Gains in the Shadows: Why the Offseason is Your Secret Weapon
When it comes to strength sports, most athletes focus on competition prep, hitting PRs, and peaking at the right time. But what many lifters overlook is that the biggest gains are made in the offseason. The offseason is where real progress happens, allowing strength athletes to build muscle, improve weak points, and develop the foundational strength needed for bigger lifts. By stepping away from the core competition lifts and incorporating variations, volume, and hypertrophy-based training, athletes can set themselves up for long-term success.
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What is an Offseason?
The offseason is a structured period of training that occurs outside of competition prep. For powerlifters, strongmen, and weightlifters, this phase serves as a time to focus on building muscle mass, developing work capacity, and addressing muscular imbalances. Unlike peaking phases, where the goal is to maximize performance on the main competition lifts, the offseason is all about accumulating fatigue to stimulate muscle growth and overall development.
During this time, lifters reduce the intensity of their main lifts, focus on variations of their competition lifts like the squat, bench, and deadlift, and incorporate different forms of resistance training to create muscular stress in new ways. This means higher reps, slower tempos, and a greater emphasis on time under tension—all of which contribute to greater hypertrophy.
Do Strength Athletes Even Have an Offseason?
Unlike traditional sports that have clear offseason and in-season phases, strength sports don’t have a fixed competitive schedule. Some strength athletes compete multiple times a year, while others only peak for one or two meets.
That said, all strength athletes need an offseason—regardless of when they compete. Without a dedicated offseason phase, lifters risk stagnation, overuse injuries, and burnout. Many elite lifters strategically plan their year around phases of hypertrophy, strength, and power to ensure they continue progressing without breaking down.
Understanding the Phases of Training
Hypertrophy Phase
The hypertrophy phase is the backbone of the offseason. This is where athletes focus on building muscle size through higher-volume training. The key characteristics of this phase include:
Reps and Sets: Typically 6-10 reps per set, with 3-5 sets per exercise.
Time Under Tension: Slower eccentrics and controlled tempos to maximize muscle stress.
Exercise Selection: A mix of compound movements and accessory work to target weak points.
This phase is essential because more muscle mass allows an athlete to generate more force when transitioning back to heavy lifting.
Strength Phase
After building a solid base of muscle, athletes transition to a strength phase. The goal here is to increase neuromuscular efficiency and reinforce movement patterns for heavy lifting. This phase includes:
Reps and Sets: Typically 3-5 reps per set, with 3-6 sets per exercise.
Intensity: Higher weight, working around 75-85% of one-rep max.
Exercise Selection: More specific compound lifts, with a focus on technical execution.
Rest Periods: Longer rest (2-3 minutes) to allow for maximum force output.
This phase bridges the gap between offseason hypertrophy and the peak strength required for competition.
Power Phase
The power phase is where athletes refine their ability to produce force rapidly. This phase is typically lower in volume but higher in intensity, focusing on maximal force production. Key elements include:
Reps and Sets: 1-3 reps per set, with 3-6 sets per movement.
Intensity: 85-95% of one-rep max.
Speed and Velocity: Focus on explosive movements like Olympic lifts, jumps, and dynamic effort lifts.
Rest Periods: Longer rest (3-5 minutes) for full recovery between sets.
This phase is where competition lifts start coming back into the program with a focus on perfecting technique and maximizing performance.
What Does a Strength Athlete’s Offseason Look Like?
For this example, let’s look at a Strongman athlete’s offseason. A well-structured offseason program might look something like this:
Front Squats 2x8 at RPE8 with 180 seconds of rest
Farmer Attachment Deadlifts 2x10 at RPE8 with 180 seconds of rest
Farmer Walk to FAILURE 3 sets with 80% of their 2x10 weight with 120 seconds of rest
Seated Cable Row with Wide Grip 5x12 reps and 90 second rest
Kneeling Band Resisted Glute Extension 3x20 reps at 60 seconds rest
By following this structured approach, strength athletes can ensure they maximize gains during the offseason and enter competition prep stronger than ever.
How Can We Make You Stronger?
As an online coach, I’ve worked with lifters at every stage of their journey. Whether you’re chasing your first pull-up or trying to break a plateau in your squat, I’ve helped people just like you succeed by focusing on:
Structured, personalized programming.
Weekly check-ins to ensure accountability.
Accessory work to strengthen weak points.
Through my coaching, ebooks, and online community, you’ll have the tools and support you need to make 2025 the year you crush your goals.
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Strength isn’t just about lifting heavier weights. It’s about resilience, consistency, and intentionality. Let’s make 2025 the year you redefine what you’re capable of. Let’s train with purpose. Let’s build your best self.
Conclusion
The offseason is a critical time for strength athletes. By focusing on hypertrophy, building muscle, and strategically progressing through different training phases, lifters set themselves up for long-term success. Ignoring the offseason or skipping hypertrophy work in favor of year-round heavy lifting can lead to plateaus, stagnation, and injury.
A well-planned offseason should prioritize volume, time under tension, and variation to create the stimulus necessary for muscle growth. Then, as the offseason transitions into competition prep, strength and power phases ensure that all of that new muscle can be used effectively under heavy loads.
If you’re serious about getting stronger, don’t neglect your offseason. Train smart, build muscle, and watch your competition numbers skyrocket when the time comes to peak for your next big lift.