With every Powerlifting competition comes various lessons about how I can be a better coach and how I can prepare people more effectively for competitions.
The recent November competitions were no exception.
What I realised was a few of my lifters spent months before the competition saying they absolutely would lift certain numbers way above their comp max.
They told me endlessly and they told the powerlifting group chat we have endlessly that the numbers they were going to put up would be huge.
And I believed the hype rather than stepping in and putting a stop to the nonsense!
Yes, there is a lot to be said for letting someone learn there lesson, but sometimes a lesson learnt brutally isn't necessarily the best kind of lesson to regularly have, but I digress as usual.
So I feel I made an error here, and I have apologised to the lifter in question for not putting a stop to it.
Own your mistakes, coaches.
He didn't lift the numbers he said he would hit, which was partly my fault. The added pressure (and a couple of other things) made those numbers impossible to hit on the day.
Luckily, a good friend and my former coach was on hand to step in and save the day on this particular occasion. Mr Tim Garrett, I owe you one, brother.
Instead of talking a big game, yes, post videos of your lifts and your progress and have goals but don't put pressure on yourself to lift numbers that just aren't there on the day.
Sometimes equipment isn't ideal or the floor is slippy, sometimes the referees are very harsh with their calls and sometimes mistakes are made. If you go into a competition saying you will lift a certain weight no matter what then any kind of plan B, C or D goes out of the window because you've constantly being going on about what you will lift rather than adapting to the situation on comp day.
Don't put that pressure on yourself.
Lift a good game at competition, then talk about how great your numbers are so you don't have to write that embarrassing post-comp post about how you didn't live up to the very public expectations you put on yourself.
Say no to "Billy Big-Bollocks" so you can adapt accordingly on the day.
Your mental health and the pressure you feel will certainly be reduced and I think you'll perform much better at each competition if you handle yourself in this way.
CK
The Heavy Metal Strength Coach