Ok so I am planning on lifting in a meet Oct 30th in Ohio and I am currently doing 5/3/1 2 days a week one uppper body day and one lower body day. I am 1 week into my 6 week cycle and am tring to decide if I should just do 5/3/1 till the meet or plan a 6 week cycle of working double and triples working on my form and playing with the heavier weights. I just maxed last week and know what they are now.
If I do the 5/3/1 till I get to meet time I would plan my meet attempts like so
current max for my 2nd lift attemp. 1st attemp 15 to 20 lbs below my current max and then p/rs accros the board.
if I go the other way I would know what my current maxes would be 2 weeks out and then I would take adn make my schedule the last week.
my last 6 weeks would be 2 weeks of 3 sets of triples at 90% then a drop set of 10 at 75%
then 2 weeks of 3 sets of 3 at 95% with a drop set
then the 5th week would be three sets of 2 at my current 100% max
then the last week would be 3 sets of 1 at hopefully 105% of current maxes.
all things are adjustable of course. So what do you guys think just run the 5/3/1 and have fun with it or are the doubles and triples super important.
I also thought about running the 5/3/1 and just getting the required number of reps and then ramping up to my max in singles every week from now till then…
The only reason for any change is because of the meet. I am hoping to total 1000 but its a far strech.
As I plan on doing my first powerlifting competition in three years this December and as I will be using 5/3/1 for the first time to get up to speed for the contest, I am also intrigued at what advice you may get.
I’d vote for the singles, doubles, and triples. Helps training the CNS better than 5/3/1, I think, when you’re focusing on max weight rather than reps.
[quote]damutt wrote:
my last 6 weeks would be 2 weeks of 3 sets of triples at 90% then a drop set of 10 at 75%
then 2 weeks of 3 sets of 3 at 95% with a drop set
then the 5th week would be three sets of 2 at my current 100% max
then the last week would be 3 sets of 1 at hopefully 105% of current maxes.
[/quote]
Hey damutt,
I would rethink the schedule leading up to the meet, no matter which program you’re using. Most lifters back off a lot at least a week or two prior to the meet. You want to be well-rested so that, if all goes well, you can hit your PRs on meet day.
The last week or two would just be VERY light training for form and to keep the joints moving.
Of course, the most important thing is just to get on the platform and give it a go. So, kudos for planning to do that.