Post Comp Blues

The bar has finally been lower to the floor from the last deadlift. The chalk cloud has settled. The meet photographers are already receiving emails about why they haven’t sent out photo packages yet. You’ve applied so much tiger balm you begin to wonder will it ever wash off, and you think to yourself, ‘What’s next?’

Prepping for a competition can take its toll. You’ve built up enormous amounts of effort and work, and then it’s all done in a matter of hours. You’ve spent the last number of weeks dedicating a large portion of your time focusing on training, diet, sleep, recovery, etc. Much like any huge climatic event involving lots of adrenaline and emotion, you can feel like you are in a vacuum once it’s over.

Immediately afterward should be taken as a time to chill out and recuperate. No matter how tempting it might be to test where your max is on the deadlift bar, try to avoid this.

The first 1-2 weeks post-competition should be treated as a deload/pivot block. Keep the sessions short and add in lifts that you typically wouldn’t do. During this time, it’s ok to skip some training sessions. The aim here is to help recover some of the mental & physical energy that you’ve expended.

If you don’t feel like training the week after the competition, take this time off and have fun outside of powerlifting. Use it to spend time with friends and family. Have some nights out. Book a reservation in that restaurant that you’ve been meaning to try just didn’t have the time to in the run up to the competition. This time is your own to spend as you’d like.

The biggest mistake to make here is to immediately start a new aggressive training block, use this time to recharge.