Powerlifting numbers through a loss phase

Started 10 August 2025 · 16 replies · 157 hearts · read 1.3k times

BronLincoln, UK · 10 August 2025

11 months ago

Starting a thread on this because it keeps coming up in ones and twos: Powerlifting numbers through a loss phase

Anyone else navigating this? I feel as though every piece of advice I read was written for someone with a completely different week.

This is the boring administrative kind of problem, which I gather is the kind that actually gets solved when you ask.

The arrangements are the hard bit for me. Nothing medical has been difficult; the organising has been relentless.

I would like to know what other people say when asked, because my current answer is too long and invites more questions.

Thank you. This circle has solved four practical problems for me already and I am hoping for a fifth.

LenaMunich, DE

What surprised me was how much better my joints felt, which had nothing to do with anything I was aiming at.

TabbyMargate, UK

The competition side needed a proper conversation with somebody who understood both, and finding that person took a while.

11me too 6

RenFacilitatorBristol, UK

Facilitator note: nothing in this circle is medical advice and the practical arrangements still need agreeing with whoever prescribes for you.

OndineLausanne, CH

My experience is that this is entirely compatible with serious training and requires deliberate attention to fuelling.

ClémenceNantes, FR

Nothing useful, just that I have been exactly here.

7me too 1

BoWhitby, UK

Ondine — yes, and the bit that took me longest to accept was the next part.

Somebody in this circle said that grip strength is the most honest measure and I have tracked mine ever since.

BodilÅlesund, NO

My rest days matter more than they used to and I have stopped treating them as optional.

NolanHalifax, CA

What I found is that the first six weeks were the worst for performance and that everything after that has been ordinary.

BertrandToulouse, FR

Bo has already said most of this and I want to add the one part that was different for me.

I found the early weeks difficult for training because of the tiredness, and going lighter for a month was the sensible call.

RunaAarhus, DK

#10

My honest report is that my strength has been maintained across two years, and it was not automatic, and lifting was the reason.

HarriSwansea, UK

#11

I keep a very simple training log alongside everything else and the two together tell me more than either does alone.

RinManchester, UK

#12

Something practical: I have a shake ready for after training because on a low-appetite day I will not eat and I will drink.

RufusGuildford, UK

#13

Rin — yes, and the bit that took me longest to accept was the next part.

The thing I underestimated was hydration. My requirements changed and I noticed it in the gym before anywhere else.

NoleneDurban, ZA

#14

The advice I got that helped most was to prioritise consistency over intensity for the first three months, and it was correct.

10me too 9

RenFacilitatorBristol, UK

#15

Speaking as a facilitator: nobody owes anybody at their own table an explanation, and this circle will keep saying so as often as it needs to.

13me too 8

TacitaRome, IT

#16

My coach and my prescriber have never spoken and I have relayed everything, and I would do that differently if I started again.