BarBend’s Complete Guide To:

PEAKING FOR A
WEIGHTLIFTING/
POWERLIFTING
COMPETITION:
UNDERSTANDING
THE SCIENCE AND
ART OF
PROGRAMMING
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To fully maximize performance potentials, strength coaches and athletes
should at the very least have an understanding of the scientific concepts
behind peaking for an Olympic weightlifting and/or powerlifting competition.
Often, many novice and intermediate coaches fail to plan training programs far
enough in advance to allow for peak preparedness to occur within an athlete
as they step on to the platform. Our objective is to arm coaches and athletes
with the correct information necessary to make a well-educated programming
decision to promote peak physical performance for upcoming competitions.

THE BASICS OF PERIODIZATION

Periodization is a strategy to promote long-term training adaptations through
the systematic manipulation of training variables, such as; volume, intensity,
sport specificity, fatigue, and preparedness.

There are four main periods of the traditional periodization model to account
for when programming.

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 Preparatory Phase: During this period, which may last months on end,
increases in training volume (sets and reps), manipulation of intensities
(percentage of an athlete’s maximum), and less emphasis on sport
specificity are seen; in order to promote increased overall athleticism and
fitness to allow for the heightened intensity and sport specificity within the
first transition and competition phases. Additionally, in more advanced
athletes, it is during this time that some coaches may systemically program
higher volumes and intensities for prolonged periods of time to have an
athlete reach a state of overreaching, which, when then given a time to
recover from training stressors, has shown to increase performance.

 First Transition Phase: During this transition phase, greater emphasis

is placed upon increasing the relative intensity and technique/sport
specificity of an athlete to prepare for the competition phase. To alleviate
and monitor fatigue, coaches must decrease training volume in order to not
reach a state of overtraining (often seen in only more advanced athletes,
this is a prolonged state of overreaching, which can be very detrimental to
an athlete, and take weeks/months to fully recover from).

 Competition Phase: During this phase, sport specificity is increased and

fatigue is closely monitored to ensure peak preparedness for competition.
Volume is minimized to decrease fatigue, while intensity stays constant
and/or increases to maintain a higher level of fitness.

 Second Transition Phase/Active Rest: During this phase, emphasis is

placed upon allowing recovery (both physiologically and psychologically)
of an athlete. Low emphasis is placed upon sport-specificity, training
volume, and training intensity. Athletes are urged to explore general fitness
activities to allow for active recovery to prepare for the next preparatory
phase.

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 UNDERSTANDING ADAPTATION
TO TRAINING
The role of a coach — or additional responsibility for an athlete who is training
on their own — is to orchestrate a training regimen that will promote training
adaptations over time, while allowing for peak showings of preparedness
at predetermined time throughout the overall training calendar. General
Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) is the term given to describe the phasic processes
that occur to bring about training adaptations within an athlete.

 Alarm Phase: During this phase, a new stress is introduced to the body, often
met with decreased performance.

 Resistance Phase (Supercompensation): Due to continued exposure

throughout the alarm phase (successive bouts of training), the body goes
through a state of adaptation, and supercompensates the the imposed
stress, promoting elevated performance.

 Exhaustion Phase: Overtime, if the body is exposed to the same stress over
time, exhaustion may occur in which performance will decline. Within this
phase removal of the stress should occur, to allow for the new alarm phase
(stressor) to restart the GAS series of adaptations.

Throughout the largest training cycle (macrocycle), a coach may program

a series of mini cycles (mesocycles and microcycles) to systematically
induce stress, allow for adaptation, and promote long-term performance
advancements in their athletes.

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 PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTORS
AFFECTING PEAKING
As discussed earlier, training stress can lead to positive adaptations within an
athlete, such as:

 Increased strength
 Increased muscle mass
 Increased speed and agility
 Increased motor unit excitation, recruitment, synchronization of firing, and
neural drive (CNS)
 Increased overall athletic performance
 Increased ability to recover

During a peaking phase, however, it is vital to account for adequate adaptation

to the heightened stress of the preparatory cycle and allow for the central
nervous system (CNS) to repair.

PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS
AFFECTING PEAKING
In addition to the physiological factors above, an athlete’s psychological status
must be monitored and allowed to recover. Factors that can affect an athlete
positively or negatively are:

 Training stress and ability to recover (CNS and physically)

 Emotional stress of competing
 Arousal levels and motivation of an athlete

Monitoring the mental state of athletes can be highly effective on peak

preparedness.

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 DEVELOPING THE PEAKING PROGRAM
During the competition phase, a coach/athlete must manipulate training
variables (volume, intensity, and specificity) to allow for peak preparedness,
minimize fatigue, and elevate or maintain overall fitness.

The goal of tapering a training program during the peaking phase is to allow an
athlete to reach peak preparedness both physiologically and psychologically
by altering training variables and monitoring an athlete’s recovery and
performance leading up to a competition. During this time;

 Volume is decreased leading up to the competition

 Greater emphasis is placed on sport specificity
 Intensity remains relatively constant and/or increases slightly until just days
before the competition.

The amount of time needed for more advanced lifters to adequately repair and
taper can be much longer than novice and intermediate athletes. Due to the
highetend training volumes and intensities throughout early phases, and the
increased systemic stressors placed on more elite athletes (closer to genetic
potentials), more advanced lifters may need multiple weeks of tapering,
whereas novices and intermediates may taper one week or even just days
before a meet.

 Volume: Volume refers to the amount of loading (sets and reps) within the
training cycle. During peaking periods, training volume has been shown to
be the biggest contributor to increases in long-term strength acquisition,
muscle mass, and power. However, heightened and sustained periods of
high volume training is also the key contributor to fatigue and decreased
performance. Depending on the level of the athlete, the amount of sets and
reps should be systematically decreased to promote adequate recovery and
preparedness leading up to a competition.

 Intensity: Intensity refers to the relative percentage of an athlete’s

maximum. Research suggests that while important to moderate leading up
to a competition, training intensity has less effect on fatigue markers, and
has a positive correlation with elevating or maintaining fitness throughout
the peaking period. The ability to remain training at higher percentages

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 of an athlete’s maximum ensures overall fitness (power/strength) will not
decline due to decreased training volume.

 Fatigue: The term given describe the level of stress upon an athlete. The
higher amount of fatigue (could be physiological or psychological, etc.)
the less likely the athlete will be able to recover from successive bouts of
exercise and perform at peak levels during competition.

 Preparedness: Preparedness refers to the level at which an athlete has

recovered from the previous training cycles and has been able to adapt
adequately to maximize their performance, both physiologically and
psychologically.

 Fitness: This refers to the an athlete’s ability to perform at the highest

degree.

 Tapering: The systematic manipulation of training variables to bring about

positive training adaptations and peak preparedness at a predetermined
time.

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 SAMPLE PEAKING PROGRAM
Below is a sample 6-week peaking protocol; it’s meant to serve as an example
of variances in volume and intensity over a training cycle and incorporating
a taper for peak performance, not necessarily a template for training itself.
Based upon an athlete’s previous training max and projected meet goal, the
taper is 1.5-2 weeks prior to the competition, with marked decreases in training
volume. Relative intensity remains high if not increased throughout the first 4
weeks of the program.

WEEK 1 WEEK 2 WEEK 3

Load Load Load
Sets x Reps Sets x Reps Sets x Reps
(% of 1RM) (% of 1RM) (% of 1RM)

60% 1x2 70% 1x2 70% 1x2

70% 1x2 75% 1x2 75% 1x2

80% 1x2 80% 1x2 80% 1x1

85% 1x2 85% 1x2 85% 1x1

90% 1x1-2 90% 1x1

93% 1x1

WEEK 4: TAPER WEEK WEEK 5: TAPER WEEK WEEK 6: COMPETITION

Load Load
Sets x Reps Sets x Reps
(% of 1RM) (% of 1RM)

70% 1x1 70-80% 5x1

75% 1x1

80% 1x1

85% 1x1

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 A NOTE TO COACHES
With the basic understandings of periodization, the adaptation process, and
the systematic approach to preparing an athlete’s towards peak performance
in competition, coaches can better ensure recovery and the success of the
teams.

By no means is the above sample program the only way of tapering. It is the
responsibility of the coach to determine what is best for their athletes based
upon further and continuing education and research of scientific literature and
experience.

CONCLUSION
Successful programing always allows for sufficient recovery and a tailor-made
approach to training for every single athlete.

That’s why the methods discussed in this report need to be implemented – so

that you can expect an athlete to perform at maximum potential.

By tapering the program towards the end and strictly focusing on the lifts that
are going to be performed at the meet, the athlete both fine-tunes his body to
lift the weight he wishes to lift and also allows for sufficient rest that will give
his body the chance to perform well at the meet.

This is understandable because during heavy training periods, our bodies are
not capable of performing at 100%. This approach facilitates both specificity in
training and solid recovery.

It’s also important to note that at this stage, active recovery should be taken
seriously to really boost the recovery process between each training sessions
and to prepare the body for serious loads in a competitive environment.

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