Education

How To Approach Meet Week

Hey guys. With Texas State Championship being this weekend I figured it would be a good time to write a short blog post on some things you can do this week and weekend to set yourself up for success.

1. Set realistic expectations. When you go into a meet it’s important to set realistic goals for where you finish, not where you start. Realistically this is more what matters. If you feel that a 100kg snatch is your goal, a good plan would be to open at 94kg then go to 97kg and then 100kg. Also in order for this to be a feasible plan I would say that 94kg should be automatic, 97kg should be consistent in training and ideally you have touched 100kg a few times. It’s also important to make sure when you hit these numbers you are either at or close to your competition body weight. If these numbers aren’t consistent then you need to be more realistic with your plans. Creating consistency in training is crucial for success but that conversation will be for another day.
2. Ensure that you are good to make weight on game day. Any sort of crash cuts or huge changes in your daily eating and fluid intake can have a dramatic impact on your performance. If you are an athlete who sits over your competition weight your body weight should never get 2-3% more than where you compete at at any point during your training cycles. Understanding how to cut for meets can be the difference between those PRs you want and barely making openers. My advice is to work with a professional in order to set yourself up to make every kilo of body weight on the platform help you succeed.
3. If you listen to music when you train it’s not a bad idea to do the same while warming up. Headphones can be great to help you stay focused and not be distracted by the things around you. Also certain genres of music can help control your endorphins, anxiety and overall mood. My advice is more calm music during snatch that will help you regulate your heart rate and anxiety in order to stay in the right physical and mental space and then possibly something more aggressive or upbeat for clean and jerk that tends to require less fine motor control and more aggression. Also if you don’t want to listen to music and just be present that is totally okay. If you joke around and have fun in training it’s totally acceptable to do the same at competition day. That being said if you tend to be more stoic and focused during training the same approach on comp day makes the most sense.
4. Be mindful of what you eat and drink after weigh ins. I advise everyone to not over caffeinate before you start warming up and during snatches. The general stress and anxiety of your opener will give you more than enough adrenaline. Adding more is usually a recipe for disaster. Also, eat what you would normally eat before training after weigh ins. Competition day is no different than a heavy day at the gym, so eat and drink the same as you would any other day.
5. Game day outfit. Just like the above, wear the same things you normally do in training on competition day. Meet day is never the day to change your shoes, socks, belt, or really any other equipment that you have not worn before. Wearing the same compression pants, socks, and even jewelry that you do on the daily is the best way to feel comfortable and “like yourself” when on the platform.
6. Do your best to prioritize sleep and recovery on meet week. If there is any time to try to go to sleep a little earlier, spend a little more time mobilizing or taking care of your body, this is the week to do it!

Last but not least utilizing visualization can be huge for tons of athletes. I won’t go too much into this but essentially creating a habit of visualizing your six lifts before you go to sleep can be a great way to get you comfortable and calm on the platform. If you become anxious while visualizing there is a good chance the same will happen on game day. So before bed create a space where you can take your time seeing, feeling and going through your lifts and keeping your mind and heart rate calm. When visualizing correctly you actually engrain the movement into your nervous system as if you actually did the rep physically. It’s pretty cool! While visualizing, put the focus on what your body is doing and not the weight you are lifting. Go through your steps of approaching the bar, pulling, receiving, standing up, and putting the bar down. By hitting those lifts each night leading up to comp day you are walking into comp day with your brain already having hit those lifts every single night. If visualization is something you want to know more about reach out to your coach for more help adding this into your routine.

The biggest thing I can tell you guys to take away from this meet is that the best thing you can do for yourself is go into comp day calm and composed with a mindset of just showing up to do what you do every other day of the week. Make lifts. And at the end of the day this isn’t the last meet you will do, so treat this more of a stepping stone in the journey of your success.

• Coach B