The dreaded implosion. Ka-blooey. Detonation. Whatever you wanna call it... bombing out of a meet is never a good time. As weightlifters, we spend months and ever years preparing for our six lifts on the platform. At maximum six minutes that actually count for something. While nobody can lift the bar for you as an athlete. There are many things that go into preparing for a meet that can help you avoid the bomb. Have a plan, stick to the plan, train for different tempo's to simulate the meet, the list can go on and on. We know all that, but many people miss out on what you should do about it after the bomb.
1. Emotion. It is very easy to let emotion take over. Start blaming everyone and yourself for a poor performance. While some emotion is warranted, it is important to remember to bring logic into the conversation and speak honestly about what happened or did not happen during prep, warmups, or your attempts on the platform. Remember that your coach will likely take on a lot of personal responsibility for the performance. While he/she will likely try to be even keel about it. They will definitely be dealing with their own emotions about it. You as an athlete being able to communicate will help your coach deal with their feelings about it as well as help them help you through yours.
2. Monday Morning QB. After the weekend. Sit down with your coach. Talk about what happened. Go through the cycle. Describe what you felt warming up, taking lifts. Did you feel prepared or not? Talk about warm ups, and attempts on the platform. Were there other lifts you could have taken to achieve the same goal while finding successful attempts? Remember. This situation requires all out honesty from both parties to make a plan and move forward.
3. Make a plan. To move forward you need to take the information from your review and make a plan. Of course a plan is only good if you stick to it and adjust accordingly through your next cycle. Find ways to improve upon your shortcomings that led to the bomb. Sure those up, and you'll be able to close the gap on the performance you want.
4. Get back out there. One of the best ways to overcome the emotion of a bomb is to get back on the platform. It does not matter if you are taking gimme lifts or going all out. Just make sure you select attempts you will find success with. This facet of overcoming a bomb out is a double edge sword in that the bomb can very well happen again and drive you deeper into doubt and other emotions if you aren't careful.
As an athlete or coach, your goal should always be to make more lifts than you miss. Of course misses happen, and when the stakes are high the potential rises for these things with athletes attempting to qualify for bigger meets, or international teams. When you set a goal for a meet to achieve something big like this. Be sure you are honest with yourself about what you are ready to do on the platform. Set a plan and stick to it! Your best performances are yet to come.