What to expect at your first powerlifting competition.

With the gym hosting it's first sanctioned powerlifting competition in just over 2 weeks time, we thought it would be a good time to post about how to prepare and what to expect at your own first competition. 
As usual this is a post written by James Kennedy. 

Your first powerlifting competition can be nerve-wracking. Knowing what to bring and what to expect when you arrive is critical to having a good day and performing your best on the platform. In this article, we’ll go through the overall structure of the day, what you need to bring, and what to expect at various parts of the day. 
The day will follow the same general pattern at all powerlifting competitions, whether you’re doing your first club competition or IPF world championships. A few weeks from the competition (usually when entry closes), a schedule will be posted, with weigh-in and lift-off times for each flight. In a powerlifting competition, the competitors will be grouped based on weight classes called flights. For each flight, the weigh-in time will be 2 hours before lift-off; for example, an 11 am lift-off means a 9 am weigh-in. 2 hours after weigh-ins open for your flight, squats begin. Once squats have finished, there will be a ten-minute break before the bench press and another ten-minute break before deadlifts.

Here's a check list we use for our lifters in the build up to competition.

Your preparation for the competition day begins the night before. Without sounding like your parents, pack your bag the night before! Ensure you have ready your gym kit (shoes, belt, knee sleeves, wrist wraps, singlet and t-shirts!). If you use resistance bands, foam rollers, a hip circle, or any other warmup equipment, make sure you have this ready in your gym bag to take with you! If you need a specific piece of kit for warming up, don’t assume it will be at the competition venue. The next step is to prepare the food, drinks and supplements. Usually, a powerlifting competition will last between 3-6 hours, so plan your food out accordingly. 


Don’t try out new food, drink, or supplements on the day of the competition. The last thing you want is an upset stomach or cramps on the platform. Generally, you’ll want to eat a slightly larger meal between weigh-in and squats; aim for something easily digestible with higher carbs and protein. Following squats, a lighter meal, high in carbs and protein again, is ideal for replenishing energy stores before the bench. Between bench and deadlifts, another high-carb light meal is a good idea. At this point in the day, I have usually devolved from porridge or overnight oats to devouring a bag of Haribo. If you use pre-workout supplements, a general rule of thumb is half a dose during squat warm-ups, none for bench and a full amount during the deadlift warmups. Strategically varying how much and when you take pre-workout throughout the day helps prevent you from getting too hyped for squats and crashing during the rest of the day. 


When you arrive at the competition, take some time to familiarise yourself with the venue. Where are you weighing in and warming up? Where’s the holding area, the platform and the table? Where are you going to chill in-between lifts? Most importantly, where are the toilets? Your day will begin at the weigh-in. Once you’ve arrived at the competition and found somewhere to leave your bags, go and weigh in. Ensure you have your membership card and openers, as the membership will be checked at the weigh-in. Once you’ve weighed in, you’ll need to give your openers in, which will determine when you’re lifting during your flight. 


Following weigh-ins, you’ll usually have up to an hour before you need to start warming up for squats. Use this time to rehydrate, get your first meal in and relax. Begin to visualise success, focusing on what you can control and how you will meet your goals. Around 40 mins before you start squatting, go and begin your warm-ups for squats. Make sure
When you enter the warm-up area, there will not be enough racks for everyone to have their own. You will have to share space. People in powerlifting are generally chill and helpful, so sharing racks is not an issue. To make sharing racks easier, pick a rack used by people of similar height to you! That way, it's much more manageable if you need to move the rack. Stick to that rack once you’ve begun warming up on a rack. If you are jumping around from rack to rack in the warm area, it annoys everyone else; be considerate and stick to one rack! Whilst warming up, it’s your handler's responsibility to monitor the time and help you pace out your warm-ups. Generally, you want to take your last warm-up 8-10 minutes before your opening attempt. Work backwards from that time to plan out when you want to do each warm-up shot. 

Ambar focusing pre squat.

Once you have completed your warm-ups, it’s time to move to the holding area. The holding area is where you wait before you go and make an attempt on the platform. Ensure you bring some water, your kit and anything else you may need between attempts. Within the holding area, there will usually be a screen showing the order of lifters; keep an eye on this and ensure you know when you will be called to go onto the platform. One lifter before your attempt, get your kit (wrist wraps and belt) on. When it’s your turn, the platform crew will load the bar, and the centre ref will indicate that it is loaded. Once the bar is loaded, you have 1 minute to get the start command in the squat or bench or make a genuine attempt to lift the bar with the deadlift. Following the attempt, you’ll leave the platform and have one minute to put in your next attempt. Generally, if you've missed a lift, going up is a bad idea. Instead, retake the lift. Missing all three attempts on a lift (bombing out) means you can’t total - it’s always better to retake an attempt than go up and miss again. 

Once you've completed all three lifts, you’ll have some time before you lift again. If you’re at a smaller competition, it may only be 10-15 minutes between finishing squats and starting warm up for the bench (and the same between bench and deadlifts). At national competitions, it could be up to an hour. In that scenario, take the time to get food and water and unwind between the lifts. Remember - you may need more time to warm up again if you’ve had a significant break between lifts.

​

Franky hitting his squat at competition - not his PB, he wants me to point out.

The broad summary of a powerlifting competition I’ve outlined here is true for whatever level of competition or federation you compete in. Remember to prepare your kit the day before, make sure you have the membership sorted and make yourself aware of the daily schedule of the day. Once you arrive, make sure you and your handler have a plan for the timing of the day so you know when and where you need to be and what you need to be doing. Going in prepared with a loose plan for the day and knowing what to expect will allow you to concentrate on the most important thing: making your lifts on the platform!

---

Speaking of our first sanctioned competition - you can come down and watch our August Barbell Fest on the 27th August. 
We are selling spectator tickets as while we do want a great crowd, we also don't want to risk flooding the warm up area. 
So, if you want to come watch - 

Spectator tickets

Thanks for reading!