Five Competition Day Mistakes
I originally wrote this article for Brazilian jiu jitsu competitors but most of the lessons will apply to any athlete. Please apply appropriately to your own endeavours to ensure maximum ass-kicking.
GG
Five Competition Day Mistakes
By the time Competition Day rolls around, you should be filled with excitement and energy, determination and focus. Unfortunately, all of us have – at one point or another – failed to compete at our best. Here’s a list of five common mistakes (and how to correct them.
1. Over-training
If you’ve ever found yourself busting ass one or two days before a competition, you’ve been guilty of sabotaging your own success.
The truth is that you need recovery to perform optimally. The lion’s share of your hard work should come in long before it’s time to compete.
There aren’t a whole lot of straight lines in nature. Instead, we see cycles. There is a rhythm that your training must follow. You work hard and then allow your body enough recovery to bounce back even better than before. Too little work and you won’t cue your body to adapt. Too little recovery and it won’t have the opportunity. There’s a delicate balance.
The more time and hard work you’ve put into training, the longer you’ll need to recover pre-competition. Budget at least 24 hours of full rest and as much as 72. Use your level of fatigue and desire to train as indicators. The more fatigue and less motivation you have, the closer to the 72-hour mark you’ll need.
2. Poor sleep
This is an extension of point number one. You doubtlessly know that you need a good night’s sleep before you compete. However, like most of us, you’ve probably spent the night before competition tossing and turning. And you’ve still showed up tired. How do we fix this?
Your body is a creature of habit. If you go to bed at 1:00 am every night and then suddenly try crawling into bed at 10:00 pm, you’ve probably got a frustrating three hours ahead of you. If you need to ensure a full eight hours of sleep before competing, then give yourself a week to work up to the bedtime you’ll need. Think of this process as adjusting to a new time zone. The less jet-lagged you are at the weigh-in, the better.
3. Zero nutrition
I don’t like to play the role of nutritionist because this is not my area of expertise. Of course, I don’t like to play mechanic either, but if I see someone driving around on three wheels with their engine on fire, I’ll probably go ahead and say something. There are many obvious gaps that anyone can see and – with a little determination – deal with them. Here are some simple tips:
- Breakfast. Eat it.
- A small serving of carbohydrates after each match
- Small, easily digestible snacks taken every thirty minutes (up to 30 minutes prior to competing) – low in fat, high in carbohydrates and protein
4. Ineffective warm-up
Many competitors talk about not feeling warmed-up until midway through their first match. This is, for obvious reasons, a terrible idea. Your warm-up should begin with some gentle mobility work, progress into getting your large muscle groups fired up and then eventually ramp up into explosive movement. This should be stimulating, not fatiguing.
Your goal should be to feel fast, loose and ready to move before every match.
5. Waiting until six weeks out to begin resistance training
The missing link for most competitors is not conditioning; it’s power. However, developing truly explosive movement is a long-term process. The last several weeks of training must, by necessity, be devoted to conditioning and endurance. If this is the only time that you’re picking up a weight, you’re missing out on the chance to maximize your athletic ability.
If you’re a serious competitor, look into year-round training with a proper strength and conditioning program.
And just in case, it hadn’t occurred to you, you may want to attend a couple of jiu jitsu classes first.
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