Getting back on the wave
I wrote some time back about the idea of riding the wave.
Picture yourself paddling in open waters. You position yourself the best you can. You try your best to be patient, waiting for the perfect opportunity. When the time is right, you start paddling with everything that you’ve got - a mad bustle of hands and feet. That gives you the chance of catching the wave. If all goes well, and if you’re a bit lucky, then you will be in one hell of a ride.
But there’s another key thing to grasp…You must know when to get off! Try and ride the wave for too long and you may be in for a wipeout.
This analogy describes the process of training perfectly. There’s the initial fight to adjust to the training - The growing pains. Next comes the process of getting on top…the adaptation. In other words, these are the good times. But! …There’s the wipeout for those who try and stay on top for too long. This is the inevitable stagnation and maladaptation that comes with pushing for the same damn thing day after day after day.
The most obvious application of the analogy is in the actual workout. You warm-up, get into the meat of your work, put in the absolute best reps that you can, then stop before fatigue begins to muck with your form too much. But there’s also the bigger picture. This scale of training time is measured in weeks, months, and years. The wave still applies. You fight for your adaptation and your new goals, then you move on to the next thing when the time is right.
The time after a competition is the perfect opportunity to catch another wave. Over the past year, I’ve learned quite a few lessons, and I’ve made some real progress. That enabled me to have a pretty good showing at my recent powerlifting meet. However, prepping for this contest came with a price. My bodyweight is up, my conditioning is down, and my training is much too specific and predictable.
So here are the new goals for spring. First, I want to get my bodyweight down to at least 275 lbs. I currently eat pretty good, and keep a pretty tough training schedule. So, I guess my first step will be to eat even better, and train much harder!
Next, I want to remain strong. I’ve learned from past weight loss ventures that if you’re not smart, or if you rush the process, your strength will disappear like a vapor. I don’t want that. My goal is to take my renovated physique on to a powerlifting show in the early summer and do well.
Nothing is set in stone quite yet, but here’s the basic offseason plan for now.
1. Train 4-days per week
I’ve been following a 3-day per week schedule for about two-years or more. It’s been completely awesome. But nothing lasts forever. I think it’s time to move to a 4-day training week for one specific reason…I can manage my heavy conditioning a bit better with that split.
• Tuesday – Heavy Press, Repetition Bench, Heavy Sled
• Wednesday – Deadlift, Repetition Squat, Light conditioning
• Thursday – Heavy Bench, Repetition Press, Heavy Sled
• Saturday – Heavy Squat, Repetition Deadlift, Moderate Conditoning
The big downside here is that I will not be able to squat 3 times per week. However, if you count heavy sled pushes as unilateral leg work, I will now be training my lower body on a total of 4 days. So, the training volume will be up. That’s bad news for my belly!
2. Increase the reps
The basic law of any offseason training period is that your training volume will increase while your training load will come down. I will not violate that here.
While I will keep enough load on my back to stay strong, I need to spend some time on reps. Here, I’m going to borrow an approach from Jim Wendler. After my primary strength work, I’m going to perform 5 sets of 10 reps with the barbell. If I squat heavy, I’ll pull for reps*…and vice versa. For upper body work, the rep work will alternate between variations of the press and bench. I think that’s a very nice, balanced approach.
*This all seems like a good idea now. However, that all changes during the 7th rep of a tough set of squats or deadlifts. I’ll do my best to stay focused.
3. Be precise with the strength work
In years past, I would try and deviate from the lessons I’ve learned over the course of my powerlifting career. I’m not going to make those mistakes this time around. I’m resolved to this goal…If I’m going to screw up this time, it’s going to be in some new and exciting way!
• My squats will be done with a lot of variety, including some chain and band, and lots of specialty barbell use. This 1) keeps training fun, and 2) helps me manage the wear and tear of my shoulders. One difference? A lot of deep, and bouncy reps on the repetition days.
• On deadlifts, I’ve always had success by training hard, but changing the style of pull frequently. I’ll have to stay with that. However, I must build my strength off the floor. For that, I’m going to do halting deadlifts as often as I can (Pulling from the floor to just above the knee). This allows you to build the bottom strength in a very specific way, while limiting the work that would be done locking out the barbell. And no, I don’t plan on losing lockout strength. Every other workout will feature a strict rack/block pull. Ying-Yang, my friend.
• For upper body work, I’m still convinced that the key to real strength is the overhead strict press. It’s just so hard! So every other pressing day will feature the press. However, I must remain competent and ready in the bench. While I’m not willing to push the loads too much here, I will be using some special exercises to keep strong. I’ll be doing some floor, pin, and board presses to target the various zones of the range of motion.
4. Continue to ramp
I like to use the ramp for judging my training loads. It makes since. It’s conservative. It’s progressive. It allows you to train heavy frequently. I do not see much need in changing now.
So, this is the plan for the next few months. We shall see where it takes me.
Sometimes I ask myself why I continue to chase these strength goals. I guess the primary reason will always be that it’s fun. Also, while I don’t take the process too seriously any more, I love the hunt for the new record. I love the idea of continually refining myself, mentally, but also physically. This keeps me under the barbell. I hope the same for you.
Chris
TheChrisMooreBlog.com