Here are some quick tips of things you should do before a
competition, ranging from 3 months out to right before your match. This mainly
pertains to beginners that want to start competing. As you become more
advanced, you learn what details work best for you.
- Start
your diet early.
Most competitors have to cut some weight to make the most
out of themselves at competitions. If you like competing at your walk-around
weight, and you do well, then lucky you! But most have to go through the task
of reaching a certain weight, and it’s not easy. The best trick is to lose fat
and retain as much muscle as possible during the weight cut. More experienced
competitors usually have their own system for this, but it can be very hard for
beginners. One of the simplest tips is to start your diet early – don’t
procrastinate. Starting early will give you some leeway if you still have some
weight to cut. One of the most embarrassing things is to get to the scale
overweight and get disqualified.
- Start
all of your hard rolling early.
The logic here is that you need time to recover from all
your hard training. The earlier you start all your shark tanks and
conditioning, the earlier you can begin to restore your body for the
competition. Also, if you have any injuries, as a result from that training,
then you have time to recover and continue your training so you can compete
again.
- Know
when to rest.
It’s good to train hard, but you have to train hard in
moderation. Overtraining can very easily lead to injury. If you’re feeling
nauseous or feeling some sort of pain, think about it and decide if it’s worth
stopping and taking a day off. Training hard is important, but training smart is
more important. There is no point in showing what a tough guy you are in the
gym and training through injuries. Rest properly and you can show everyone what
a tough guy you are in the competition, where it really matters.
- Stop
hard training one week before competition.
There are various different theories on this, but it’s been
said by many professionals in the past (ie. Xande Ribeiro and Marcelo Garcia)
that taking a week off before a tournament allows you to not only be physically
ready, but it also helps mentally with your nerves and anxiety. You can still
do light exercises to keep your body warm and sharp, but nothing
strenuous.
- Learn
new moves early.
If you really want to add new moves to your arsenal, you
have to do it at the beginning of your training camp. Unless you are insanely
talented, you need time to let the technique sink into your regular game. In
tournaments when you are exhausted, you will only resort to your top techniques
that are second nature in your game. If you want to expand that repertoire, you
need to add those new techniques as early as possible. Adding new techniques
right before a tournament is generally useless.
