OMD's Journal – Powerlifting June '22: End of Dev. Cycle, Squats Catching Deadlifts, Recovery Focus...
Hello!
Here is the June Powerlifting Journal, part of the premium OMD Journal feature. This is the second of two OMD Journal issues after last week’s Investing Journal. The June journal covers a 35-day period (5 weeks) where the focus was on recapping the end of an 8-week development cycle.
June 2022 Highlight
Period Covered:
May 29 to July 2
Training Highlights:
Squat: 425lbs x 2 reps @ RPE 8.5
Bench Press: 255lbs x 3 reps @ RPE 8.5
Deadlift: 455lbs x 2 rep @ RPE 8
Daily average steps: ~13,367 steps (~9.57km)
Nutrition Highlights:
Daily average fast: ~16.1hrs
Daily average calories burned: ~2,899kcal
Water consumption: 4-5L/day
Caffeine consumption: three double espressos from 10am to 4pm on training days
Alcohol consumption: two glasses of beer
Recovery Highlights:
Daily average sleep time: ~6h 54m
# of Sauna sessions: zero
Reflections are divided into the following:
Training
Nutrition
Recovery
Last Month’s Goals:
Training
Three isolation exercises every training day = 100% success. I did them. But whether they had the right intensity is up for debate.
Nutrition
Take 1000mg of Omega-3 every day = 83% success (29/35 days)
Recovery
Carbon Dioxide Test Every Morning = 0% success. Oops.
The long-term goal for training from the inaugural October Journal is attached at the bottom if you’d like a refresher on what the point of all this is.
Training
End of 8-Week Cycle
June’s training ended with Week 8 of the latest development cycle. After 3-4 cycles post-2020, I’ve found 7-9 weeks to be the limit before my body starts breaking down—strength follows in lockstep after. Eight weeks appears to be the sweet spot.
Pre-2020, I trained in broader ranges from 4-12 week cycles over the years. But the recent fine-tuning of a 7-9 week block followed by a 2-week deload might be the preferred system going forward. It’s been the best combination for feeling strong, being injury-free, and enjoying training—a trio that was not consistent pre-2020.
Both physical and mental fatigue slammed into me on Day 4 of Week 7. It was my deadlift day. Everything felt slow and every major muscle ached and screamed for a break. I knew that meant Week 8 was going to be it. I focused on hitting the top sets for each of my main lifts and backed off on all the volume work lest I failed to recover for the next training day.
Some powerlifters have asked how I know when I need to deload. Everyone is different. But for myself, there have been a consistent sequence of signs from my body I’ve learned to listen to.