Realistic Expectations and Record Breakers Meet Prep

I think one of the biggest downfalls of athletes who have bad meets are setting up realistic expectations. They start the meet prep with an idea of what they think they should hit or if it's a bigger meet they tend to over reach for numbers that aren't realistic. The idea of picking predicted numbers for a meet when you are 15-20 weeks out is impossible because if you put 50lbs on your total last meet doesn't mean it will happen again this meet. I wait until the last week of meet prep before I pick my openers and that is it. I don't pick a 2nd or a 3rd attempt because if you do that you will stay with those weights regardless of how things feel or move which leads to a lot of people bombing out or going 1 for 3 on lifts and their opener looks like a 3rd attempt. In order for you as a lifter to have a great day is to just take it one attempt at a time and focus on building a total and not chasing a single lift goal that was chosen 15 weeks before the meet. If your best squat to date is 500lbs and you WANT a 550lbs squat that's not going to happen. You can want a bunch of numbers but if your training weights don't reflect that it won't happen and if you believe all you need is a reload and it'll be there you are lying to yourself and you will be very disappointed. If you go 1 for 3 and squat 500lbs you will feel defeated but if you go 3 for 3 and squat 500lbs you will have a more positive approach to the rest of the meet and will build a lot of confidence going into your future meets. You must set realistic expectations in order to have a fun meet. 10-8-19 Squats- 605lbs x1 Pause Squats- 465lbs for 3 sets of 3 reps Deadlifts- 455lbs for 3 sets of 3 reps Lat Pulls- 3x8-10 s/s Band Abs- 3x20   10-10-19 Pause BP- 440lbs x1, 473lbs x1, 424lbs x3 CG Spoto BP- 374lbs x3, 380lbs x3 for 2 sets Cambered American Bar BP- 325lbs x5, 345lbs x5, 355lbs x5 DB Side Raises- 2x12 s/s DB Cleans- 2x12 Pushdowns- 2x15 s/s Face Pulls- 2x15   10-11-19 Deadlifts- 661lbs x1 for 2 sets Stiff Leg Dead's- 506lbs for 2 sets of 3 reps Cable Rows- 3x8-10 s/s GHR- 3x12 Kneeling Cable Crunches- 3x15   10-12-19 Squats- 525lbs for 2 sets of 3 reps SSB GM's- 295lbs x3, 335lbs x3 Lat Pulldowns- 3x8-10 Chest Supported Rows- 2x7-10