Now that things are opening up I have been seeing an influx of meets coming up which really has me scratching my head wondering what the hell are meet directors trying to do besides make a quick buck. Many lifters didn't have a gym to train at, most likely the majority of them did not. Now they are going to rush into a meet because they have been sitting at home doing nothing and going crazy. This is a mistake by the athlete and the meet director. You can only focus on the things you can control so as an athlete I can not express enough how important it is to wait until you are ready to compete and not rush into things.

Ideally, you should be spending the first 4-6 weeks building things back up to a solid baseline. Then spend the next 10-12 weeks in a good offseason to make the necessary improvements you need. Finally, after that, you can find a meet that is 8-12 weeks away and begin your prep for that meet. This will do two things, help prevent you from picking a bunch of injuries or worst yet a severe injury and it will allow you time to improve your technique and lifts. Why rush to compete if you can't really improve and you increase your risk of getting injured. Be patient and really understand where you are, instead of impulsively signing up for a meet because you have been stuck at home for three months. It is tough to do but your mind and body will thank you later.