Higher Weight in Training Doesn't Mean You Are Improving
Hitting big weights in training all the time is great, but it is not necessarily effective. Training is used as a tool to get you ready to hit better numbers in competition. Is it cool to hit a huge number in training? Yes. Are you improving your technique going heavy all the time in training? Nine times out of ten, no, you are not improving technique. You do not have to hit big numbers in training to hit big numbers in a competition.
At Garage Strength, we do not use percentages, we use something called the Parabolic Periodization. In Parabolic Periodization, we use a method called Auto-Regulation which is basically when you determine how high of go by how they feel during warm-ups and when they start lifting. If you would like to learn more about this, you can check out our Weightlifting University course on Programming. This allows the athlete to go heavier on the days they feel really good and not as heavy on days that they feel like crap.
Percentages are still useful in Olympic weightlifting. The percentages where you make the most technical gains are 65-80%. Which makes sense because it is heavy enough for you to control the weights and your body, but it isn’t too heavy where you cannot focus on technique. This is the range we stay in with our athletes lighter days. Here is a small table of how we view percentages:
Percentage
How They Are Used
50-65%
Very light weights, mainly warm-ups
65-80%
Most used range, great for technique
80-95%
Heavy, used before competitions to peak
95%+
Competition, or maxing out in training
So, as you can see in the table, we rarely use high percentages when making a technical improvement program. During a peak, the program is when you will be going heavier than normal and that is mainly so you can start to feel the heavier weights and get mentally ready for the competition. Heavier weights are great for Instagram, but consistency and technique are more important for improvement.
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