With a currently common approach to training being to push the load on the bar as high as possible within the given RPE during the final week of a block, it’s easy to forget our training beyond that. Progressing training beyond one training block can involve more thoughtful planning than simply recovering from the last one and trying to beat it once you feel ready for it.
In this blogpost I’d like to highlight an approach I frequently use to string together blocks of training for an athlete that looks beyond the block we’re currently running.
This approach comes down to 4 steps:
- Use RPE to find a sustainable pacing.
- Use that pacing as a guideline for a fixed load progression.
- Use RPE to autoregulate downwards when needed.
- Try to start a bit higher in load each block.
A side note to this is that this is a nice strategy for training blocks where we just want to keep the momentum rolling between blocks and not try to capitalize on all the gains we made. When capitalizing on the gains made, we’re not so worried about how productive training will be the couple of weeks after so we can ball out a bit harder.
Use RPE to find a sustainable pacing
In an RPE system, we use RPE to signal how much we want someone to intensify their training. To get a sustainable load progression out of this, we can look at which loads the lifter selects in the periods where they can still progress training and look at when the jumps get too big for them to keep up. We use the load jumps that allow for progression for the pacing next block.
Use that pacing as a guideline for load progression
The loadjumps are proactively planned out to give guidance for loadselection in the next block. Important to note is that the load jumps don’t have to be the same each week. Some people start off with smaller jumps and jump a bit more at the end. Pull the jumps at the end back if they limit you from starting the next block higher.
Use RPE to autoregulate downwards when needed
The risk with prescribing load jumps is that we do not account for external factors that might negatively influence people's performance. This can lead to a lifter not being able to keep up with the pacing and a decrease in performance. To prevent this, we use RPE to let people autoregulate downwards when needed and use the prescribed loads as the upper limit of what someone can load.
Try to start a bit higher each block
Trying to be fit enough for each block to start a bit higher and keep the same pacing will get us into (V)PR territory sooner or later. When reading out the data the outcome looks identical to “trying to end each block higher”, but the approach is different. We act on the thought that training is not only about this block, but about stringing together multiple blocks. It helps to take away the “hurry” to progress training in a short period of time, which I feel is quite prevalent amongst the younger powerlifters these days.
Hope this helps you zoom out a bit on your training and inspires you to think further ahead about your training than your current block.