My stand by answer for this used to be "as soon as you can". I used to advise people to enter the next meet that was close to where they lived. My reasons for this were to gain experience, learn how to navigate a meet, network with other lifters and set benchmarks for you own lifts. In short, establish a starting point.
I still agree with all these reasons but have changed my mind about "just jumping into the next meet." Over the past ten years, there have been many shifts in the sport. I have written about them and how we are now living in an age where the lifters are setting the direction and cutting the path. I see a day where the best and most popular meets will all be independent but will save that for another post.
One significant shift has been the influx of new lifters into the sport, but the problem is the ones that stay only balance the veterans that leave so the sport is in a state of stagnation, with the popularity at an all-time high. There are several ways to grow the sport, but when looking at this as a business, you have to plug the holes. We can't stop the veterans who leave. The game takes its toll on your body and priorities change. I would call this the natural attrition rate. What I see decreasing is the average lifetime in the sport (business known as lifetime value). The number of "one-time" competitors is the higher now than ever. I would also say it used to take two to three years for a lifter to find their "stride" and now they are gone before that happens.
I am going out on a limb here but think that many new lifters today just jump in a meet to see how they will like it. They use this to decide if they like Powerlifting or not. Much like a person just jumping into a 5K.
They didn't put in the time to build a base, get to the starting line, and then train for it with 10-16 weeks of focus working toward that day. They are missing what the sport is.
How do I know this? Look at the videos posted, look at the numbers lifted and the technique. I am not ripping on this or making fun in any way; everyone has to start somewhere, and we all have different strength levels. The strength isn't the real issue here it's the technique. The reason for the bad technique is the lack of skill development, and they haven't done it enough.
When digging deeper, the technique in itself isn't the problem because until you get to the higher levels of the sport, you will see a degree of technical issues. It does expose the lack of time spent preparing.
Remember the saying; it's not the destination but the journey to get there? If there is no journey, how is the meet any different than any other physical experience, say a 5K?
How is it any different than going to a jump house, laser tag, mini-golf for the day?
Is this an efficient way to "test" how much one will like the sport?
The "sport" is in the preparation, the good days, the bad days, the days you don't want to train but do anyhow, figuring shit out, learning, seeing technique come together, the feeling of getting stronger week to week.
The sport is created in the gym and only displayed on the platform.
The sport is created in the gym and only displayed on the platform.
For those, the sport has eaten up or passed them by, they ALL remember the "creating" more than the "displaying."
Years ago a new lifter would seek out and find a crew to work with to get ready for a meet, or would do a meet in search of a group or person they could train with that could help them prepare for their next event. Today it's different. More and more lifters are working independently with coaches or train with groups of other people without experience. While I hesitate to say this is the blind leading the blind in many cases, it's the truth, and most would agree.
My advice for beginners today is to take 6-8 weeks and focus on the technical development of the squat, bench press and deadlift. In the grand scheme of things this is NOT a lot of time to learn a sports skill, but if the priority is on this, they can dial it in good enough to train for a meet and not be a total disaster.
Find someone who knows how to teach these lifts. Better yet, find a gym with lifters who know these skills well and watch, learn and listen. You will learn more from watching good lifters train than you will ever learn from videos online. If you train in a gym with good lifters, train at the same time they do. Build a relationship so you can train with them. There is synergy within a group, and the best training and technique tips happen right after the set. If you are on the other side of the gym who is going to see you? Trust me on this one, I've been around a long time and have seen technique changes add up to 50 pounds on a lift in one day. I have seen time and time again, with the best online trainers, clients making trips out to train with them in person for this very reason.
You can set your phone on a tripod and work for PR likes, or you can do your set in front of experienced lifters and work toward PR lifts.
You can set your phone on a tripod and work for PR likes, or you can do your set in front of experienced lifters work toward PR lifts.
Yes, you can do both but too many time it's all of one and none of the other.
Once you have put in the 6-8 weeks of technical work I suggest 10-12 weeks of training toward the meet. How should your train? It's your first meet, who cares. You will make great progress doing just about anything. It's not hard to find a program online (we have an entire article section for programs) to get you ready for a meet, find something that looks good to you and stick to it. Don't jump from one thing to another. Learn how to work the good and bad days. It's part of the process. THIS IS the process of creating strength.
THIS is Powerlifting, and this is the part so many love the sport.
So, if you want to give the sport a try, then actually try it. Just doing a meet is the most annoying part of the entire sport - do that part everyone loves then decided if this is a sport for you.
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