Your Best Meet Day
Everyone has made it through the hardest part of meet prep, and all that’s left to do is hit the lifts on Saturday! With that in mind, it’s important to set yourself up to perform. Here are 5 tips to get your ready to smash PRs on Saturday:
Don’t rush around the morning of the meet
The morning sessions start pretty early, with the first lifter taking the platform at 8am. If you’re not used to training in the morning, this has the potential to throw you off. Our body gets used to training at the same time of day, so a deviation from the norm can leave you feeling off. My advice is to get to bed early the night before and get up 2-3 hours before you have to be at the gym. For a lot of people, it’s not ideal to lift so close to when you wake up, so give your body time to adjust by taking a nice easy walk before your warmups.
2. Eat foods that your body is used to
If you don’t typically eat X before you train, it’s best to not eat X before the meet. If you train in the afternoon and beef+rice is your pre-training meal, eat beef+rice before the meet. Just because it’s morning time doesn’t mean you eat bacon+eggs when you haven’t made yourself a hot breakfast in months. Eat something that you can predict how you’ll feel after.
3. Wear comfortable clothes that you’re used to training in
New clothes are fun, but the meet isn’t the time to break them out. You don’t want to be uncomfortable all day because you wanted to show off new clothes or shoes. Again, predictability is best here. Wear something you know you like training in and you will feel comfortable in for a few hours.
4. Bring some snacks
There will be more time between your sets at the meet than you’re used to. There will be more time between exercises at the meet than you’re used to. Make sure to come prepared. You will likely be lifting for 2 hours or more, so be prepared. Some Gatorade, juice, or easily digestible foods will likely be ideal to carry yourself throughout the meet. You don’t want to burn out on deadlifts because you forgot to bring some food.
5. Be careful with your caffeine
Caffeine can be an awesome tool to fuel performance. That being said, stick to the theme of these tips and give your body something you’re used to. If you normally have 150mg of caffeine from a cup of coffee, a 300mg of caffeine energy drink MIGHT not be the best idea. You’ll already be wired and full of nerves, and extra caffeine might send you over the edge. Again, try to choose a dose and source of caffeine that you can predict your response to.
That’s all I got for you guys. You’ve already done the hard work, you guys are gonna crush it! Set yourselves up for success by making sure you can create as much of a “routine” environment as possible for Saturday.