I always take off a couple weeks after a powerlifting meet. It’s something experience has taught me. That week after a meet, I feel like I have been in a car wreck. The next week I try to get to moving a little bit, but with the timing the same on that December meet every year, it is also the week of holiday tournaments. Those keep my plenty busy that week. So, I’ve learned to just relax a couple weeks and kick it back up after new year.

So, this is not a recap of what I’ve done, but my plan of action for the time being. If you read my goals post, you will see where some of this is coming from.

I’m still using 5/3/1, or more accurately 3/5/1 for my main lifts. I do only main lift a workout session, and only up to three a week. At 43, I’ve learned the ancient monk secrets of the recovery period. They are not actually secret, it just takes you about that long to understand. But for a while at least, I’m not going to go up in weight on my sets. I’m going to focus on rep maxes for a while. How long? No clue. But i’m hoping to improve my muscle endurance a bit before going up in weight. I most likely won’t have another competition for at least six months, so I have some time to be patient here.

I’m also simplifying the accessory work for a while too, with an eye on speeding up progression there. Two circuits, rotated. Add reps each time. Some basic movements: squats, kettlebell swings, pushups, lat pull, fat man pullups, dips, ab wheel, leg raises. That is it, for a while at least.

I’ve added a mobility flow to my day. This is a quick “just move” piece that is a deep squat, squat to stand hammy stretch, pushup, situp, lunge and hip flexor stretch. This will build the number of reps as well.

I’m also adding a focus on some airdyne time. I have a yearly mileage total goal in mind. It is a way for me to get some steady state cardio in. It gets a bad rap, but I’m at a place in my health journey where i need to improve that area. I would love to add jogging back in, but I need to figure out what to do with my knee first. Running tends to piss off that (presumably) meniscus. I’m too cheap to actually get an MRI without using my deductible on something else first. So for now, it’s me and you, Airdyne. Oh, and Cosmo walk. Those are the best.

So, there is the plan. Time to get to work.