First Meet Questions

[BendtheBar]

To what Ryano said....I think I drank several gallons of water during my first meet. I couldn't believe how thirsty I was.

I took bananas, protein bars and whey. I mixed a little whey in with each shaker of water.

Lift attempts...a ton of guys go too heavy on their first attempt. As long as you don't do this you will be better off than about 30% of the guys there.

[JTurner]

Originally Posted by Hazzard

Fazc has covered your attempts, so in regards to your warm-ups, it's always good heading into the meet with an idea of what you'll be doing so you don't waste time in the warm-up room thinking about it. So if your opener is 155 then do something like 20, 60, 100, 120, 140, perhaps. You'll be warming up with your flight, and possibly another if there are two platforms, in a separate room to where the lifting is held. Or at least a cornered off area with a multitude of racks and weights. I've always found everyone to be friendly and helpful and up for some banter and spotting so you'll find it a good atmosphere.

You write your openers down on an entry form thing you'll be given at the start of the meet, along with weight, rack height, etc. You can change these up to approximately five mins before your flight starts, give or take. Again, judges and referees (well, most of them...) are friendly and helpful.

If there's anything else, feel free to ask mate.

Thanks Hazzard, it's held at a university sports centre so I'd imagine it's well equipped and set-up. I'll make sure to get a good idea of my warm up's before I get there. I've always heard that the people at meets, or most, are friendly so I'm sure it'll be fine on the day.

Originally Posted by Ryano

Remember that Warm-ups are WARM-UPS. Don't wear yourself out. I've seen to many new competitors get caught up in the warm up room "showing off their stuff". Do that on the platform. I usually do an abbreviated warmup for meets. Less reps, but same sets as a workout warmup for an ME day.

I also start warmups when the flight before me starts their 2nd attempts(for a 12-15 lifter flight). You may have to adjust that to your style/sets of warmup lifts. Just make sure you have a rest period from your last warmup before your first platform attempt. I would rather be done a little early than have to rush to the platform right after my last warmup set.

Make sure you stay hydrated between warm ups and each attempt. If it's a big meet and you have several flights, you may need to eat an energy bar or some fruit between sq-bnch or bnch -dl. Staying hydrated is most important though.

HAVE FUN and enjoy it, no matter the outcome. I also try to remember to thank the judges & spotters after my last attempt- whatever my proformace was. Good luck.

Thanks Ryano, I'll certainly avoid overdoing the warm ups, I'll stick to something like Hazzard said, it's similar to how I'd warm up for single attempts in the gym and should work well. Hopefully some people there will have a good idea of timing or at least how long before I'll need to be on the platform.

Still not sure on size so I'm going to be prepared to eat between even if its small and lots of water. Will try to remember to thank them, good advice, thanks.

[JTurner]

Originally Posted by 5kgLifter

No advice to give; just wanted to wish you good luck in the meet.

Thanks 5kg .

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

To what Ryano said....I think I drank several gallons of water during my first meet. I couldn't believe how thirsty I was.

I took bananas, protein bars and whey. I mixed a little whey in with each shaker of water.

Lift attempts...a ton of guys go too heavy on their first attempt. As long as you don't do this you will be better off than about 30% of the guys there.

Thanks BtB, banana's for sure, I'll get hold of some protein bars for quick solids and take a little tub of whey.

Will be conservative on my first lifts, once they're down that's when I'll add some weight

[Fazc]

Oh and stay away from fruit juice!

[JTurner]

Originally Posted by Fazc

Oh and stay away from fruit juice!

I don't think I need to ask why ha .

[Bodybygamma]

Usually I break it down to

***Squat 85% 92% 100% or 90% 95% 100%
Bench Press 92% 97% 100%
***Deadlift 90% 95% 100% or 85% 92% 100%

***Depending if you place more emphasis on the Squat or Deadlift

For the most part your opener should be your last warm up, something you can triple usually and do on a bad day with your eyes closed.

Your second attempt should be around 5-10lbs below your max pause bench, and 25-50lbs less than your squat-deadlift max.

Third attempts should be either your regular maxes or a little bit more 5-10lbs more for the bench if your feeling good, if you a good bencher for example and for squats and deadlifts 20-50lbs more depending on how solid your training, form, build is for the lifts...

Since we are talking first meet, everything should be done easy and conservative to gauge a total, to gauge ball park #'s and areas for improvement as well as get a better idea of how should warm up, set an opener, etc...

Everyone is different and only visceral experience will build confidence for a meet so show up early, pay attention to the rules, single out who the judges are and try to ask them for tips during warm ups, explain its your first meet, ask them what they are looking for, etc...

[Bodybygamma]

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

To what Ryano said....I think I drank several gallons of water during my first meet. I couldn't believe how thirsty I was.

I took bananas, protein bars and whey. I mixed a little whey in with each shaker of water.

Lift attempts...a ton of guys go too heavy on their first attempt. As long as you don't do this you will be better off than about 30% of the guys there.

^Agreed, STAY HYDRATED! ^ Electrolytes, smart water, gatorade, pedilyte, supplements like X-tend.

Banana's are amazing, they taste the same going down as they do coming up.

[markievicz]

as Turner said i am 2 weeks out from my first meet so I too have lots of questions.

Some are already addressed in earlier posts , so that’s a great help.

But I am interested on what to eat on the day and steve has touched on it here….

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

To what Ryano said....I think I drank several gallons of water during my first meet. I couldn't believe how thirsty I was.

I took bananas, protein bars and whey. I mixed a little whey in with each shaker of water.

Lift attempts...a ton of guys go too heavy on their first attempt. As long as you don't do this you will be better off than about 30% of the guys there.

i am weighing in at 100kgs at the moment so for the next week or two im gonna try come down to 98ish , just to be on the safe side.
Ill do as much of it this week as I can.


On the day however I plan to have nothing to eat before weight in at 8. other than some coffee!

And then bring a big meal to tuck into as soon as the weigh in is done and I have made the 100kg class.
What would be best to eat at this time?


Lots of water and snacks for the day is also a good idea…duly noted!

Another tip I picked up is to bring a few spare T-shirts for each event.

As it is my first meet I don’t have to wear a singlet , I am hopeful that Steve will have some MAB ones available by the time my second one comes around!!
It also gives me a chance to wear my MAB T-shirt on the stage which will raise awareness of the site and hopefully get a few new members on here from Irl.

Ill post more questions in here throughout the day as I think of them

[J_Byrd]

Nothing like meet day to get the nervous worked up, so be prepared for that!!!

Picking attempts: Everyone has a different style in this. I like to take something that even if I someone kicked me in the back of the knee during the attempt I could still get it. My 2nd attempts I look at what could get me near my total. My 3rd all depends on what I am looking for. I go into meets with a total in mind. I pick my 3rd based off what I will need to make that happen. Usually that is more than I have ever done in the gym.

Food: I like to wake up early (usually cant sleep anyway) and get a solid breakfast. I normally eat a big breakfast anyway, so its the norm. Have plenty of snack foods. PPJ sandwiches are good. Some chicken breasts are good. Mixed nuts could be a good energy food as well.

Water: I have seen everything under the sun here. I just drink water/Gatorade and even soft drinks haha. You will see people with all kinds of concoctions from pediolite to home made stuff. Bottom line is, get fluids in you. You will be going to the bathroom like crazy.

Warm ups: You have had some great advice about warm ups. Dont over do it. Its just preparing you for your attempts. We time in the gym how long it takes us to get ready, and follow that plan as close as we can. I use approximately the same weights for my warm ups as I do in the gym. I make meet day the same as a max workout at home.

If I missed anything, let me know. Did my best to answer as much as I could.

[JTurner]

Thanks BBG and JB, all great advice and I've noted it all down. Have exams from now until the day before the meet so I'll try and find some time to get a solid plan down for the day and then just make the most of it and take in as much as I can from everyone there and the experience.

If I think of anything else over the week I'll post it up in here but for now I'll leave it to markievicz to clear any queries up. Just in case anyone missed his post just now here are his questions.

Originally Posted by markievicz

as Turner said i am 2 weeks out from my first meet so I too have lots of questions.

Some are already addressed in earlier posts , so that’s a great help.

But I am interested on what to eat on the day and steve has touched on it here….


i am weighing in at 100kgs at the moment so for the next week or two im gonna try come down to 98ish , just to be on the safe side.
Ill do as much of it this week as I can.


On the day however I plan to have nothing to eat before weight in at 8. other than some coffee!

And then bring a big meal to tuck into as soon as the weigh in is done and I have made the 100kg class.
What would be best to eat at this time?


Lots of water and snacks for the day is also a good idea…duly noted!

Another tip I picked up is to bring a few spare T-shirts for each event.

As it is my first meet I don’t have to wear a singlet , I am hopeful that Steve will have some MAB ones available by the time my second one comes around!!
It also gives me a chance to wear my MAB T-shirt on the stage which will raise awareness of the site and hopefully get a few new members on here from Irl.

Ill post more questions in here throughout the day as I think of them