This instalment follows on from the previous 2 in discussing various approaches to training for powerlifting.

As I have said in previous blog posts, there are a number of factors that will determine how you should approach training.

1) The complexity of the movement.

The more complex the movement is, from a neural/motor pattern perspective, the more important specificity is. With a less complex movement like bench you can use greater variation, since reinforcing the motor patterns and building efficiency requires fewer repetitions.

I believe it also means that you can break the lift down into partial movements with greater success (or less risk). (I think one of the common mistakes people make with partials is to train muscle groups, rather than focusing on the movement- like viewing board press as a tricep exercise, rather than seeing it as working the top of the movement. If you analyse things from a movement perspective you are more likely to work in a groove that will provide carryover.) Similarly, a complex movement like squat will respond better to specificity.
Here is how I look at it- your investment in training time and energy will reflect the investment. I know guys who do comp squats 25% of the time- the rest is variation. Variation builds generalised skill. With deadlift it will depend on how you lift. I believe sumo is a lot more complex than conventional. Deadlift experts may be able to offer more here.

2) The skill (experience) of the lifter.

The better the skill, the less you need specificity- or perhaps a better way of putting it is the less significant the gains will be from specificity. A new lifter will make massive gains by doing the lift again and again. I recall Eric Talmant saying that the Russians say something like- as a beginner you need to do thousands of squats per year and this simple thing will build strength, as if its just a matter of squatting 10,000 times and your a great squatter. Its a vague and generalised idea that is basically saying you need to hit the groove thousands of times to get to a satisfactory level of proficiency. If you want to be a champion golfer you need to hit the golf ball again and again and again. The better you get at squatting, the less significant the gains will be from specificity. You will note that many advanced lifters use greater variation. That’s because their skill base allows for this.

3) Recovery rate.

How well you recover. As many, like Tuchsherer point out, your level of conditioning will have a significant influence on the quality of training as well as your ability to handle the volume. Russians, as far as I know, strongly believe in the idea that powerlifters are athletes and should possess athletic qualities, such as conditioning and flexibility.

The supplementary movements are all about 'supporting' the lifts with work that addresses issues or reinforces the lift. Part of the problem with the focus on 'weak' areas is that it can take you down the path of muscle groups rather than the movement. This is why I say start by analysing the movement- where are things going wrong? What is the cause? It may be the muscular weakness is the problem, but this needs to be established. When I started westside training I idenitfied that I had issues at lockout for deadlift, I also discovered I had fairly weak hammys. I worked on rack pulls and glute ham raise. My rack pull improved and my glute ham raise improved massively. How much did this help my powerlifts? Zero- in fact I created technique issues as well. When I analysed the deadlift movement I discovered the lockout problems flowed on from a technique problem from set up. Rack lockouts made this worse. Analysing my squat also revealed the issue was more about glute and hip activation than building glutes and hammys.

If you have weak glutes then doing zillions of reps will make them stronger right- since the weaker muscles are going to get a lot of work, relatively speaking? If the area is holding you back I think, many times, the answer is still found in the movement- and moving away from the movement doesn't necessarily solve the problem- although it can- but I think the healthy way of looking at this is as 'supporting' the movement.

RTS
Some one of the issues you get to is that we need to find the right balance or loading, volume and variation, but how? We don’t have the resources many top athletes have. The Russian templates provide us with a great starting point, but how do we individualise them? Sheiko himself says that the aim should always be to individualise the templates.
This is the beauty of the RTS approach. RTS uses the concept of RPE to describe the rate of perceived effort. It works as follows:

7 rpe = fast moving weight, heavy but able to move quickly
8rpe= 2-3 reps left in the tank
9rpe= 1 rep left in the tank
10rpe = 1rm

You can get more precise, for eg:

8.5rpe= possibly 2 reps, definitely 1
9.5rpe= possibly 1 rep

So the RPE offers a way of working out loading based on perceived effort. Obviously, what that means in terms of % will depend on the athlete. For example, I can hit around 8 reps with 80%, but when I am fatigued it will be less. I am also good at reps and others may be faster and more explosive and better at lower reps. On this point a couple of observations can be made. If you lack an ability to grind, higher reps will result in more time under tension which should build that attribute. Conversely if you lack speed, lower reps should help. People respond differently to different RPEs, so its worth varying things- based on a good template- to see if you can work out what is optimal for you. As your abilities and strengths change, your training needs may change.

So, how much volume?

RTS uses two different approaches to manage or regulate volume. The first is a fatigue drop. You use a set fatigue drop level- like 4-6% or for greater volume 6-9%. Work up to your target RPE then drop the bar weight by the set %. If you do 200x3@9 you might then drop the bar weight by 5% to 190% and repeat triples until you hit the original RPE at that weight. This would represent a fatigue drop of 5%. Obviously if you use a bigger number then you drop the weight further and you are likely to end up with more sets. Typically you aim for high volume early in a training cycle and taper off as you go, so you could more from 6-9% to 4-6%.

The other approach is a repeat set. Say you aim for [email protected]. You then repeat that weight until it’s a 9rpe. This also represents a fatigue drop off of 5%, but in this instance the first weight is lower and you’ll probably end up with more sets. One approach might be to do the first block of a cycle with repeats and the second with fatigue drops.

There are important questions you need to ask yourself:
How often should I train? How much weight and how much volume? How much variation?

Volume is an important consideration and will determine who skillful you are and how efficiently you move. It is likely that you will approach each lift differently. In the rated Sheiko templates, for example, lifters bench three times per week, squat twice, deadlift once. However, many have found different approaches have worked well. I know guys that bench once per week and others that bench every day. Volume can be addressed within sessions and across sessions. Big sessions will probably mean you will not be able to train frequently. The other obvious factor is loading. If you train heavy you cannot do as much volume as someone who uses lighter weights. You need to find the right balance of volume and loading.

How do I peak? What’s the difference between a prep phase and a peaking phase?
One common mistake I see is that people fail to grasp the difference between training to get strong and feeling string. Often the best programs will make you feel fatigued. If you feel fresh every time you hit the gym you are probably not doing enough. You also need to learn how hard to push and then how and when to back off so that you peak on competition day. For beginners, I suggest you google Sheiko 32 and see how the last couple of weeks run.

By Stephen Prichard

Tags: weightlifting Stephen Pritchard