Recovery Wisdom

[Meshuggah]

[SteveL]

This sure seems to be me. I've been on the backoff method now for like four weeks and it seems to be working. I will want another four weeks to really tell but this less is more is great to understand but hard to do when you are used to pushing yourself most of your life.

[clarksvilleal]

Another thing I've found is that I now need a lot more sleep than before I started lifting again at 69 years young. Prior to my current workout regimen I used to get by pretty well with 5 - 6 hours of sleep; and as I get older, I find it difficult to get even a good solid 6 hours of sleep at night, what with waking up several times during the night due to that common problem of us older men - BPH. However after getting going with the PNP program, I now find that I need at least 8 hours of solid sleep, or else I feel like c--- for a couple of days after a hard workout.

So now I am taking a nap of anywhere from 1-1/2 to 2 hours each day, currently mid-to-late morning. That seems to be doing the trick. (I used to sometimes take a nap in the afternoon - my workouts are late evening - but morning naps seem to be working better.) With my current PNP routine I can now recover pretty well in 48 hours between workouts within a week's schedule, although I do often take 3 or 4 days off between "weeks" instead of only 2. I don't know if that 48 hour intra-week recovery period will hold as the workouts get more intense with heavier weights, even with the extra sleep, but I'm going to try to keep it going with that rhythm as long as I can.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Good points, and ones that I felt were closing in on me in my 40's when lifting. But to echo the above post, I am finding that I need more than 8 hours of sleep the last year or so. Maybe it's the added stress of retirement and moving 2000 miles away. Both good things, but stressful in the accomplishment of them until you settle down and discover the new normal.

But competing in powerlifting drives you to goal oriented training and that drives you to push yourself harder. I had my reservations about Andy Baker's 4 days a week plan with the higher rep assistance work being too much volume for me, but so far (knock wood) I'm doing OK on it. I'm only a few cycles into it, and I started with a little running room for adding weight, but man, it really is sleep inducing. Like 10 hours a night some times.

[SteveL]

Good points, and ones that I felt were closing in on me in my 40's when lifting. But to echo the above post, I am finding that I need more than 8 hours of sleep the last year or so. Maybe it's the added stress of retirement and moving 2000 miles away. Both good things, but stressful in the accomplishment of them until you settle down and discover the new normal.

But competing in powerlifting drives you to goal oriented training and that drives you to push yourself harder. I had my reservations about Andy Baker's 4 days a week plan with the higher rep assistance work being too much volume for me, but so far (knock wood) I'm doing OK on it. I'm only a few cycles into it, and I started with a little running room for adding weight, but man, it really is sleep inducing. Like 10 hours a night some times.

Could you post regarding your experience with Andy's plan every now and then? At some point I will give it a try but for now it won't fit my schedule it would be great to learn from someone doing it.

[Mark E. Hurling]

I can, but you can look at my experience of it directly in my log, Geezer's Long March Toward the Elite Sneaking Up on the Finish Line in the General Training Logs sub-forum. Just look at the last few pages, because my log is one of the longest and oldest artifacts on this site.

If that doesn't quite answer your questions, query me. I'll expand on my take on it so far.

[Kenny Crox]

Aimlessly Rambling

This guy ramble around, going nowhere. He state the obvious but provide NO definitive answers.

12 Week Cycles Or Longer

The ONLY individuals that should employ this type of cycle are Novice Lifters (regardless of age). That because they adapt slowly.

With that said, a Novice Lifter need to recycle their program approximately every 8 weeks.

Advanced Lifter adapt to training quickly, regardless of age. They need to recycle their program about every 3 - 4 weeks.

Recycling

This amount deloading and then progressing past your previous best.

This deloading amount to "Active Recovery", increasing blood flow to the muscle promotes recovery.

Kenny Croxdale

[Kenny Crox]

This sure seems to be me. I've been on the backoff method now for like four weeks and it seems to be working. I will want another four weeks to really tell but this less is more is great to understand but hard to do when you are used to pushing yourself most of your life.

Periodization Training

What you have described is Periodization Training. It works for everyone. It is the foundation of a good training program.

It allows for "Active Recovery", which I just went over in my previous post.

Kenny Croxdale

[SteveL]

I can, but you can look at my experience of it directly in my log, Geezer's Long March Toward the Elite Sneaking Up on the Finish Line in the General Training Logs sub-forum. Just look at the last few pages, because my log is one of the longest and oldest artifacts on this site.

If that doesn't quite answer your questions, query me. I'll expand on my take on it so far.

Oh I'll check that out. Thanks!

[Meshuggah]

After much research, I've put together a 3 day a week rotational program that allows me to train heavy with the frequency and recovery I need.
Non weight training days will feature ab work, and some form of conditioning that helps with recovery.