Post by joeaverage on Dec 11, 2003 15:42:07 GMT -5
14 day cycles:
First, I've been doing these cycles close to 4 years. Alot of you know that it takes alot for me to make a change.
What I've realized this cycle is that the amount of band tension on ME days and the free weight work on day 1 has reached such a high level that I am having a hard to recovering in time for the next squat workout. I have been very careful with my back, but starting with cycle 5, I started to get some back pain again. The only thing left to change is the frequency of the workouts, I'm just not getting enough recovery time now. Dick is so beat up right now, we aren't sure if he'll be able to compete next week.
So, myself and the team have committed to 14 day cycles starting Dec. 27.
Days 1&6, Sat.
Days 2&7, Mon
Days 3&8, Tues.
Days 5&10, Thurs.
This doesn't mean that the other 3 days I'm not going to do a thing:
Sunday: rehab GM's and rehab hypers, sled
Wed&Fri: light sled, lower back rehab.
Now, I've made it clear to everyone and everyone agree's, our lifting starts to drop, I'm going back to 10 day cycles.
If you can continue with the 10 day cycles do that, most of you haven't reached this level yet, your bodies are still fresh and are still making great gains.
DELOADING:
The reason I started deloading was that I went into a couple of meets feeling tired and the weight felt heavy. It wasn't being tired, it was that I wasn't cycling my lifting properly, I realize that I had peaked early. It was my free weight work that was off and not my ME work. I thought by deloading it would keep me fresher.
The last 2 training cycles, I recall that day 1 cycle 6 on both, I struggled with my set to failure and at the meets I was having a hard time unracking the weight.
What's happened is that as I deloaded, by the time I got to cycle 6 and the meet that I deloaded so much that my strength had started to regress.
This cycle I stayed with 2 sets of doubled green's on the ME squat and I've had the best free weight work ever. I unracked and controlled 905 like it was 315. The last 2 cycle 6 workouts, I had deloaded and I really struggled with 855, this last meet 825 felt like a ton.
I think it is important to keep your band tension higher than your free weight work. As soon as the tension drops below your free weight, you will lose the strength and have problems.
As Markus stated, the first ME work you get adapted to the bands, the second ME you make gains, why deload if you are still making gains. Only deload when you have to. Now I've said before, to deload as you progress towards the meet and get the bar weight higher, but I realized that's exactly what we do on our set too failure with free weight, each cycle we are increasing our free weight work progressing towards a max, that is enough, we do not need to deload our strength building day which is the ME work, we want to keep our strength up by keeping the band higher.
My goal on ME days will be to stay with the same bands for the bench and squat only, as long as I can. I will only deload if I reach a bar weight that crushes me. As long as I can get at least 1 strong rep, I will stay with the bands and make smaller bar weight increases. My goal will be to stay in the 3 rep range as long as I can, and hit a solid single on cycles 5&6.
I will keep the same deloading for the dl and days 5&10.
I think it is okay for everyone to start with a band tension on days 6&8 and ride it as long as you can. Try and make the right bar weight jumps to get through as many cycles as you can.
The squat since it's only 4 cycles, no problem.
The bench, instead of 3 mini-cycles, try and stay with the same bands through cycle 4, and a slight deload on 5&6. There is no way you will be able to stay in the 3 rep range with the same bands all 6 cycles on the bench.
First, I've been doing these cycles close to 4 years. Alot of you know that it takes alot for me to make a change.
What I've realized this cycle is that the amount of band tension on ME days and the free weight work on day 1 has reached such a high level that I am having a hard to recovering in time for the next squat workout. I have been very careful with my back, but starting with cycle 5, I started to get some back pain again. The only thing left to change is the frequency of the workouts, I'm just not getting enough recovery time now. Dick is so beat up right now, we aren't sure if he'll be able to compete next week.
So, myself and the team have committed to 14 day cycles starting Dec. 27.
Days 1&6, Sat.
Days 2&7, Mon
Days 3&8, Tues.
Days 5&10, Thurs.
This doesn't mean that the other 3 days I'm not going to do a thing:
Sunday: rehab GM's and rehab hypers, sled
Wed&Fri: light sled, lower back rehab.
Now, I've made it clear to everyone and everyone agree's, our lifting starts to drop, I'm going back to 10 day cycles.
If you can continue with the 10 day cycles do that, most of you haven't reached this level yet, your bodies are still fresh and are still making great gains.
DELOADING:
The reason I started deloading was that I went into a couple of meets feeling tired and the weight felt heavy. It wasn't being tired, it was that I wasn't cycling my lifting properly, I realize that I had peaked early. It was my free weight work that was off and not my ME work. I thought by deloading it would keep me fresher.
The last 2 training cycles, I recall that day 1 cycle 6 on both, I struggled with my set to failure and at the meets I was having a hard time unracking the weight.
What's happened is that as I deloaded, by the time I got to cycle 6 and the meet that I deloaded so much that my strength had started to regress.
This cycle I stayed with 2 sets of doubled green's on the ME squat and I've had the best free weight work ever. I unracked and controlled 905 like it was 315. The last 2 cycle 6 workouts, I had deloaded and I really struggled with 855, this last meet 825 felt like a ton.
I think it is important to keep your band tension higher than your free weight work. As soon as the tension drops below your free weight, you will lose the strength and have problems.
As Markus stated, the first ME work you get adapted to the bands, the second ME you make gains, why deload if you are still making gains. Only deload when you have to. Now I've said before, to deload as you progress towards the meet and get the bar weight higher, but I realized that's exactly what we do on our set too failure with free weight, each cycle we are increasing our free weight work progressing towards a max, that is enough, we do not need to deload our strength building day which is the ME work, we want to keep our strength up by keeping the band higher.
My goal on ME days will be to stay with the same bands for the bench and squat only, as long as I can. I will only deload if I reach a bar weight that crushes me. As long as I can get at least 1 strong rep, I will stay with the bands and make smaller bar weight increases. My goal will be to stay in the 3 rep range as long as I can, and hit a solid single on cycles 5&6.
I will keep the same deloading for the dl and days 5&10.
I think it is okay for everyone to start with a band tension on days 6&8 and ride it as long as you can. Try and make the right bar weight jumps to get through as many cycles as you can.
The squat since it's only 4 cycles, no problem.
The bench, instead of 3 mini-cycles, try and stay with the same bands through cycle 4, and a slight deload on 5&6. There is no way you will be able to stay in the 3 rep range with the same bands all 6 cycles on the bench.
