Not alot of lifters utilize GPP (general physical preparedness) training. GPP is any activity used to “condition” a lifters body to be able to handle the large volumes of moving weights and raise work capacity.
“If you think you can excel in any sport without a base level of conditioning, you’re out of your mind. The days of over-fat, bloated, can?t breathe, can?t sleep powerlifters are over!” - Dave Tate
This can be any activity from sled pulling to using kettlebells for minutes at a time.
However, some people need a better understanding of GPP work before jumping in and doing GPP work 6 days a week.
I was re-reading through some of the Q&A in the Martin Rooney book “Training for Combat”. One athlete listed the work he was doing. His training for an upcoming fight included:
Skill Practice 4X per week, brazilian jui jitsu, muay thai, wrestling, and judo.
Weightlifting 3X per week
Ladder Drills 3X per week
MMA Dynamic Warm Ups 4x per week
And then, he goes on to say that he has been doing GPP work 6X a week.
Yes, alot of volume. I too once trained lifting 4 days per week ala westside and practiced 12-14 times per week. However, why the GPP work 6X a week??? Are you not getting enough conditioning from you practices, ladder drills, and MMA warmups?
I know this is an extreme case, and yes, most people are guilty of not having enough GPP training, but this is something I wanted to address.
If you are regularly playing a sport that involves resistance and endurance (football, wrestling, any other contact sport) and are training as such, then in season GPP doesn’t need to be one of your top priorities. You get lots of GPP work in practice. Yes, sled dragging is a great workout, and is loads of fun (ok, maybe only i think that, but hey, i countdown the days till the next time i get to deadlift) but overdoing it can quickly lead to overtraining.
your thoughts???