For weightlifters, meet week is one of the most exciting — and stressful — parts of any year. Training is complete, the taper is underway, and now it’s time to step onto the platform.
But here’s the truth: most lifters don’t miss because their bodies aren’t ready. They miss because their minds aren’t in the right spot. They are spinning with info that isn’t relevant, distracted by their surroundings or tinged with doubt.
This isn’t hyperbole either; outside of just picking bad openers, I’d chalk most bad meets up to a breakdown in the mental performance of a weightlifter.
I think anyone reading this can remember a time when they, their athlete, or their teammate has let a single wonky warm-up send them down a bad mental path. I’ve had it happen with athletes too many times.
That’s why I created the Meet Week: Strong Mind Prep system — the same process I’ve used with Olympians, national champions, and everyday lifters who want to bring their best to competition.
Why Meet Week Is Tricky
Physically, you’re backing off on training. Mentally, though, things often ramp up. Common traps I see lifters fall into:
- Overthinking: replaying every missed lift in training, while simultaneously forgetting about all the makes you’ve achieved..
- Comparison: scrolling Instagram and stressing about other lifters, and what session they’re competing in. A quick path to a bad meet is thinking that the lifts posted on Instagram by your competitors encompasses their training because A) no one posts misses B) most athletes train above their weight class.
- Outcome obsession: worrying about totals, medals, or qualifying spots instead of the process that goes into a successful meet. Worrying about the total you’ll hit at the end of the meet leaves about 20 lifts unaccounted for! The only lift that matters is the next one.
If you’ve ever felt any of those, you’re not alone. The key is building mental routines for meet week just like you’ve built physical ones.
Three Simple Mental Habits for Meet Week
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Daily Journaling Prompt
At the end of each day, write one thing you liked and one thing you learned. It shifts your focus away from nerves and toward growth. This was a game-changing prompt for me, as it helped frame my self-talk, and made every single workout one that I could learn from and therefore more productive. -
Visualization Rehearsal
Spend five minutes each day visualizing yourself walking to the bar, setting up, and making your opener. The more you’ve “lived” the moment in your head, the more natural it feels on meet day. Bonus: Go through every warm-up attempt in your head too. -
Confidence Checklist
Run through your gear, warm-up plan, and self-talk cues. When everything feels planned, nothing feels left to chance.
Your Free Meet Week Packet
To make this easier, I’ve put together a printable packet that walks you through journaling prompts, visualization, and my 10-point confidence checklist.
👉 [Download the Meet Week: Strong Mind Prep packet here]
It’s the exact framework I give my lifters — and it’s yours free.
Final Word
Meet week doesn’t have to be stressful. With the right mental prep, it can actually be the most confident week of your cycle, I mean the work is done, you have the receipts, all that’s left is to do it. Gaining that feeling of supreme confidence on the platform is why I wrote the book Strong Mind. That’s why this system is featured in my new book— because kilos don’t just come from the barbell, they come from the mind behind it.