Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcus Herou
1. How much should one reduce volume/intensity i.e. taper the week before max?
2. If the "max" week is just a "X rep max" week should one really taper for that?
3. After the cycle (in my case 4w or 6w) is it proven that a complete rest week will improve the performance the next cycle or reduce the risk of injury?
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1. This is unfortunately very individual. Some athletes do well with a dramatic intensity reduction, some do better with high intensity and dramatic volume reduction, some need both, etc. For a taper wk for sn and cj maxes, I would start with a week like:
monday - sn/cj to 90% x 1, fs to 85-90% x 1-2
tuesday - sn/cj to 85% x 1 x 1-2
wed - sn/cj to 80% x 1 x 1-3, maybe fs to ~ 80% x1
thur - sn/cj - 60-70% x 1 x 1-5
fri - rest
sat - meet or testing
This is a really basic taper set up, but one that I have seen work well. After you try that, you can experiment w changing it up a bit. For example, you may make tues a power sn/cj day to lighten it up a bit, you may find adding some pulls mon wed around 85-90% helps, etc.
2. You don't need to taper exactly to test anything - you may want to back off a little bit if you've been training really hard and really want to see what you can do. But if it's mid-cycle, you can reduce the normal training wk volume just a bit and leave intensity similar.
3. Nothing is proven. You really have to experiment with yourself. I personally don't like rest weeks that are zero training. If you really want to go super easy, lift at 60% w low volume and maybe reduced number of days/wk. I think you'll do better on that than not training at all.