Your First Competition: What to Pack, What to Eat and What to Do With Yourself Between Heats

Garage Games is coming to Chalk Dog CrossFit on November 7th, and you are ready for this! Competing for fun as an adult is something you do not want to miss out on! You already work out, so this is your chance to see that work pay off while hanging out with inspiring people, eating BBQ and listening to music.

We're hosting this event with beginners in mind because we remember our first comps all too well, and we had many questions! There is something for most everybody with age groups in five year increments from 30 to 75+, plus Rx (highest skill level and heavier weights) and scaled (beginner friendly to your specific age group) versions for each age group. The workouts are already posted, which means weeks to practice any movements you are unsure of!

We've established you are ready and should definitely do this comp, but you might be wondering where to start? How to prepare? What to pack for the day of the event? What to expect on event day? Keep reading to answer all of those questions and more. We even have a handy packing checklist!

What Happens That Day

Competition day has a rhythm to it once you've been through one, but the first time it can feel like a lot at once. At check-in, along with your shirt and swag bag, you'll get your first event's scorecard, which tells you your heat and lane, and you'll have a briefing on the workouts, scoring, and standards before anything starts. Take that briefing seriously, even the parts that feel obvious. Judges will be looking for specific standards to count the rep (full depth on a wall ball, full hip extension on a box jump or step up), and knowing the standard saves you no-reps that add up to a lot of extra work and a slower time.

Between your own heats, you've got time. Set a reminder for when you want to warm up and when you need to pick up your scorecard at the check-in table for your next event (15 to 20 minutes before the event starts). Once you have your reminder set you are free to enjoy the scene! Watch other athletes compete, chat with other competitors, grab a snack. Rehash the last workout with someone. The atmosphere itself is the best part. People you've never met will cheer for you like you're their own athlete.

What to Pack

Overpack. Nobody has ever regretted having too much stuff in their competition bag, and everybody has regretted forgetting the one thing they needed. If you forget anything, we have just about every store you could need within a mile! Here's the list:

Gear: Bring more than one pair of shoes if your events call for it (lifting shoes for anything heavy, trainers for everything else). Wrist wraps, knee sleeves, a belt, tape, grips if you use them for pulling work. A jump rope.

Clothes: Layers, and more of them than you think. You'll sweat through at least one outfit, and standing around in a wet shirt for three hours between heats is how you tighten right back up. Pack a full change, socks included.

Food and drink: A cooler with more food than one person should eat in a day. Water, electrolytes (LMNT will be available on location), whatever pre- and post-workout snacks you already know your stomach tolerates (competition day is not the day to try something new, more on that below too). A reusable water bottle you can refill, since hydration stations aren't always right next to the floor.

Recovery: Foam roller, lacrosse ball or a massage gun if you've got one. A small towel or two. Basic first aid, band-aids and tape mostly, for the inevitable rip or blister.

Comfort: A chair. You will be sitting on asphault or mats for hours otherwise and you'll feel it in your next workout. A rug or mats for your area too. A pop-up tent or umbrella, since the athlete area is outdoors. Sunscreen.

Logistics: Your registration confirmation (printed or on your phone) and your ID.

How to Fuel Before and Between Events

Eat a normal breakfast the morning of, something you've eaten before a workout plenty of times already. This is not the morning to experiment with a new pre-workout or a food you saw someone post about. Your gut doesn't want surprises on competition day.

Between events is where fueling gets strategic. The general rule: recover first, rest second, warm up third and give yourself enough of a gap before each that you're not rushing any of the three.

Right after you finish a workout, your body wants carbs and a bit of protein to start refilling what you just burned through. That can be as simple as a banana and a protein shake, or a small serving of something easy to digest, rice, a granola bar, whatever sits well with you. Sip water and an electrolyte drink steadily through the day rather than chugging it right before your next heat. If you've got a long gap (two-plus hours) between events, that's when a more substantial snack makes sense, something with real food in it like a sandwich or oatmeal, eaten early enough in the window that it's digested before you're back on the floor.

What you want to avoid is showing up to your next heat either starving or stuffed. Both wreck a workout.

Save room for The Buckhorn Truck for lunch!

What to Do With Your Downtime

The down time between heats is where a lot of first-timers either fade or overheat themselves. Here's how to spend it instead.

Cool down, then warm back up on purpose. Right after you finish, let your heart rate come down and get some food and water in. But don't just sit still for the next two hours. About 20 to 30 minutes before your next event, get moving again: light cardio, some mobility work, a few reps of whatever movements are coming up. Cold muscles are slow muscles.

Bring your warm-up kit, not just your workout kit. A foam roller and a band or two go a long way toward keeping you loose through a long day. If it's chilly or your division has a big gap between events, a hoodie or joggers you can throw on over your workout clothes keeps your muscles warm instead of cooling off in the breeze while you sit in your chair.

Watch the standards, not just the leaderboard. Use your downtime to catch a heat before yours and see exactly what the judges are calling. Learn from others' mistakes. They are easy to make in the heat of the moment.

Stay off your legs when you can. Sit when you're not actively warming up. Your legs will thank you in your third event of the day.

Talk to people. This is the part that turns a competition into a memory instead of just four workouts back to back. Cheer for the heat before yours. Ask the person next to you how their day's going. Half the fun of a first competition is realizing everyone else was just as nervous as you were.

That's it. Pack too much, eat like you already know works, keep moving between events and let yourself enjoy the parts that have nothing to do with your score.

See you on the floor November 7th.

Don't forget to register here!