Do's and Don'ts the Week before a Weightlifting Meet

Learning some tips from Glenn Pendlay

I’ve heard stories, made my own mistakes, and seen some pretty crazy things happen at weightlifting meets. Hopefully these tips will help you avoid making the same simple mistakes, so your experience at an Olympic Weightlifting meet is filled with personal records.

Here are some things to be aware of before a competition:

#1 - If you are traveling long distance make sure you have enough time to adapt before you compete. Personally I like to do a workout in the warm-up area the day before, so I know what it feels like to lift in that particular atmosphere with those particular barbells and weights. For a general rule of thumb try to arrive at least 24 hours before you compete.

#2 - Know your weight. Nothing sucks more than arriving at the venue and finding out you are more than a couple kilos overweight. Some meets have saunas, some don’t. So don’t depend on a sauna for cutting weight. You should have a plan ahead of time and know how your body reacts weight-wise to certain foods. The best plan is to just not cut weight. Cutting weight for more than a couple days before a meet will suck all the energy out of you and your lifting will suffer.

#3 - Stay hydrated. The week before a meet you should slowly increase your water intake, up until the night before. From then on cut back on water intake until after you weigh-in. Immediately after weigh-ins you should rehydrate with water and gatorade or pedialyte (something with electrolytes). It’s also wise to get some extra carbs in before you lift and in between the snatch and the clean & jerk.

#4 - Sleep. A lot. Extra sleep is always a bonus. You will feel more refreshed and energized, plus it will help keep your hormones in balance. It also gives you less time to think about your lifting. Don’t be fooled by excitement and nerves, you really do need extra sleep. It’s exhausting to be filled with adrenaline and surrounded by a roaring audience along with thunderous bar slams. I know that if I don’t get enough sleep the night before a competition I start to have anxiety attacks.

#5 - Don’t try anything new. Keep your routine the same and treat warm-ups just like a max out training day. This way your body will be primed to lift heavy. If you have a pre-workout routine, keep it the same. If you take any pre-workout supplements or drinks do the same on competition day. I heard a story about a lifter who usually took C4 protein powder before training, but on competition day he decided to mix red bull with coffee and assault protein powder. He ended up throwing up and having to pull out of the competition. That is a unique situation, but nonetheless always stick to your usual pre-workout ritual.

#6 - Listen to your coach and no one elses. Remember you don’t want to change anything right before a meet. Most likely your coach has a few mental cues that you are used to hearing. They work for you and your brain knows exactly what to do when your coach uses those cues. When a new coach tells you to fix something it messes with your routine. If people do try to fix your technique just nod politely and continue doing what you were doing. This is just weightlifting etiquette.

#7 - Breathe. Sounds like common sense, but for some people forgetting to breathe leads to missing lifts and passing out. Before you lift it is useful to take deep diaphragmatic breaths to calm yourself. Also when you are coming up from a clean, breathing out is extremely important, because it just isn’t possible to hold your breathe for the amount of time it takes to do a clean and jerk. When I was on stage at Junior Nationals I remember cleaning an easy weight then my vision going fuzzy, my hearing disappearing, and my mind going blank. One of the scariest experiences of my life was trying to find my way off that stage without falling over. Afterwards it was quite comical, but it could have been avoided if I had just remembered to breathe.

#8 - Don’t forget to have fun!