So I got talked into competing in my first small local powerlifting meet that is exactly one month away. I am not completely weak but I havent been training for absolute strength for about a year now.
My question is…given I am supposed to stop deadlifting, squating, and benching 2 weeks, 1.5 weeks, and 1 week out, should I even attempt to max out to see what my current numbers or just go into it with an opener that I know I can hit every day without a problem?
I am sure I will get flack for this but the purpose is mainly to gain experience and set my sights on bigger goals once I know where to start.
The next local meet is in November. I could wait for that but feel like I should get a gauge of where I am at currently then formulate a plan.
I’d go ahead and get a good idea of my maxes if I were you, and then focus on hitting some singles at around 90-95% before stopping. Just to get some practice setting up, staying tight, and handling bigger weights.
If it’s to gain experience then you shouldn’t worry too much. How long of a break you need to take for each lift really depends on your own experience. A month is enough time to peak on short notice but I don’t think it would be a good idea to max out in that time frame. I have maxed out within a month when using Sheiko 32 for a peaking cycle but too fatigue from the training cycle didn’t give me a good idea of where I was at.
What I found to work well is to make sure that I hit intensities up to 90% (singles) 1-2 weeks out, 85% (singles or doubles) 2-3 weeks out and 80% (triples) 3-4 weeks out. I think this approach could work at any point in time, even in the middle of a cycle. The volume would be regulated to allow adequate recovery and the 5% jumps each week feel reasonable. If you try it, take a guess at what you want to hit for the meet and base the percentages off that. You could hit openers on the last week instead of 90% (if it’s different) or do 90% and use it as a reference point for deciding what to open with. I’ve been leaning more toward 88% in the past few cycles for each lift.
If it’s a small local meet and you’re just doing it for fun/experience, why even let it get in the way of your training? That’s just a month you’ll spend NOT getting bigger and stronger.
Whenever I’ve been in these situations, I just kept my training as usual, hit a deload week the week of the meet, did the contest, and then went back to training. You can pick openers based on what you know you’ll hit and then just plan it from there once the meet rolls around and you see how you feel in between attempts. Think of it as no different than trying to find your max in the gym.
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
If it’s a small local meet and you’re just doing it for fun/experience, why even let it get in the way of your training? That’s just a month you’ll spend NOT getting bigger and stronger.
Whenever I’ve been in these situations, I just kept my training as usual, hit a deload week the week of the meet, did the contest, and then went back to training. You can pick openers based on what you know you’ll hit and then just plan it from there once the meet rolls around and you see how you feel in between attempts. Think of it as no different than trying to find your max in the gym.[/quote]
This ^^^^^
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
If it’s a small local meet and you’re just doing it for fun/experience, why even let it get in the way of your training? That’s just a month you’ll spend NOT getting bigger and stronger.
Whenever I’ve been in these situations, I just kept my training as usual, hit a deload week the week of the meet, did the contest, and then went back to training. You can pick openers based on what you know you’ll hit and then just plan it from there once the meet rolls around and you see how you feel in between attempts. Think of it as no different than trying to find your max in the gym.[/quote]
This ^^^^[1]
Thanks for the advice guys. This training cycle I have been in the 8-12 range (which isnt nornmal) so I think I will continue my current routine but still take some heavy triples the next two weeks to get a gauge on where I currently stand. I appreciate the help.
I know it will be a nerve racking experience but I have to get out of my comfort zone and jump into a bigger pond (big fish small pond right now)
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
If it’s a small local meet and you’re just doing it for fun/experience, why even let it get in the way of your training? That’s just a month you’ll spend NOT getting bigger and stronger.
Whenever I’ve been in these situations, I just kept my training as usual, hit a deload week the week of the meet, did the contest, and then went back to training. You can pick openers based on what you know you’ll hit and then just plan it from there once the meet rolls around and you see how you feel in between attempts. Think of it as no different than trying to find your max in the gym.[/quote]
This ^^^^[1]
Thanks for the advice guys. This training cycle I have been in the 8-12 range (which isnt nornmal) so I think I will continue my current routine but still take some heavy triples the next two weeks to get a gauge on where I currently stand. I appreciate the help.
I know it will be a nerve racking experience but I have to get out of my comfort zone and jump into a bigger pond (big fish small pond right now)[/quote]
It’ll be a blast, and don’t sweat the training for now. My very first meet, I was running DoggCrapp and had no idea what my maxes were. It’ll all work out.
This was actually a position I was just in, I signed up for a meet on 4 weeks notice and hadn’t been training heavy on anything or been using much of my competition style (wraps, paused bench etc). I just went straight into heavy 1-3s. I squatted once a week up to a heavy single or triple, benched up to an opener or 2nd attempt weight and did a couple back off sets. And did two heavy deadlifts and one light one (took a week off deadlifts before meet). Meet was last saturday and I went 6/9 and am pretty happy with my numbers even though I hadn’t fully prepared. Just enjoy it.
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
If it’s a small local meet and you’re just doing it for fun/experience, why even let it get in the way of your training? That’s just a month you’ll spend NOT getting bigger and stronger.
Whenever I’ve been in these situations, I just kept my training as usual, hit a deload week the week of the meet, did the contest, and then went back to training. You can pick openers based on what you know you’ll hit and then just plan it from there once the meet rolls around and you see how you feel in between attempts. Think of it as no different than trying to find your max in the gym.[/quote]
This ^^^^[1]
Also this.
Bsides, what’s all this about stopping the competition lifts one to two weeks out? I guess when you’re at elite level or close you might need to, but for my two meets so far I had my last session three days prior to meet day and that was hitting my openers for triples on all lifts. Each meet I set PRs.
Just have fun, and don’t worry. At your and my level, as long as you’ve had a few days rest before the meet you’ll be fine if your training leading up hasn’t been stupid.
Bsides, what’s all this about stopping the competition lifts one to two weeks out? I guess when you’re at elite level or close you might need to, but for my two meets so far I had my last session three days prior to meet day and that was hitting my openers for triples on all lifts. Each meet I set PRs.
Just have fun, and don’t worry. At your and my level, as long as you’ve had a few days rest before the meet you’ll be fine if your training leading up hasn’t been stupid.[/quote]
This makes sense. Thanks for the input.
Next go around, it should be easier to formulate a plan with a longer prep time.
Next go around, it should be easier to formulate a plan with a longer prep time. [/quote]
Cool. If its a help, so far I don’t look much at prep time between meets, but just fit as much regular training as I can in the period before the next meet leaving me a week prior to rest, barring a session three or four days out.
I guess if you don’t train for max strength all the time like I do, you might need to plan a bit more than that though.
[quote]txrowdy wrote:
I am currently about 5lbs from 181 class. Make the push or just go in where I am at? I am going to be out of my league regardless. [/quote]
If you have 5lbs to lose and can lose it without getting weaker I don’t see the issue, but I wouldn’t do a water cut to make weight. Being less fat is rarely a bad thing.
[quote]txrowdy wrote:
I am currently about 5lbs from 181 class. Make the push or just go in where I am at? I am going to be out of my league regardless. [/quote]
If you have 5lbs to lose and can lose it without getting weaker I don’t see the issue, but I wouldn’t do a water cut to make weight. Being less fat is rarely a bad thing.[/quote]
This. Don’t worry too much about it. If you’re going to focus on anything, focus on going nine for nine.