All the heavy days are over. The work has been put in and the training is complete.
Across the country, lifters are swarming to social media and writing in their logbooks the reality that we are 1 week away from the USAW National Championships. We’ve likely seen the last of the PR lifts on Instagram until the weekend and we are entering the deadzone of the taper. For those of you preparing for this weekend, you are in one of two seats.
Seat 1: Prepared. If this is you then you have no reason to stress, worry, or be anxious. David’s men weren’t worried when they went into battle, they were prepared (and protected by a much more powerful force than themselves). Germany didn’t take the field today worried or scared of Argentina, they were prepared. San Antonio didn’t take the court against the Miami Heat scared, anxious, or worried; they were prepared. If you sit in this seat, take heart in your preparation and take comfort in the work you’ve done. Barring mental failure, hard work doesn’t ever pay you back with poor results. Ever. Hard work pays back your effort in spades. Hard work comes back to you in the form of PR lifts and made attempts. Take comfort in that this week and prepare mentally for the platform this weekend.
Seat 2: Unprepared. If this is you then it could be for a number of reasons. If you’re in this seat simply because you chose Friday night out at the bar, Xbox, or your girlfriend over your training then your lack of preparation is a result of laziness. I hope you fail. That’s the fruit of your labor and you will in fact reap what you sow. I say this because I’ve been there and it inspired hard work and preparation the next go around. If you’re unprepared because of injury or extenuating circumstances beyond your control then my advice is simple. Do your best. Don’t expect your results to outperform your training. Training is like a bank account with no gained interest. What you put in, is what you get out. No more. No less. Your workouts won’t magically create results not commiserate with the work put in. This knowledge is however useful. Prepare your openers and your attempts accordingly. Have a good meet! Make lifts! Learn something! Make as many kilos as you can without expecting miracles. Stay within the bounds of your training and build experience. Whatever you do, don’t expect your total to represent training that was not completed and don’t expect miracles. Have a great meet and learn something instead.
We are almost there! Some of you have trained just right for this one. Expect your results to show that. Some of you have seen gains in some areas and plateaus in others. That is just the ebb and flow of Olympic weightlifting. Excel where you have excelled in training and make the most of where you are everywhere else. I can’t wait to see yall exhibit the work you’ve put in and show the Nation the results.
#1weekout