Powerlifting Game Day Strategy (Part 1): Planning for a 9-for-9 Performance

Having a game day strategy for a powerlifting meet is essential to making sure you have fun and the outcome of the competition meets your expectations. Whether you are a first time powerlifting competitor or a seasoned lifter, you should do all you can to ensure you go 9-for-9 as completing all possible attempts in a powerlifting competition ensures you have the best outcome possible.

In this episode of the PRS Podcast, Drs. Rori Alter and Alyssa Haveson continue their discussion on powerlifting competition by dedicating Part 3 and 4 of this Powerlifting Competition Series to planning your powerlifting meet and meet day strategy and execution.

In this episode they discuss:

Planning your attempts for a powerlifting meet Meet day strategy attempt planning and execution
What game day strategy takes into account
The first thing to consider when planning your powerlifting competition strategy
When you should take risks in a powerlifting competition and when you should not
Why you should aim to go 9 for 9 and what missing a lift sets you up for
The goal of your first attempt in a powerlifting meet
How to select openers for a novice versus more advanced powerlifter?
In what situations you go up in weight or stay at the same weight for your next attempt
What not to do on competition
How do you determine how much to increase between each attempt
Should you ever miss your third attempt in a powerlifting competition
Will you hit a PR in every meet?
What the challenges for transitioning from novice to intermediate competitor are
How do you look at PRs in a powerlifting competition; Are they just PRs on the lifts themselves?
What RPE your attempts should be
Do we recommend max effort on all third attempts?

This podcast episode is highly focused on the strategic aspect of powerlifting competitions, specifically the planning and execution of attempts in a meet. It is geared toward powerlifters at all levels, from novice to more experienced lifters, as well as powerlifting coaches and meet day handlers, making it broadly appealing to a wide audience.

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Free Resources!

Be sure to check out our FREE, brand-spankin’-new Powerlifting Meet Day Guide and Meet Day Checklist!

Our PRS Powerlifting Meet Guide is a comprehensive guide that walks you through every aspect of your meet day from start to finish so you feel confident, knowledgeable, and supported throughout your meet.

This guide covers federation rules, packing the perfect meet bag, and navigating weigh-ins, equipment checks, and the warm-up area.

Detailed tips on timing warm-ups, managing flights and lifting order, and commands will ensure you are prepared for every phase of the competition. Additional insights include nutrition timing, strategies for staying focused, and how handlers can best support you if you’re using one.

Our practical, step-by-step checklist is the ultimate powerlifting meet preparation tool. From packing your meet bag to tracking warm-up and attempt timing, this printable checklist ensures you don’t forget any of the details. Simply check off each task to reduce stress so you can focus on lifting your best. Our Meet Day Checklist is the perfect way to ensure you stay organized and confident without forgetting anything.

Whether you're a beginner or an experienced competitor, these resources provide everything you need for a smooth and successful meet day. Download them here to take the guess work out of meet-day logistics!

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Web: https://www.progressiverehabandstrength.com
Email: podcast@progressiverehabandstrength.com
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[00:00:00] Dr. Rori Alter, PT, PRSCC : Alright, welcome back to the Progressive Rehab & Strength podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Rori Alter, head clinical coach here at Progressive Rehab & Strength, with Dr. Alyssa Haveson, also clinical coach at Progressive Rehab & Strength and physical therapist and specializes in working with our competitive powerlifters. We all work with competitive powerlifters, but I would say that Alyssa's very strong area of expertise is with the competitive powerlifter. We've been doing a series of podcasts surrounding areas or topics related to competition, and in this episode we're going to be talking about strategy and attempt planning and execution on game day. If you haven't listened to our prior episodes on this, we've talked about choosing your first meet, when you should do a powerlifting competition both as a as a novice lifter and a more competitive lifter, and we've talked about weight classes and weight manipulation and if you should manipulate your weight going into competition or if you should confine yourself to a weight class. So I think those two episodes are really important. If you are thinking about doing a competition, if you are thinking about taking your recreational competition to the next level, or if you're coaching lifters in competition or considering coaching at a higher level, those topics are really important to have under your belt before going into this episode, although this is a standalone episode.

[00:01:45] Dr. Rori Alter, PT, PRSCC : So if you don't want to listen to those episodes, you can still just listen to this episode. In this episode, I think I already said that we're going to be talking about game day strategy. So game day strategy includes not just attempt selection, but also execution. It takes into account your warm ups, it takes into account changing your openers, if you can change your openers, changing your third attempt on the deadlift and looking at the other competition there, and if you should be looking at the other competition there. So, Alyssa, when we are thinking about game day strategy, what is the first thing that we should consider?

[00:02:40] Dr. Alyssa Haveson, PT, PRSCC: The first thing to consider is really going to be the goal of the meet, and that can be very different depending on who the lifter is, what meet it is, what they've done previously, how competitive they are. As a coach, it is important to listen to and understand your lifter's goals for the meet as a coach. Generally, I would say a goal is to go nine for nine because obviously more successful attempts, you know, it's going to be a more successful meet. Are there times where we take risks? Yes. It just depends on the reasons and the level of competition, bbut generally speaking that's usually nine for nine. Getting your attempts is usually a good goal because you're probably going to be better off if you've gotten all of your attempts. And I've had some people say, well, I really just want to go for PR's, you know, I know you want me to go nine for nine, and I usually say, well, you know, you're going to have to get the lifts in order to get the PRS.

[00:03:51] Dr. Rori Alter, PT, PRSCC : I think we should talk about the nine for nine element because I think that a lot of people think that if they go for that PR on the second attempt, or they open with a PR, or they open with something that they've never done before, that's good. And it's not always good, and it's not always good to grind either. Even if your third attempt isn't brutally hard, that doesn't mean you didn't build your total and PR, you know, and going hitting all your lifts and going nine for nine is a really good way to ensure that you're building your total and getting the best possible outcome for that day. Missing lifts sets you up for higher risk for injury and higher risk for failing your next attempt, failing that lift.

[00:04:56] Dr. Rori Alter, PT, PRSCC : Or grinding. Like truly grinding, like first and second attempts, really can set you up for a disastrous day, and the goal of the first attempt in each, at least from my perspective, the goal, and it doesn't matter like who the lifter is or what their goal is, the goal of that first attempt is to stay in the game and set yourself up for your second and third attempt, which are really what are going to be the more important things for building your total, right? So it's not about opening at the highest weight possible. It's like your last warm up almost.

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