With all of my 2023 goals accomplished and a few lingering aches and pains, it was time for well thought out maintenance training block. I have not done this purposely before, but I feel like I will be using these more than traditional deloads.
One thing I have always hated is standing still. Not pushing forwards towards a goal. I train really hard, so without a goal, what's the point...
The point of a good maintenance block is to allow your body and your mind to get to a place for when it's time to push yourself. At least, that's what I told myself entering this month of training.
Usually when I am not feeling my best I'll just work around the issue from session to session. The other option is taking a deload week. At my age these times have increased and I feel like it's becoming counterproductive.
Also, the science is murky on whether deloads are even necessary. When things were running well I always hated throwing in a deload because I thought I had to.
The plan for this maintenance block was to cut my volume. I kept each bodypart to no more than six sets. I hit each bodypart two times a week. So that was only three sets per sesssion. I kept rest between sets a minimum of three minutes and I never went past eight for RPE.
During this time I have very much been dialing in my form. Good full range to the best of my ability. A thoughtful eccentric then to a strong concentric into full contractions at the top of pretty much every lift.
For conditioning I walked and took easy hikes. Each session was around an hour. No runs, airdyne, sprints, rucks, etc.
I focused a lot on recovery. Cold showers, plunges, long durations in the hot tub, foam rolling, mobility work. I made sure to get extra sleep as well.
The only thing I would do differently is not be in a calorie deficit. I have a ski trip coming up that I have missed for the last four years due to family issues, covid lockdowns, etc. I want to be able to enjoy myself so I figured I'd strip a few more lbs off before I go to mitigate any eating damage.
I don't think there were any negative effects from the calorie deficit, but I'm sure my body would have rathered maintenance calories during this recharge.
The results of all of this, I feel f@cking great! Since retiring serious competing I have had various training blocks of strength, hypertrophy, and conditioning, but I have never tried a block like this.
Perhaps I won't even call it a Maintenance Block anymore. A Wellness Block has a much more positive connotation to it. What I thought was going to be maintenace turned out to be so much more.
