Setting foot on the platform for the very first time is an exciting adventure. There’s no previous standard you can compare yourself to and there’s a lot to learn. While there are plenty of lists available listing all of the materials you shouldn’t forget on the day of your meet (click here for ours), not many coaches have written about the mental preparation for this big day yet. Therefore, this blogpost will highlight how you can make this experience as enjoyable as possible by getting your head in the right place.
There are many factors that can impact how your first competition experience will go. Be aware that you will need some time getting to know these things and how to adjust to them. You will make mistakes. You will learn more about arousal and how to manage it. You will learn more about your peaking strategy and many more things. This is all part of the game and will need some refining after your first full experience and that’s okay. Not everything will be perfect the first time.
To kick off: your first competition will probably not be your best competition. Competing isn’t just lifting as heavy as you can – it’s a tactical game you play with your coach and competitors. While this is important to realize, it’s also something you probably shouldn’t worry about much when you first set foot on the platform. You want to focus on absorbing every single minute and getting used to the competition set-up, the referees and the crowd. Allow yourself to gain experience first, then start playing.
Redirecting the focus from ‘winning the game’ to ‘getting experience’ will probably contribute to a more fun and successful day out. Setting non-numerical goals can help you achieve this. It’s easy to get lost chasing numbers, but it’s unlikely you will hit a perfect day while also executing your ambitious plan. We get it, you want to show up as your strongest self and show the world what you’re capable of, but these ambitious goals will probably leave you empty-handed. Formulating goals that are more focussed on the experience can be helpful in this process.
That being said, you will probably still go in with some numbers in mind that you would like to hit. These numerical goals aren’t wrong by any means, but can cause performance anxiety. You might experience unnecessary pressure, you might get nervous and you might even get scared to miss an attempt. The more ambitious you are with your numerical goals, the worse this gets. Make sure the numerical goals you have in mind are realistically and within your reach. Prepare a plan ahead of the competition that you aim to stick to, but have the option to deviate from in case things don’t work out the way you want them to.
Once the competition has started it is important not to look too far ahead. You want to go through the day one lift at the time. There’s no point in worrying about your potential third while lifting your opener. All this does is take away from your focus during this attempt, with a potential negative outcome for your current attempt and the attempts after.
A final point we want to make is stress-related. First experiences are always a little scary. Trying to limit any additional stress during the day will benefit your day both in performance and experience. Another stressor you could prevent dealing with is your bodyweight. While weight-cuts are very popular and can have positive effects on eventual placement, we would recommend you to weigh in at whatever weight you’re currently at.
It can be very beneficial to bring a handler with you to guide you through the day. Bringing a handler you trust can take away a lot of the stress and keep your mind away from the practical things like timing your warmups. Your handler can also objectively decide on your attempts and even help you deal with your nerves on the day.
Your first competition will probably be the competition where you’ll learn the most. Expect to make mistakes and plan for how you’ll come back from them. While making mistakes is part of becoming a more experienced athlete, they suck and will cause frustration on the day. Figuring out how to come back from mistakes and to finish the day strong can be a gamechanger for your experience of the day and all of the competitions you’ll lift at in the future.
Remember that your first competition is more about figuring out whether you enjoy competing while gaining experience and is less about trying to win.
Good luck!