General Training Overview - Yearly Loading

[Robert Frederick]

Boris has responded. It's a little bit lengthy so we might have to turn it into an article. One quick thing is that when considering monthly load the period is important i.e. prep or comp. So generally you take your yearly load and divide by 12. Some months will be high loads while others will be low loads, the same way daily and weekly load works. Doing this calculation for the <80kg and >80kg templates, assuming run back to back all year, you get 880 and 630 monthly NL, respectively. 

[Giraffe]

Interesting topic. I do not consider myself gifted (quite the opposite), and I have had my best results performing ~1000 fundamental lifts per month, probably because my loads are so low.

[Bench Polkov]

I'm doing ~1200 at the moment. I've done close to ~1600 previously. I don't consider myself gifted either but I think I've just conditioned myself to the volume. And being a student has helped a lot too.

[Bench Polkov]

Boris has responded. It's a little bit lengthy so we might have to turn it into an article. One quick thing is that when considering monthly load the period is important i.e. prep or comp. So generally you take your yearly load and divide by 12. Some months will be high loads while others will be low loads, the same way daily and weekly load works. Doing this calculation for the <80kg and >80kg templates, assuming run back to back all year, you get 880 and 630 monthly NL, respectively.

Send it through to me and I'll try to do a little write-up too.

[Robert Frederick]

I'm doing ~1200 at the moment. I've done close to ~1600 previously. I don't consider myself gifted either but I think I've just conditioned myself to the volume. And being a student has helped a lot too.

You're CMS right? 1200 is in agreement. MS and above have no recommendations and are totally individual. For them he gave case examples from 1200-3100 per month. Yeah, that's no typo - 3100. It's not translated yet though. Coming soon.

[Giraffe]

I'm doing ~1200 at the moment. I've done close to ~1600 previously. I don't consider myself gifted either but I think I've just conditioned myself to the volume. And being a student has helped a lot too.

Yes I have come to realise that external stressors have a bit part in what amount of training I can do. A few years ago I had a much more relaxed job, but now I am typically working 10-20 hours per week more than I was, so finding it hard to fit everything in.

Considering studying part time as well soon, so that may be the end of me... 

[BuccioniPL]

I'm in MS class, doing far less NL of aforementioned numbers.

It's true, it is really individual. With my current life regime I can substain this load.
I really feel to be at cutting edge of my work capacity.
I would do more without a job, because it means sleeping much more, resting CNS
and so on.
But I do not think I would make as twice lifts as today. Maybe 10% more.
Work capacity improve very slowly in drug free lifters. Moreover I think that much
is dependent upon body structure. My Thigh have been always large with a low
amount of work needed to be trained. My upper part needs more volume.

[DivanoPL]

I'm about to finish some weeks at 340/300 reps a week raw. Really hard but the feeling with the lifts is awesome. Next period i cut the volume at 300/250 lift a week with gear and some lift at 90%. It's the first time that i do this volume. I'm a CMS.

[joshuadelapenha]

Not sure if this has been addressed already but I see that it is stated the optimal number of lifts in the prepatory period is 1050.

"Further suppose that the optimal numbers of lifts per month for this athlete during the preparatory and competition periods are 1,500 and 1,050, respectively. The yearly schedule may then look like the following"


Q: How come Competition Period #32 only has 543 lifts? That is nearly half the optimal amount.

[Robert Frederick]

Not sure if this has been addressed already but I see that it is stated the optimal number of lifts in the prepatory period is 1050.

Where did you see that? Check the recommended volume thread here.  The optimal number of lifts differs from person to person and in time as well for each person.

[joshuadelapenha]

"The main objective of the competition period is the implementation of high-level training. Work in this period is characterized by a low volume and high intensity. The number of lifts is reduced by 20-40% as compared to the preparatory period with the reduction depending on the athlete's weight. The heavier the athlete, the greater the reduction."

The 3 day program for under 80kg has 1110 the first mesocycle, 989 the second mesocycle and 543 the competition mesocyle.

From the 2nd to the competition (last) is a reduction of 45%. How come it is out of the 20-40% reduction considering that an athlete under 80Kg would be considered light?

[Robert Frederick]

"The main objective of the competition period is the implementation of high-level training. Work in this period is characterized by a low volume and high intensity. The number of lifts is reduced by 20-40% as compared to the preparatory period with the reduction depending on the athlete's weight. The heavier the athlete, the greater the reduction."

The 3 day program for under 80kg has 1110 the first mesocycle, 989 the second mesocycle and 543 the competition mesocyle.

From the 2nd to the competition (last) is a reduction of 45%. How come it is out of the 20-40% reduction considering that an athlete under 80Kg would be considered light?

The numbers aren't concrete but they are a good starting point for understanding how it all works.

[HaniJaz]

Hello, first post here

Is there a generalized approach taken with competition periods in this yearly model?

Decreased volume and increased intensity makes sense (this seems to be a pattern in many powerlifting training models), but surely there is more to it here!

I noticed through the year and the multiple competition periods that the number of lifts decreases yet further

[Robert Frederick]

Hello, first post here

Is there a generalized approach taken with competition periods in this yearly model?

Decreased volume and increased intensity makes sense (this seems to be a pattern in many powerlifting training models), but surely there is more to it here!

I noticed through the year and the multiple competition periods that the number of lifts decreases yet further

This is the generalized approach. It will of course differ from person to person but this is the basic idea.