I had recently spoke with a couple of new Olympic weightlifters and I had come to realize that after competing in one or two meets, they had no idea what their goals should have been prior to going into the competition! Goal setting is a critical part of competing and should never ever be overlooked.

I have probably done somewhere in the ball park of 20 weightlifting competitions and I’ve had a specific goal for every one of them. Goals should be individualized and personal but I have shared 5 examples of important milestone 'goals' to help you in setting goals before your next weightlifting competition.

1. Go 6 For 6

California Strength places an emphasis on this for all new competitors who come through the program. For first timer Olympic weightlifters, we take away the stress of setting PR's and instead place the focus on making lifts. This helps to build confidence and familiarity with the platform. Half the time, we don’t even let our lifters know what they are going to take. All they know is that it is going to be a lift they are going to make.

2. Competition Personal Records (PR's)

Gaining new competition PR's is the primary goal when our weight lifters of intermediate experience compete. Simply put, you want to do better than you did last time, DUH. We often reach for just a one kilogram PR because just one kilogram more counts as a new personal record!!!

3. Lifetime Personal Records (PR's)

Depending on your experience level, the competition platform can either present you with the confidence and opportunity needed to hit a lifetime PR or it can provide the nerves that can cause you to revert to old habits. A lifetime PR is the ultimate achievement and as a result, may also be the toughest to achieve year after year as you gain more experience in the sport. Take advantage of these opportunities when they come around, because they won't come around as often as you would like to believe.

4. Stepping Out Of Your Comfort Zone

After a few competitions, we like to test ourselves by simulating different competition scenarios in practice. We often focus on attempting heavier openers, a weight that you know you can hit in practice but still a weight that you have to focus on to hit as your opener. We also attempt bigger jumps between attempts during practice. As weightlifters reach higher levels, heavy openers and big jumps are often necessary for higher totals or to earn a certain place.

5. Qualifying totals

Remember, it’s not always about the numbers. But it’s a good idea to know what your numbers are when you’re going into a competition! USA Weightlifting is providing more opportunities for athletes to compete at a national level, knowing what might earn you a spot at a national competition is always something that you should have in the back of your head.