Powerlifting Journal: February 2022 - Deadlift Conundrums
Scheduling movements with purpose and bench/squat magic
The following is a powerlifting article for OMD Journal. None of this is health, nutrition, training advice.
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February 2022 Highlight
Period Covered:
January 30 to February 26
Training Highlights:
Squat: 410lbs x 2 reps @ RPE 9
Bench Press: 260lbs x 3 reps @ RPE 9
Conventional Deadlift: 445lbs x 2 rep @ RPE 9
1-arm KB OHP: 24kg x 8 reps @ RPE 8
Chin ups: 50lbs x 5 reps @ RPE 9
Bodyweight Pull ups: 477 total reps in month
Daily average steps: ~10,648 steps
Nutrition Highlights:
Daily average fast : ~17hrs
Daily average calories burned: ~2,790kcal
Alcohol consumption: three bottles of beer
Average bodyweight: 151lbs
Recovery Highlights:
Daily average sleep time: ~7h 04m
# of Sauna sessions: 6
Reflections are divided into the following:
Training
Nutrition
Recovery
Last Month’s Goals:
Training
Glute-Ham accessories 2x a week on the rest days => Achieved
Introduce 2-sec pause squats, keep high bar squats => Achieved
Lean back for deadlift execution => Iterating
Nutrition
Bread 4x a week max. No cookies. => Failed. No cookies consumed. But consumed bread every day.
Recovery
Sleep before 1am; start the dreaded tasks at 11pm. Failed. But sleep improved from prior month.
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
Period covered
January 2 - January 29
February Training Schedule:
Sunday - Day 1
2-Sec Pause Squat; top set of 4 @ RPE 9; ~5 work sets
Feet Up Bench; top set of 5 @ RPE 9; ~5 work sets
Single-leg Hamstring Curls; 3x10 or Weighted Chins; 3 set for ladder up to 5 reps max per set
Monday - Day 2
Competition Bench; top set of 3 @ RPE 9; ~5 work sets
High-bar Squat (belt-less) top set of 4 @ RPE 8; ~4 work sets
KB 1-Arm Press; 3 sets for ladder up to 8 reps or KB Swings 3 x 20-25 reps
Tuesday - Cardio/Pull
Wednesday - Day 3
Competition Squat; top set of 2 @ RPE 9; ~5 work sets
Incline Dumbbell (DB) Bench; top set of 6 @ RPE 9; ~5 work sets
Weighted Chins; 3 set for ladder up to 5 reps max per set
Thursday - Cardio/Pull
Friday - Day 4
Competition Deadlift; top set of 2 @ RPE 9; ~5 work sets
Paused (2-sec) Bench; top set of 4 @ RPE 9; ~5 work sets
Single-leg Hamstring Curls; 3x10 or KB 1-Arm Press; 3 sets for ladder up to 8 reps
Saturday - Cardio/Pull
Exercise selection divided by movement patterns:
Days 1, 2 & 3: Squat + Horizontal Push + 1 of Glute/Ham Accessory, vertical pull, or vertical push
Day 4: Hip Hinge + Horizontal Push + 1 of Glute/Ham Accessory, vertical pull, or vertical push
Cardio/Pull: Vertical Pull (90 total reps) + Shoulder Rotation (90 total reps) + Hamstring accessories (90 total reps) + Cardio (20min incline walk)
To start, I would recommend reading the October Powerlifting Journal to get an understanding of movement patterns (e.g. vertical push, horizontal pull, hip hinge) and intensity measures (i.e. RPE). I explained my approach in depth in the inaugural issue and without the context, this might sound like a bunch of mumbo jumbo.
Two weeks of Deload
February’s training started with Week 2 of the Deload cycle started at the end of January. The additional week was significant. It was the first time in my 10+ years of lifting where I scheduled a two-week Deload on purpose (i.e. not as a result of injury or travel).
As most powerlifting programs had one week of Deload scheduled, it was an odd experience. There were various moments of concern on whether my strength levels would be hit hard by the additional week of rest. I intuitively understood the value of rest, but accepting it required daily discipline.
I had taken a one-week Deload after a great cycle in November 2021—it was a nine-week cycle with high intensity. But when I started the new cycle in December, I had all kinds of hip and knee issues flair up immediately on the first week of training and the entire seven-week development cycle felt uncomfortable.
So, I decided to give a two-week Deload a try. I hypothesized seven extra days might give my body might more time to recover given the intensity and volume levels I like to train at. The result?