In this episode of Rebuild Stronger, John and Wyatt dig into one of the most misunderstood parts of powerlifting: how often you should actually compete — and why most lifters are unintentionally holding themselves back.

From perfect-day fantasies to over-serious twenty-somethings white-knuckling their training, the guys break down how competing more often builds skill, resilience, confidence, and longevity in the sport. They talk local meets, learning to self-handle, avoiding “all or nothing” training mindsets, and how fun — yes, actual fun — is one of the biggest predictors of long-term strength.

You’ll hear stories about disastrous warmup room mishaps (including a 200-pound accidental jump), sketchy meets, great meet directors, bad ones, why most lifters should do 3–4 meets per year early on, and h ...