How To Run a Badass GGC Meet w/ Working Class Barbell
Ryan Di Pompeo is the owner of Working Class Barbell, one of the baddest garage gyms on the planet. He runs an annual event tied to the GGC at his place, and was a huge inspiration for the concept of getting people the resources and information to do the same. So of course we asked him to write up his notes on what he does, what he’s learned after the last several years, and in general help you reach the pinnacle that is the WCB meet. Consider Ryan’s meet the ultimate aspiration for a real deal powerlifting meet at your house. You can scale back as you deem fit. Without further ado, How To Run a Badass GGC Meet w/ Working Class Barbell.
How WCB Hosts a GGC Meet
Make sure you have attended or participated in a powerlifting meet for the full experience or make sure you have researched a meet and rules so you have an understanding of the way to run your own.
Keep your 1st meet simple. It has to be fun otherwise what’s the point? Plan small for the 1st one to get a feel, my suggestion, keep it to close friends and training partners.
Plan for things like weather, rain is usually an issue for the time of year we host the GGC so I have had to improvise using tents because I’ve out grown containing it just within my gym walls.
Having help from others who want to be there but not compete is one of the BIGGEST things I can recommend. Having those helpers understand a meet and the process also helps. But taking time in advance to bring everyone up to speed before the day of the event is also beneficial.
Most home gyms are not set up for a variety of lifters to be going in a rotation due to height and drastic weight changes but with a small enough crowd this becomes less of an issue. Like at a meet, have the lifter lifting the lightest start the order and heaviest lifter finish the attempts.
Issues
Biggest issues running through the squat flight will be rack heights for each lifter if a mono or combo rack isn’t available.
Bench most will take off from similar heights so the bench runs much faster.
I like to plan a lunch between squats and bench, easier to bench with food in the belly than to try and deadlift. I try to have someone designated to run the grill.
That brings us to the deadlift, at this point no one will want to be exerting much energy loading so a deadlift jack will be a huge back saver and allow for faster loading.
The more rolls that can be assigned to people willing to help the better, good spots to try to fill would be designated spotters and loaders, then an MC to keep order of the rotation and announce weights for loaders to load. A cook and after that any additional help could make judges and people to rotate in and out with the spotters/ loaders.
In Advance
Things to do in advance, make up registration cards for lifters to complete on the day of including name and opener attempts for squat, bench, deadlift and spots for them to fill in 2nd and 3rd attempts after each completed lift, like in a meet. Cards can include weight class and rack heights. Also look for help in advance, its better to have more help than less.
If this will become a thing for years to come, plan for investing in the equipment you feel fits your competition style best. My 2nd year I invested in the most affordable combo rack I could find. It worked great for making height changes on the squat and gave it a much more real meet feel. By the 3rd and 4th yr I had invested in a competition mono and bench, because I normally compete in mono federations.
You can ask participants for donations if needed to help cover expenses. Bring a dish to pass, and possibly meet related items to contribute, such as ammonia, baby powder, or chalk.
If you have resources that might be interested in your event, reach out. It never hurts to ask, I have a friend with a brewery and he hooks me up with the kegs of beer…. Just an example of good use of resources.
Most importantly make this a fun experience, for yourself and anyone you welcome into your garage gym.
Thanks Ryan for your insights on How To Run a Badass GGC Meet.
Make sure to follow Ryan and his crew @Working_Class_Barbell
If you are looking to host your own local GGC Meet, check out this page: GGC Meets
