3 SIGNS YOU ARE READY TO COMPETE IN POWERLIFTING
Powerlifting is an amazing sport because of its accessibility!
It opens its doors to almost anyone and everyone, with representation across a broad mix of gendered & transgendered athletes, representation in the special olympics and across nearly every nation on the planet
One of the things I have always loved most about the sport, particular as someone that never really identified with conventional team sporting culture - it lets ANYONE attend (so long as you have access to a bar, a bench and some plates)
This leads people to the opportunity to tap into amazing levels of personal growth and achieving outstanding results that they never would have had an opportunity to touch before
There does exist, however, a high degree of gatekeeping in powerlifting
Some of the most ubiquitous comments I hear from people looking to start up in powerlifting or compete for the first time are:
- “I don’t think I am strong enough yet”
- “I am not competitive enough yet”
- “I want to make sure that I do my best on the day”
And other variants of the same ideas
Let’s take a look at these three arguments, deconstruct them a little, and find the three biggest reasons why you’re actually ready to compete right now
“I don’t think I am strong enough yet”
We will start with the big one
The idea that you think you aren’t strong enough yet to actually compete
Look, this holds some water especially if you’re a very competitive person like I am
No one likes the feeling of losing, and powerlifting competition can come with a higher level of pressure no matter how much we coaches tell you to ignore it
Having your friends and family watching you attempt to hit a max, and having the potential to FAIL that max, is daunting - potential public losses are tough
BUT here is the kicker
You are never going to be able to control that outcome, no matter how much you train or how often you compete
The best lifters in the world all still miss from time to time
There is no secret amount of competitions you can complete or amount of years you can train that will completely prevent you from missing a lift at a competition, particularly as you get stronger and the margin for error narrows
Realistically, you are as strong as you’re ever going to be right now under these exact circumstances
You’re going to be stronger in the future if you keep training, no doubt about it - but you’re also going to be less experienced in competition by putting off the opportunities to compete, and while you’re going to be stronger you’re still going to have the same first-time jitters that everyone else does, so you really end up at Square One again
The best competitors in the sport don’t just know how to lift, they know how to compete
They understand the rhythm and flow of the day, how to navigate their warm ups, how to change their attempt plans based on how they are feeling on the day along with how the officials are judging lifts on the day
They know how to settle in and get the most from their competition
When you combine strength with competition experience and knowledge, you become a more well-rounded lifter that is going to be incredibly hard to beat
So stop worrying about getting ‘stronger’ (which let’s be honest, is just a smokescreen for perfectionism) and start getting your competition reps in now
“I am not competitive enough yet”
Next on our list is the idea that you want to be as competitive as possible when you show up for your first meet
Let’s call a spade a spade here
If a record holding powerlifting vet of 15 years lifting experience shows up on the day of competition, there is not a snowball’s chance in hell of you actually being competitive with this person
Save the occasional genetic freak, most of us are going to have to work a very long time with a tremendous amount of consistency to reach a high level within the sport
I myself didn’t get my first national record until I had been competing for 6 years and training for 14.
I’ve also won gold in each competition I entered, simply because I made the decision to register and show up without worrying about who else was going to be there
This meant that the decisions I made in my training in the lead up to competition weren’t framed by what others were doing - they were framed by what I felt I was genuinely capable of each week, and what I felt was going to push me the hardest
Don’t get me wrong; as you become more experienced you do look to your peers and other competitors to start pushing your training, and it becomes a very fun experience, but when you start out your primary drive each week of training should simply be “What does my best effort look like today?”
You have NO idea who is going to show up at competition
They may be a vet, or you may be the most experienced lifter by default - we compete not for guaranteed success but for the risk that we might actually be challenged enough and come up short!
That may sound counter intuitive, because who likes losing? But it’s the truth - the idea that you might actually NOT win is what generates the excitement and makes your eventual victory that much sweeter
And let’s not forget the real nail in the coffin for this argument
You are only ever competing against yourself
It doesn’t matter what John or Jane Doe is lifting right now, because that doesn’t change what you are capable of right now, in this moment, and what you get to decide to do
All you can EVER do is aim to beat your last best effort.
When you do that enough times over a long enough period, you start ending up on a lot more podiums
“I want to make sure that I do my best on the day”
We all want to live up to our ideal selves at a big event, when it feels like all eyes are on us
We put ourselves under such immense personal scrutiny that the pressure can feel almost overwhelming
I couldn’t tell you how many athletes I’ve worked with who have rung me 3 days out of a competition, wanting to pull out because they feel under so much stress & expectation (from themselves, mind you)
It’s a GOOD thing if you want to do your best; that simply means that you care
What you need to also understand as a lifter is that in order for you to actually do your best, you’re going to have to be willing to make a lot of mistakes
Whether that be through technique, attempt selection & meet goals, your training & nutrition leading up to competition or even mental approaches like self-talk
You are going to have to be okay with doing things poorly before they begin to get better
As James Clear says, “Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly”
If you want to start doing your best, your best opportunity is right now
Get used to missing lifts so that you don’t create unnecessary emotional weight on the act of missing (though sticking to your program and not INTENTIONALLY missing will always be the best bet)
Get used to NOT being the most experienced person in the warm up room so that you can see what the more experienced people do, and learn from them
Get used to NOT knowing the answers so that you can ask better questions of your coach or training partners to push yourself to grow beyond your current comfort zone
Your best will only come from the accumulation of a lot of bad efforts that you adapt to over time
Start now so that you can start growing, rather than putting it off until some imagined day where you will never make a single mistake ever (it doesn’t exist)
Those are your three big signs for feeling ready for competition, and why you should start sooner rather than later!
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