all my third attempts and kept my momentum rolling.

My training phase for this competition went well, with the exception of a rotator cuff tear in my left shoulder about four weeks before the competition. On competition day I stuck to the plan and hit 584 on my third attempt of the back squat for a 9 lb. meet personal record (although I was probably good for somewhere between 600 and 615). I finished bench press with a 4 lb. meet personal record of 364 lb., and probably could not have managed any more due to the torn rotator cuff. Finally, I ended the deadlift with 738 lb. for a 3 lb. meet personal record (I probably could have managed 744-749 lbs.).

This was one of the most fun meets of my life, not only because I performed well, but because I competed with some great people including Beau Moore, Nick Weite and Justin Lima. When we weren’t on the platform we were telling stories, laughing and having a great time in the athlete’s room. I also had a great coach for the meet with Brian Willingham, and of course, my great wife was there to support me all the way (she even ran to Best Buy during the bench press to get me an i-Pod charger to ensure I had my tunes for deadlift!).

My attention has now shifted to the USAPL Push-Pull Nationals in September. I will compete equipped deadlift only for this meet and not much needs to be said other than “coming for 804!”.

You can check out my training updates for this meet on Instagram (@bryanderm). Thank you to Metabolic Technologies, Inc. (MTI) and TSI for continued support of what I do! Be sure to check out Team HMB, Team BetaTOR, and Team Peak ATP on social media, and of course, check out their amazing products – they are essential to train, recovery and compete at your highest level!

- Bryan Dermody, Powerlifter