5 Tips For Your First Olympic Weightlifting Competition
So you’ve worked hard on your lifts, and you’re ready to step on the competition platform? Here’s a couple pointers for your first competition to get the most out of it and have a great experience!
Communicate With Your Coach
One of the best ways to have a great first experience in competition is to make sure you and your coach are on the same page when it comes to choosing weights to attempt. This comes down to establishing your priorities. Are you competing for experience, to set PR's, to medal/win, to qualify for a more important competition, or to make a team? If you don't communicate your priorities, it can make choosing attempts difficult.
Don’t Try Anything New
The most common, yet most ridiculous thing I hear athletes try is ANYTHING new on competition day. Competition is no different than a normal training day when it comes to your approach to it. No new pre-workouts, no new secret squirrel warm-up strategies, and definitely no new jumps in weight you have not practiced in training i.e. 10kg jump from 1st to 2nd when you normally do 3kg. Practice what you’ve been doing, and you’ll know exactly how it will affect your performance. Anything new to the mix can make everything harder to predict!
Talk to People
Weightlifting meets are very friendly! Talk to your competitors, judges, volunteers, and other coaches! Most of us train alone or in a bubble, but weightlifting is small enough, so when a large group of us get together, make friends!
Be Respectful and Mindful of Etiquette
This shouldn’t need an explanation, but be respectful and courteous towards your competitors, judges, volunteers, coaches, and anyone else you may run into. Pay attention to common weightlifting etiquette like:
Avoid walking in front of an athlete while they are lifting
Ask permission to share a warm-up platform
Help your warm-up buddy load the bar and vice versa
For a full breakdown on weightlifting etiquette, check out this video on our YouTube channel!
Have Fun
This is the most important one! Weightlifting is a hobby for most of us. Try to let go of any pressure you may feel and just enjoy the competition!
Ready to Step On The Platform?
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