Pivot power!

Connecting one training block to another can be hard work. Fatigue can often catch up on us, with deload weeks offering either too little or too much respite. Too much time off with little direction can undo the good progress made in previous blocks, while little or no reduction in fatigue can cut following blocks off before any real progress is made!

*Pivot block has entered the chat*

A pivot block is far more than a simple deload. No, a pivot block is one of the most dynamic and potentially effective parts of a training program in facilitating long term progress. Their implementation stretches far beyond fatigue reduction, and in this article I will discuss the objectives and tactics of pivot blocks.

One of the great things about a pivot block is it’s versatility. Everything in it can vary with the athletes goal and previous exposure to training. 

Fatigue management:

Fatigue reduction is the domain in which pivot blocks are very closely related to deloads. It is one of the primary reasons pivot blocks are implemented, and hinges almost entirely on the reduction of training volume, most likely the main contributing factor in fatigue accumulation.

During this reduction in training volume, a certain level of intensity (e.g weight on the bar as proxy) can and should be maintained, in order to retain as much strength as possible. One of the most common programming fallacies during intra block training is prescribing too little work, achieving one goal of a pivot (fatigue reduction) while missing another one (strength retention) by a country mile. As both a lifter and a coach, there is no worse feeling than undoing progress from a previous block, essentially playing catch up in the subsequent block. 

Reducing total training volume can be achieved by simply reducing the total number of hard sets on a week to week, or even day to day basis. The scale of the reduction depends entirely on the athlete and hinges on the discretion and experience of the coach. The amount of fatigue accumulated during a training block will vary person to person and even block to block. My general recommendation for block to pivot ratio is 3:1, i.e for every 3 weeks (or exposures) of a training block, 1 week (or exposure) of a pivot block is added.

When altering training variables such as training volume during a pivot, special care must be taken to maintain a certain level of strength and preparedness for the blocks to come. This balance can be quite difficult to find.

Strength retention

Balancing strength retention and fatigue reduction is one of the most challenging parts of designing pivot blocks. On one hand you risk doing too little and regressing more than is necessary, playing catch up in the training block (or blocks) that follow. On the other hand, you risk doing too much, effectively ending the next blocks progress before it starts, potentially skewing data accumulation, the golden goose of modern powerlifting programming. This is all a part of following the trail of athlete response, continuing to develop the coach athlete relationship over time and identifying trends in performance to fine tune the training process (a never ending pursuit). You will make mistakes.

Limited exposure to lower volume, higher intensity training during a pivot can help maintain preparedness and strength over the course of a pivot block. Executing competition style sets and singles in the 6-7.5 rpe range are common methods used to preserve competition skills and “grease the groove”. Adding in tempo work such as slow eccentrics and pauses also allow for simultaneous skill practice (with tempo being the sole separating factor between it and full comp style) and fatigue management.

Desensitization

Repeated exposure to a training stimulus leads to a peaked condition, a point after which you will experience diminishing returns to identical (or even very similar) training stimuli. At Odyssey strength, finding an athlete's time to peak (TTP) is one of the main tasks we tackle with new clients. Finding the number of exposures to a training stimulus necessary to reach a peaked condition, after which point repeated exposure lends diminishing returns. Another goal of a pivot block is to alter the training stimulus to reduce or remove the repeated bout effect that leads to diminishing returns on strength gains. This can be done many ways, and injects fun and creativity into a pivot block. Common pathways of desensitizing an athlete to a training stimulus includes altering training frequency, variations used in the previous block, intensity, rep scheme and tempo.

Dissipating mental fatigue

Let me be clear in saying that I am completely and utterly biased towards hyper specific training (where possible, given an athlete’s overall fitness and muscular development isn’t a barrier to progress). Variations of the powerlifts for my athletes stay as close to competition style as possible, ensuring that they are separate enough to be considered a separate training stimulus to avoid an early peak. With that being said, I still find weeks upon weeks of very specific training to be mentally draining, especially in the absence of a competition to prep for. It's not uncommon for this type of training (or training of any measure of specificity) to be mentally taxing on a lifter, leading to decreased adherence and buy-in over time. 

A pivot block is an opportunity to dissipate built up mental fatigue by adding in less specific training, potentially even targeting neglected muscles, energy systems and movement patterns. This type of training can be both mentally and physically rewarding, as previously mentioned in desensitizing an athlete to a training stimulus. Pivot blocks can add some flavour to otherwise monotonous training mesocycles composed of blocks upon blocks of hard, heavy training.

Wrapping it up

As we’ve seen, there are many factors in play during the prescription of pivot blocks. Each factor to be considered exists on a pendulum that depends on the coach/athlete relationship. Swing too far one way or the other and the efficacy of the block can be greatly reduced. Don’t worry, this uncertainty is nothing new to coaching. 

Many of the decisions we make depends on the individual we’re dealing with. As mentioned earlier, data accumulation is the golden goose of modern powerlifting coaches. We are constantly striving to improve the signal to noise ratio, to find some certainty in a sea of uncertainty and to reduce our dependence on commonly held assumptions. This is constant trial and error with open and honest communication, the ultimate goal being the construction of a training paradigm that your client can thrive on.