If you have a coach you are lucky. You just lift and leave the thinking to them. However, if you are following a training template you found on the web or were given you should understand what it is intended to deliver and how. The same goes for developing your own training plan. Why? Because if you don’t know what it is supposed to deliver and how you are driving blind. If we can assume you want the best results possible then you need to have a sense of how to make things work and get the most out of your plan.

I am always thinking about training, even when I am being coached. The last couple of years have been full on for me.  Since the beginning of 2011 I have done 3 local comps, 3 nationals, 1 Oceanias and 3 world champs. I have pretty much gone from one comp to the next. That knocks you around.

For this reason I decided that after the world champs this year in Russia I would shift into an offseason training mode, rebuilding, getting fitter, healthier and getting back to a better bodyweight. This is where it helps to understand how shifting priorities can be addressed through training. When you are fairly far out from competition you can crank up the volume and reps to build lean mass and condition. This won’t immediately convert into strength gains, but it lays down the foundation for focused competition preparation.

So, what has this meant for me?
Shorter rest periods, and higher reps- which together help lift the intensity and build better conditioning.

A greater variety of movements- this runs counter to tendency you find in competition preparation toward a prioritisation of competition movements. This is a chance you work on weaknesses and build overall strength and mobility.

Programming?
I still believe the Russian plans set the standard. If you don’t have a coach to crunch the numbers, then get your hands on one of the Sheiko templates. Not many people have the brains to come up with something as solid as Sheiko, even if the templates online are not written for you, they provide an awesome starting point. If you want to tinker, ask yourself what your goals are. If you stick with the reps and loads, look at playing around with the reps.

For example, a plan might say 70%x5x5. That’s 25 reps at 70%. If you do more reps per set you get less sets. The training effect will be markedly different if you go 70%x10x2 or 70%x2x10. More reps will mean more time under tension, more strength endurance and conditioning and probably greater hypertrophy. Less reps and more sets will develop speed and explosiveness.

So what configuration suits your goals? This is the line of thinking behind my current training.

How is it going?
I am much fitter and the body is feeling less beat-up. I have also lost 11kg in just over 2months. I will keep rolling on in this phase for the remainder of the year and hit 2014 recharged, leaner and meaner.

Tags: weightlifting Stephen Pritchard powerlifting