Before we begin our guide to never backing out of competitions, let me start by saying this blog applies to competitors or aspiring competitors. Not just people who want to sign up and do a meet for funsies, but people who want to compete to beat other people to win.
With that out of the way, I would like to go over a few of the excuses I have heard athletes give for dropping out of meets; followed by an explanation of why they are bullsh!t.
By far, the biggest is “I don’t feel like I’m ready”. My rebuttal is, “No shit”. Most good preps don’t have you feeling “ready” until a couple of days before the meet. Preps are hard and they hurt. If you back out of a meet every time your body hurts two weeks out, you won’t get very far into this sport.
Next up is “I’m just not feeling it”. This tells me first and foremost that the athlete in question would never be a competitor to begin with. This is being at the mercy of your emotions at the moment. I promise everyone who has slung some big weights on a platform has had moments where they are “not feeling it”. The difference between those athletes and the former is that they can regulate their emotions and focus on the bigger picture. Sometimes all you need is a good night’s sleep and a big meal. If this describes you, reflect on whether powerlifting is a sport worth pursuing.
The final common excuse I hear is “I am hurt”. I’ve got two perspectives on this one. Firstly, if you are injured (ie complete tendon avulsion, muscle belly tear, Celiacs, etc.) then see if there is a division that you can compete in without involving the injury. This has more to do with finishing what you started than actually putting up your best numbers. I’ll leave your ethics to you, but IMO the ability to follow through is a good quality to have as a human being.
Secondly, you need to develop the ability to tell the difference between being in pain and being injured. The reason this is so important as a competitor is because as mentioned above, you are more than likely going to be in a good amount of pain during meet prep. If you can misconstrue pain for injury and believe that it is a valid excuse to back out of a meet, then you are probably not going to be competing any time soon.
Ultimately the decision to compete is a personal one and I am in no position to tell you what you should do. All I can offer is my best opinion from what I have seen in the athletes I have coached. From my experience, it is clear that the best competitors, by definition, find reasons to compete; NOT excuses to avoid competing. My advice is to follow through. If you want to do a meet, do the damn meet. I have never regretted showing up and doing what I can, and you won’t either.