Well, after careful consideration, I have decided to pinpoint a power-lifting meet and GO FOR IT. I am shooting for a 100% RAW in my hometown… which is 32 weeks from now. My thing is… WHAT DO I DO?? My brain is spinning with weight classes, programming, etc, etc, etc…
So I would like some input on priorities.
Basically, my stats are as follows
Weight: 338-340
BF-33-38% (Navy tape measure)
Deadlift: 365
Bench Press: 350
Strict Curl: 120
What do you think I should do? IDK if i want SHW, so 307 lbs. is in the window, maybe even 274. I’ve been lifting on/off for 5-6 years with about 2.5 years of it in the gym. What would you do to make it the best meet possible? Lose fat? Build lifts? Mix it up? What are good programs to follow?
I want to at least maintain my bench and push my deadlift to 500 (hopefully mostly technique work)
I’d work on slowly leaning out just for health and then work on training the comp lifts to make sure you get white lights. That’ll drive them all up. I’d go with something like 531, Cube or 5th Set. Whatever you pick, follow it exactly as written.
Thirty two weeks is a really good length of time to get ready.
I agree with Mark. Normally people will tell you not to worry about weight class for your first meet but 32 weeks is a long fucking time. You could feasibly spend 20 weeks getting into 308 range then run a 12-week peaking cycle for the meet from there and focus solely on strength.
I think spending ~20 weeks on fat loss, going down to about 307, and then doing a 12-week meet prep where you keep your bodyweight stable makes sense. Going from 340 to 307 will have you losing about 10% of your bodyweight, following that with a period of stable weight will make further fat-loss easier and more sustainable in the long term.
Why would you post your numbers for the strict-curl, but not the squat?
I wouldn’t recommend going for 275 at this point. A 65 lb weight loss is quite a transformation. To do it before your meet, you’d have to lose a steady 2 lbs per week over the duration of the 32 weeks. To make 308, it would only take 16 weeks to do it at the same rate. That would leave you some room for error to do it in 20 weeks, or if you can do it in 16, 16 more weeks to do a meet prep and focus solely on strength. (Generally, losing more than 2 lb per week is not recommended for preservation of strength and lean mass).
Get to 308, do the meet, then go down to 275 after if thats what you’d like.
I’ll agree with max13. Learn how to peak and pick numbers without the weight loss variable to worry about. Level off at 306-310. Next learn how to peak which by principal is nothing more than adding weight and cutting volume on a gradual basis before the meet. Take your best triple, assume your max is 20 pounds over that, then subtract 10lbs per week for 10 weeks leaving the week before the meet as a deload with your last heavy deadlift 2 weeks out (2-3RM). You will work down in volume from 20-25 (5x5, 3x8, 2x10) reps to 4-6 (2x2, 2x3) over the 10 week period. If your early weeks feel easy DO NOT go heavier. Better to leave some on the table at your first meet, since you are not even close to being able to predict poundages yet. Your first meet is a learning experience, hell you could even go in without a peak. Good luck.