Your first meet.

[Wildtim]

Bump, Thanks Arch!!

[Arlecchino]

Bump, Thanks Arch!!

Oh, its you.




Good luck man.

[ShutUpAndSquat]

ok, im so excited now. my first meet is in 6 days. lol im opening on bench with something i can rep 8 times just to be sure. same goes for deadlift id imagine(never pulled for that many reps though haha) still deciding about squat though. Thanks yet again to all that contributed to this thread...helps a lot! wish me luck!

Whoa, don't need to go so light on the bench...the jump up to your next attempt should be moderate. Even if you end up feeling like death after your 3 squat attempts, your 3RM should suffice for an opener.

[nitroboie]

Whoa, don't need to go so light on the bench...the jump up to your next attempt should be moderate. Even if you end up feeling like death after your 3 squat attempts, your 3RM should suffice for an opener.

This. Don't make your first attempt so light that you force yourself to jump too high for the 2nd attempt. If you end up missing it, you're in trouble (in case you miss it again on the 3rd attempt). The good thing is, you won't bomb out. The bad thing is your total will be severally affected.

I just had my first meet on Saturday. For my 1st attempts I selected a weight that I could easily quint and even those were too light. So if you're not confident, a weight you can quint. If you're feeling moderate, go for a triple... and if you're feeling ballsy... go even higher.

[lifterg]

[QUOTE=nitroboie;369469591]This. Don't make your first attempt so light that you force yourself to jump too high for the 2nd attempt. If you end up missing it, you're in trouble (in case you miss it again on the 3rd attempt). The good thing is, you won't bomb out. The bad thing is your total will be severally affected.
QUOTE]

Yep.
Try and stick with the same size weight jumps you do in training.
You want to change as little as possible for the meet.

[singyay4ed]

Great thread, got my first meet coming up in 2 weeks so this was really useful.

[Arlecchino]

Great thread, got my first meet coming up in 2 weeks so this was really useful.

Then you owe me a dollar.

[Tom Bro]

I have my first meet on Saturday.
Even though I've never actually posted in this section, it's been a huge help in deciding whether or not I wanted to compete and how to do it.
Thanks heaps.

[ShutUpAndSquat]

I have my first meet on Saturday.
Even though I've never actually posted in this section, it's been a huge help in deciding whether or not I wanted to compete and how to do it.
Thanks heaps.

Don't freak out when you don't sleep well Friday night. Even if you're groggy during the Saturday morning, your adrenaline will carry you through the meet. Have fun.

[oca]

Bump. Please sticky this.

[Arlecchino]

Bump. Please sticky this.

There is a link to it in the main sticky already.

[sword_]

up you go

[MDPower75]

up you go

Thank you for bumping this. It couldn't be more timely for me.....now I have to sit down and read it!

[MDPower75]

i'll be honest, i didnt read that. but before my first meet, i will

this is a GREAT article also, an interview done by Eric Cressey with Jay Floyd, Ross Bowshers, Dr. Tom Deebel, and Steve Coppola:

http://www.ericcressey.com/rookierem.html

This link has changed. It is:

http://ericcressey.com/rookie-reminders

[DuLac]

Good bump sword.

In my state PL meets are few and far between. The ones that I can find are usually 1-day affairs with benchpress and deadlift (no squats).

I read through everything in here. I don't think I am anywhere near strong enough to bother with a meet, but thinking about it keeps me focused.

[ShutUpAndSquat]

I'm doing my 3rd meet this Sunday, and there's still a few things to grasp from this thread for learning.

One thing I'd like to say: don't get overexcited and rush your setup for your attempts. You have an entire minute before starting your lift, which is all the time in the world to prep up. Set up your lifts as perfectly as you can...there are no brownie points for psyching up like a 9 year old on Mountain Dew and getting smashed 10 seconds later.

[ShutUpAndSquat]

I read through everything in here. I don't think I am anywhere near strong enough to bother with a meet, but thinking about it keeps me focused.

You're strong enough. If you can hit PRs in a meet, you're a winner.

[Torrtrefireto]

I'm doing my 3rd meet this Sunday, and there's still a few things to grasp from this thread for learning.

One thing I'd like to say: don't get overexcited and rush your setup for your attempts. You have an entire minute before starting your lift, which is all the time in the world to prep up. Set up your lifts as perfectly as you can...there are no brownie points for psyching up like a 9 year old on Mountain Dew and getting smashed 10 seconds later.

Yes take your time... but one can take too much time and psyche themselves out. I've seen that too. Don't give the weight enough time to ruin your confidence. Usually the dude that sits up there the whole minute screaming and stuff gets that whiff of doubt and fails the lift

[ShutUpAndSquat]

Yes take your time... but one can take too much time and psyche themselves out. I've seen that too. Don't give the weight enough time to ruin your confidence. Usually the dude that sits up there the whole minute screaming and stuff gets that whiff of doubt and fails the lift

Ha, speaking of which:

Screaming and psyching up is perfectly fine....after all, you've gotta do what you need to do in order to hit PRs. Just note that psyching up for a whole minute and failing a lift makes you look silly. Most of the elites that I've seen keep their focus & aggression internally, and don't turn the gym into a Ronnie Coleman zoo when it's time to lift.

[Blarnee_92]

first meet tommorrow, super excited/nervous/anxious

[DesireToGrow]

Bombing = failing to make any attempts for one particular lift = out of meet.

I was wondering about this.


Fawk I'm nervous as hell just thinking about it. (meet is in a little over 5 weeks).


Awesome info E, and thanks to everyone else who helped.

[ShutUpAndSquat]

I was wondering about this.


Fawk I'm nervous as hell just thinking about it. (meet is in a little over 5 weeks).


Awesome info E, and thanks to everyone else who helped.

Don't worry about bombing, even if you miss an opener on your first attempt. If you're a raw lifter and you picked smart openers, it's not going to happen.

[DesireToGrow]

Don't worry about bombing, even if you miss an opener on your first attempt. If you're a raw lifter and you picked smart openers, it's not going to happen.

I was under the impression that bombing was just missing your first attempt. Not missing it three times. That is what had me really nervous LOL.

I'm trying to do everything I can to prep for it. I train with myself so I'm giving my own commands... I've set up the power rack pins so I'm facing the weight room and not the mirror.. that kinda stuff.

edit: yes I'll be raw.

[Bulk4fun]

Are your lifts back to back, or is there a break in between??

[Torrtrefireto]

Are your lifts back to back, or is there a break in between??

Between attempts I'd estimate 5-15 minutes

Between the 3 lifts probably 30-60 minutes or more

[khaos32]

wow after reading all this i cant wait to do my first PL comp. there is one i can still sign up for on feb.20 but idk if im "ready" for it but i might go just as u said to gain experince. also i kno people use preworkouts b4 there gym sessions but what about a meet? and for deadlifts do u seem more people with the legs far apart like the sumo or next to each other?

thanks again for all this advice, and keep it coming! lol

[omfgapolarbear]

Thanks Arch, great post. First meet in February, can't wait. I'm getting more and more pumped every single day. Planning on making my opening lift something I know I can hit for five, second for three, and my third lift I'm going for slight PRs on every lift.

wow after reading all this i cant wait to do my first PL comp. there is one i can still sign up for on feb.20 but idk if im "ready" for it but i might go just as u said to gain experince. also i kno people use preworkouts b4 there gym sessions but what about a meet? and for deadlifts do u seem more people with the legs far apart like the sumo or next to each other?

thanks again for all this advice, and keep it coming! lol

Even though I've never been to a meet, using preworkouts before a meet just seems like a recipe for being burnt out, because they can run for a while. I've been told, though this is subjective, they best thing to do is carbs the day before and fruit the day of, and if you need a focus pump during the meet then ammonia right before your lift.

[lifterg]

Even though I've never been to a meet, using preworkouts before a meet just seems like a recipe for being burnt out, because they can run for a while. I've been told, though this is subjective, they best thing to do is carbs the day before and fruit the day of, and if you need a focus pump during the meet then ammonia right before your lift.

If your weight is close, the carbs are a no no the day before the meet.

They won't help your performance, and they will make you hold water and keep your weight up.

[user94984100999]

your first meet is so awesomejust being there is so fun

[khaos32]

yeah depending on where i decide to go with my weight, im 182 now and that was mid day. i actually had a question about that they have for weight classes like say for ex. 181,198,etc so if im 197 id b in the 181 class? cuz im tryin to be as heavy as i can for my weight just under the limit.