Before I get started with the actual purpose of this post, I wanted to let you all know that….

MY SINGLET CAME TODAY OVERNIGHT AND I CANNOT WAIT TO TRY IT ON!!!!!!!!

Please enjoy this photo of it sitting on my desk at work:

Alright, enough of that!

Since I first started freaking out about this meet last week, I’ve been digging around the internet for ANY details at all about what to expect. Particularly in the US, Olympic Weightlifting is kind of a dead sport. Which is incredibly unfortunate because lifting lots of weight above your head is actually incredibly awesome and empowering. No, really, it is.

So you’ve gotta figure, if the sport itself is small overall (miniscule might even be a better descriptor) and it’s primarily a men’s sport, how small is the women’s subdivision? Pretty. Flipping Tiny. That’s the answer. I’ve been able to find VERY little information regarding how things work, and even less as far as online community, tips, support, blogs, etc. Since this is my first meet, of course I’ve been information gathering to try and find as much to relax my over-extended brain as possible. In an effort to combat the “there’s no info out there about this!!!” problem I found, I’ve compiled the best (in my opinion) tips that I found during my hours of research… here goes!

1. Don’t try to make a weight class or “cut weight.”

– I was already planning to do this one. This is my first meet. I don’t have any false aspirations of placing or anything. That said, I don’t think it makes sense for me to try and hit a specific weight class when I don’t even know how a meet WORKS from personal experience. Plus, I’m pretty steadily center in my weight class so trying to drop down would be SUPER hard.

2. Go easy. Try to go 6/6.

– This is super smart. You get 3 attempts at each lift in an Olympic Lifting meet. Once you pick your starting weight, you can only ADD weight from there, you can’t move up. So starting at a nice easy weight that you KNOW you can hit is one of the most common recommendations that I’ve seen. Not only for your first meet but for ALL meets. This is because if you fail all 3 attempts at one of the lifts, you don’t get to be “on the board” for it, and you can’t achieve a “total” because, well, you haven’t hit more than one thing to add together. In Olympic Lifting, your total is really what matters (and p.s. it’s in kg not lbs. Dangit). Sooo my plan is to open with REALLY light weights. Like dumb light. Because there are going to be lights and buzzers and humans looking at me and all kinds of crazy things. I’m thinking I’m going to snatch probably 75 lbs (34kg, god that sounds like nothing) and probably C&J 100lbs (so 45kg). I’m gonna talk to my coach about it, but I really want to make sure I can open with something that will let me get used to all of the new variables.

3. Use this meet to get used to being at a meet.

– Like I said in #2… there’s SO MUCH about the meet that will be different than lifting at CFN. I’ll be on an actual lifting platform. I’ll be lifting BY MYSELF. I’ll have one minute to approach and lift. I’ll likely be waiting a little while between lifts so I’ll have to stay warm. People will be LOOKING at me. There’s a buzzer that will tell me when to start and when to release. SO MANY THINGS. *breathes*

4. HAVE FUN!

– Yes. Fun. This is supposed to be fun right?

5. Get excited.

– Again, this is for fun right? I should be excited! I am excited. Nervously excited! I think Lauren is helping with that a lot.

6. Make friends.

– I’m bringing some friends on my team but I’m excited to try and meet some other girls who lift. I just hope Lauren and I don’t get labeled as “those crossfit girls” because of our form or something. I just want us to represent and do well.

7. Do a “dress rehearsal.”

– I’m SO frustrated that I’m not going to be able to do this! I had it all planned out that my singlet would come yesterday and then I would use oly class to run through a practice 3 lifts for each, have someone buzz something at me, etc… and then my singlet didn’t come until today! Whomp whomp. Lauren and I are going to do some light technique work on Friday in the singlets but it’s not the same! I’m sure it will be fine but I’m kind of bummed out that I didn’t get to do a dry run.

8. Figure out the metric weights for what you want to lift.

– This. Yes. Like I mentioned in #2, this is in kg, not lbs, so not freaking out when I have to tell the coordinator metric weights would be very helpful. The less surprises and freakouts, the better, right?

9. Know your opening attempts AT weigh in.

– So when you weigh in you have to tell them your starting weights. No going back. And if you mess this up it can mess up your whole day!! So… yes. Knowing where to start has got to be a huge key to this whole endeavor.

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Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo that’s about all I’ve got. I’m trying to relax from the nervous jitters by reading more about everything and just telling myself it will be fine… and I’m sure it will be… but I think I’m just freaking out because this is all new to me. I’m really excited to go with my friends (we’re going to carpool too which is great because I’m the WORST nervous driver) and I think some other boxmates might come watch. Which is nerve-wracking-extra too but whatever. It’ll be good to have familiar faces surrounding me. <3

Resources:

http://www.ironmind.com/ironmind/opencms/Lifts/Your_first_competition.html
http://journal.crossfit.com/2010/09/preparing-for-the-first-olympic-meet.tpl
http://www.jtsstrength.com/articles/2013/08/07/a-guide-to-your-1st-weightlifting-meet-part-1/
http://voices.yahoo.com/steps-needed-preparation-first-ever-local-5057878.html