14 Nov Dan Dalenberg- Post Meet Recovery

The next couple weeks are going to be very boring and to be honest I am really looking forward to it. Pre-contest training is a lot of fun, but it is mentally and physically stressful. I am enjoying the break so far.

I’ve found that about three weeks is the sweet spot for me to be 100% ready to start my off-season and be really excited to train again. Here’s basically what I like to do:

Week 1- Full body fluff and buff. No barbells in my hand or on my back. Chelsea has been coming to the gym with me since she moved from Grand Rapids down to Kalamazoo, so I have been working out with her this week. Good for both us as it gives me a chance to teach her a bit and we work through some basic full body circuits.

Week 2- I’ll start to push the volume up a bit. Still no barbells but I will be actually trying to get a PUMP BRO and introduce some dumbbell training. Still fluffing and doing full body circuit type work.

Week 3- Now I will actually reintroduce the power lifts, likely with specialty bars to continue giving my joints a break. Maybe some swiss bar benching, cambered bar squatting and block pulls. NOTHING heavy. Volume is still high, basically just trying to find the groove.

And then my actual offseason will start. I haven’t quite figured out what is next. I’m definitely not done raw, but I have a lot of respect for those that do well both equipped and unequipped. I’m thinking I might try to lift single ply at the Olympia, there is a particular 242 there that would be fun to lift against and while I don’t have the gear experience, I think I am strong enough raw to be very competitive. So 2015 will probably include some equipped lifting.

What not to do right after a meet

Don’t be a freaking gym/youtube hero. Christ this is dumb. Your body is broken down, your spine needs time to decompress and you need to heal. Taking some rest time will make you BETTER. You will not get weak in 3 weeks. You will not lose all your gainz. Don’t be back in the gym trying for something stupid like a high rack pull hundreds of pounds heavier than the meet deadlift you just frickin’ pulled!

Brian recently replied to a post and I 150% agree with what he said and the message behind it:

GymBro- Deloading is so boring!

Carroll- Taking a year to unload your back because you abused it is more boring.

The point is that recovery is as much a part of training as blasting weights is. Take that time to recover so you can come into your next training cycle fresh and injury free rather than messing yourself up. It will be a lot more fun to rest for a couple weeks than to pop something off and spend months and $$$$ getting it right. [share title=”Share this Article” facebook=”true” twitter=”true” google_plus=”true” linkedin=”true” pinterest=”true” reddit=”true” email=”true”][author title=”About the Author”]

The following two tabs change content below.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

Daniel Dalenberg

Dan Dalenberg is a pro level raw and equipped powerlifter with elite totals in the 220, 242 and 275 class. Best official raw meet lifts include an 804 squat, 507 bench press, 715 dead lift and 2006 total. Best equipped lifts include an 950 squat, 715 bench, 735 deadlift and 2400 total at 242. Dan has been training under Brian's guidance using the 10/20/Life methodology since late 2010.

Latest posts by Daniel Dalenberg (see all)

• A Binge for the Record Books - August 20, 2018
• Training on the Go - July 6, 2018
• Dan Dalenberg | Deload and 5k week! - June 18, 2018