How to prepare for your best performance
By George Hurt 

This isn’t going to be an article explaining how to set up your program to add 30kg to your best total in 6 weeks…
But what it will cover is how you can set yourself up mentally and physically to go out there on the platform and
display your true strength. When we first start competing just getting through the meet can be seen as an
achievement but it can leave you feeling disheartened if you felt like you left kilos on the platform just to go 9 for 9.
In order to pull out your best possible performance, what you do outside the gym during your prep is just as
important as what you under the bar. 

To state the obvious - Plan! “Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance” if you want to take on a big project (your total) then you’re going to need to plan. By outlining your goals, identifying the steps needed to achieve them and accounting for challenges will reduce the likelihood of mistakes and inefficiencies which will ultimately lead you to a better outcome. Assuming you have a training program in place that part of the plan is a given. Follow it. Track your bodyweight and know what to do with your diet to fit the class you want to compete in. Schedule in both active and passive recovery methods so that you can come into each session feeling fuelled and rested. You want to do all this in advance to reduce decision fatigue and reduce any unnecessary stress during your prep trying to find quick fixes for your lack of preparation.

Visualisation, a term often thrown about in sports but it is so important to success on the platform. You need to
be able set the scene in your mind of you approaching the bar, controlling your breathing, setting up and then
executing the lift to perfection. Become obsessed over the process so that it becomes second nature when the time comes. If you can’t see yourself doing something then it probably ain’t gonna happen. I like to do sessions in the days leading up to comp where I’ll go to the gym with the sole purpose of working on visualising what I want to do. I might load a plate either side of the bar, do my wraps up, mentally take myself elsewhere and set up under it like its 1000lbs. Execute it perfectly and that’ll be the last squat I do in prep. Strength is a skill, max it out.

Our minds are cluttered with thoughts and creating a clear mind to allow you to focus purely on the task at hand
can be difficult. One of my favourite ways to help eliminate some of this noise is through breath work. This can be with traditional meditation, I will admit I cannot seem to sit still long enough to be able to completely shut off. I found that going to a sauna forced me to sit still and breathe only through my nose even when my heart rate was through the roof and you become physically uncomfortable. Endure it, control it. This is the same fight or flight process you go through when getting your wraps and kit on before a big squat. Weather the storm and just BREATHE.

Do not forget the basics no matter how many times you’ve competed. Warm up rooms can get hectic quickly, keep your cool and focus on preparing yourself for what you need to do. Pre rolling wraps can be really helpful and save time faffing about cuing for a roller or blowing up your forearms while warming up. Know your rack heights, I keep a tape measure in my kit bag so I can always have the bar at the right height regardless of the mono I’m using. As the lifter it is ultimately your responsibility to be on top of these things but having a coach that’s laid rubber on the asphalt in the past can help make this a much smoother and stress free process.

I won’t go into attempt selection as that’s very individual to each lifter, your training should give you the confidence to load what you need to in order to win or achieve your goals. I always aim to take a small PR on the second attempt and go for it on the 3rd if it’s on the cards. Choosing multiple easy sub PR attempts to maybe push it on the 3rd always seems a little pointless to me, we don’t need to be warming up on the platform but don’t go choosing 99% for your opener. Knowing the rule book is vital if you’re competitive, comps can come down to the last few deadlifts. Have a plan but be flexible and reactive based off your competitors, your handler needs to be clued up about when they can change attempts.

While there’s so much more that goes into forging your best total, hopefully there’s one or two nuggets of gold
here you can use in your next prep.

“Live. Learn. Pass on.”
Focus Trust Strength

George Hurt
Elitefts Lifter
▪️1040kg/2288lbs multi ply
▪️950kg/2090lbs single ply

WPO 2024 / Irish Pro 2025