Stairway Chadwick Smith here for
juggernaut training systems today we're
going to be bringing you a special video
a guide to your first powerlifting meet
we're looking for this to be a pretty
comprehensive walk through of everything
you can expect at your first meet and
what you can do to best prepare yourself
for success at it so we followed one of
our juggernaut HQ lifters Dylan
carpenter oh 105 kilo class lifter
coached by Zack Bartel through his first
meet the US ATL juggernaut winter open
went step by step with Dylan through the
meet we want to show you all those steps
and help you be best prepared for your
first powerlifting media experience the
first thing that you need to do to do a
parallel team eat is sign up lots of
people are apprehensive to sign up for
their first meet and they feel like they
need to be strong enough or reach a
certain level before they are qualified
to sign up like that's a really bad way
of thinking to do it because if you're
always thinking you know I only want to
sign up once I'm strong enough that idea
is strong enough is always going to
become stronger and stronger and
stronger you're going to end up never
sign up for your first meet so the first
thing you need to do is just jump right
into it
find the meet sign up commit yourself to
1216 you know 20 weeks away whatever it
is that that's the day you're going to
be ready for and you know no matter what
happens unless of course injury occurs
that you're committed to doing a meet on
that day a couple very good simple
resources for you to find your first
meet to do parallel scene watch calm
that's going to have a guide of all
federations together and you can search
by state and month and so on and so
forth the Federation's that are joking
about athletes are usually competing in
the most of the USA PL USPA so you can
go to either of their websites u.s. a
parallel Singh Kham or USP a net find
the calendars sorted by your area by the
month find a meet that's appropriate for
you beyond that sign up is a pretty
simple process now if you can sign up
for your age category weight category
and of course the correct division
whether you're going to be lifting you
know raw with wraps we're all with
sleeves different Federation's have a
little bit different different rules but
you're smart enough to watch this video
on YouTube so you can probably figure
out a simple signup form for a Carlos to
meet on the Internet
beyond that as you prepare for your
meet you're going to want to make a list
check it twice check it three times of
all the different things we're going to
talk about in this video
so you're optimally prepared to have
your best day and your best experience
at your first meet getting it into what
you should actually expect upon arrival
at the first meet step one is going to
be the check-in now if you're listing
the USA pl you'll be dealing with the
two our way in
and that check-in is going to be
happening just you know about two two
and a half hours before you start to
compete in other Federation's most the
times coming a 24-hour way and so some
of these things might happen the day
before the meet but for the most part
same process is going to occur first
thing you're going to need is your
Federation membership make sure that
when you sign up for the meet you also
get your membership card whether it's a
physical card or a PDF of it you don't
want to show up to the meet not have it
not be allowed to compete or have to pay
extra a late fee or something so make
sure you have your Federation membership
and a photo ID that should be the first
thing that they have you do in the
check-in from there it's going to go to
your equipment check equipment check
will vary a little bit from Federation
of Federation and what division you're
competing in whether that's a raw with
sleeves raw with wraps single ply
multiply but your equipment is going to
be the most important thing so we want
to take a step by step look at the
equipment that you need for the powers
to meet what you want to make sure you
you make a list of check it twice make
sure you have everything with you when
you get there the equipment check is
going to be one of the most important
parts of the pre meet process some
equivalent is required some is not just
go through the list shoes
make sure you have all the different
shoes that you may use if you wear a
different shoe for squat bench and
deadlift make sure you have them all
with you socks is required that you have
knee-high socks on for the deadlift so
you don't bleed on the bar make sure you
pack knee-high socks make sure you have
your belt with you whether it's a single
prong double prong or a lever belt
velcro belts are not allowed if you're
competing in sleeves or wraps make sure
that your equipment meets the meets
specifications please have a maximum
length they can be in a maximum
thickness wraps have a maximum length
they can be
again you cannot use sleeves that have a
zipper wraps that have velcro on them
sleeves that have any kind of buckles on
them your wrist wraps wrist straps have
a maximum length that you're allowed to
wear a t-shirt is required to be worn on
the squat and bench press for men and
for all three lifts for women different
Federation's have slightly different
rules about that but just to be safe
just wear a regular t-shirt not a
baseball tee with different materials
the t-shirt needs to be just a standard
kind of cotton cotton polyblend is fine
and all one material also make sure that
doesn't have any vulgar language on it
as they won't let you wear that a
singlet one ply of material you can wear
a wrestling singlet you can get singlets
from different powering companies we
love the virus inlets use jugs for 10%
off from virus finally if you're
competing the USA pl there's a
difference between what's allowed at
local meats and national meats but
because this is a guide to your first
parallel Femi you're almost definitely
competing at a local meat and while at
national level meats or the arnold
worlds there are certain requirements on
what companies and what specific
products you're allowed to wear at a
local meat as long as the equipment
meets the specifications the sleeves
aren't too long or too thick the wrist
wraps aren't too long all that the belt
is of the specified material length
thickness all that stuff you're fine to
wear it if you're confused just contact
your meet director beforehand send them
an email or check your Federation's
rulebook after we've got your equipment
check done the next step is going to be
to find your rack Heights they should
have the identical rack to what you'll
be using on the platform people will
find that the heights of the bar goes
for you to squat for bench and the
safety heights for the bench press now
just take your time ask someone if you
don't know how to use the combo rack or
if you're using a model lifting is never
used one before
make sure there'll be someone
experienced there to help you adjust
things that's just kind of a good rule
of thumb for everything going on to
power off see me if you don't know ask
whether it's the meet director judges or
more experienced lifters they'll be
happy to help you make sure that you're
doing everything right and on the rack
Heights even if you screw the height up
a little bit and it's one too high or
one too low don't panic
when you get on the platform if it seems
like the bar is too high for you on
racket or too low just tell them can I
change the rack ight now at since your
first meet is almost definitely going to
be a local meet that should be no
problem from there you're going to go to
weigh ins the first piece of advice I
can give you regarding weigh ins is if
you're doing your first parallel to meet
don't cut weight all right so when you
sign up sign up for the weight that you
are not the weight that you want to be
come meet time unless that that is a
weight class higher than you're
currently in and you're matching the
best way to live Masum your way into the
meet rather than cutting but don't cut
weight that's going to be you're going
to hear that across the board from
experienced lifters do not cut weight
for your first meet I know you're
probably concerned about like the
submasters you know raw push-pull state
record in your weight class but frankly
nobody cares about that
so just show up lift up the weight you
normally walk around it that's what
we're going to be the most successful
and you're going to feel the most
comfortable
your first parallel so you need is not a
day for new experiences it's not a day
for new foods new supplements new
strategies so cutting cutting weight
would be a new experience for you you
don't want to do that as part of your
first powerlifting meet after you
weigh-in and this is whether you cut
weight or not because even if you aren't
cutting weight for the meat you still
might not want to have breakfast before
you weigh-in
assuming you weigh early in the morning
so that you can weigh in light and if
you're right on the border of something
you know you can make the lighter weight
and have a little bit higher formula
whatever so it's not imperative that you
eat necessarily before but what is
important and this is whether you're
cutting weight or not are the weights
they are the foods that you eat right
after weigh-in we're going to make
another video that's much more
comprehensive about just weight cutting
strategy and recompensed rata g so how
to gain the weight back after you weigh
and carbs are going to have the most
influence on your performance in that
meat protein has a small role to is it's
going to help you feel satiated
but fats should be avoided after your
weigh-in period especially on a to arrow
and as they're going to slow down the
digestion of carbs and carbs are going
to be your primary fuel source to
maximize your performance and one rep
max with squat bench and deadlift so
simple easy to digest carbs are going to
be key as well as making sure that
you're proud
hydrated some of our favorite intra
competition foods everything's like rice
krispies treats nutrigrain bars rice
cakes bagels
adding jelly or honey to a bagel or our
bread is going to be great protein is
great to help you feel full and satiated
throughout the day whey protein is going
to be good you can also use a protein
carb combination creatine is going to be
a great thing to take leading up to and
in the meat things really common foods
that I see people eat meats that you
want to avoid peanut butter peanut
butter and jelly sandwiches I love
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches but
you know what peanut butter is primarily
a fad and it's going to slow down that
digestion even though the bread and the
jelly are great simple carbs they're
gonna be easy for you to digest and give
you quick energy to perform in the meat
the peanut butter is going to kind of
mess it all up so eat simple carbs for
their easiest to digest foods that
you've eaten before foods that you know
how your body reacts to don't go and
read an article about you know some new
superfood or whatever whatever it is and
introduce a new food that you don't know
how your body reacts to because you
might have some nerves going and I just
upset your stomach and that's not
something you want to do it ain't that
not something that you want to introduce
to your first day of competing in
powerlifting hydration is also critical
again whether you cut weight or not you
wanna make sure that you're properly
hydrated throughout the day
water Pedialyte is a great option there
if you want to do something like
Gatorade that could be a good option too
but suggest using the powder because the
electrolyte balance of Gatorade is tends
to not be optimal tends to be too much
liquid compared to the potassium
magnesium and and calcium in it so I
suggest using the Gatorade powder to get
more carbs in that way and more
electrolytes per fluid ounce that you're
drinking also as a shameless plug our
product from grind sports nutrition
drive is you know designed by the fine
minds at Rp and has carbs in it and a
great electrolyte balance is a really
good option for you to use intra
competition the last part of the
check-in process is going to be giving
your openers so your first attempt in
each lift first off it's going to almost
always be given in kilos and
you're competing in some weird backyard
Federation still isn't used kilo pleats
look up your weights the day before the
morning O's on Google make sure that
you're picking the right weights they'll
have a conversion chart there but when
it goes to picking openers for your
first powerlifting meet be conservative
set yourself up to have a successful day
you want to go in and make seven eight
ideally nine lifts during your first
meet and that starts with taking
relatively easy openers a weight that
you can consistently triple is a good
suggestion for your opening weights in
the squat bench and deadlift that should
be probably that 90 to 93 percent of
your 1 rep max and since you haven't
done a meet before you don't know what
your meet PR is so 90 to 93 percent of
the heaviest legitimate single that
you've done in the meet not a squat was
like oh maybe that was a at depth not a
touch-and-go or maybe bounced bench not
a hitch deadlift 90 to 93 percent of the
most legit single you've done in that
train cycle is a good place to start
your opener or a weight that you've done
for a three rep maximum after you
checked in weighed in given given your
openers probably gonna have a little bit
of downtime that's gonna be a good time
to keep hydrating keep eating again you
don't need to be gorging yourself before
the parallel to meet we've posted a few
meet share Dragonite HQ and people are
bringing in you know an entire container
of bagels or a box of doughnuts you know
eating what looks like entire meals a
Palestinian is not that long and really
is not a higher energy expenditure than
regular training would be you're only
doing three singles of three different
lists nine singles of knowledge you're
going tend to do you know ten sets of
ten or something you need all of this
food so don't eat an exorbitant amount
more than you would before regular
training and you're probably going to
want to stop eating or have done all of
your eating it finished at least an hour
before besides me of these small snacks
throughout the throughout the rest of
the day so don't go crazy with the
eating so after you got all that done
it's going to be time to warm up the
first piece of advice I can give you to
maximizing the effectiveness of your
warm ups of the meat is be polite and
friendly
and go find a rack to warm up with other
people the last couple mutes we posted
here at dragon at HQ over 50% of the
athletes we're doing their first meet so
even though you you're you know that
you're really nervous most of the other
people say really nervous and don't know
exactly what to do either so go make
some new friends be friendly and polite
find a rack ask if you can work in you
know maybe talk to them and see kind of
what what weights they're going to be
taken in one UPS so you have a good
group to help you you know load weights
unload weights if you have your friends
or a coach there you're going to be in
great shape with that but you know be
polite share the rack you don't need to
hold your own rack to be able to do one
or your first meet you want to warm up
similarly to how you would warm up
during training again first meats are
not the time to try something new it's
not time to try this new warmup strategy
or maybe today is the day that you want
to you know unrack 150 percent of your
squat necks and hold it you know just so
you can feel that heavy weight first
meet is not the day to do that warmup
similarly to how you do for training
it's also better to have too much time
to warm up and you need to slow things
down a little bit
rather than to wait too long to start
and have to rush through your warmup so
yeah in training you know time how long
it takes for you to warm up know how
long it's going to take the foam roll or
do your breathing drills and all that
good stuff before you get on the bar
right your warmup plan down whether it's
just on a piece of paper or the notes in
your phone have something written down
that you can refer to so if you get a
little bit nervous and maybe forget what
you're supposed to do you can refer to
your plan and know every weight you're
supposed to take during warmups
and as people are there you know to help
loads and spot in the warm-up room you
can tell them this is the weight that I
need next an example warm-up for an
athlete opening with say 140 kilo squat
308 pounds usually on the platform is
going to be kilos but at a local meet
it's going to be fairly rare for them to
be all kilos in the back room so likely
you're going to compete in kilos and
warm up in pounds but if you're watching
this from another country you might be
he'll probably be warming up in kilos as
well so that athlete looking to warm up
and take their opener at 140 kilos 308
pounds in the squat they might do the
bar for 10 to 20 reps
that you know just to loosen up just
kind of like loaded stretching for mayor
your sixty kilos or 135 pounds per set
so for a set of five to eight then from
there 85 kilos 80 to 85 kilos would be a
good next step maybe 185 pounds three to
five reps with that go ahead and bump it
up to 100 kilos or maybe 225 pounds and
I know that these are not equivalent
conversions I'm just talking about
practical numbers that you'd actually
put on the bar whether you're using
kilos or pounds so once you put 100
kilos or 225 pounds on there two to
three reps and then 115 kilos maybe 255
pounds a single they're a single at 130
kilos or 285 pounds and then you should
be pretty ready to take your opener
you're going to want to be taking your
opener depending on how strong you are
maybe on the short end five to seven
minutes before your opening attempt and
on the farther end maybe as long as 15
maybe even 20 minutes before your your
opening attempt another good suggestion
would be to take that last one up or
maybe the last two whomps with the
commands that's going to be the next
thing when I talk about the rules and
commands are the powerlifting meet the
commands and rules for a parallel see me
are pretty simple and hopefully the meet
your at they're going to have a rules
briefing about 15 to 30 minutes before
the media actually begins go to the
rules meeting pay attention if you're
confused ask them questions I'm going to
give you the best advice I can here in
this video but the rules that you're
meet might be a little bit different
than the ones that I talked about here
depending on different federations so
pay attention at the rules briefing ask
the judges if you have any questions
that's what they're there for to answer
your questions to help you have the best
day that you can in the squat typically
you're going to have two commands squat
command and a rack command the squat
command is going to be after you unwrap
the weight walk it out or unrack it from
the model and show that you have control
of the weight and usually if you kind of
bring your head up and acknowledge the
judge you'll then get a squat command
there the lift starts there's no up
command I repeat there is no up command
you just squat on your own and then you
have to show control of the top once the
squad is complete then they'll get a
rack command
and the spotters are allowed to help you
back into the rack but this two commands
on the in the squat squat and rack and
the bench press again this will vary by
Federation but at most you're going to
have three commands you really get a
start press and rack command start
command is going to happen after you
take the bar to the rack and control it
at arm's length fully locked out you
bring the bar down to your chest
the bar is motionless on your chest
you'll get a press command press
commands are going to vary a little bit
by Federation but the mark quickly that
you can bring the bar to a total stop on
your chest
you'll get that press command finally
after you complete the press you hold
the bar and show control at the top
again fully locked out you will get a
rack command and bring the bar back into
the rack right there even me and my
first child see me I jumped the
recommend on my first attempt luckily I
actually met the rack command it was I
was wrecking the bar with no thought to
the rack commanded just so happened that
he basically said it at the exact same
time that I began racking it so I got a
little bit lucky but now everyone messes
up the commands here and there but focus
on them practice them take your last
warm-up with the full commands in the
bench press depending on the Federation
you you compete in you may have a
different situation with the liftoff in
some Federation's your body your
training partner your coach can come in
give you the lift off in the US ATL
you're normally going to have a
designated lift off person who does hand
offs for everyone throughout the meet if
that's the case just make sure to
communicate with them clearly how you
count down before you want the barn rack
how you want your hand off just be clear
and concise about that they're there to
help you out the deadlift commands
pretty simple pull the deadlift hold it
at lockout until the head judge gives
you a down command then control the bar
to the floor you don't need to set it
down like you're you know as lightly as
possible but you have to control the bar
you have to keep your hands on the bar
all the way to the floor you definitely
don't want to miss a deadlift because
you end up dropping the bar even though
you were able to hold on to it so get
the down command control the bar to the
floor in regards to eating and drinking
throughout the meet depending on the
Federation the size of
me your session is probably gonna last
anywhere from on the short end three
hours ahead meets where I pulled my last
step up to the meet close to 10 or 11
hours after I began warming up for the
squat so we had sort of take that into
account but USPA us APL tend to run very
strict quick paced meets so on those
you'll probably be looking at three
maybe on the long end five hours to
complete the meet so you're going to
want to take in four more calories and
definitely some more hydration
throughout the day similar types of
foods that we talked about eating post
win or if you're going to want to stay
eating and drinking throughout the day
again that's simple easy to digest cards
that are going to give you fast energy
you don't want heavy foods sitting in
your stomach that you want that that
glucose getting out into the bloodstream
providing you energy to complete your
max with hydrating with water gatorade
Pedialyte coconut water grind sports
nutrition drives all good options for
inter meat hydration and you don't need
to be gorging yourself you're only doing
nine reps that matter
so don't go eating way more than you
normally would before training or during
a long hard training session if you
don't want to feel heavy especially for
the deadlift because you don't want to
become a viral video of projectile
vomited on to the head judge so we've
talked about how to warm-up for the
squat warm-up for the bench and deadlift
might differ a little bit from how you
want for this water hanging a regularly
warm-up during training unless you train
all three lifts during the course of a
ray or training session the strategy
could change a little bit the warm-ups
for the bench and the deadlift are
generally shorter than the warm-up for
the squat because the warrant for the
squat is also just the general warm-up
for the day and the bench press of
course the WAMP could be shorter because
lets you bench and swap of Fame which
hopefully you don't the bench press
weights are just lighter so it won't
take as many sets to get ready for your
opener again you want to take it least
one warm-up set with the full set of
commands just so you can practice that
and be ready and should take away a
little bit of nerves as you get on the
platform and example warm-up for athlete
looking to open with 110 kilo benchpress
142 pounds might be the bar for 15 to 20
reps I like to go through various
different grips during my walk up there
just to get a nice full range of motion
I might go to 40 kilos or 95 pounds for
a set of 5 then maybe jump to 60 kilos
or 135 pounds for another set of 3 to 5
and go to 80 85 kilos 185 pounds for a
set of 2 to 3 and the 92 and a half
kilos or 205 pounds for 1 or 2 reps and
then finally 100 or 102 kilos or 225
pounds for one single with the commands
that would be an example for someone
looking to open about 110 kilos 242
pounds in the deadlift much shorter
warm-ups that you'd use in training
they're generally appropriate because
you've already squatted in bench for the
day your body your nervous system is
warm so all you need to do with the
deadlift is really warm up the specific
movement and you don't want to be taking
away energy Howell things meat can be a
long day can be you know pretty
exhausting so you don't want to waste
energy in the warm-up room that you
could be using on the platform
so I usually condense I'd ever form up
much more in competition than what I
would do regularly in training we have
someone who's looking to open a deadlift
about 180 kilos 396 pounds a warm-up
that I would suggest would be 60 kilos
or 135 pounds there's one plate for
three to five reps if you feel like you
need extra sets to get to be able to get
into effective positions do them at that
very light weight so you're not tiring
yourself out so if you do multiple sets
of 3 to 5 with 135 pounds on the bar
that's fine
from there they'd want to jump up to
maybe 100 kilos 225 pounds do a set of
two or three there and beyond that it's
just going to be singles if you're
looking to open a 180 kilos 396 pounds a
good jump from 100 or 225 would be up to
maybe 130 kilos or 295 pounds and then
you go under and 60 kilos 350 pounds
that range for another single and then
go ahead and take your opening attempt
as a deadlift now we're on to picking
your next attempt we talked about how to
select your openers but once the openers
then what do you do for your second and
third attempts first off if you miss a
lift on a technicality
jump the rack command jump the start
command you know drop the Bard's of
control down to the floor repeat the
same wait it's your first meet nerves
might be getting to you just repeat the
same way it's not a big deal because
you've never done a meet before every
lifts you do is a PR all right they're
all meet PRS those are the ones that
count so if you missed something because
of the technicality repeat the wait if
you miss a lift because you weren't
strong enough it was too heavy
repeat the weight too many times you see
people missing and trying to go up if
you see more experienced lifters do that
they can do that because they're more
experienced but if you're missing either
on a technicality or because you just
weren't strong enough repeat the same
wait for someone doing their first meet
I would have two numbers written down to
numbers planned out ahead of time for
each second attempt and each third
attempt basically a that felt heavy
number or that felt good how I expected
type of number if the weight feels heavy
you know heavier than expected not like
it was a complete 10 RPE absolute
grinder if that's the case you could
skip the next attempt but assuming it
just felt a little bit heavier than
you'd expect they at 2 to 4 percent jump
2 to 4 percent jump from opener the
second attempt or second attempt to
third attempt would be appropriate if it
felt good it felt as expected you feel
strong that day say a 3 to 6 percent
jump so again we're opening in the 90 to
93 percent range so if you're taking
those smaller jumps maybe you'd go 91
percent
94 percent 98 percent compared to what
you've done in the gym if you're feeling
really strong that day you go maybe 91
percent 96 percent and then go for a
small PR 101 or 102 percent on your
third attempts but again have a plan
have a plan for if things don't feel
great have a plan for if you feel really
strong that day here are just some tips
for handling the day the first tip I
could give is stay calm don't panic
it's just lifting if you miss a lift on
a technicality yeah that kind of sucks
but the world's going to go on you're
going to have
another attempt even if it was your
third attempts you're going to have
another meet where you can make it up so
don't panic
stay calm throughout the day most
important tip I can give you is control
which you can control and don't worry
about what you can't the tips we've
given you here should have you much
better prepared like I said making lists
pre determining a plan is going to be
very important the more lists and plans
you can have written out those are all
going to be your friend so you can go
into the day as prepared as possible and
the things that you can control like if
it's hot out if it's cold if you know
someone was a jerk in the warm-up room
even if you get a bad call or something
like that just let it slide only worry
about yourself make sure you bring all
the right equipment the right food you
have your plan you focus on the commands
and that's going to help you have a
successful fun day for your first
meeting finally as you're choosing the
temps throughout the day take what the
day gives you of course everyone would
love to going on their first meet 9 for
9 PRS across the board but that might
just not be realistic
whether it's nerves or a problem with
the training plan whatever it is you
might not get to take the attempts that
you came in wanting to take or hoping to
take but adjusting those attempts and
making 7 8 9 lists rather than going for
these kind of reach numbers and coming
away with maybe a 5 for 9 or 6 for 9 day
is going to be a lot better to build
momentum to build positivity and
confidence as you move on to the rest of
your powerlifting career so take what
the day gives you even if that means you
have to take a little bit lighter
numbers when you plan we have to repeat
something because of a technicality it's
fine life will go on you'll live to lift
another day
so in conclusion hopefully this video
gave you some valuable insights to help
you have a more successful day at your
first car I love to meet the other part
of having a really successful day is
having a good plan leading up to that if
you want to learn more about how to
design a optimal palastine program for
yourself make sure to check out our
playlist on a scientific principle of
strength training where I talk about the
seven most important factors in program
designed to help you be more successful
or if you're interested in juggernauts
online coaching services we can help you
get ready for your first meet hopefully
you enjoyed the video subscribe to the
channel with the new juggernaut online
coaching programs we've had a lot of
questions about which
program is right for you so here's a
quick synopsis of our three different
levels of coaching first club program
club program is great if you're just
looking to add some more structure some
expert design to your strength training
for parallel tuner weightlifting but
probably not the best decision if you're
looking to compete in one of the other
sports or if you have a specific
competition date in mind there's just
more general continuous programming team
programming is our favorite option team
programming gives you programming
tailored to your size strength gender
experience and goals control over the
timing of the training relative to your
competition and access to our team of
coaches for video review one on one
programming is going to be your best bet
if you need very personalized attention
based on a unique competition schedule
injury history or if you're just looking
to make sure that everything is built as
specifically as possible to you so we
have three different levels of
programming and one of them is
definitely going to be a great fit for
you to help you improve in Paralympian
or weightlifting