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freighttraindane
06-28-11, 2:46 pm
Animals, I know this is going to sound like a pretty generic question, but any advice, tips or things to remember going into a powerlifting meet. Such as food to bring, when to take Rage, really pretty much anything that you wish someone had told you before your first meet.

I am going to be participating in my first powerlifting meet on July 9th and I just want to be as prepared as possible.

Thanks for the continued inspiration and knowledge from all the Animals.

mritter3
06-28-11, 3:33 pm
i have only participated in one but here is my list.....

gym bag
gear-wraps, singlet, chalk, belt, deadlift socks
i pod
snacks-granola bars, protein bars, snack often
gatorade/water
foam roller
extra socks, shoes, underwear, some t shirts, small towel

make sure you have all your attempts prepared before you arrive, weigh in early, warm up properly, when your second or 3rd out..make sure your ready to go...dont make the judges wait...have someone already set up to shoot vids or photos before you lift....most of all have fun...the first one is a great learning experience..your gonna have a blast..shoot me a pm if you got questions...

Aggression
06-28-11, 3:43 pm
To add to mritter's list ..

Animal Rage. BOOM.

Relax and have fun, bro. Its a great time. When it comes to food you bring, be sure to bring food that you're used to eating. Don't throw any curveballs in there. Competition day isn't the time to test out a new protein bar that will have you running to the toilet every minute. Eat foods that you know you're OK with. I brought some PB and J sandwiches, fruit, some protein powder, etc.

freighttraindane
06-28-11, 3:45 pm
To add to mritter's list ..

Animal Rage. BOOM.

Relax and have fun, bro. Its a great time. When it comes to food you bring, be sure to bring food that you're used to eating. Don't throw any curveballs in there. Competition day isn't the time to test out a new protein bar that will have you running to the toilet every minute. Eat foods that you know you're OK with. I brought some PB and J sandwiches, fruit, some protein powder, etc.

Did you take Rage before each lift, or just once before the first lift?

Nix0r
06-28-11, 3:51 pm
Did you take Rage before each lift, or just once before the first lift?

I did one scoop before squats, that held me over through benching, then I took another scoop before deads.

Aggression
06-28-11, 3:53 pm
Did you take Rage before each lift, or just once before the first lift?

I mixed 2 scoops of Rage with about 10oz of water and sipped on it prior to each lift.

smoothballer
06-28-11, 3:55 pm
http://articles.elitefts.com/articles/powerlifting-articles/tips-for-your-first-raw-powerlifting-meet/

BigChrisF
06-28-11, 6:19 pm
If you are going unequipped, then it will be a lot easier. There is a lot less timing involved. You just kind of wander out there when you are called a lift what is there. Your first meet is not about setting records, getting a pr or putting on a good performance. That is all secondary. What you want to focus on is getting through the meet and not bombing. Meets are not won with your openers. Pick a manageable weight that you are sure you can do even if you feel sick. once you get that in, you have room to play around. Second attempt should be a weight you are pretty sure you can get or doesn't completely screw you out of your total goal if you miss your third. The third attempt is for setting PR's or for setting yourself up in a good position to meet your desired total.

As for food, stick with things you usually eat. Your guts will have enough stress to deal with, without having something new. And stay away from foods that give you gas. You will be straining a lot and farting during a heavy lift will cause you to lose tightness in your abdominal region and can cause you to miss the lift.

Past that, talk to people and pay attention to what is going on around you. Getting a feel for the routine is important and watching the people lifting before you can give you an idea of how the judging is. It will let you know if you will have to squat deeper or if they are gonna pause you on the bench a while or hold you forever at lockout.

Tiny1102
06-28-11, 8:57 pm
I would not touch the Rage till you start warming up.

Tiny1102
06-28-11, 8:58 pm
Animals, I know this is going to sound like a pretty generic question, but any advice, tips or things to remember going into a powerlifting meet. Such as food to bring, when to take Rage, really pretty much anything that you wish someone had told you before your first meet.

I am going to be participating in my first powerlifting meet on July 9th and I just want to be as prepared as possible.

Thanks for the continued inspiration and knowledge from all the Animals.

You going Raw or wearing Gear? Make sure you go to the rules meeting. You might not know all the rules. Many feds have different rules.

freighttraindane
06-28-11, 9:56 pm
Thanks everyone for all the advice and tips, I am soaking up all this knowledge from everyone

I am going raw in this meet.

I am probably gonna take some Rage while warming up for each lift. Stim supps tend to wear off kind of quickly for me so I should be fine to take some before all 3.

Big Byrd
06-28-11, 10:05 pm
Animals, I know this is going to sound like a pretty generic question, but any advice, tips or things to remember going into a powerlifting meet. Such as food to bring, when to take Rage, really pretty much anything that you wish someone had told you before your first meet.

I am going to be participating in my first powerlifting meet on July 9th and I just want to be as prepared as possible.

Thanks for the continued inspiration and knowledge from all the Animals.

good question;

first piece of advice is make sure u take a leak before u get in ur squat suit!!! seriously!

now other issues
-pack easy to eat foods; bagels and peanut butter, waixy maize shakes, fruit, powerade (not gatorade, its about principles dangit).
-bring all the gear u need, singlet, belt, knee/wrist wraps, chalk, baby powder, sticku, spray
-warmups- time ur warmups properly. find a seasoned lifter to ask for help, or a seasoned lifter with similar opener and follow him on his warmup attempts (look at the flight order and find out who is before and after u then take ur warmups with them if they know whats going on.) Generally, a flight is 10-15 lifters, so each round of attempts will take about 30 minutes. If u open at a 600 squat and need 6 warmup sets (135, 225, 315, 405, 495, 545) give urself 10 minutes between each of the last 3 attempts and 5 between first 3, so about 50-60 minutes. Keep in mind everyone will fight for the bar so stand ur ground and take ur attempts if lifters get pushy.
-rage is personal, u want it to kick in prolly half way thru warmups and kickin fully by opener. bench flights throw off timing so depends how many flights. just go by feel, but dont take so much u cant hold the dl bar.
-get a good nights sleep
-eat carbs and sodium and plenty of fluid/water after weighin
-talk to lifters, learn and make contacts. they r usually all very helpful and encouraging; ask them who u should talk to, lifters will generally know who is most experienced and/or willing to help u.

Big Wides
06-29-11, 5:57 am
try to learn as much as you can from the meet and have fun. Like many others have said here keep everything simple, you'll be going through a lot that you don't even realize. It's important to get a good nights rest and to eat properly the night before and the morning of the meet.

Go in there, hit your openers and then just have fun with the meet, it's all about the experience. Walk away with a total your happy with and some nuggets of knowledge and its a good day

naturalguy
06-29-11, 6:17 am
There is some great advice in this thread so I don't have much to add to meet day. I will add this however, for me at least (and a lot of people I suspect) a lot of this game is mental. I know this sounds corny and I've seen them a million times but I watched Rocky I, II & III the night before my first meet.

freighttraindane
06-29-11, 7:32 am
Wow, I can't thank everyone enough for all the help and advice, definitely helped calm my nerves and I am ready to get in there and have some fun and do my best.

This is what makes the Animal brotherhood so special, a newbie to the sports asking a generic question, and the titans of the sport offerring their knowledge to help a fellow lifter out. Amazing!

mritter3
06-29-11, 8:05 am
best of luck to ya freighttraindan....enjoy yourself man.

freighttraindane
06-29-11, 2:05 pm
best of luck to ya freighttraindan....enjoy yourself man.

Thanks mritter

Big Byrd
06-30-11, 1:41 am
Big point of advice here:

Pick ur openers wisely. Pick a weight that u can do for 3-5 reps and have full confidence that u could hit it for a single on any given day of the week no matter how rough u feel. The openers, esp squat, come with alot of nervous energy. I promise u the last thing u want to think when walking out for ur opener is "man, i hope i can lift this!"

Powerlifting is not about where u start out at, but where u finish. Get on the board with ur first attempt in every lift, then begin to push urself. Its a terible feeling to hit a huge squat then come to the bench and miss ur opener. Ive done it, its nerve racking at best if u do get it on second, and if u bomb u cant kick urself hard enough or enough times for ur stupidity.

Open light and finish strong.

freighttraindane
06-30-11, 8:17 am
Thanks Sam, I was thinking about how aggressive to be with my openers, but from what you and everyone is telling me, its better to make sure you get a sucessful lift, than is it to get a bigger number. Thanks, I appreciate the help.

naturalguy
06-30-11, 8:24 am
Open light and finish strong.

I like that quote

Cellardweller
06-30-11, 12:48 pm
Good luck freighttraindan. Got some serious guys pitching in here.

freighttraindane
06-30-11, 4:24 pm
Good luck freighttraindan. Got some serious guys pitching in here.

Thanks Cellardweller, im gonna do my best and have some fun, thanks for the support!

Shukin
06-30-11, 5:20 pm
What an awesome thread!!!
Great advice from everyone,
This thread should be turned into a question and answer article on the main page, this is the kida shit people need to see to understand why this forvm and brother/sister-hood rule.

Much respect,
Shukin

freighttraindane
06-30-11, 10:57 pm
What an awesome thread!!!
Great advice from everyone,
This thread should be turned into a question and answer article on the main page, this is the kida shit people need to see to understand why this forvm and brother/sister-hood rule.

Much respect,
Shukin

I agree Shukin, this has been amazing the amount of help and advice that has poured into this thread. This is the Animal community at its finest.