Off season training vs In season training
Before I start, I want to preface this article by saying that if you are a recreational competitor, in other words, someone who just competes for fun, with no aspirations to advance to national or international level, then it mostly won’t apply to you, however, if you are looking to move up a level, then you will benefit from a lot of what is written here.If you are an intermediate to what we might call a pro competitor in the sport of strongman, there are going to be certain considerations you need to make as you plan your season and the training around it. 1. Are you carrying any injuries that need rehabilitation?2. How many competitions do you want to take part in?3. How much time do you have to prepare for them?4. How heavy are they?5. How far apart are they?6. How similar are the events?7. Do they lead to international level competition?8. How much stronger do you need to get for the level you want to compete at?Once you have figured these out, you need to plan your training accordingly.Let’s say you aren’t injured and choose 6 competitions, including national championships and international qualifiers, and you have to improve your strength by a significant level, you will want to have an off season that lasts for about 3 to 4 months. Leaving you with a competition season of 8 or 9 months. If you are carrying an injury, it would be prudent to extend your off season to include a rehab phase and then shorten your comp season, there is nothing to be gained from rushing back too soon and getting hurt again.If you’re competing at a level that is within your current strength or even slightly above it, you can run a shorter off season or even choose comps that are 8-12 weeks apart.For this article, I will talk about my personal scheduling which would see my off season running from December to March and my comp season running from April to November, below is how I would approach itOff season training
The off season is where you build the strength that you need to carry you through the season.If I have 16 weeks I’m planning my off season to look something like this,Weeks 1-6,
Mon, Shoulders and Triceps
Military press, 5 sets to an 8 rep max Seated dumbbell press, 3 sets of 10 Shoulder accessory work, 2-3 exercises for 2–3 sets of 8-12 reps Triceps work, 1-2 exercises for 2-3 sets of 8-15 repsTue, Deadlift and Back
Deadlift, 5 sets to an 8 rep max RDL or hinge variation, 3 sets of 10 Direct Hamstring work, 2-3 sets of 8-15 reps Back accessory work, 2-3 exercises for 2–3 sets of 8-12 repsWed, Squat and Bench
Squat variation for 8-10 reps Leg accessories, 2 exercises for 3 sets each of 8-12 reps Bench, 5 sets to an 8 rep max Chest accessory work, 1-2 exercises for 2–3 sets of 8-12 repsThursday, Rest day
Fri, Events day (rotates weekly
Press variation (Log, Dumbbell or Axle) Carry variation (Farmers, Yoke or Sandbag carry) Loading Variation (Stone to platform, Stone or bag over bar, Stone or bag to shoulder)Sat and Sun, Rest days
Weeks 7-12,
Mon, Shoulders and Triceps
Military press, 5 sets to a 5 rep max Seated dumbbell press, 3 sets of 8 Shoulder accessory work, 2-3 exercises for 2–3 sets of 6-10 reps Triceps work, 1-2 exercises for 2-3 sets of 8-15 repsTue, Deadlift and Back
Deadlift, 5 sets to a 5 rep max RDL or hinge variation, 3 sets of 8 Hamstring work, 2-3 sets of 6-10 reps Back accessory work, 2-3 exercises for 2–3 sets of 6-10 repsWed, Squat and Bench
Squat variation for 6 reps Leg accessories, 2 exercises for 3 sets each of 6-10 reps Bench, 5 sets to a 5 rep max Chest accessory work, 1-2 exercises for 2–3 sets of 6-10 repsThursday, Rest day
Fri, Events day (rotates weekly
Press variation (Log, Dumbbell or Axle) Carry variation (Farmers, Yoke or Sandbag carry) Loading Variation (Stone to platform, Stone or bag over bar, Stone or bag to shoulder)Sat and Sun, Rest days
Weeks 12-15, the last weeks leading into the first competition
Loading for this block would be, as a percentage of comp weight,
Week 12, 80%,
Week 13, 85%
Week 14, 90%
Week 15, 70% (This is the taper week to maximise recovery)
Mon, Comp press event plus accessories
Competition lift, 5 sets finishing with an AMRAP
Shoulder accessory work, 2-3 exercises for 2–3 sets of 6-10 reps
Triceps work, 1-2 exercises for 2-3 sets of 8-15 reps
Tue, Deadlift and Back
Competition deadlift 5 sets finishing with an AMRAP
Hamstring work, 1-2 sets of 6-10 reps
Back accessory work, 2-3 exercises for 2–3 sets of 6-10 reps
Wed, Squat and Bench
Squat variation for 6 reps
Leg accessories, 2 exercises for 3 sets each of 6-10 reps
Bench, 5 sets to a 5 rep max
Chest accessory work, 1-2 exercises for 2–3 sets of 6-10 reps
Thursday, Rest day
Fri, Events day,
Remaining comp eventsSat and Sun, Rest days
Week 16,
The final week before the competition is a rest week, the focus here would be on cutting weight if you are in a weight class, and maximising recovery. There is no work that can be done during this week that will make you stronger than the preceding 15 weeksDuring this week, it’s a good idea to keep moving with light mobility work and low intensity aerobic exercise like walking. I would also advise against any form of sports massage during this week. At the start of the off season, the risk/ reward is skewed heavily in favour of reward but as you progress through, this changes as the risk increases due to heavier workloads and systematic fatigue, whilst the reward tapers off as you close in the limits of what your body is capable of. Sometimes, I will enter a small, local level competition in the later stages of my off season that looks like fun and has weights at or just below my current training level so that I can use this as a tune up comp, and without wanting to sound arrogant, a training session.In season training
Now we have started the season, training considerations must change, If you have a competition every 6 weeks, your focus has to shift from gaining strength, to the following, 1, Maintaining the strength that was built in the off season, 2, Transitioning to a new set of events (unless they are pretty similar), 3, Maximising recovery,4, Maintaining a bodyweight that is no more than 5-10% above your weight class I’ll break these down a little more thoroughly.
Maintaining strength.
If you have 6 weeks between competitions, the week after would be a recovery week, then the following 4 weeks would be training, before resting in the week before the next competition. So being realistic, how much stronger do you really think you can get in 3-4 weeks?This is not the time to be attempting new 1,2 or 3 rep max efforts, this is when you need to be working at about 60-85% of competition weight for the events you have in your next comp to ensure you are in the best shape possible.At no point during this transitional period should you be trying the comp weights, peaking in a gym is a waste of time, because no one cares what you can do 2 weeks before the competition and the fatigue that it will create can seriously impact your performance when it matters.
Transitioning to a new set of events.
If you have managed to pick competitions with similar events, this will be very easy to do as you are already well practiced on the comp lifts, however, changing from a log for reps to a max axle, or an 18 inch deadlift to a regular set up, will require some work. So, following from the above about maintaining strength, you will replace the events that aren’t coming up with the ones that are. In the first week of switching events, the loading will be no more than 60% of competition weight, building as I close in on the next comp to no more than 85% of the comp weight, accessory work will then change to assist the new events.
Maximising recovery
My aim between competitions is to lift at an intensity that keeps me on the right side of peaked, I see too many people training at comp weight or above during this time, taking them to a point of overreaching and creating a level of fatigue that they can’t recover from. Anything you do that reduces your ability to recover, is a waste of effort. So to this point, I would remove some of the lifts that aren’t essential to the competition prep.For example, on my event press day, I would limit the bulk of my volume to the comp lift only, there wouldn’t be any other pressing movements needed, instead, I’d just use single joint, low intensity exercises, It would look like this, Competition lift, working from 60-85% of comp weight for 5 or 6 sets Dumbbell front raise, 2 x 10 reps Dumbbell lateral raise, 2 x 10 reps Dumbbell rear delt extensions, 2 x 10 reps Doing this gives me enough work to maintain my strength, reduce injury risk and maximise my recovery , keeping me fresher for my next competition.
Maintaining a bodyweight of no more than 5-10% over comp weight
I feel like this is a big one for weight class athletes, If you allow your bodyweight to spiral up to a point where your next cut has to be excruciatingly hard, you are literally stepping over £50 notes to get to pennies, as now, instead of your focus being on the next set of events, staying strong and recovering properly, you will have your time consumed with bringing your weight down, or worse, staying where you are in the hope that you can take all the extra weight off through water cutting and sauna work.Where this is even more important is if you have a short turn around between comps, say 2 or 3 weeks, if this is the case, you wouldn’t want to go over 5% above your weight class, possibly even 3% as you will be right back into cutting weight againThe best laid plans.
If you remain dogmatic about the schedule, you deny yourself the flexibility needed to make changes or adjust as needed, for example, if I qualify for a national or international competition, like Britain’s or OSG, anything I have entered gets cancelled because my priority is now doing well at those shows, I’ll inform the promoter of the local show I was signed up for that I won’t be competing and put all my effort into the major competitions. Only a fool would think they can do everything and still get ready for the heaviest comps of the year off the back of a 2 or 3 week turnaround from a local show. If I pick up an injury, again, every competition gets cancelled but instead of a strength block, I would transition into a rehab and rebuilding phase before heading back into comp prep or my next off season depending on how long I need to work through the injury. I have no problem in staying away from competitions for as long as it takes to get myself back to as close to 100% as possible, something a lot of guys would benefit from learning, especially if coming back from surgery.Final thoughts
It’s very tempting to compete in as many shows as possible and as a beginner or novice, it makes perfect sense to get as much experience as possible, but as you progress and improve, it makes sense to me to be more selective in the competitions you take part in, however, this won’t last for long and soon you’ll find it much harder to build the strength you need to stay in touch with those who have prioritised their strength. Working on building strength is the single most important aspect of our sport, so giving yourself an extended, uninterrupted off season will benefit you more than 2 or 3 much shorter blocks in between competitions.