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4.03K viewsMay 18, 2018

Luis Hernandez (anonymous) May 10, 2018 0 Comments

As a novice lifter, what’s an ideal range to hover for off-season training? Are there any benefits to spending an off-season training cycle say 15 – 20lbs over competition weight or would the cut back down to comp weight during pre-contest training make any strength gained in the off-season negligible?

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Brian Carroll Answered question May 18, 2018

5 Answers

Answer 1 · 2018-05-18T15:47:57+00:00

Good info above.

It really depends on your level.

I agree on the records part. Don’t cut and grow into classes. But, if you must cut, do it the correct way and follow this: Cutting weight book

Never take it lightly. It can be much more difficult and vary a great deal from time to time.

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Brian Carroll

Owner and Founder at PowerRackStrength.com

Brian Carroll is committed to helping people overcome back pain and optimizing lifts and movement. After years of suffering, he met back specialist Prof. McGill in 2013, which led to a life-changing transformation. In 2017, they co-authored the best-selling book "Gift of Injury." On October 3, 2020, Carroll made history in powerlifting by squatting 1306 lbs, becoming the first person to break this record. He retired with a secure legacy and a life free from back pain.

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Answer 2 · 2018-05-18T15:23:11+00:00

I would never cut weight for a meet unless it’s absolutely necessary to break a record. Cutting weight adds an unnecessary variable to your meet prep and unless you know what you’re doing, it can be very detrimental. If you want to be your strongest at a meet, put some weight on. I’m sure if you ask anyone who’s cut weight for a meet, you’ll find a lot more negative than positive.

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Ken Whetham

Ken is a full-time Firefighter and Rescue Technician with the Oshawa Fire Department and is a certified Kettlebell Coach and WKC Master Trainer. Ken competed in Kettlebell Sport and won several championships across North America. In 2012, Ken competed in the Firefighter Combat Challenge where he won the Canadian National Championship. Ken trains at his home “Outlaw Powerlifting” gym outside Toronto, Ontario with a team of lifters that train and compete together. Ken is an Elite powerlifter in the 275 and 308 lb weight class and his current best lifts are 940/550/705 and his current goal is to squat 1000 lbs to become one of the few lifters to achieve that goal in their early 50’s.

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Answer 3 · 2018-05-18T15:14:27+00:00

I agree with Andrew. As new lifter focus on form, technique and mastering your goals while eating and making diet decisions for performance and health and not worry about making a weight class. Once you have a little more experience then you decide to go down or up a weight class.

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Lisa Guggisberg

A self-proclaimed former high school band nerd turned meathead nerd, Lisa has been coached and mentored by Brian Carroll using 10/20/Life principals for 3 years. She started CrossFiting in 2006 but gave that up after realizing all she wanted to do was squat, bench and deadlift heavy. She now competes as a raw and multi-ply powerlifter in the 114 and 123 weight classes. Lisa has All-Time top 10 totals in both raw and multi-ply in her respective weight classes with a raw pro total of 936 lbs at 114 and a pro 1118 lb multi-ply pro total at 123 and 1090 lb multi-ply total at 114. She is currently ranked the #1 female multi-ply lifter at 123, #2 at 114 multi-ply female and #3 raw with wraps. Lisa has a B.A. in Political Science and a Masters in Public Administration, but hates politics and political debates. She is a mom of two, a firefighter wife and has worked as a full time litigation paralegal for almost 20 years.

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Answer 4 · 2018-05-15T20:33:29+00:00

If you’re a novice lifter and are only into your first few meets, I would say don’t even worry about weight classes unless you really have some fat to lose. There are so many other aspects you need to master first before adding the stress of making weight. Then once you start cutting for meets, you’re going to have to experiment to see how much of a weight cut you can handle and still perform, everyone will tolerate the same amount of weight differently. I personally really hate cutting weight and I make sure to stay within 15lbs of contest weight, 10 ideally.

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Andrew Serrano

Andrew Serrano is a full time trainer, holds a B.S. in exercise science and has worked in almost every facet of the training industry. He is currently competing as a 198lb raw lifter, his meet PRs are 589/391/601. His training is guided by the 10/20/Life philosophy with a focus on sustainable injury free progression.

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Answer 5 · 2018-05-14T17:11:51+00:00

My advice would actually be the opposite. Spend your offseason at or below where you want to train for the meet at. For example, when lifting at 220 I want to be 235 for my contest prep. In the off-season I will hover around 230. This lets me eat into the weight class a little bit and have the calorie intake to support my hardest training sessions.

As you alluded to, losing weight while preparing a meet is difficult. Getting stronger and losing at the same time is a huge challenge, so I would rather be a little light 10-12 weeks out and have the room to let me body weight climb a few pounds. This is less stressful mentally and physically.

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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.

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