There are many simple and effective ways to reach peak condition for a competition. The important factors are elucidating the most top-end strength possible from your base strength work, dissipating fatigue accumulated in the heavy weeks of volume and loading, and developing your skill at lifting maximum weights.
In order to achieve the most top end strength from more volume based work such as 3x5, 5x5, 5x3, 3x8 etc we must move from a higher volume, moderate intensity approach, to a high intensity, low volume approach. Now, high intensity lifts, as the term suggests, are very taxing. So it is important whilst building our strength to its maximal level, that we do not over exert, accumulate more fatigue and see our performance decrease (overreaching, overtraining, fatigue - it has many names, but the end result is that you lift less - something you don't want to happen at a competition).
By lifting heavier weights, our skill at lifting maximal weights improves. It follows logically that doing a heavy double helps your ability to successfully perform a max single more than a set of five or ten reps. As the intensity increases in our training, our focus on technique and producing maximal force should also. For a good one rep max attempt we need the best reasonable technique, our strength level must be good, we must be well-recovered, and confidence must be high. A max effort lift that starts with the best technique will probably end looking pretty awful, and a max effort lift started with bad technique will likely not end at all. The point here is to keep form as good as reasonably possible so that we can lift the most weight.
Finally in preparation for a competition, we need to be well-recovered. The fatigue and muscle damage accumulated from regular training must be dissipated and recovered. How is this done? By reducing the volume of out workload. Now I have gone over the basic points lets get to some practical and usable examples.
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| This guy knows a thing or two about peaking, and you should too! |
The First Peaking Template I Ever Used
The people who helped me do my first meet showed me this, which I believe they got from a Josh Bryant routine, and I have seen many similar templates - such as a spreadsheet Marc Keys gave to someone on the PropaneFitness Forum. Its a powerlifting classic and is dead simple.
Let's assume you squat on monday, bench on wendesday, and deadlift on friday. You run a basic 3x5 or 5x5 routine, or even something like 5/3/1 and you have a reasonable idea of what the maximum you can achieve in each lift is, if not I will put a rough guide at the end so you can figure this out.
- 4 weeks out, work up to a heavy triple on the individual lift on its respective day (90% of your projected 3rd attempt - this will probably be your opener); normal assistance, last real session for it, hammer anything you really like.
- 3 weeks out, work up to a heavy double (95% of your third - will probably be your second attempt); reduced assistance volume
- 2 weeks out, openers (work up to[b] one single[/b], with 85-90% of your predicted max for the comp); minimal assistance, only keep stuff you believe keeps you from being injured like rows or face-pulls.
- 1 week out, reduced load (stretch, do 50% for sets of 5, tops. just get some blood flowing and leave feeling like you haven't done a damn thing. The hard work has been done, nothing will be gained by doing anything now.)
Use the triples in week 4, and the doubles week to figure out what you will be good for at the meet. If the weight you used for a triple blows your eyes out their sockets, reign in what you try for a double, and then from that feel out what you will be able to max out on.
Apply maximum focus to these triples and doubles. Do them as if they are the real thing. Get a friend to call the commands for you if possible. Concentrate on your technique warming up, get in the groove, then use maximum strength and power on your top set. Do whatever you like to lift the most, for some people thats to walk around the gym going mad, running up to the rack and lifting like a maniac for others its just keeping quiet, getting focused and lifting. Get in the mindset you like, and helps you lift the best. This will get you conditioned to lift well with maximum weights!
A common mistake made by novice lifters (and more experienced ones) is to lift too heavy and attempt max singles only a few weeks out from the meet. This is only done due to a lack of confidence. Max singles will not help you get stronger in the last weeks of meet preparation, they will only hinder your recovery. Smash the triples, smoke the doubles and you will be set, it will all come together on the day. I guarantee it.
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| George Zimmer guarantees you will have a good meet if you dont max out beforehand... |
Attempt Selection
The next mistake that is often made is selecting bad numbers. How you feel on the day of the competition should also come into play when choosing your attempts. If you feel bad, or particularly weak on a certain lift, it is wise to curb your numbers in response to that. What should you be looking for with your different attempts?
- Opener (1st): This should be easy. Almost a token lift. ~85-90% of what you think you are capable of. Generally something you can triple on a bad day. The less experience you have, the more you should err on the side of caution. You want to get a feel for the commands, which will differ with federations, and for the equipment you will be using. It might feel totally different to what you are used to (its usually a lot better). You want to go to the platform and absolutely smoke this lift. flawless victory, three whites, etc so you are brimming with confidence for attempts 2 and 3 which are the important ones.
- 2nd Attempt: This should be a good heavy lift for you, but within your limits. ~95% of what you think you are capable of. More or less depending on how your warmup and opener was.
- 3rd Attempt: This should be the most you believe you are capable of on the day, the heaviest lift you can achieve. If your predictions were right, that should be ~100% but it may be less or even more.
The key here is to take a light easy opener, and get some good lifts in with your next two attempts. No one ever lost by opening too light, and no one ever won by bombing, failing to get a lift because they opened too heavy for the sake of ego.
What do I do if my program already has a taper built into it?
This is only a good thing. Do your best to get the three lifts to coincide together. If you don't have a template for one of the lifts, use the general guide above. You should maintain peak levels of strength for 2 weeks or so, so if you have a weekly template that goes something like:
3x8
3x6
2x4
2x3
2x2
max
You can either do the meet when the max session is indicated, 1 week after the 2x2 session, or you can squeeze in a deload week, i.e.:
3x8
3x6
2x4
2x3
2x2
deload
max
People worry that if they stop training they will all of a sudden become weak. Its generally quite the opposite. As soon as you lay off for a week or so depending on your level of strength, you will be much stronger as you are no longer fatigued from your basic training.
A More Advanced Way of Peaking
Programs such as the RSR (Russian Squat Routine - which everyone on the forum is currently fapping arl owa) has in built periods of accumulating volume, then peaking intensity. This is a great program to use for a meet if you are looking for something a bit more advanced than the methods above.
For deadlift, the coan-philipi routine (http://tsampa.org/training/scripts/coan_phillipi_deadlift/) has always worked well for me, but my personal favourite due to the increased deload time before the meet is the simple 10-week routine by Paul Carter from Lift Run Bang 9http://www.lift-run-bang.com/2010/10/raw-powerlifting-deadlifting.html).
There are also some great Coan style templates on www.joeskopec.com/programs.html with a great bench one here. (http://www.joeskopec.com/edcoanbench.html)
How To Calculate Your Projected Maxes For a Meet
3x5 with a straight weight = 80% of your 1rm, so divide the weight you used for 3x5 by 0.8 to get your approximate max.
for 5x5, it will vary from 75-80% of your 1rm, same deal divide by 0.8 or by 0.75
for a single set of 5, this is roughly 86% of your max, divide by 0.86 woohoo
for a single triple, 90%
for a double, usually 95%
I wouldn't base your max of anything over a set of 5, so if you have only done 3x8 or 3x10 for example, do a heavy 5 or 3 and use that.
Summary
Don't max out in the run up to a meet, use triples, doubles, common sense and intuition to figure out your attempts.
Open light.
Setting up for a max you want to get everything perfect technique wise, the just think about pushing or pulling as hard as you can. Dial in your technique on the warmups so you can focus on just lifting the damn weight when the time comes.
Your peak levels of strength will last for a week or two once you start to lay off. Don't be stronger two weeks later in the gym after the meet.
Get familiar with the federation's rules before the day, get your kit packed with all the equipment you need the day before (what you should take to a meet needs a whole other article…) and go lift some heavy shit!
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