Background
I’ve lifted on and off since about 2019, with a lengthy detour into triathlon. As part of training for tris, my strength has dropped off pretty much completely, so I’m coming into this training block at a much lighter bodyweight and lower total than I’ve ever had. I’ve previously run GZCL and 5-3-1, both for 4-6 blocks of 4 weeks, before I moved on to a plan I built for myself off of GZCL, all pre-triathlon. I’m 27, 6 feet tall, around 160lbs bodyweight. These maxes were tested at a local gym with spotters so I feel fairly confident that they’re accurate.
| Lift | Current Max |
|---|---|
| Squat | ~100kg |
| Bench | 50kg |
| Deadlift | ~120kg |
Goals:
My primary goals are to be consistent with the plan, and fuel as well as I can. I’ll talk more about fueling in a later post, but it’s my biggest challenge/risk going into this training block. I am not hoping for any specific numerical increase in my lifts, other than that I would generally like to see my bench go up.
Calgary Barbell 16 Week Program
I’m planning to run the 16 week free powerlifting program from Calgary barbell, which I’ve heard great things about. Although my total doesn’t reflect it, I have been lifting for a while, and feel comfortable in my form, and I’m familiar with RPE based training, which features heavily in the later weeks of this program. Starting right now (mid december) is a bit tough considering I’ll be traveling for the holidays and my usual gyms are closed (I split my time between a university where I’m taking night classes, and at my office). I’ve been running 5-3-1 for the past couple of weeks, and the first week of the Calgary Barbell plan looks to be a moderate increase in volume, such that I’m not super worried about hurting myself right off the bat. I’ll definitely need to stay ahead of my knees and IT band, and plan to supplement with prehab workout from Strava’s new Recover app, which I have found really helpful.
Cardio, Fueling, and Overtraining
While I’m shifting my focus to resistance training, I don’t want to totally give up my cardio. I currently bike to work or go for a short run most days of the week, and I think I’m going to start off keeping that roughly the same, maybe run a little less. I enjoy feeling like I can walk up the stairs without gasping for air, which is not something the average powerlifting can claim, and I’m willing to accept a lower total for that privilege. It’s cold as hell out there these days anyway, so I’ll naturally be doing less anyway, at least for the next few months. Like I said, I’ll be talking more about fueling in the future, but I’m a vegetarian, so protein in take is the absolute priority here. As the block progresses, I may also need to be more intentional about upping the total volume as well.
My secondary goal for this block (not in importance, but in focus) is to be constantly checking in with myself about overtraining. I’ve pushed it too hard in the past and lost weight, or hurt myself, so I need to be paying attention. I’m tracking general fatigue and pain numerically, so I’ll hopefully be able to catch any trends before they bite me. Maybe I’ll share my data approach in one of these.
Conclusions
I’m really looking forward to this training block. It’s been a long time since I’ve really focused on strength, and I’m excited to see what I can do. I’ll probably check in once a month or so to update progress and share my thoughts on the program.