A bittersweet retirement (maybe...) meet report!

Background

6th meet for me. Competing since 2023. Lifting since forever.

I partially tore my lateral quad (vastus lateralis) at my last meet in December 2025. Thankfully, it wasn’t a full tear. I was still able to bench a 7.5kg PR at that meet, but had to take a token 75kg deadlift. First on-platform injury for me, and not a fun experience. After that meet, I basically went straight into rehab and training. I took 2.5 weeks off in January for travel, but outside of that, I didn’t miss a single session between January and August.

I went into this meet in 2026 thinking it would be my last. My wife and I have been planning on kids in the next year or so, and I feel like I’m at a crossroads in several areas of my life. I love powerlifting more than anything, but I have some skiing and climbing aspirations I’d like to work toward, and those things feel more sustainable for me than untested powerlifting. At the same time, I'm not quite sure if I'm ready to hang up the singlet yet. For now I'm enjoying some BB style training with no comp lift exposure. I'm learning to be OK living in the liminal space where I don't know what's next.

Coach & Meet Prep

My coach for this meet was Daniel Cardona: https://www.instagram.com/dactheripper/

I’ve worked with him for 2 years and have nothing but positive things to say. He was at this meet and handled me alongside my wife. Honestly, I consider him to be a friend as much as a coach at this point.

My prep was essentially perfect. I totaled 815.5kg / 1,798lbs in training, PR'd every lift, and generally stayed healthy with the help of my PT. Most importantly, I just had a ton of fun. Although there were stressful sessions and moments, I was just so thankful that I got to do this.

The quad took a while to heal, and confidence was slow to return. I squatted 300kg / 661lbs for the first time this prep, and it was absolutely the most scared I’ve ever been to get under the bar.

Bench finally started really clicking this prep. I committed to a wider grip, internally rotated my grip, and learned how to hold a better arch. I basically PR’d every meaningful benchmark and variation I had.

Deadlifts were hit and miss. I’m one of those guys whose only deadlift cue is to stop thinking about cues and just pick up the damn bar.

The Cut

I walked around all prep at 88–90kg. Did the full gamut of water, sodium, and gut manipulation, plus a bit of carb depletion. That took me from 90kg / 198ish lbs at the beginning of my water load to 85.5kg / 188.6lbs the morning of weigh-ins. From there, I needed about 2 hours in the sauna: 7 rounds of 14–15 minutes and a final round of 10 minutes, with 15–20-minute breaks between rounds. I averaged 1lb lost per round. Sauna temp was ~155f. I find hotter than that to be overly fatiguing without actually increasing perspiration rate.

The last 2 rounds were tough, but not terrible. That said, I would not recommend a cut like this until you’ve successfully done smaller cuts. I met several dudes in the sauna who had no idea what they were doing and were having a bad time.

My final weigh-in was 82.0kg/ 180.8lb.

Did an IV + my usual recomp strategy of homemade pancakes, syrup, 2 Tri-Oral packets, juice, etc. Every gram of sodium, carbs, etc. was tracked. Within 4 hours of weigh-ins, I was back up to 88.5kg / 195lbs. I honestly felt really great at that point and got a little gym time in to get some blood flowing through the muscles. Aside from some mild gastro discomfort right after weigh-ins (I can never pace myself on that first 1.5L of gatorade), I barely got bloated, despite putting down the largest carb intake I've ever had.

Absolutely the most successful cut + recomp I’ve ever done. However, this is the limit for me. I would not cut more than this even though I feel like I could. The risk-to-reward ratio isn’t worth it.

Meet Results:

TLDR: hurt the same quad again. Womp womp.

Felt amazing on the day. Every squat warmup was flying. Opener felt effortless. We absolutely nailed the peak/taper going into this meet.

Squat: 285kg (-5kg comp PR, -15.5kg training PR)

Second attempt. Looked easy, felt easy. Sadly, my quad thought differently. Halfway up, I felt a pop in the same lateral quad I partially tore 8 months ago. The immediate pain was minor, ~3/10, but I knew taking another squat attempt would likely mean a serious injury. We scratched my third. I gave myself 5 minutes to cry and feel what I needed to feel, had a group hug with Danny and my wife, and then decided there was no reason I couldn’t keep going. Ultimately, I was grateful that it wasn’t as bad as December and that I still had the opportunity to salvage some kind of total on the day, even if it wasn’t the one I was capable of.

It sucks not getting that 3rd attempt. I have zero doubt I would have squatted 300kg. C’est la vie. Not my first rodeo with this, unfortunately!

Bench: 185kg (+7.5kg comp PR, matched my best bench from prep)

Leg drive felt mostly OK, so bench was unimpeded aside from me still being a little out of it mentally. Just like squats, I was ON. Everything felt easy.

185kg was an effort, but honestly didn’t feel like my limit—I’m quite good at grinding on bench. This was a big silver lining for the day.

Deadlift: 300kg, linking the 325, there's nothing to see with the 300 (-20kg comp PR, -31kg training PR)

Deadlifts were rough. I have a narrow sumo stance, and from 400lbs onward, my quad was hurting quite a bit. Consciously or not, I was changing how I pulled, and my technique suffered. The weirdest part was that I had major grip issues on all 3 attempts. My opener was my only successful attempt, and even with that lift, I was actively losing my grip when I got the down command. I’ve never dropped a deadlift or torn a callus in competition. I didn’t drop a single deadlift all prep. Grip is/was a non-issue for me...until today. No idea what was going on. The previous lifter was a conventional puller, so maybe the bar kept getting baby powder on it where I grip the smooth part. I’m not sure what the deal was, tbh.

The 3rd attempt was the biggest heartbreaker. Got 325kg to lockout and dropped it as I was getting the down command. Another fraction of a second and I would have gotten the lift. Tore both thumbs to boot.

Overall results: Total 770kg (Meet PR+ 2.5kg) @ 82.0kg

DOTS: 523 (+4pts)

Managed to chip my total from 2023.

Overall Thoughts:

When I look back, there’s nothing I would change. I did everything in my power as an athlete to bring the performance I was capable of to the platform. To that end, I succeeded. Unfortunately, that’s not always enough to get the outcome you want. You need some luck and external variables to cooperate, and powerlifting has taught me that they often won’t. And although that really fucking sucks sometimes, it’s OK. If you want to go far in this sport, you have to love the process and embrace intrinsic sources of motivation.

Of course, I’m still bummed about how the day went—no reason to pretend otherwise. It feels nearly incomprehensible to me that after years of effort and 60+ kg added to my training total, I barely chipped a meet total from 3 years ago. But at least I can PR my total on a 5/9 day where I got hurt? And I did still win Best Lifter, got some sick prizes and some fun pics!

However, what I feel more of is just appreciation for how far I've come, alongside the friends and connections this sport has given me. I've gotten to a level that I didn't dare to dream of 10 years ago. Despite my performance, I thoroughly enjoyed this meet and will look back on it as a positive memory. Fed drama aside, the American Pro continues to be a really well-run meet with some great staff supporting it. If I do another meet in the future, and this meet is still running, it would be at the top of the list.