Your First Powerlifting Meet: A Meet Day Checklist

Weeks before

• Join your federation. Most require membership to enter, and some meets fill quickly.
• Read the rulebook sections on each lift and on equipment. Your federation will have an approved kit list.
• Pick a weight class you can make without a big cut. For a first meet, compete near your normal weight.
• Practise the commands in training, every heavy session, for the last few weeks.
• Plan your taper (see how to taper for a meet).

The commands

Missing a command is the most common reason first-timers fail lifts they were strong enough to make. In IPF-style rules:

Lift	Commands
Squat	"Squat" once you are standing still with the bar, then "Rack" after you stand back up.
Bench press	"Start" when the bar is still at arm's length, "Press" once the bar is motionless on your chest, then "Rack".
Deadlift	No start command. "Down" once you are standing tall and locked out.

Check your federation's rules, because some differ (for example, not all use a press command on bench).

What to pack

• Singlet, plus a T-shirt to wear under it if your federation requires one
• Knee-high socks for deadlifts (shins must be covered in most federations)
• Lifting shoes and deadlift shoes or slippers if you use them
• Belt, wrist wraps and knee sleeves, all on your federation's approved list
• Membership card and photo ID
• Chalk, a towel, and a change of clothes
• Food and drink for the whole day: meets are long
• Your attempts plan, written down or in your app

Weigh-in

Weigh-in is usually about two hours before lifting starts. At weigh-in you will typically:

• Weigh in (in your underwear or as your rules allow).
• Declare your openers for all three lifts.
• Give your rack heights for squat and bench. Set these in training beforehand.
• Have your kit checked, if your meet does kit checks.

Eat and drink straight afterwards, especially if you cut any weight.

How the day runs

• Lifters are split into flights. All the lifters in a flight take their first squat, then their second, then their third, lightest first.
• Once the bar is loaded and your name is called, you have one minute to start the lift.
• After each attempt you have about one minute to hand in your next weight.
• Squats come first, then bench, then deadlift, with a break between lifts.

Time your warm-ups from the start of your flight, not the start of the session.

Choosing attempts for a first meet

Open conservatively: something you could triple. Make your second a weight you are sure of, and only take a PR attempt on your third if the first two moved well. See how to choose your attempts for the details.

Afterwards

Write down what went well, what didn't, and how each attempt felt while you remember. That debrief is what makes your next meet better.

How Iron Raven helps

Meet Day mode keeps your plan, openers, warm-up ladder with plate loading, and attempts board in one place, offline. After the meet, the debrief compares your total with your goal and feeds into your next block.