Approaching The Bar On Meet Day
Getting under a bar, standing back up. It’s a practice we do regularly, integrated into our daily lives. Yet, on a platform: where three individuals rate the validity of these actions, with a sea of humans watching it go down: suddenly, it feels completely different. The nerves are greater, the stakes are higher, and you’re expressing your strength as an athlete to official standards- rather than as a trainee in the squat rack. Finding your headspace & using it to your advantage is an integral part of meet day- to an extent, determining the outcome of your performance. Going into this event with the proper expectations and preparation will allow you to use your brain as a guide rather than a hindrance. Understand the nature of meet day- as well as your own patterns- so you can engage your "athlete" brain.
What to do when you fail a lift
Missing a lift on the platform is likely your greatest fear. Failed reps are already avoided and despised during your training cycle, but on the day that means the most to you, depicting your athletic success? It can be devastating, crushing your core and ruining your day. However, it doesn’t have to end this way.
The reality is that few athletes will go 9/9 at every single meet they undergo. We cannot possibly control for every circumstance on the day of- there are many variables at play: sleep levels, hydration, food, stress, mentality, peak, age, gender, etc., and human bodies are unpredictable. Especially when you are still getting to know your body & yourself as an athlete- and/or- when you’re pushing your limits to a greater degree- gunning for a certain number or total,
Missed lifts will happen on occasion.
You cannot make every single shot you take- and those moments can be the ones that toughen you as a lifter, providing introspection and insight to push you forward.
The first step when missing a rep is to determine why it occurred.
Was it physical:
You simply didn’t have the strength to stand up with it?
The weight immediately felt heavy?
Was it mental:
You doubted yourself, lost focus, gave up too early, didn’t commit to the rep?
Was it technical:
You missed depth, jumped a command, misgrooved it, or didn’t pause it?
A combination of all three?
If you got a red light & don't know why, ask the ref immediately to learn.
Your next move will be how you respond. If you missed a first or a second attempt, you can choose to stay at the same weight or increase. Generally speaking, it’s always a good idea to repeat a failed weight on the platform. You’re drastically increasing your chances for success, and you’ll be far happier with the outcome of a completed lift (even if it’s less than you wanted) vs. another failure.
If the miss was because of something small, such as jumping a command or forgetting to latch your belt, going up (with a conservative increase) may be warranted. In these moments, lean on your coach/handler and be objective. Remember your end goal: as many lifts as possible, achieving white lights, and leaving the day with wins. Make the choice that will guarantee you that result.
Mental or technical failures, to some degree, are the ones you have more control over.
Depth? You can practice some air squats in the back.
Commands? You can use certain cues, stare the ref down, and remember to listen.
Lost confidence? You can ask for a support talk from your handler, use visualization techniques, play training videos, and repeat a mantra to yourself before you get under the bar.
Utilize the time and resources you have to ensure your next attempt is a successful one.
A physical failure is one you can’t do as much about- because you cannot lower the weight once you’ve attempted it, and there are more factors beyond your control there. Making proper attempt selections, listening to your body, following RPEs, and having “Plan A/Plan Bs” on meet day helps prevent this circumstance. Physical and mental strength are interchangeable, so utilize your setup, mindset approach, and pre-lift hype when attempting a lift you previously missed. Be ready to grind it out, fight for your life, lock that number in- give it everything you have.
Any failed lift is discouraging and disheartening. In the moments to follow, acknowledge that. Feel your emotions, cry it out if needed, and find a support person to talk it through with. Putting so much energy and workload into a single day- and not receiving the intended objective- feeling like your efforts weren’t enough- sucks. You don’t need to toxic-positivity-yourself into ignoring that. However, after you’ve been through the emotional ride, let yourself off and walk toward the next task. Part of being an athlete is dealing with struggles- and not letting them breed even more misses. A failed third squat can become an all-time bench PR, a red-lighted opener can lead to a successful second, and an impossible milestone attempt can lead to a hunger for building in the future.
Even if you happen to bomb out, you have the decision between leaving the day in a weakened & discouraged mood- or having a fun training day and going for some PRs to follow. Our failures can become further motivation, fueling our accomplishments, if we view them that way. Learning to adapt and overpower these obstacles shows a great deal of maturity & advancement as an athlete. Utilize these moments as tests & assessments of your mental resilience, and be determined to show up through them.
2. Finding your headspace
Every lifter has a unique mental preparation- that specifically works for them in their lifts. Find and define what yours is, and know that it can change depending on life circumstances, experience level, and the movement itself. Maybe for one, it’s calm, quiet- you want to block everything out, shut off the noise, and zone in. For another, it could be joy and celebration- you feed off excitement and happiness, ready to honor your hard work. And for a different lifter, it could be rage: channeling anger healthily, using it to fuel you through a hefty grind.
Training is practice for the platform, where you can develop your mentality & preparation as a lifter. Meets showcase the most authentic versions of ourselves, our rawest, most real moments- eliciting pure emotion that spills from our hearts, transfers into the bar, and harnesses our greatest power. Let yourself feel in each lift: whatever’s buried inside you, pull it out, and use it. You get to use the barbell as an interpretation of yourself- whatever that means to you- helping heal from trauma, feeling the joy of being there, finally shutting your brain off for a second when you’re used to giving into everyone else- what makes this so significant for you? Find it, identify it, stay present in those moments, and use your lifts to unveil that. Before every attempt, visualize yourself under the bar- walking up to it, how the weight feels on your back, what you’re experiencing, and watch yourself successfully lock it out. Really see it: burning into your memory. In those moments before you hear the words “platform ready,” solidify what this lift means to you- what it’s really about, and go through the necessary "foreplay" to get you “there”-prepared to execute.
3. Remembering your previous successes
While meet day is- undoubtedly- a different experience from training, the lifts, the technique, and the motions are all the same. One of the most helpful aspects to calm a lifter’s nerves and boost their confidence is remembering all their wins.
Feeling the bar on your back doesn’t have to be as scary when you’ve done it over a thousand times.
A sense of certainty can be brought to a deadlift when you remember you’ve hit multiple PRs in training.
If you did it right, these are all practiced movements, ones you’ve performed for many weeks, months, and even years. You’ve stood up with squats, finished bench press reps, and locked out deadlift reps for a reason- meet day. Even if the nerves, the pressure, and the judgment are distracting- build deep trust in the process- and your body. Even if your mind is astray, if you’ve played your cards right with attempts, you can grind out a lift if you need to. Your body will remember the movements even if you feel like you’ve forgotten them (you haven’t), and that’s pretty cool.
Let every rep prepare you for the next. Take plenty of time in your warm-up sets. If one feels off, take it again. If you’re struggling with commands or comp-standard technique- add more practice sets. Visualize the platform in your final warm-up sets. And beyond that, let your opener set the tone for what’s to come. This number should be conservative- so you know that even if you get in your head, you can stand up with it. And when you do, let that bring you some self-assuredness. After all, once you finish that first one- you find some semblance of a groove, tuning out all of your surroundings & drawing inward.
In between lifts, re-watch your latest PR victories from training. Use these data points of success as evidence that you’re capable. If you could do it then, what would stop you from doing it here: right now, in this moment, the one you’ve been preparing for? Remember what it felt like to finish that lift, how you had to fight for it- what it meant to you, and let that carry you through the one you’re about to do.
4. Embracing the grind + struggle
Meet Day is about inviting challenges, proving that you can rise to the occasion, and expressing your greatest efforts. Be ready to show up through difficulty, walking straight through walls that feel cemented, forceful, and hard to break. We train sub-maximally for months, holding back, leaving some in the tank, and meet day is the chance to push yourself. While every meet is different, some contain certain goals that influence attempt selection, and it’s usually not the best idea to go balls-to-the-wall for every rep, you’ll likely be attempting weights you’ve never touched before- at some point. If you approach it with the expectation that every lift will be easy, you can zone out and lose focus- humility will quickly find you. On those third attempts, on a redemption lift, when your brain is trying to tear you down- you must anticipate these battles, approaching them with the mentality of leaving it all out there.
If there’s one more second you could’ve fought, a better setup, more mental focus, a headspace you could’ve gone to-
You’ll regret it for the rest of the day & training months to follow. It will replay in your head, staying with you: until the opportunity finally arises to redeem yourself.
We don’t get these chances very often- the place to entirely focus on ourselves, safely pushing our abilities over the edge, testing the possibilities of outcomes. When you receive yours, make damn sure you’re going to take it. Be prepared to give everything you have. What’s more satisfying than standing up with a weight you sincerely doubted would move a single inch? Few things in this life, especially if your lift depicts an underlying meaning that resonates with you. You’ve got the spotters in case something goes wrong, so grind for your life, show up harder than you ever have, and let there be no other thoughts in your brain, just one pinpointed vision: finishing that fucking lift. Those moments after, the ones of victorious celebration, of “I-can’t-believe-I-just-did-that”- of hugs and tears with the people who understand its significance- they’re ones you never forget, burned into your existence.
In this event of assessing your mental will, your tenacity, and how much grit you’ve got wrapped inside, show what kind of athlete you are.
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Meet day: it’s the epitome of months of preparing: highlighting our efforts, mentalities, growth, and ourselves as individuals. This experience is not one without pressure, anxiety, and uncertainty- yet because of that environment- when we succeed- it means more. Whether you’re a seasoned competitor or a newbie, your brain space going into the day will establish your result. Each meet comes with its own set of challenges, life events, training quality, epiphanies, and stages of growth, so use all of that in these final, crucial moments, remembering how far you’ve come. Knowing what this meet means to you, how to approach the bar, and why you embarked on this journey- will set you apart- when it comes to your chances of success. Make the time to reflect leading up, preparing yourself for the day of- and no matter what, celebrate your strength & capabilities in the process.
