Get the maximum out of competition day: effort distribution, smart attempt planning, external focus under pressure and well-timed boosters like caffeine.
On competition day, it's not only how fit you are that decides, but how cleverly you manage your attempts, your head and the conditions. Straight talk: two athletes in equal shape are often separated only by tactical details — the right effort distribution, the right cue in your head and how you handle wind, waiting time and nerves. One example: an external focus ("push the block away") beats an internal one ("extend your knees"), especially if you're not already world class.
This guide is your competition checklist: how to distribute your attempts, steer yourself mentally, read external conditions and time legal boosters like caffeine correctly. Not chance, but a plan.
Even a sprint has a structure. In acceleration it's about maximal propulsive impulse — push powerfully back, don't rush to "come up". Over 200 or 400 m you distribute the effort deliberately: accelerate under control, hold the speed, don't "log off" after 150 m. Relative propulsive impulse carries most of your speed — don't waste it by braking and tensing up in the first metres.
In jumping and throwing disciplines you have several attempts — and they're a resource. Set a solid first attempt to be in the competition (a valid attempt takes off pressure), then go to the limit under control. Don't blow all your energy on the first run and learn to actively manage the waiting times between attempts — stay warm, stay focused.
Under pressure your brain reaches for control — and where you point it decides. An external focus on the effect ("push the block away", "throw through the target") beats self-observation of individual body parts, especially if you're not yet elite. Prepare one or two concise cues beforehand and, in the decisive moment, call up only that one.
Wind, track, temperature and schedule aren't excuses but variables. A tailwind helps, a headwind costs — adjust run-up length and expectation. In heat, warm up earlier and shorter; in cold, stay warm longer. Know the schedule and plan your warm-up so you're ready right at the moment of the start, not 20 minutes too early.
Competition anxiety is normal and affects many — especially after demanding phases or injuries. Steer it with routine: same sequence, breathing technique, external cues. If you use caffeine, then as a tested plan: it boosts peak performance from around 6 mg per kilogram of body weight, about 30 to 60 minutes beforehand — but only if you've tried it in training, never new on competition day.
Tactics must never override the basics: warm up fully even under time pressure — a shortened warm-up on competition day is the most common strain trap. Never test caffeine and its dose for the first time in competition and, in elite sport, observe the anti-doping rules. With pronounced, persistent competition anxiety, get sport-psychology support — that's strength, not weakness.
Build a fixed "countdown routine" for the last minutes before the start: finish the warm-up, one deep breathing cycle, your external cue, go. Always identical, whether training or final. This routine gives your nervous system something familiar in an agitated situation — and precisely that reduces the influence of nerves on your performance.
In acceleration it's about maximal propulsive impulse — push powerfully and patiently back instead of tensing up in the first metres. Over longer sprint distances (200/400 m) you accelerate under control and then hold the speed instead of giving everything too early. Propulsive impulse carries most of your speed, so protect it from braking and tension.
Set a solid, valid first attempt — that takes off pressure and gets you into the competition. After that you go to the limit under control instead of blowing all your energy on the first run. Manage the waiting times actively: stay warm and focused, repeat your external cue routine and only go full out in the attempt.
With routine and the right focus. Competition anxiety is normal and affects many, especially after demanding phases. A fixed sequence plus breathing technique gives your head something to hold onto, and an external focus cue ("push the block away") beats self-observation, especially below elite. Practise this routine in training so it runs automatically on competition day.
It can help if you use it planned and tested. Caffeine boosts peak performance from around 6 mg per kilogram of body weight, about 30 to 60 minutes beforehand. Important: always try dose and tolerance in training first, never new on competition day, and in elite sport watch for tested, anti-doping-compliant products.
Leichtathletik: Strength Training and Athletics