Yesterday I introduced this topic with my thoughts on what flying does for cutting weight. Today I wanted to take a closer look at preparatory work you could do prior to meet day. This was huge lesson for me this past weekend.
Lesson 2: Look At the Meet Logistics
I had no idea this would be an issue and wish I had thought to look ahead of time. USAW and the IWF posts a press release MONTHS in advance that contains all of the information you need to know for the meet. Here’s two specific things I wish I had thought to look at.
1- The distance of the competition venue from the hotel. I just assumed it would be attached or close to the venue like all the meets I’ve ever been to have. Unfortunately, the competition venue in Chiang Mai was 40 minutes away without traffic. Since it was a busy Saturday on a National holiday, it took an hour to get to the venue from the hotel. Why does this matter? When I got out of the sauna and was dehydrated from cutting my final bit of weight, I had to weight for 2 hours (30 min to wait on shuttle, 1 hour ride, 30 min wait at scale) before I could rehydrate myself. If you have ever cut weight you know this is a major issue! I normally am dehydrated for 15 minutes max in the USA. The extra amount of time definitely hurt my strength and prevented my body from competing in top shape as a result. Wish I had known that and planned a way around it like getting in the sauna at the venue rather than at the hotel.
2- It helps to know what equipment you are using. They post that information on the press release. For instance, I am used to training on an Eleiko bar mostly. The turnover is impeccable on these bars. I also use Werksan weights and the combination of the two really affords lifters every possible advantage to keep the bar close and speed in the turnover. At the World University Championships, the equipment was Uesaka. I had never in my life touch a Uesaka bar nor had I used their weights. When I began warming up that day, I immediately noticed a difference as these bars are well-known for their tightness in the turnover. You really have to force the Uesaka bar into place at the finish of the second pull and into the third pull. I wish I had seen that information ahead of time and would have training some on Uesaka equipment to be prepared over the past couple months. That would have eliminated any surprise I had in the warm-up room.
For those of you competing in National and local meets. Find out this information! Try to train on the same equipment and if you’re cutting weight make sure and stay somewhere close to the competition venue. It could make the difference in your performance.