IPA PA States – 2016: Hotel and Contest Venue Pictures

IPA PA States - 2016: Hotel and Venue Pictures

I competed in IPA PA States on Saturday, March 5, 2016. I stayed at an Econo Lodge just 2.8 miles from the contest site of York Barbell Company, which is also the home of the Powerlifting Hall of Fame. For a contest report of my performance, see IPA Pennsylvania State Powerlifting Championships - 2016. On this page, I present pictures and details on the hotel and contest venue. Click any picture for a larger image. Note that I entered this same contest last year. I stayed at the same hotel, and it was held in the same venue. For pics from last year, see IPA PA States – 2015: Hotel and Contest Venue Pictures. The address for the Econo Lodge is 222 Arsenal Road, York, PA, US, 17402, (717) 843-9970. York Barbell is located at: 3300 Board Rd., York, PA 17406.

The Hotel

I drove out Thursday afternoon, weighed-in Friday morning, then spent the rest of that day rehydrating, eating, and resting, then competed on Saturday, and drive home on Sunday. Thus I stayed four days and three nights at the Econo Lodge. Below are pics of my room.

The far end of the room.

Two pics of the dresser, with a bunch of my junk on it, and the HDTV to the left.

The beds. Even though it is just me, I always get two beds and take all of the blankets off of one and put them on the other, as there are never enough blankets for me.

The balcony. But as you can see from the snow-covered cars, way too cold to actually use it.

The bathroom and a close up of the sink. The latter was not well-designed, as the surrounding tiling does not tilt towards the sink.
As a result, the water pools around the sink and was very hard to wipe up.

The fridge and microwave. It is so nice having these.

The fridge is not that big, but sufficient for my purposes.

They must of listened to me. Last time the freezer compartments was overloaded with ice. But this time, I looks like they just defrosted it.

This is what caused me problems last time: the heater. Last time it knocked, but thank God it did not this time.
But I also had problems last time setting the temperature, as there are no markings on the dial to remember where to set it.
So this time, once I got it set where I wanted it for during the day, I took a picture! I did the same for the nighttime setting.

Once last thing that gave me problems last time but not this time was the Wi-Fi. I could not get it to work on my smart phone last time.
But this time, I worked on the first try on both my smart phone and on my tablet. I was happy for that.

My room was a little further down this time, and I did not get woken up by trucks pulling in and out.

Overall, I was pleased with the hotel and the room, so I will stay here again if I compete in York again and will request the same room.

Contest Venue/ York Barbell

This was my main concern and why I went to weigh-in early, as I wanted to try laying on the contest bench.
From last time, I knew it was too high for me and could not get my feet down. And I still could not get positioned right.
I an thankful the female lifter let me use her mats, but I need to make some kind of blocks and take them myself next time.

A couple of views of the monolift on the platform/ stage.

The weight racks.

The contest platform/ stage.

The area to the left is where chairs would be placed for contestants to sit on while waiting for their attempts.
To the right is the ramp that needs to be ascended to get onto the platform.
That is a bit tricky with tight knee wraps on, but doable.

Close ups of the signs behind the platform.

The audience seats, from the left side, to the middle, to the right side.

The gym at York Barbell, that served as the warm-up room.
These were taken during weigh-ins, so those are contestants waiting to weigh-in.

A display at York Barbell. The busts and picture are of Bob Hoffman, the founder of Work Barbell and considered to be the "Father of Weightlifting."

This pic is displayed at the Powerlifting Hall of Fame. I took many pics of the Hall last time, but I couldn't get a close up of this pic then.
It is of Ricky Dale Crain, ten-time national champion and five-time world champion.
I remember him from my college lifting days and use mostly his gear in training and competition.

A sequence of pics showing a world record Clean & Jerk (an Olympic lift not a Powerlift).

New Two by Two Training Plan and Next Contest Plans

For my first workouts after this contest, see (forthcoming).

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)