In my last post I reported how Wendler, Rhodes, and I will be lifting in our own NOV meet in December. We are not so much competing against each other, rather we will be getting together to push one another. Now that we know it's definitely on, I'm going to start dialing in my training.
I'm not really changing much. I have just noticed over the last couple of months I've been adding in unnecessary fluff. Things like extra forearm work, calf raises, etc. In other words, I just need to pare down my training to what is going to get me the strongest for December. So if you are getting ready for a meet and it is not going to help you with the big three lifts, get rid of it.
I also have to be careful not to do anything to hurt myself. So one exercise I need to remove for now are pullups. My issue with pullups is that I have torn both biceps and sometimes pullups really aggravate them. I have never found a great correlation between pullups and powerlifting strength anyway. Various rows are far better in that regard. So if an exercise hurts, get rid of it. You can find another that will accomplish the same goal.
Regarding conditioning, I'll be dialing that back also. High intensity work such as prowler sprints, heavy kb, and burpee tabatas are out. I will be sticking to low intensity conditioning like treadmill work, airdyne, and weight vest walks.
The last bunch of months I was trying to do more and more work. Mostly to assist in dropping weight. However what most people don't realize, that extra work has to come from somewhere. A lot of the time that somewhere is strength. Now that my focus is strength, it is time to dial everything in.
I know this all seems like common sense, but common sense and I don't often see eye to eye. We know in our community it's easy to think more is better. You can't get highly conditioned, cut weight, and get stronger all at the same time. So make sure you are prioritizing your training. There are different seasons and times for everything.
