I have never been to a meet just training on my own. I think I am finally going to plan for a meet for once. Is USAPL the only federation to hold meets? Are there other options? I live in Texas and there is a USAPL meet in June which would be doable. Just curious if there are other options.
Powerlifting federations are like shoes. There are a lot of different ones, some have more cache than others, and after a while, you realize that they all kind of stink…some more than others.
USAPL is the drug-tested powerlifting federation with the most cache in the United States. Their judging, organization, and competition level is generally the highest for people who want to compete in a drug-tested event. They use a single 29mm power bar for all 3 lifts.
Powerlifting America split off from USAPL a few years back. They have nearly identical rules, but have not yet built up a big membership in many areas. Depending on what part of Texas you’re in however, they may be about the same size as USAPL.
USPA is the second largest powerlifting federation in the US.They offer drug-tested and un-tested divisions. Their organization and judging is generally pretty good, but their competition level can be hit or miss (this is true for most PL feds). They use a special squat bar (32mm and longer), deadift bar (27mm and longer), and a traditional 29mm power bar for bench.
There are about a dozen other federations that operate meets in the US, but those are your best bets. Each organization has a calendar on their website.
Let me know what questions you have, and don’t forget to pick up one of our powerlifting templates to prep!
3 Likes
Thanks for the response. I looked around a little and I suppose the best one is the one that has a meet in Houston that I have time to prep for. 
I decided on the USAPL Summer power fest in June. Plenty of time to run Hypertrophy I and then strength 2. I have been on the fence on competing for a long time. I think what finally got me there is struggling with diet lately. A real tangible goal to be in the right weight class so I don’t get smoked for being in a class with guys several inches taller than me I think is the right incentive. Spending money for the membership and the meet adds a lot more motivation.
I plan on running Hypertrophy 1 right now to cut and then strength 2 to prep. I haven’t decided between 3 and 4 day on the Strength. I am thinking with past experience getting beat up a little in the peak running 4 days maybe 3 is better. Lots of time to think about that though.
Heh, I’ve used that strategy with others before (dieting for a meet). Sounds like you have a good plan in place. Only tweak I’d make is to run the non-comp powerbuilding template (in powerbuilding 2) of hypertrophy 1. I think it’s better prep for the impending meet. Then, I’d transition to one of the strength templates.
Just my 0.02!
1 Like
Thank you again for the advice. I have about 26 weeks so Block 1 and 2 of PB2 and both blocks of Strength give a week to spare.