# The Week before The Meet



## DieYoungStrong (Mar 23, 2015)

I posted this at another spot, and I'm putting it up here to. Be nice to have a discussion about what everyone does during meet week.

So, I'm sitting here a week out from my next meet, and I got that feeling again. The only way I can describe how I feel is like when you're a kid on Christmas Eve during the day waiting for the good stuff to start that night. It's like the whole work week is like a Friday school day in High School when you had a football game that night. Time seems to stand still. Minutes seem like hours.

The heavy lifting has been done. Openers are set. You've made all kinds of sacrifices - family, friends, etc, to concentrate on your peak. Training, eating, and recovery/mob/feeder sessions could be a full time job, and 99% of us already have a real full time job; some of us have families. Also, if you're bird boned like me, you've racked up some nagging injuries along the way. I'm typing this from my office with a e-stim tens unit hooked up to my right hip and left tricep. If someone walks in here, there is just no way that they won't believe that I'm not flogging the dolphin.

On the agenda for the week is lots of mob work daily, a deep tissue massage on Tuesday, some real light groove work on Wed, a trip to the Chiro at some point, and an easy 8lb weight cut later in the week. I spend most of my time at work trying, and failing, to keep busy to pass time, but instead I'm staring off into space visualizing my lifts. I see myself doing everything from chalking my hands and torking up, to getting commands and focusing on my cues for each lift. I can't tell you how many times a day this week I will stick my hands out and flare my lats thinking about benching, or how many valsalva's I do.

The competitive fire is burning big time in my gut. I'm so fired up to get back on the Platform. I want to set some PR's and all that good stuff, but I also want to win. Whether it's reasonable or not. Yes, it's all about doing it for yourself, setting PR's, and all that jazz, but I'm also competitive almost to a fault. I want to win on game day. I want to hit all my lifts and let the chips fall where they may. There's nothing wrong with wanting and striving to win.

What does everyone else do, training wise and just keeping your head screwed on straight, on the week leading up to the meet?


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## ECKSRATED (Mar 23, 2015)

Nice post 

I'm 5 weeks out and feel like that. I can't imagine what the week before the meet is gonna have me feeling like. Being at your strongest and not being able to touch the iron for a week is gonna be hardddd. 

I've been having trouble falling asleep some night because I lay there visualizing what I think it's gonna be like on the platform. I start getting anxious as fukk. It's crazy. 

Good luck this weekend brother.


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## Tren4Life (Mar 23, 2015)

I wish I had something Jol like to say but I don't. 

Im the same way as you guys, although I'm working on the calm before the storm. Trying to stay relaxed and saving all your energy until the barbell touches your hands is incredibly hard. 

Instead of visualizing the actual lift this far out maybe try to see yourself calmly warming up in the warm up area. 

Fuk I don't know I'm just thinking out loud.


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## Joliver (Mar 23, 2015)

I wish I had something jol-like to say here too. But there is nothing in the world that can assuage the angst of an upcoming meet. In my years of lifting few things made it easier.

One of the things (and this is also something that I used in school when I was driving myself crazy with finals) that helped me the most was to remember the preparation. Remember how many times you squatted till you popped a vessel in your eye, or your nose bled. Remember the nausea from repetition days and how you saw the timer hit zero and you staggered up for your next set. The grinding sets that cramped your back on the bench as you gritted your teeth and said "don't touch it!!" The deadlifts that made you quake like a paint shaker, nailing your knees into the bar leaving green bruises. Those grinding deadlift reps that your coach kept telling you "drop it! Drop it!" and you ground it out only to be cursed out afterward. Remember the science...how much your poured over it...looking for the god damn needle in a ****ing stack of needles piece of info that gave you that slight edge. Remember what you sacrificed. 

Now think about the meet and the who's who of the likely roster, if you think any of them hurt, suffered, sacrificed or worked harder, you're beaten already. If there is no damn way that happened, relax and let them worry about you.


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## stonetag (Mar 23, 2015)

I speak only about the feeling you describe, I can't apply it to a meet, I can apply it to football games, and when I know I'm going to get laid. The football more so though. Good luck DYS.


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## Paolos (Mar 24, 2015)

You boys are giving me the goosebumps.... Powerlifting was my thing a long long time ago (lil over 25 years ago) !
Sounds like you have DONE THE WORK now its time to take it to the platform. Some are quiet, some are psycho and some
are methodical. DYS don't over think it just stick to your plan... GOOD LUCK!


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## DocDePanda187123 (Mar 24, 2015)

DYS I'm feeling very similar to you except at the other end of the spectrum. My mind has commands going through it (bench commands especially ), what I need to bring wih me, etc. I'm calm to the point that it's scaring me right now. You trained your ass off for thousand I am honored I get to be there to watch you lift next week. God bless brother and this is going to be the longest week of your life lol


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## Assassin32 (Mar 24, 2015)

Sounds a little similar to the feeling I used to get before playoff Hockey games. Hitting the ice in front of 15,000 fans before the start of the 1st period is a mixture of euphoria and nerves that can't be described or duplicated. I still get goosebumps thinking about it. Ah, the good old days. Where the hell did they go?

Good luck DYS. Tear shit up, my man. PR's are going down!


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## DieYoungStrong (Mar 24, 2015)

DocDePanda187123 said:


> DYS I'm feeling very similar to you except at the other end of the spectrum. My mind has commands going through it (bench commands especially ), what I need to bring wih me, etc. I'm calm to the point that it's scaring me right now. You trained your ass off for thousand I am honored I get to be there to watch you lift next week. God bless brother and this is going to be the longest week of your life lol




Just bring some food and your balls and everything else will fall into place brother.


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## snake (Mar 24, 2015)

For me right now, 4 weeks outs and also dealing with a few minor injuries, my hopes are not very high. I will hopefully achieve my goal of entering into my first PL meet in over 12 years. I'm viewing this as a first meet and as such just looking to hit my lifts.

DYS, As for your feelings of anticipation; I never had them to any extend,for one main reason. To put it into perspective, the average PLer has a solid 16 weeks of good hard training for the meet. In that time, think of all the reps you did in the Big 3. On game day you only have to do 6 warm ups on the platform and 3 maxs. That's the way I keep it in perspective. You spent a multitude of days in the gym; this is only another day. Maybe I dumb it down a little so it's easier to swallow but it does keep me on an even keel.


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## mickems (Mar 24, 2015)

snake said:


> For me right now, 4 weeks outs and also dealing with a few minor injuries, my hopes are not very high. I will hopefully achieve my goal of entering into my first PL meet in over 12 years. I'm viewing this as a first meet and as such just looking to hit my lifts.
> 
> DYS, As for your feelings of anticipation; I never had them to any extend,for one main reason. To put it into perspective, the average PLer has a solid 16 weeks of good hard training for the meet. In that time, think of all the reps you did in the Big 3. On game day you only have to do 6 warm ups on the platform and 3 maxs. That's the way I keep it in perspective. You spent a multitude of days in the gym; this is only another day. Maybe I dumb it down a little so it's easier to swallow but it does keep me on an even keel.





you're a humble guy, Snake. from what little I know about you,  I see you as a quiet storm (killer in disguise), calm and collective on the surface and then under the weights, you're a killer. you'll do great at the meet.


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## DocDePanda187123 (Mar 24, 2015)

DieYoungStrong said:


> Just bring some food and your balls and everything else will fall into place brother.



I will be bring a shit ton of food with me and I'll see if I can find my balls to bring as well. May need to ask Joli if he's see. Them bc I haven't for a while now


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## mugzy (Mar 24, 2015)

DocDePanda187123 said:


> I will be bring a shit ton of food with me and I'll see if I can find my balls to bring as well. May need to ask Joli if he's see. Them bc I haven't for a while now



Make weight and weigh in as soon as possible. Be the first guy waiting to get on the scale, follow up with a bag of salt and vinegar chips and beef jerky then wash it down with a gallon of water. For dinner find a ponderosa or Golden Coral and stuff yourself.


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## DocDePanda187123 (Mar 24, 2015)

admin said:


> Make weight and weigh in as soon as possible. Be the first guy waiting to get on the scale, follow up with a bag of salt and vinegar chips and beef jerky then wash it down with a gallon of water. For dinner find a ponderosa or Golden Coral and stuff yourself.



Basically what POB and DYS told me to do. Thanks Admin.


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## PillarofBalance (Mar 24, 2015)

admin said:


> Make weight and weigh in as soon as possible. Be the first guy waiting to get on the scale, follow up with a bag of salt and vinegar chips and beef jerky then wash it down with a gallon of water. For dinner find a ponderosa or Golden Coral and stuff yourself.


Haha I have been spreading that advice since you offered it to me before my first meet.  Works incredibly well


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