They say the journey is the destination. The chase is better than the catch. I think that’s why powerlifting is so fun. There’s so much preparation and build-up to a competition. It’s both exhilarating and terrifying to put yourself out there on one single day.
With that said, I see so many people piss away months of diligent preparation by dropping the ball the week of their meet.
As I write this, I have a handful of Bonvec Strength lifters just a few days out from their first meet. They’ve done all the hard work. Now it’s all about making it to the finish line. I liken the end of meet prep to landing a plane: the journey is essentially over, but you’ve still gotta get the people back on solid ground safely.
Here are five things powerlifters should do the week of their meet to give themselves the best chance to succeed on the platform.
Visualization
Something I found myself saying to my lifters over and over this week: “The most important thing you can do this week is build confidence.” A confident lifter is a strong lifter, and confidence starts with putting yourself in the right mindset to express your true capabilities. In my experience and via the anecdote of countless world-class athletes, visualization is THE most powerful tool to help build confidence.
Lifters should set aside time to visualize their meet day performance each day during meet week. Sit alone in a quiet place, close your eyes and walk yourself through your attempts. Try to paint as vivid a picture in your mind as possible, from the feeling on the bar in your hands, to the sound of the crowd, to the smell of the… Well, there are lots of unique smells at a powerlifting meet.
Former UFC champion Georges St. Pierre used to literally practice walking from the dressing room to the octagon leading up to a fight. He’d visualize the crowd and the lights, imagine the screaming fans and blaring music. He’d even anticipate the smell of the Vaseline rubbed on his face by his trainer. GSP wrote in his book, The Way of the Fight:
“The key to effective visualization is to create the most detailed, clear and vivid a picture to focus on as possible. The more vivid the visualization, the more likely, and quickly, you are to begin attracting the things that help you achieve what you want to get done.“
Georges St. Pierre
It takes practice to get good at this, so if you can, visualize 2-3 times per day for at least a week leading up to the meet. By the end, you’ll be surprised at how realistic you can make your visualizations. Once you get on the platform, you’ll feel like you’ve already successfully made the lift hundreds of times.
Increase Squat, Bench and Deadlift Frequency
If you’re like most powerlifters, you probably train the squat, bench press and deadlift once or twice a week. During meet week, it’s a good idea to increase the frequency so you get more practice with the main lifts.
I generally have my lifters do the competition lifts three times during meet week. None of these sessions are heavy, but they give the lifter multiple chances to practice the lifts without adding additional fatigue. This helps groove technique and build confidence.
Most meets are on Saturday, so a meet week training plan might look something like this:
Monday
Squat: 1×1 @ 80%, 2×3 @ 70%
Bench: 1×1 @ 85%, 2×3 @ 75%
Deadlift: 3×1 @ 80%
Tuesday
Squat: 1×1 @ 75%, 2×3 @ 65%
Bench: 1×1 @ 80%, 2×3 @ 70%
Deadlift: 3×1 @ 75%
Thursday
Squat: 3×1 @ 70%
Bench: 3×1 @ 75%
Deadlift: 1×1 @ 70%
Nothing heavy and certainly not a lot of volume, but plenty of touches with the competition lifts to grease the groove and help the lifter feel dialed in heading into the meet.
Hit Singles Heavier Than You’d Think
I’ll never forget the biggest mistake I made prepping for my first powerlifting meet: I didn’t train AT ALL the week of the meet. Didn’t touch a weight, not even the empty bar. When I got to the warm-up room on meet day, I felt rustier than the Tinman. Fast forward over a decade and I’ve embraced a much different approach to meet week training.
Playing on the last point, I’ve found it incredibly helpful to have lifters hit singles on the main lifts between 80-85 percent of their goal third attempts about 5-6 days out. Many coaches and lifters would scoff at this and claim that’s way too heavy so close to the meet.
Maybe it’s too heavy if you’re a 1,000-pound squatter who puts their body through hell and back during meet prep, but what about the average to above-average powerlifter? You mean to tell me that a 150-pound woman trying to squat 250 pounds can’t squat 200 pounds for one solitary single on Monday without ruining their recovery for Saturday? Even a 200-pound man trying to squat 500 pounds should be able to hit singles at 400 pounds (80% of 1RM) with crisp technique and minimal impact on fatigue. Eighty percent of a lifter’s 1RM is about an 8-rep max. I’ll take my chances having my lifters leave 7 reps in the tank 5 days out. This is where real-world experience trumps academia and keyboard jockeying.
We’ve solidified this approach by having most of our powerlifters hit singles at 7 RPE (about 90% of 1RM) during a good chunk of their off-season training so they never lose the skill of handling heavy singles. Specificity works. You get what you train for.
Cut Out Most Accessory Work
If you’re like many powerlifters and like skipping your accessory work, now’s your time to shine. Bodybuilding-style accessories like lat pulldowns, leg curls and triceps extensions are the unsung heroes of powerlifting by helping build muscle and eliminate weak points. But when you’re a few days out from a meet, you’re not going to get any bigger. It’s best to significantly reduce or even completely eliminate accessory work in the name of recovery.
If you feel like you MUST do some accessory work, pick just one or two exercises on your first two training days. Keep them to 1-2 sets and make them super light and easy. Just enough to get some blood pumping. On your final training day, don’t do any accessories. Just squat, bench and deadlift. Any extra time is best spent resting, recovering and visualizing.
Don’t Cut Weight
I’ve gone on record many times saying that it’s a terrible idea to cut weight. Nothing saps performance like reducing calories, carbs, water and sodium – all things that are essential for intense training (and RECOVERING from intense training).
Unless you’re trying to…
- Qualify for a high-profile meet (e.g., national- or international-level)
- Set a significant record (state, national or world)
- Win money
…there’s really no reason to cut weight to make a specific weight class. Just go in weighing what you normally weigh and lift.
Ask yourself this: would you rather perform at your best by setting PRs across the board and NOT finish in first place in your weight class? Or win your weight class but not set any PRs because you felt tired and sluggish from cutting weight? The latter scenario is what I’ve seen happen over and over with lifters who cut weight. Sure, they might get a medal for winning a lighter weight class, but they usually leave feeling disappointed that they didn’t perform as well as they could have had they stayed in a heavier class.
During the week of the meet, eat normally, hydrate normally and get plenty of sleep. If there are no records or prize money on the line, don’t worry about cutting weight.
Land the Plane
Don’t spoil all your hard work by crashing the plane on the runway. Be smart with your last few training sessions, do your visualization and maximize your recovery. Then you can reap the rewards of your efforts and be proud of your performance on the platform.