Quote Originally Posted by lylemcd View Post
Are you geared or RAW

I'd argue that most of the 'take the week off' guys are heavily geared and need the break because they train ME work 51 weeks a year and are beaten up

IME, a full week off leaves most people stiff and they lose their groove. The old classic peaking approach for RAW PL (and this would go for even light gear IMO) is

10-14 days out: last heavy dead
7-10 days out: last heavy squat
5 days out: last heavy bench. So Monday, maybe to the opener (90% max) for a single. So light squat before it since squatting does hit teh shoulder girdle and will affect your bench.

2 days out: light squat,bench,dl. Maybe 60-70%, it should be a warmup and get someone to call competition commands for the practice. IT'll keep you loose, keep your groove, etc.
Yes, that is a good rule of thumb, although you will need to know your own recovery abilities and adjust as needed. I personally would not do any sort of deadlift for at least 8 days before a meet. Maybe some 60% of 1RM squat and bench 4 days out for me. I would also need more than 5 days to recover from heavy bench, maybe more like 6-7 days. Of course, I'm in my 30's, have been powerlifting for 6 years, and have done 13-14 meets so I have figured out what works best for me. Someone newer to the game and younger could probably follow those guidelines as written and be fine.