Today, I want to dive deep into a topic that's crucial for any powerlifter's success: powerlifting rehab. That means muscle recovery after workouts and after meets.
We've received several questions regarding what a recovery workout looks like, how long one should allow for recovery, and the best tips for optimizing recovery.
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What is a Powerlifting Recovery Workout?
In the world of powerlifting, continually pushing your body through progressively heavier workouts is key to building strength. However, not everyone competes in powerlifting, and sometimes you're training towards a peak in your progression.
This is where a powerlifting recovery workout, known as a “deload,” becomes essential.
A powerlifting rehab workout, or deload, involves reducing the load and intensity of your exercises.
For the athletes I coach, I make sure their deloads utilize a sub-maximal weight. This means they continue performing their reps and sets but at a lighter weight to facilitate recovery.
This method allows muscle recovery without halting training, contributing to enhanced movement efficiency and refinement. Typically, a deload occurs every three to four weeks, and during this time, I prescribe workouts at about 70 to 80% of the previous week's effort.
For instance, if someone squats 400 pounds for two sets of five reps, during a deload, they might do two sets of three reps or maintain the two sets of five, but at a lighter weight, around 280 to 320 pounds. This approach fosters muscle, skeletal, and nervous system recovery.
Note that this goes beyond just avoiding regular muscle soreness. (There are many guides on how to reduce muscle pain). Deloads also help lifters avoid injuries.
Related: How to Fix Back Pain While Deadlifting
Video Guide: The Art of Recovery for Muscle Strength
I made this video to talk about improving strength with a proper powerlifting recovery program.
Video Synopsis
Joseph Lucero of Powerlifting Technique explains the concept of powerlifting recovery, primarily focusing on the importance of deloading, which involves reducing workout intensity to allow muscles, joints, and the nervous system to recover.
He recommends a deload every three to four weeks, typically prescribing exercises at 70-80% of the previous week's intensity.
Lucero emphasizes a one-week deload period, highlighting the importance of adequate rest and reduced intensity workouts before competitions, suggesting 7-10 days for optimal recovery. Additional recovery tips include proper sleep, high protein intake, and sufficient hydration
How Long Should Recovery Last?
Scheduling appropriate recovery time is critical. You want to allow a deload period of about a week.
When I create training calendars for athletes, intense workouts are balanced with scheduled deload weeks to avoid overtraining. For example, we might follow a cycle like week one to four of high-intensity training, followed by a deload in the fifth week.
This cycle is adjusted based on individual needs, sometimes requiring more frequent deloads as intensity and workload increase.
When preparing for a competition, recovery timing becomes even more crucial. While some suggest doing heavy openers the week of the meet, I prefer a different approach.
I recommend tapering the intensity 7 to 10 days before the competition to ensure full recovery.
Note that the University of Delaware has a guide to delayed onset muscle soreness. It's useful, too.
Top Tips for Powerlifting Recovery
- Sleep: Ensure you are getting quality rest. Sleep is essential for muscle, nervous system, and skeletal system recovery. During rest, your body enters an anabolic state, which is crucial for repairing and building muscle.
- Nutrition: Maintain high protein intake, aiming for 0.8 to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. Additionally, staying hydrated is vital for optimal recovery.
- Deload Properly: Incorporate deloading into your routine by reducing your workout intensity to 70-80% of your usual effort every three to four weeks.
- Pre-Competition Tapering: Reduce workout intensity 7 to 10 days before a competition to allow for full recovery and peak performance.
Without a deload, lifters can experience more soreness than usual. Inflammation and powerlifting injuries can also happen.
We've talked about this before. In our interview with Chad Wesley Smith, we discussed the real-world consequences of a lifting injury.
Conclusion
Recovery in powerlifting is an art that involves strategically reducing workout intensity to allow muscle, skeletal, and nervous systems to recuperate. Implementing weekly deloads and monitoring sleep, nutrition, and hydration are key to maximizing performance.
By following these guidelines, you'll be well on your way to achieving optimal recovery and enhancing your powerlifting capabilities.
If you found this information helpful and are looking for more tips and techniques to boost your performance, be sure to visit us at powerliftingtechnique.com and check out our YouTube channel for additional videos and insights.
Stay strong and lift smart!
