Yo. Knees strong, arms are strong. There's an empty belly. Someone vomit on the platform already... (to the tune of Lose Yourself by Eminem)... you're nervous but on the surface you've got headphones on and you're visually preparing for your opener. See what I did there? ha. Your first (or next) competition probably has you feeling some nerves - and that's a good thing! Nerves really just tell you you're alive and that this matters to you. So let's give a run down of exactly how your meet is going to go so that you can start visualizing the day going swimmingly.
Equipment Check
Usually equipment check is done 30 minutes before weigh ins start but a new normal is equipment checks being offered the night before. When you get to the venue, there should be a room or a table where you'll set your gym bag on and take out what you'll be using in the meet. This includes your shoes, all socks that will be worn, your singlet, your belt, your shirt that will be worn under the singlet, wrist wraps, any equipped gear if you're an equipped lifter, etc. They'll look at the equipment and check their approved equipment list if necessary. Be sure to go to the rule book at least a week out and make sure you have everything that aligns with the rules. Some federations have a very high bar for what's allowed and not allowed and you'll want to make sure your equipment fits the bill. Usually takes just a couple of minutes. Immediately after equipment check, you should plan on going to the combo rack that will be used on the competition platform to get your rack heights. You should NOT use any other rack, even if its the same brand. There's sometimes variation between rack heights and models so this is very important. Generally, there will be someone at the rack to help you get your rack heights if your coach isn't there with you or hasn't arrived yet. So, if you haven't been training regularly on a combo rack then that's okay, you'll be fine.
Weigh Ins
Weigh ins might seem intimidating if its your first time but it's honestly not bad. Do not cut weight for your first meet. You get in a line with everyone else in your session (in order by flight and who signed up first) and then wait for your turn. Once it's your turn, you'll hand the judge your sheet with your rack heights on it. Then you'll undress to your underwear and stand on the scale. Nobody is looking at you so there's nothing to fear, the refs will be looking at their computer or scale or chatting about whatever with each other - its low key and not a big deal. Women weigh in women and men weigh in men. Do not cut weight for your first meet! Pretty much immediately they'll get your weight, log it, and then you'll immediately re-dress. The whole thing lasts maybe 5 seconds and then you're back to wearing sweat pants and a hoodie or whatever you're wearing to be comfortable. Then you'll leave the weigh in area, go chill, and rehydrate/refeed/eat. And in case you missed it - DO NOT CUT WEIGHT FOR YOUR FIRST MEET. Okay thanks :D
Time before the start of the meet
Between your weigh in and the actual start of the meet is generally about 2 hours (hence being called a 2 hour weigh in vs. a 24 hour weigh in). The move is to rest and chill and keep your mind off lifting. Listen to good music and focus on eating your food you've prepped for refueling after weigh in and pre-lift nutrition. A lot of times folks get excited and sit in the nerves rather than taking the time to relax and just give yourself flow state vibes. Don't be worried about what anyone else is lifting and just go zen. Do NOT get on the barbell until it's time to. At your first meet you're probably going to see a lot of people warming up like an hour before the first squat attempt, don't be that person. Conserve your energy and plan your warm up timing so that you easily flow. At so many meets, I see at least 20% of the room warm up far too early and then sit for 20+ minutes before their opener. Settle back and enjoy the environment and get very present with where you are, it's competition day and a celebration you're going to want to conserve your energy for before it's even started.
Squats
Honestly you'll probably feel the most nervous warming up here. You'll experience the back room/warm up area and the frenzy of constant squatting. Everyone in your flight will be warming up together so be the comrade and part of it like you wish others would be, truly the whole back room becomes a team of sorts whether it's sharing plates or needing to take a lift so someone lifts a random warm up on your combo rack between warm ups. Usually there's something like 3 to 5 lifters on each combo rack but sometimes more. This means you'll need to talk and figure out where people are headed in their own warm up to put together when you need to take your own lifts. Timing your warm ups is a valuable piece and if you count the attempts to go before your flight or literal time before the whole session starts if you're in the first flight then you can ensure you take your squats at the right moments and set yourself up for a very seamless transition to your first attempt squat. Once you've finished warming up, you will go and sit down near the competition platform, typically behind the platform where most meet directors like to put a line of chairs. When you see that you're 3rd to go, get up and start moving a little to shake things out and start getting the mindset in check. When you're next up, you'll approach the waiting spot for your turn and make sure you have your belt and equipment ready, singlet all the way on, and apply chalk. Then when it's your turn, you'll set your headphones down and they will call your name. Wait to walk forward until they call your name, refs love the entitlement of freaking out if they haven't called your name yet to declare the platform and bar is ready for the next lifter. Take your time now and walk to the bar. You have a full 60 seconds to get the squat command. Once you unrack and walk out the bar and then lock out your legs, you'll wait until the front judge yells squat and then you squat. Make sure you squat deep and leave no room for anyone to believe you were high. Once you've stood up and locked out your legs, you'll wait for the front judge to yell rack and then you walk the bar back into the combo rack. Then you'll go back and sit down where you had prior to the first attempt. This first rep tends to be the most nerve wrecking lift of the meet but thousands and thousands of people have done it and so can you! For squats 2 & 3, you're now in recovery mode. Put your headphones on between attempts and sit and wait while calming down so you're fully recovered for the next attempt. After your 3rd attempt squat, you'll be very excited and now know fully what its like to be on the comp platform but it's time to shift your mind into bench press mode.
Bench Press
Depending on the size of the meet you may have to go directly into your bench press warm up, start warming up in 30minutes, or even wait a whole hour. This is where its crucial that you look at the board/lifting cast and decipher exactly how long it will take for the next flight to finish. Also, remember to include the 10min break between squats and bench press (which is sometimes shortened so it can be helpful to ask and get confirmation that you have 10min or 5min or no break). Time your bench press warm ups responsibly and overlay them against the other flights attempts so that you have plenty of time to recover after your last warm up but not too long to where you'll get iced. You'll follow the same protocol and go sit in the waiting area after your last warm up. Then you'll work through each attempt comparable to squats. Bench press is generally much more calm and relaxed compared the squat and deadlift portions of competition so really try to channel your golf mode zen and think about commands so that you're patient on the platform and don't rush the lifts.
Deadlift
By deadlifts, you'll have the hang of the flow of the meet and will feel that sweet veteran-style confidence in knowing exactly what to expect. Follow your similar warm up strategy for squats and bench press and really try to get focused. Deadlifts are truly where the fun is and this is where it's time to turn up lift & some heavy friggin weight! The only addition here is baby powder. Everyone loves going nuts with baby powder when in reality it's probably overrated in my opinion especially in someone's first meet. BUT it could help you edge out that little bit extra help to get the weight up. If you decide to use baby powder to make it easier for the bar to glide up the thighs, make sure someone else applies it on you. The last thing you want is baby powder (slippery) on your hands (which don't need to be slippery when going to pick up heavy metal). Most powerlifting meets seriously SHINE when it comes to the deadlift portion and everybody is yelling and supporting each other in huge ways! Empty the tank here and leave no kilos on the platform. Time to turn up!
A few strategy considerations:
Caffeine Timing:
Caffeine usually takes about 30min to hit it's peak and where we want to use it is going into your squats and then again when going into deadlifts. Personally I advise my lifters to drink their pre-workout at the start of their squat warm ups (and then sip on it through squat attempts that way there's at least some carryover into bench press) and then drink more throughout their deadlift warm ups. This strategy works very well and should keep you pretty even throughout the meet with some bigger peaks where you want them (3rd attempt squat and 3rd attempt deadlift). During your deloads and the week leading up to the meet, try to not drink any caffeine that way you respond SUPER well to it on meet day.
Cutting Weight: If it's your first meet, do NOT cut weight. Cutting weight is generally the fast track to a blunted outcome at your first meet and adds too much stress to a day thats already filled with nerves. Honestly, people get way too tied down to their weight class rather than focusing on growth over time. Remember that you have a whole career ahead of you and the fastest way to stall out is by being hyper focused on anything other than the total (yes, looking at you DOTS fans). Increasing your absolute strength should be the goal and generally if you live in a slight caloric surplus indefinitely, you'll find yourself crescendoing into huge amounts of strength. There's pretty much just a handful of reasons why it would make sense to cut weight - trying to take a realistic state or national record, trying to qualify for national or international events, you signed up for a weight class months ago that you were comfortably within but have since gained 7 or 8 pounds by accident and find yourself 3 pounds over and its too late to change your weight class. If it's your first meet, there's literally not a reason why you should cut weight though. Did you start Powerlifting to get stronger and healthier? Or did you start Powerlifting to be miserable leading up to your meets, constantly battling plateau, and developing body dysmorphia tied to a random number of "weight class". Make yourself happy and go with the Powerlifting route that is going to truly take you to new heights. Chipping your DOTS score by 2 or 3 points or gradually gaining muscle and in the same stretch of time adding 100lb to your total and 20 points to your DOTS. You can get stronger, but you'll probably hold yourself back by grid locking yourself to a "size". Instead, eat healthy like you do know how and aim to fuel your training superbly. Binge eating McDonalds isn't going to make you stronger after you cut and lose both fat and muscle. Start eating clean as heck and your training will be impacted and so will your body composition - at any weight - and you won't even want to cut weight then. Ahhhh imagine a meet where you felt great through the peak and even got to take PRs leading up to it! Do that!
Smelling Salts: They work. Folks who say they don't haven't used them enough to realize they've worked or are afraid of feeling the sensation of what smelling salts do. For your first meet, I wouldn't use them but maybe 3rd attempt deadlift??? Sounds like a fun time. Reserve the smelling salts for when you need them, if you're having trouble focusing or getting into the zone then smelling salts can get you there quickly. Sometimes 3rd attempt bench might warrant their use. If you're a couple meets deep, use them with 3rd attempt squat and 2nd & 3rd attempt deadlift. Just be sure to still listen for commands.
So there you have it, a run down of what a meet is like and a few pointers/add ons that could be useful for you. Make sure you bring everything you use in training with you (i.e. bands, foam rollers, lacrosse ball, massage gun, and whatever else helps you feel ready). Have a great meet and hope you do phenomenally well. If you'd like help and need coaching, I'd love to help you get there and if you live nearby I'd love to coach you through your meet too! Hope you enjoyed this article. Thanks!
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