Maliek Derstine is one of the most phenomenal powerlifters of today. 1950 at 181 raw with wraps. But even the most phenomenal powerlifters still need help some time. Maliek asked me to handle him at the IPL WORLD Championships. I did and he was truly amazing to help and watch. Maliek is in his late twenty's and still has a ton to learn about powerlifting. Which do most young guys and girls his age. He opened in the squat at 683 I thought it was easy but close on depth. He was given the benefit of the doubt 2 to 1. No problem, then jumped to 722 which looked the exact same and still was given the benefit of the doubt 2 to 1. I told him how I felt the lift looked and that he would not only be judged by those 3 judges on the platform but by 1000s on social media. I told him to bury 750 on his 3rd attempt because it does matter. I wanted him to take it out of the judges hands and he did. He smoked 750 and his squat depth was perfect. Maliek was pretty happy to this point.
Next comes the bench press. He opens at 496! Its was a solid lift. Maliek was looking for 529 for a 3rd. I thought he should take 512 on 2nd one. He took 518 which was very slow. Also he did not lock his arms when I gave him the handoff which made him feel all the weight in his hands. We talked about what needed to be fixed before 3rd attempt. He went out and got 523 which was all he had this day, awesome.
When we got to the deadlift we knew what he had to do to total 1950. I had him open at 573 then went 628 to give him 1900. I mentioned to him to be sure and finish at the top with his hips. And as you can see in video he does just that. 2000 total @181 raw soon.