Training After The Meet

The meet was last Saturday (7/21/12) and I totaled 1430: Squat-615lbs; Bench-265lbs; Deadlift-550lbs. This was my first meet in one year and three months since I had biceps tendon surgery for a biceps tendon tear I had at the 2011 APF Europa.

It’s only a couple days out from the meet and I worked a 6 hour day in the sun doing very physical work (95 degree weather). I am itching to get back to lifting however I know I need a few days of rest. My plan is to begin lifting again on Thursday, which is three days away, but I don’t know if I can wait that long.

My plan is to switch over to the Wendler 5, 3,1 for a couple months if not longer and then I’m looking to go crazy using the Smolov squat routine and the Smolov squat Jr for bench leading up to my next meet in January 2013. I’m not sure about the Smolov plans and I may stick with the Wendler program if I make good progress the first couple of months.

Please comment about your experience with lifting directly after a meet. By the way I have tried Smolov before and made good gains on my squat with it. I want to come in to the next meet and be the strongest 42 year old there as well as making the top 20 in the USA for 220lbs lifters. So my training will be extreme and geared towards much larger numbers at the Raw Unity Meet hence using the Smolov routines for big gains.

I’m usually crap for a solid 7-10 days after a meet. I probably don’t hit any decent max-effort work for 2 weeks or so - not out of a lack of desire to do so, I just can’t do it.

I feel the fatigue all over my body like wet cement weighing down on various areas of muscle. And, I have soreness in the areas between muscle and bone, most likely tendon attachments.

most guys that have been in the game for 20 years or better will say that one needs to train smarter as they get into the 40’s and 50’s . I believe this to be a true statement…open to interpretation of course .

I also recall reading that a fairly high percentage of injuries occur in the weeks following a meet .

with that being said , I wouldnt agonize over 5 days off , followed by taking it real easy for another couple weeks . let everything heal up ; maybe even a little super-compensation effect going on there…who knows ?

All said and done I most likely will be doing low intensity reps with modest weights for short training periods on Thursday and Friday. Today at work I was still feeling the accumulation of stress lingering in my joints and entire musculature. Only 3 hours of sun and humidity today but the work was grueling. I am getting a work out, yesterday and today, but it’s not the standard lifting kind of training. It’s work training(cross training).

Handling my walk behind commercial mower, then walking down each property with my weed eater, edger, and blower is its own kind of resistance. Plus I get cardio. And today I did about a 40 yard farmer’s walk using a 40 lbs bag of salt in each hand from the store to my truck. The fun at work continues tomorrow. Today I lost 5 lbs of water at work but I will put it back on by tomorrow.

I feel worn out for a couple of weeks after a meet. I think it has less to do with the weight moved than the adrenaline surge and crash. Not only do I get a physical crash, I find there is an emotional let down afterwards as well. This is accentuated if it’s a big meet like Worlds that you’ve been working towards for some time.

I’m typically back in the gym pretty quickly but doing fun things and kind of fucking around. I find the lead up, peaking for a meet can be boring and structured so I take the time to try new things and play a bit. Weights are light and volume higher. My husband/training partner and I will often to body weight stuff.

fwiw, I’m 47 and he’s 54 so we’re both dealing with the age thing.

Hadn’t been hitting on the emotional part but I have to agree there is a factor that is substantially present after the meet. I believe due to the incredible dump of acetylcholine and dopamine as well as other brain released chemicals in conjunction with the adrenaline surge and crash I have a sort of euphoric and ultra-relaxed feeling when I am at rest. This happens to me after each meet most significantly directly after and then lasting for a few days. I’m still feeling it now.

Our age is always a consideration but I’m giving it hell until the wheels fall off. In the most intelligent way possible, of course. But, hey I’m putting everything I have in to training and getting stronger and I don’t see me stopping for a long time. So, I’m not 22 and can pack on muscle and bigger weights while eating a Big Mac and drinking a chocolate shake. So what. I’m still going to kick ass and I applaud you for competing and pushing on. Upwards and Onwards, Stronger and Smarter.

[quote]ouroboro_s wrote:
I feel worn out for a couple of weeks after a meet. I think it has less to do with the weight moved than the adrenaline surge and crash. Not only do I get a physical crash, I find there is an emotional let down afterwards as well. This is accentuated if it’s a big meet like Worlds that you’ve been working towards for some time.

[/quote]

This sums it up for me pretty accurately. The crash after a meet is like the most delicious kind of exhaustion there is, provided the meet went well, of course.

The problem is I can’t just sleep it off. It seems to last for at least a week or two.

I think if you’re mentally ready to train then go for it. I’m usually not fully back into it for at least a week.

Yes, must agree, even with good, deep sleep the wear and tear are still there. My conditioning and GPP is decent so I will train soon. I want to keep training heavy but as with the past I will most likely give that another week and a half.

[quote]gorillavanilla wrote:
All said and done I most likely will be doing low intensity reps with modest weights for short training periods on Thursday and Friday. Today at work I was still feeling the accumulation of stress lingering in my joints and entire musculature. Only 3 hours of sun and humidity today but the work was grueling. I am getting a work out, yesterday and today, but it’s not the standard lifting kind of training. It’s work training(cross training).

Handling my walk behind commercial mower, then walking down each property with my weed eater, edger, and blower is its own kind of resistance. Plus I get cardio. And today I did about a 40 yard farmer’s walk using a 40 lbs bag of salt in each hand from the store to my truck. The fun at work continues tomorrow. Today I lost 5 lbs of water at work but I will put it back on by tomorrow.[/quote]

I feel bad for anyone who works outdoors this summer . this heat blows…even up here in the north . I already decided I’m taking a personal day tomorrow ; fuck that 105 crap in the machining area . the gym where I lift is in the basement , so it will be decent anyhow . ME squat say sounds far better than going to work…haha .

I can’t believe how hot it is up north. But that’s regular for us. Christmas is often 90 degree weather. If we get a week or two of temps below 40 that is winter in Florida. A couple years ago we had a month of temps below 50 and that was like a miracle.
I lift in my Garage with the door open so it’s the same as being outside in the shade which means my lifting is usually in temps above 90 degrees in the summer. One must make do with what one has. ME squat day does sound better than going to work.

I did a meet July 7th and went to work the following Monday (I work as a roofer 7-3:30) So I understand being sore and feeling shitty. I took the full week off completely and just worried about recovering. The next week I did some push ups and let that urge to lift build up. This week I picked back up on 5/3/1 (I swear to 5/3/1 and will not use another program) I am doing the “Jack shit” assistance program for this cycle then moving on to the triumvirate.
Now granted I am not on the same strength level as a lot of people on here and won’t claim to be a stud, but I work my ass off in the heat and lift 3 days a week.
Just my take on things but listen to your body in moderation. What I mean by that is don’t try to be a hero every workout, but don’t make excuses and bitch out either.

All that being said I think you had a great meet you should be proud of.

Thanks Drake37. A fellow hard working man and your methods seem reasonable to me. Tomorrow will be 5 days out from the meet so I will most likely do some lifting. The itch to push weight is needs a scratch. I will be going easy and most likely won’t be training at 100% for another week. Seems odd to me but 2 days ago I began to feel a strain in my right lower hamstring, the hollow of my knee, and the top of my right calf.

I’m sure the charlie horse effect is a result of my work in conjunction with the resulting physical stress from the meet. I’m doing some good foam rolling and lacrosse ball therapy to work out the tightness but it’s not going away fast.

Was going to begin training today but work was a killer. The heat factor was above 100 degrees and I was perspiring so much as well as doing so much work that I began to get dizzy. Even with drinking a gallon of water and a 32oz rehydration Zip Fizz as well as eating bananas and having a protein drink the sun was too much for me today.

My body is in shock. I’m experiencing some muscle spasms in my hands and the fatigue in my legs and back feels like I’ve been beaten all over with a baseball bat. Going to do some serious recovery not. Lot’s of minerals and good carbs mixed in with clean protein and fresh cut pineapples and strawberries. Resuming training will have to wait.

Work today was another heat storm of humidity violent sun so I just decided to wait until next week to resume training. I have about 5 and a half months to train for the Raw Unity Meet near the end of January 2013 so let the strengthening begin.