peaking for powerlifting

04/03/15 14:15Peaking for Powerlifting - Juggernaut Training Systems - Juggernaut Training Systems

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PEAKING FOR POWERLIFTING

When many people begin to mess around with weights for the firsttime, it seems like the entire goal of the endeavor is to max out; tosee how much you can lift. This approach to lifting continueslonger for some than others, and has even evolved into a set oftraining methodologies (Westside, with its emphasis on training



maxes, comes to mind). Of course most people begin to understandat some point that the best way to actually get stronger over thelonger term is to train and not just max out. Most will understandthat the process of getting stronger is distinct from the process ofshowing off that new-found strength.

But even for more mature lifters that strive for long-termimprovements and are not obsessed with continually testing theirstrength, the time comes when showing off is exactly the point. Infact, thats the whole purpose of powerlifting competition; to be inyour best possible shape to show off all of your strength gains. Sothe question of the article is; how do we best prepare for the actualpowerlifting competition? How do we transition from training toget strong into training to show off our strength?

Why Peaking?

Isnt showing off strength easy? Dont you just take a regulartraining day to hit your maxes? Well, it turns out that things are abit more complicated if maximal performance on meet day is yourgoal. As a matter of fact, there are two distinct reasons that trainingmust change several weeks before your meet to maximizeperformance:

1.) Fatigue masks fitness.

- As you train, your muscles become bigger, their alignmentchanges, and your nervous system becomes more capable ofactivating your muscles to produce higher forces. All the while, the



hard training required to stimulate these adaptations also producessome fatigue. The muscles run low on glycogen, their fiber typesmay temporarily alter to the weaker kind (type IIb to type IIa), theyaccumulate microtears and fray a bit. The nervous systemexperiences ion imbalances from continual high level activationand can become quite inefficient while its underlying capabilitiesexpand.

Thus, while your machinery might be getting much stronger, youractual ability to express this new-found strength can be hidden bythe fatigue that this very training generates. In order to peak for a1rm, fatigue must be addressed. We must find a way to lowerfatigue while keeping our strength.

2.) Training and competition are different enough tomatter.

- Basic understanding of strength training tells us that the best wayto get strong is to handle heavy weights at concomitantly highvolumes. Because VERY heavy weights (regularly in excess of 90%1RM) cause a disproportionately high amount of fatigue and arethus not sustainable to train with, multiple sets of 3-5 repetitionsseem best for most people looking to gain strength. The weightsused can still be quite heavy, but not so heavy as to cause aprohibitive level of fatigue accumulation. Thus with multiple sets of3-5 reps, high workloads with heavy weights can be performed andstrength-based adaptations can be well stimulated. While this styleof training enhances strength, its not completely specific to the



actual display of this strength. Strength is displayed at 1 rep, not 5reps, and there is a meaningful difference in technique,musculoskeletal forces, and nervous system activity between thetwo rep ranges. Thus, while training for strength is best done withmultiple sets of 3-5 reps, training to peak your strength in a 1rmrequires a more specific approach. Training in sets of 1-3 repsduring the final prep for a meet may be part of the answer.

So now the question becomes, how do we change training toaddress these concerns and present the best possible performanceon meet day?

The Fitness-Fatigue Paradigm (Visualized)

The Process of Peaking

Time for some sport science terminology to enter the picture.Attempting to manipulate training variables in order to express a



high level of performance at a particular time is termed peakingin sport science. The underlying component of the ability to peak isones preparedness, which is the ability of the body to actuallyexert itself maximally. Preparedness can be further broken downinto the sum of fitness (how well-developed your ability to moveyour body actually is, in this case your strength) and fatigue (thedepletion of energy substrates and damage to the muscles,hormonal axes, and nervous system that impede fitnessexpression). Meanwhile, specificity is the degree to which you areprepared to exert yourself in a particular task, such as 1rm lifting. Aquick definition guide so that you can come back and reference thislater with some other important terms, in plain English and inpowerlifting context:

Peaking: The process of maximizing preparedness at THEDESIRED TIME.

Preparedness: The sum of fitness and fatigue; how well youreactually capable of performing.

Fitness: How well developed your body and mind are to lift themost weight possible.

Fatigue: How beat up you are, and how much this prevents youfrom being strong at a particular time.

Tapering: The process of reducing training volumes andintensities to bring down fatigue and express maximal strength.



Specificity: How good you are at doing 1rm attempts, rather thanjust being strong in general. Matters the most as you get closer tothe meet. Specific training matches competition most closely.

Peaking for Powerlifting

From the above description of the basic science behind peaking, wecan infer that our training in the final weeks leading up to a meetmust do 3 distinct things if were to peak most effectively:

1.) Drop fatigue as much as possible.

2.) Elevate or at least maintain fitness as high as possible.

3.) Enhance specificity so that were actually ready to max out inthe big 3.

Lets look at how training changes from regular strength traininginto peaking and take each of the above variables one at a time.

Dropping fatigue:

A considerable amount of research has indicated that in mostcases, volume (NOT intensity) is the primary contributor tofatigue. So, the first move in our attempt to drop fatigue to peak forthe meet is to drop volume. Depending on several factors (liftersize and strength, mostly), between 1 and 4 weeks before the meet,training volume must be brought down. Volume reduction isprobably the most fundamental component of peaking as not muchfatigue will drop without it. Larger, stronger and more experienced



(those that are closer to pushing the limits of their physiology)lifters disrupt homeostasis (the bodys stable maintenance ofstructures and functions) much more than smaller, less-strong andless-experienced lifters, so they need more time to bring downfatigue. This rule of size, strength, and experience applies to bodystructures as well as individuals, so that smaller lifts which use lessof the body (bench vs. squat vs. deadlift, in that order) need lesstime at lower volumes to drop the same amount of fatigue. Thus,volume reduction for the deadlift of an elite 308lb competitor maybegin as far as 4 weeks out from a meet, the squat volume of amasters class 198lber may need to start dropping 2 weeks out froma meet, but the bench volume of a beginner 97lb lifter may be cutas late as only 1 week before the meet. Whats the best way to cutvolume? Reduce the number of working sets well have exampleslater.

Intensity is not the dominant contributor to fatigue that volume is,but it does play an important role, especially for the larger,stronger and more experienced lifters and lifts/bodyparts. Forfitness conservation reasons to be explained next, we wantintensity to be as high as possible for as long as possible.Realistically, this means that intensity cutting usually trails volumecutting by a week or so for most individuals. The elite 308lbdeadlifter may begin to take weight off the bar 3 weeks out from ameet, the 198lb squatter may reduce weights one week out, and the97lb bench presser may take a light day mid-week on the week ofher meet. There are many ways to cut intensity, but the most basicis to cut it (like volume, as we shall see in the examples) in an



exponential fashion a little at first, but more and more as themeet approaches, until the last training session before the meet isjust a technical warmup with super light weights.

Elevating and Maintaining Fitness:

Bringing down fatigue is important, but the problem is that almostthe same things that bring down fatigue also tend to bring downfitness. If JUST brining down fatigue was our concern, wed just beable to take it easy and not train for 3 weeks before the meet! Thegood news is that we know that fitness can be kept high or evenelevated through two ways:

1.) Intensity conserves fitness better than volume. High intensityAND high volumes are needed to get stronger, but a lot of strengthcan be maintained with even very low volumes if intensity is kepthigh. Thus we cut volume first in our taper, and only cut intensitylater. This conserves the maximal amount of strength while stillallowing our fatigue to be reduced.

2.) Intentional overreaching can be used to actually elevate fitness(strength in our case) during the course of a taper. By trainingharder than what is normally sustainable right before the taper involumes and intensities begins, we can set into motion asupercompensation effect of training that allows adaptations tobe expressed weeks after the hard training bout itself. Thus bytraining with crazy volumes and intensities in the week before thevolume drop begins, fitness (strength) can actually reach its peakclose to the meet itself. Combined with the drop in fatigue from the



taper, intentional overreaching is a powerful tool for preparednessenhancement. Normally, this would be done by doubling thevolume of work in the week before the volume reduction. Forexample, if a normal deadlift workout is 3 sets of heavy deads at85% max, then the overreaching workout can be up to 6 sets ofdeads, at a similar intensity or even higher.

Enhancing Specificity:

Specificity enhancement allows us to further elevate ourpreparedness. Not generally, but exactly for the powerlifting meetitself. Nobody at the meet cares how well your overhead press isgoing (much to my chagrin, as its by far my best lift), and nobodycares how much you squatted for 5s (again, to my continualdisappointment). What matters is the specific ability to performTHE powerlifts, and for a 1rm. Thus, training during the tapershould reflect both demands, in three distinct ways:

1.) First, the bulk of your training during the taper should becomposed of the lifts themselves. All setups need to becompetition-based techniques in the final weeks. If you squat sumoin competition, this is no time for close-stance squat work. Trainhow you compete applies here big time. Paused benches, squats toregulation depth, and fully-reset deadlifts are key. This also meanswearing your PL belt, wrist wraps, knee wraps, and using chalk,just the same as in your meet. When volume begins to get cutduring the taper, most of the early cuts are from the assistancemoves, precisely to enhance training specificity. Toward the end of



your taper, the last training sessions are pretty much JUST the big3 competition lifts and nothing, or almost nothing else.

2.) General strength is the basis for your 1rm, but when the meetgets close, its time to start practicing for the game, so to speak.There are important physiological, psychological, and technicaldifferences between 3-5rm weights and truly limit 1rm weights. Inorder to be the best on meet day, you must practice with superheavy weights for the very lowest reps. This means that duringyour overreach and during your volume taper, the weights on thebar must be heavy enough to be a stimulus in the 1-3 rep range.This is the time to for triples, doubles, and singles in your training.Because volume gets cut incrementally through the taper andintensity is conserved as highly as possible (intensity being weighton the bar), sets of 1-3 reps are the norm through most of the taperitself. The only things that change are the number of sets and theweight on the bar.

3.) A more minor concern of specificity, but important nonetheless,is the maintenance of maximal intent to move through the entiretaper. Move that bar with as much force as you can for all workingweights (heavy or not), and youll enhance specificity as well askeep fitness elevated. Forceful movements not only allow you topractice the specific technique of PL competition, but also conservemore strength by allowing your nervous system and faster-twitchmuscle fibers more stimulation.

Real-World Peaking Examples



Ok so weve learned some cool stuff, now lets look at applying it tothe real world. Lets take three examples of the meet prep of powerlifters that train 4x a week (for simplicity) with two lower bodydays and two upper body days. Well use our 308lb Elite lifter first,then our 198lb master-class lifter, and finally our 97lb beginner:

Elite 308lb Lifter:

From the above peaking routine for a 308lb elite lifter, you maynotice several things:

- All training except for some of the early assistance work occurs inthe 3 rep range. This is not a golden rule, as doubles and even somesingles (in the highest intensity week particularly) are quite ok to



use as well. Ill stick to 3s here because they work well and just tokeep things constant.

- The overreaching phase occurs VERY far out from the meet, awhole 4 weeks.

- The overreaching phase has a TON of sets (8 total work sets ofsquats on Monday, for example) and all of the sets are very heavy.This will be the toughest training youll do all meet prep long.

- Volume is cut DRASTICALLY 3 weeks out, as it contributesheavily to fatigue. Intensity is still high. This week will be verytough, as you are being asked to lift the heaviest weights of themeet prep while under the highest levels of cumulative fatigue.Make sure your technique is excellent and you give it as mucheffort as you must to complete the reps.

- The last heavy deadlift occurs 2.5 weeks out, the last moderate-heavy squat occurs 2 weeks out, and the last heavy bench occursabout 1.5 weeks out a good start for many lifters of this size andcaliber. Some lifters will need more or less time for each lift to dropfatigue but retain fitness. A one-week window in each direction willcover most lifers.

- Two weeks out begins the volume AND intensity cut. This weekwill still present some weights that feel a bit heavy (especially inthe overreached state), but the set numbers are so low thathomeostasis is hardly disturbed. Youll drop a lot of fatigue thisweek. Notice that the assistance moves have been cut almost



completely. The muscle built and maintained by them hangs in forweeks after you stop training them (just with training thecompetition lifts), so you wont lose any strength, but your fatiguedrops profoundly.

- By the start of the last week, youre gonna feel pretty good. Thelast week still has SOME training in it, because light training (vs.total rest) drops MORE fatigue, keeps your connective tissues morelimber and preserves better technique. By the end of this week,youll be completely healed and ready to break things and hurtpeople exactly where youre supposed to be before a powerliftingmeet!

Master-Class 198lb Lifter:



Some differences to consider for this lifter vs. the 308er in the firstexample:

- The whole taper only takes 3 weeks vs. 4. Because of the lighterweights and lower volumes employed, smaller and less stronglifters usually dont need as long of a taper. This means they cantrain to get stronger for one extra week before the taper begins, soits not a bad thing. Your favorite lifters may all do 4 week tapers,but that doesnt mean its the best thing for you at your currentlevel of development.

- Youll notice that the second week out and even the final weekhave some relatively heavier weights (especially early in the final



week) than the 308lber was lifting. This is because the 198lber willdrop fatigue faster, and can afford to keep a bit more fitness-stimulus in later with the heavier weights.

Novice 97lb Lifter:

Some differences to consider for this lifter vs. the 198er in thesecond example:

- Just a two week taper here. Smaller, less experienced and less



strong lifters need less time to drop fatigue and peak, and REALLYsmall and relatively less strong lifters barely need a taper at all!Tapering must be personalized to the individual. Just becauseAndrey Malanichev stops heavy deadlifts 4 weeks out doesnt meeta 95lb girl doing her first meet has to!

- Youll notice that everything here is condensed. The overreach isonly the first part of the second to last week, as volume begins todrop in the second half of the week. The last week is actually stillquite heavy, as the recovery of smaller and less strong lifters is sopowerful relative to their ability to disrupt homeostasis (causecumulative fatigue), that mostly volume reductions are all it takesto peak. If you taper these lifters for too long, they just end upundertraining and get weaker! For smaller, less strong andexperience lifters, the taper for a meet may end up actually lookingmuch like a standard deload week for most lifters.

- The final workouts are not as light (relatively) as they would befor the stronger lifters, but this is still quite easy to recover from.Youll also notice that the final training is done closer to thecompetition date for the same reason as the above not trainingnovice lifters for too long can lead to more rapid fitness declinesthan for stronger, heavier, more experienced lifters.

Conclusion

A quick summary of the main recommendations in this article:

1.) Choose the right taper length based on the strength, size, and



experience of the athlete.

2.) Train mostly for sets of 1-3 in the entire peaking phase, choosethe competition lifts as your program core.

3.) Overreach by doubling training volume for one week before thetaper begins.

4.) Taper by first reducing volume (number of sets), then reducingboth volume and intensity (sets and weight on the bar).

5.) Cut volume by reducing the assistance moves first, then thenmain moves.

6.) Train very light during the beginning of the last week. This iseven better than total rest.

This article only speaks in depth about the training-mediated waysto taper. Nutrition, supplementation, and lifestyle are also bigconcerns. Tapering changes when more or less food is eaten, whensports supplements are taken or avoided, and when lifestyle factorspromote recovery or alternatively cause more stress. These factorsare always going to play a role, so please consider them.

The above examples give a sort of maximum-medium-minimumview of the tapering process. Almost every reader of this article willbe somewhere between the 97lb female beginner and the 308lbelite powerlifter. Individualization is very important to a properprogram and certainly to a proper taper. The good news is that you



have a cheat sheet to make your taper even better than anyrecommendation I give: YOURSELF!

By noting how you respond to volumes, intensities and tapers ofvarious lengths and magnitudes, you can fine-tune your owntapering process over the course of several meets. But remember:bigger, stronger, and more experienced lifters need more profoundtapers. So as you get more of all three of those things, make sureyou make the adjustments needed BEFORE your next meet,because after is too late. Use the principles in this article to youradvantage, and may the force (literally, the one you put into thebarbell to move it) be with you!

Further Reading:

1.) Tapering and Peaking for Optimal Performance by Inigo Mujika

2.) Periodization by Tudor Bompa and Greg Haff

3.) Principles and Practice of Resistance Training by MichaelStone, Meg Stone and William Sands

Born in Moscow, Russia, Mike Israetel is a professor ofExercise Science at the University of Central Missouri.Additionally, he is a competitive powerlifter andbodybuilder, and has been the head sport nutritionconsultant to the US Olympic training site in JohnsonCity, TN. Mike is currently the head science consultantfor Renaissance Periodization, and the Author of The



Renaissance Diet.

Online Training, Website, Facebook

Click the picture below to get your copy of this valuableresource, if youre really serious about dispensing withthe fads and gimmicks to take your strength andphysique to the next level

peaking for powerlifting

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