Over the past year or so many of you have emailed me directly or messaged me asking how your warm-ups should go in preparation for a meet. I have responded to each individually but I wanted to do a blog post for the multitude of you who are competing tomorrow. There is a pretty specific way to warm up for a weightlifting meet that best prepares you for success on the platform. Here are a couple things you should consider and think about tomorrow and in the future as you compete.
One of the first most basic preparatory principles is hydration. This is especially true if you are cutting weight. After you get off the scale it is incredibly important to stay hydrated and to eat specific foods that will fuel you for the workout ahead. I like to drink Pedialyte mixed with water after cutting weight. It seems to be the most effective way to get really hydrated really quickly. I also will eat a pretty balanced meal. What’s most important is that I will eat that meal relatively slowly. This mean includes some simple carbs, fat, and a high-quality portion of protein.
Secondly it is incredibly important that you pick your openers based on consistency. Your first factor in picking an opener should be a weight you can make for three singles consecutively with no misses. That has always been my rule and though it has failed me in the past it is traditionally consistent. The other factors to consider when determining openers is to look at the numbers you need to finish at. If you are coming into this meet with a specific total in mind or a specific qualifying number that you need to hit, make sure your openers are in a place where you can reach the total you’re looking for. Get every kilo you can out of the snatch and make the jumps necessary in the clean and jerk.
The third point to consider in prep for a meet is how you warm-up. When I first started weight lifting my coach gave me a warm-up form that I have used ever since. I have attached that form below for you to download if you need or want to use a similar process. During warm-ups you should be at your opener in 7 to 8 snatch attempts and 5 to 7 clean and jerk attempts. Furthermore, I typically start with the bar and count that as an attempt and also will only do a double on my first warm-up weight after adding weight to the bar. I have also attached a sample of one of my warm-up sheets from the past. On that sheet you will place your warm-up attempts next to your platform counter spaces. The numbers on the left of the chart are the numbers you’re going to use to count how many platform attends you are away from your opener. For instance, if you look at my example sheet, you’ll notice that next to the number 15 I have placed 70 kg. That means that in the snatch when I am 15 platform attempts out I will put 70 kg on the bar and snatch it during warm-ups. I will follow this pattern all the way up until my opener. Using the sheet this way allows me to stay on track with my warm-ups, make sure I get all of my warm-ups done in an inappropriate time, and allows me to hit my final warm-up with just enough rest before stepping on the platform to hit my opener. Take a look at these two sheets and if you’re looking for a way to structure your warm-ups this is a traditional Olympic weightlifting way.
The last important factor to consider for meet preparation is counting your attempts on the marshal’s cards. This is an incredibly complex factor to consider and if you have not done this before I would not recommend trying to do it your first time without a coach to help. The process is relatively simple but there are so many moving parts in a weightlifting meet that you can get confused really quickly and also your lifting order can change rapidly. The most basic way to look at your number of attempts from opening is simple. First find your card and look at your opening weight listed on the card. Then count the number of attempts on the cards in front of you to determine how many platform attempts you are from opening. While this sounds incredibly easy you’re going to have to guess on some lifters attempts. For instance, if I plan to open at 100kg and there is a lifter before me who plans to open at 95kg. I always tend to guess he is capable of a 5kg jump and so I will assume that when he snatches 95kg that I will be next to lift. HOWEVER, he could miss 95 or he could jump from 95 to 98. In both scenarios the lifter before me would follow himself and I would still have to wait. However, it’s better for me to be waiting than to have no warmed-up properly and completely.
I hope these points help and are able to help make your meet experience this weekend and in the future better. Lets take the medal stand this weekend!