Training for a powerlifting meet can be so much fun and can really encourage you to push hard in your training. You see all of your hard work come together as you step on the platform. You have a blast making friends in the warm up room and making some noise on your stage.

Then the bar hits the floor after your final lift. Now what?

The “post-comp blues” are a very common experience. Many lifters will report less consistent and less productive training in this post-competition period, which sucks. How you approach your off-season training is just as, if not more important than slamming your meet prep. This is where we lay our foundations.

So how can we set ourselves up for a productive off-season, rather than sinking deep in to the post-comp blues, and the lousy training that comes with it?

I competed a few weeks ago at the JPS Spring Showdown. It was an insanely fun day; the most fun I’ve ever had at a competition. I made some good lifts. I also made some shocking mistakes.

Each time I compete, I always have a period of self-reflection where I go through what I did well, what could have been better, my future competition aspirations, how I want to train on the other side of comp and any ideas for my training that I’d like to flag with my coach.

Here are my reflections from the JPS competition. Perhaps you learn from my mistakes. Or perhaps this just prompts some more reflective practices in you.