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Coaches Corner
INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL TIPS, Part 2
As Head Coach of the USA Powerlifting Men's and Women's Bench Team, I have witnessed, observed and learned various methods that help make travel, especially internationally, easier. These methods will also help to minimize potential problems that may occur due to traveling to and from a competition.
I have put together some tips and suggestions for traveling internationally. I realize some of you have traveled internationally already and some of you have not. The following are some topics that I feel need to be addressed before traveling, especially internationally. The following is the remainder of the tips and suggestions I would like to pass onto you to make your travels safe and enjoyable. If you have any questions or comments about these, please feel free to contact me personally at pwrdoc@fwi.com.
Vitamins/Supplements
Go ahead and bring these, especially if you use them every day. Bring your protein shake mix as well, if you use these. But I warn you, if you place any of these items in a plain, smaller container that isn't labeled, be ready to explain what that white powdery substance is. I realize it is easier to place 4-6 days worth of creatine or glutamine in a small container than to carry the original container, but you may want to label it yourself or get a smaller container of that same supplement just for traveling. Then you can fill it up from the larger one when you get ready to go overseas. Second item and just as important: make sure you know what is in your supplements!!!! The type of drug testing done at the IPF World Championships is full-spectrum. What this means is that they don't just test for steroids. They test for everything. Make sure you are not consuming any psychomotor stimulants, i.e. ephedra, ma huang, etc. There was a German study that was released a couple of years ago that found a substantial amount of over the counter supplements had either contaminants in them or items that were not listed on the label. Some of these "extra" ingredients are on the banned substance list. So PLEASE be careful, both for yourself and USAPL. We have not had one failure at the IPF level since we joined the IPF in 1997. What a track record!! Not too many of the top 5 countries in the team standings at the end of an IPF competition can say that!!
Medications
Please check the IPF website and the USADA website for allowed medications and banned substances. If you are taking any medication that is banned, please speak to your medical doctor ASAP about alternatives. Make sure you are not taking any cold/flu medication, whether prescribed or over the counter, that contains ephedrine or pseudoephedrine. Too much caffeine can also test positive, but you would have to drink many cups in a short time to fail this test. If you are taking a prohibited substance, not a banned substance, you will need a letter from your prescribing doctor describing the treatment and why. A copy of this letter needs to be written before the competition. You will need to carry a copy of this letter with you to the meet. Make sure I also get a copy for the USAPL Sports Medicine and Drug Testing Committee's records. Also, if you think you may, even the slightest chance, need your inhaler, please give it to your coach before your warm-ups start so they can administer it ASAP when you need it. Make sure the substance in the inhaler isn't banned and that you have the appropriate letter to accompany it. If you have any questions, please ask. Ask before you leave for the competition.
Sleep
A big topic when you are traveling internationally. Please go to www.chiropower.com for a copy of an article that appeared in a recent NSCA Strength and Conditioning Journal issue. It is in .pdf format, so you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to read this. It talks about sleep and the effects of time zone travel on athletic performance. One suggestion I have is to start changing your sleep times, if possible. When traveling east, you will need to slowly go to bed earlier to help acclimate your body to that time. As far as where the competition is located, Team USAPL members that live on the East Coast will have to travel "X" number of time zones. Those on the West Coast "X+3" time zones. Traveling east over numerous time zones is generally harder on the body initially than traveling west. Another reason to make sure your keep yourself properly hydrated and that you get enough sleep in the week preceding departure, etc. Another suggestion is when you get on the plane to leave the USA, move your watch to the new time in the final location. Then do what you normally do at that time of the day. If it is a time when you are normally sleeping, sleep. Even if it is 1800 hours when your plane departs the USA. This will help reset your time clock faster. Use of melatonin to help reduce the effects of jet lag is fine and works well. Make sure you try it at home before you leave for the competition so you know what your dosage is. If you need any advice on this, please don't hesitate to contact me personally.
Money
Be careful letting others see your cash. Traveler's Checks are great. I would suggest making copies of them as well (See Passport section above.) Use Visa/Mastercard as often as you can to get the best exchange rate from these companies. Using these more than cash will decrease the amount of cash you will need to carry.
Injuries
Let the Team Physician know about any acute or chronic/nagging injuries before they get to the competition, so they can be better prepared to treat you if needed.
Training schedule
Send your Team Coach the last 3 workouts before the competition. Include your sets, what equipment was worn, your bodyweight for that particular workout, etc. The more detail, the better. Also send them your proposed attempts for the meet with the warm-ups you plan on doing ahead of time as well.
Lifting Equipment
Carry all of your lifting and competition equipment onto the plane with you. Include 1-2 days of clean clothes as well. This way if the airlines lose your luggage, you will still have what you need to compete with (which is why you are traveling in the first place) and some clean clothes to change into. Nothing is worse than traveling to a competition and then losing your equipment.
Team Meeting
Most USAPL Teams will have a Team Meeting before/after the IPF Technical Meeting. The Team Meetings usually last at least 1 hour, if not more. Site is usually to be announced. Most likely at the hotel the Team is staying at. Everyone should be at this meeting. Questions will be answered, strategy gone over, etc.
Weigh-Ins
Make sure you bring your passports to weigh-in for ID. Don't be surprised if one of the referees weighing you in is of the opposite sex. This has happened at other European meets before. Try and keep your weight at least .5 to 1.0 kg under the weight class limit, if possible. Winner of a certain place goes to the lighter lifter, so you may be able to help yourself place higher if you weigh in 1.0+ kg under. I have seen this strategy be very helpful in regards to the final standings. Eating lemons will help you lose some water weight as it contains a natural diuretic. It doesn't taste good, but it works. I just recently lost 6 pounds over night for a meet doing this and had gained 4 pounds back by the time I started to warm-up, 6 pounds by the time I was done lifting. I even set a new PR at this meet and broke my existing Indiana State Record!! Be careful doing this if you haven't tried this before. You will need to re-hydrate yourself as soon as you step off of the scale. Make sure you weigh-in nude. Attempt cards will be given to you as soon as you are done weighing-in. Fill these out and sign them and give them to your coach ASAP. The weigh-in coaches will be discussed at the Team Meeting.
Meet - Competition!!
Party time!! I have several suggestions to help make you more successful at this meet. First, make sure you are comfortable with your equipment. Second, make sure you have backup equipment, two of each would be better. Tell your handlers where the backup is and have it ready in case they need to change your equipment fast. When you get to the meet site, familiarize yourself to the area. Find where the weigh-ins will be, the bathrooms, warm-up area, etc. Check out the competition area. See if you can get your rack height done ahead of time. Feel the bar, the platform and the bench pad. Practice where your feet will go for all of your lifts. Find your visual spot, that spot where you look when you are lifting. Doing all of this ahead of time will decrease your stress level and allow you to be more relaxed come party time!! We will go over some of the rules for the powerlifts during the Team Meeting. If there is to be a protest, the Head Coach will handle it. He/she will go to the jury and make the formal protest. It can not be done by a lifter. Try and remain calm. Swearing and being out of control will only make matters worse. Last year in New Zealand we had a situation where I was told of a potential rules infraction and went to the jury to protest. Calmly. It certainly helped matters and the protest was found in our favor.
Some strategies to go by: Remember you are several time zones from where you usually train and live. A general rule of thumb for openers when this far away from home is to go 2.5 - 5kg lower than you would if you were at home. This number can be larger for new members to the team and smaller or not at all for the seasoned members. Key thing about making your opener is this: you should be able to do it in your sleep, meaning it should be easy! All an opener does is ensure that you are in the meet. Use the 2nd and 3rd attempts to place you. Another strategy is make them beat you. You do the weight and make them do it as well. 9.5 times out of 10 they won't. Ask a few of the seasoned team members about this. This particular strategy has won many medals, even some golds. Most medal winners make at least 2 out of 3 attempts per lift, if not more. Very rarely will a medal winner be someone who only got 1 successful attempt per lift. Doing this will place you in a great position!
I hope these tips and suggestions come in handy when you travel abroad next. Please re-read them over several times so you can become very familiar with them. Good luck with your travels!! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me personally at 260-432-7339 or at pwrdoc@fwi.com
Sincerely,
Michael A. Hartle, DC, DACBN, CCSP, CSCS
Chairman, USA Powerlifting Drug Testing Committee
Chairman, USA Powerlifting Sports Medicine Committee
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