APF/ AAPF Ohio States – 2016: Hotel and Contest Venue: Comments and Pictures

APF/ AAPF Ohio States - 2016: Hotel and Contest Venue Comments and Pictures

These pictures are a follow to my contest report for APF/ AAPF Ohio State Powerlifting Championships - 2016.

Hotel

I stayed at the M Star Hotel Mansfield. I’m not sure if this is a standalone hotel or part of a chain, but I never heard of it. It was a good hotel, but not great. But for $55/ night, I was satisfied with it. Below are pics. Click any pic for a larger image.

In the pics above, the office was in the right picture in the middle. At the far right was a convenience store.

All I want in a hotel is that it is quiet and doesn’t smell. My room was quiet. I was near the back of the hotel, away from the street and the parking lot, so there were no outside noises. To get to my room, I went up the stairs in the middle of the the above pic, to the right and two doors down, then on the opposite side.

The downside was the view outside of my window was a wall, but then that is probably why it was quiet. But there was a bit of a view of the outside to the left. I also never heard anything from the hallway. However, it did smell, a good bit in the hallway, but not too much in my room. But still, that could be why I didn’t sleep too well the first night. And I had to wash or wipe off everything I had with me afterwards.

The A/C was nice. It had a digital readout and a remote. This was the first time an air conditioner had such at any hotel I ever stayed at. Usually, I am fiddling with the manual controls the whole time. And with the remote, when I woke up too cold, I just grabbed the remote from my night stand, click, and that was it.

There was no tub; just a shower stall. That proved to be a problem, as I was still a pound over weight an hour before weigh-ins. I’ve found I can lose about a pound with a long, hot bath, but a shower does nothing. But after a bit of ado, my weight was okay.

The TV was a nice size, but the remote was finicky. The “8” barely worked at all.

There was supposed to be a fridge and microwave. The fridge was there, but I had to call the desk to have them bring a microwave. But they brought it right away. They both worked okay, thought he fridge was a bit small.

The bed only had a sheet and a thin spread, no blanket. But I was prepared and brought a quilt with me.

The bathroom was small, but usable.

There was a comfortable chair, but with my MCS, I couldn't sit on it (see My Life with MCS).

The far end of the room

A small closet.

This table was nice to sit at for eating and while typing on my tablet with its attached keyboard.

Venue

The contest was held at the Fitness Factory. It is a very well-equipped gym, set up for cross fit, strongman, and powerlifting. The strongman and powerlifting stuff is in the basement, while the rest of the equipment is on the main floor. The contest was held on the main floor, while the warm-up room was in the basement.

The front half of the gym upstairs, with some strength training machines.

The back half of the gym. I'm not sure if it was empty as it was already cleared out for the contest, or if this was empty for cross fit activities.

These pics were taken after I weighed in the day before the contest. This was the bench to be used for the contest. I especially wanted to check it out. It looked to be the same type of bench I used at my last contest, and like then, I could not put my feet flat on the floor. At that contest I borrowed someone else’s block. But after that I made my own and took them to this contest.

My blocks consist of a layer of mat and two of wood. I used them at this contest, and they worked great.

Another bench downstairs.

A monolift in the basement.

Another monolift. Neither of these were the contest monolift, as it was white.

Strongman stuff.

Back upstairs on the day of the contest. The trophies were spread on the floor. They were several different types. During the awards ceremony, when a lifter's name was called, he or she could pick the one s/he wanted.

My trophy. I already had one like this, but I wanted one that was about powerlifting.

Powerlifting and Back Pain

The first book is geared towards the beginner to intermediate powerlifter. It presents sound training, competition, dietary, and supplement advice to aid the reader in starting and progressing in the sport of powerlifting. The second book details how I overcame years of crippling low back and was able to return to the sport of powerlifting.

Starting and Progressing in Powerlifting: A Comprehensive Guide to the World's Strongest Sport

Overcoming Back Pain: A Mind-body Solution (Second Edition)