The Destination. - 08/13/25
We all put a lot into the outcome of a meet. Hitting PRs, where we place, dots, made and missed lifts.
The way I try to view it as an athlete and as a coach, is that meet day is more of a checkpoint in our training. It's hard to not put all we have into this one singular objective. On the flip side of the argument, there are meets that bear a higher load. For example: a meet that has the potential to represent your country, or shooting for provincial, national, regional, world records, and so on.
But it's remembering the path that brings you to that point that I believe makes an athlete successful. Especially because most athletes will only do 1-3 meets per year. It’s not that the meets are unimportant but we spend 99% of our time building to perform better on the platform. That effort should be placed higher on the hierarchy than the meet itself.
Defining yourself as a person and/or athlete by the 9 lifts, 4 hours, and/or total you hit is putting down the time and effort you’ve put into yourself. Meet day is the time to reap what you have sown, but it doesn't mean the journey stops there.
I feel this is applicable to many sports, not just powerlifting. For the powerlifters who might not be earning a medal at nationals or worlds this go around, remember the ones you see on the podium today were in your shoes at one point in time. Post meet day is a great time for reflection; looking back on previous meets, the numbers within the blocks leading into the meet, injuries overcome, so many things. Through my past injuries, especially those that almost pushed me completely out of the sport, reflection has been a major tool for myself and one I use with my athletes daily in our sessions.
Powerlifting and lifting in general, is such a small portion of what we do. Life outside of the sport is important and is what keeps us from burnout, hopefully injuries, mental stress, and much more.
Take it seriously, but enjoy the journey.
"If you don't have a consistent goal in life, you can't live it in a consistent way”
Marcus Aurelius
