So You're Training For A Meet
So, you did it. You signed up for your first meet. You picked out the color of your singlet. Now what?
This is a common question in the powerlifting sphere. The time before a meet can be filled with stress about what a meet prep and a meet peak should look like, how long a prep should be, and a variety of the stresses that come with competing. Here are a few things to make the process a bit smoother.
It shouldn’t be miserable.
We’ve all seen it. The lifter on Instagram 4 weeks into a 16 week meet prep who is grinding through RPE 10’s, complaining about body parts about to fall off, and overwhelmingly feeling like garbage. Let’s break this down.
First, did you talk to your coach? Coach to athlete communication is key when talking about getting ready for a competition. Make sure they know when and where the meet is, what you plan on competing in, and how you are feeling about the competition. They can help structure a program to help you reach your goals and set your mind at ease.
How far away from the meet are you? A meet “prep” period is just that - preparation for a meet. Typically this means you or your coach will start making your training more specific to the squat, bench, and deadlift but still keeping in variation, conditioning, and your typical volume. This is also the time to practice controlling your variables like sleep, nutrition, hydration, stress levels, etc. as your training will likely take a little bit more brain space and time than usual.
As you get closer to the meet, you will begin to drop volume on your accessory lifts to help manage fatigue while you start practicing the lifts at higher intensities in the lower rep ranges. In the short term, this makes us REALLY good at a few things - namely, 1-3 reps in our comp squat, bench, and deadlift - and this is what we call a meet peak. However, if this focus goes on for weeks and weeks, we will gradually see diminishing returns and deconditioning which is why we typically don’t extend this period out for more than a few weeks ( 3-6 weeks on average) before a meet.
Now is not quite the time for RPE 10s. Save that for the platform. It is not ideal to be failing multiple reps week to week in a meet prep. If anything is going to make you feel like garbage, it’ll be overreaching in your training.
That’s not to say this training is going to feel like sunshine and rainbows - your reps are going to be difficult. Also, especially if you are a newbie, a failed lift here and there isn’t uncommon and can offer a valuable learning experience. But, it shouldn’t feel like your biceps are going to pop off and you need 6 days to recover from a session either.
You shouldn’t cut a lot of weight (or, preferably, any).
This is for all of the lifters who plot to drop into the lower weight class in order to try and be more competitive within that class AND ESPECIALLY new lifters who have not attempted a weight or water cut before ( LOL ME A YEAR AGO). There is a reason why there is a stereotype of the lifter who says “I don’t know what happened, but I just didn’t get the day I wanted” after cutting 10% of their body weight in a 48 hour period. Let’s talk about it.
A meet prep is typically not the time to try and drop 20 pounds to get into a lower weight class and be “more competitive”. Unless you are an elite lifter going for a top spot with cash prizes or a world record, the added stress of a caloric deficit in your training weeks is not typically advisable, mentally or physically, for recovery and performance.
For short term water or weight cuts - the stress of making weight and the unpredictability of water cuts add in so many more variables to your prep, including some less-than-pleasant health outcomes if you get it wrong. Keep it simple. Train hard. Train well. Walk into meet day hydrated, fed, and ready.
Meet yourself where you are.
Strength calculators aren’t accurate. Programming based on numbers you WANT to hit is unrealistic if it isn’t done intelligently. Don’t be that lifter that tries to hit a 600lb deadlift when they only just pulled 495. Meet yourself where you are in your meet prep and constantly move the needle forward inch by inch. It will be more productive than making your working weights much higher than the prescribed RPE or percentage ranges - and it will also make this time before a meet more enjoyable
Have some damn fun.
This is a small, niche sport filled with some of the nicest people you will ever meet, committed to bettering themselves and getting stronger, all hoping the people around them get better too. Your only competition is yourself. HAVE SOME FUN. Both in prep and on meet day. Push yourself to see what you can accomplish.