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I am confused and I need help.  I train for three months hard without stopping or resting (also called coach Pendlays hell training)  and for some reason I come into training everyday feeling pretty good and lifting big weights daily.    
     But right when we get close to a meet we start to back off the training aka (tappering)  we turn down the volume, throw some squats out, basicly we start resting the body for the big meet.   so hear is my question, why in the world do I always feel more sore, I move slower,  and the weight feels a little heavier in tapper week?????????????     now this always happens and then I go into a meet and feel like king kong,  so I know whatever coach is doing works, but what the hell!!   lol      does any other weightlifter go through this as well?  any help on why my body kinda shuts down?

My belief is that this is finally the time your body is taking to recover/heal up. Throughout those 3 months of hell training your body never really fully starts to repair/recover. It just does enough to get by because you are constantly putting heavy loads on it. Once you aren’t straining enough and life is a little bit easier for a week- your body realizes it is time to repair itself and starts to do so. This can zap your energy and make you feel weaker as well as it depletes all your nutrients.

very interesting, this makes a lot of sense, thank you for your response.  my next question is what do you think about not taking a tapper week or resting even before a meet, why not just train hard right up to a meet then?   This is just another reason why I htink recovery is so over rated, I dont even think you need to test before a meet!     what are your thoughts??

Jon your body feels like shit when you first start tappering because during the 3months of heavy volume training your body has adapted to the training and your body is producing the right amount of testostorone needed for it. When you take out the volume ur body doesnt produce as much as fast cuz u dont need it but slowly builds it up but ur not depleting it. So during the meet ur at 100percent. Something like that

i dont think we need to tapper every meet. but a couple times a yr i think is needed to let our bodies recover so we can get ready for the next trainin cycle

Obviously it works!
 
jons quote
 
“now this always happens and then I go into a meet and feel like king kong,  so I know whatever coach is doing works, but what the hell!!   “ 
 
I Jesterno (MIke) has the right idea.. 
  
 
“My belief is that this is finally the time your body is taking to recover/heal up. Throughout those 3 months of hell training your body never really fully starts to repair/recover. It just does enough to get by because you are constantly putting heavy loads on it. Once you aren’t straining enough and life is a little bit easier for a week- your body realizes it is time to repair itself and starts to do so. This can zap your energy and make you feel weaker as well as it depletes all your nutrients. “
 

I wonder what would happen if you guys tappered more through out the year?  WOuld you come back teice as strong and make bigger lifts each time?

probably not. the tapering portion is basically recovery time to gear up for a meet or competition, but the real gains are made during the brutal training periods. that’s when the body is undergoing all the hormonal changes.

maybe I should tapper all year and never train hard again, that would be the life!!! 

 
I think you are wrong. You do need to recover and you do need to rest. To think otherwise is wrong. You are wrong.

In all seriousness Jon, I really think find tapering to help. You just have to perfect it, though. That is a lot up to your coach and your own body. It might take a few years to really figure it out

Recovery is sooo important to repair muscles and aid in growth/strength… It sounds crazy and a waste of good workout time but your body needs that rest and shock. (unless someone takes steriods) which is NOT recommend
 
I never believed it until i used my vacations as recovery time… When i came home from vacation i was stronger and looked better… This would confuse the hell out of me but made me realize our body needs recovery/tapering.
 
 

Elite level athletes must force their bodies to adapt and to push it farther than normal. If you always take a break once you feel sore you will never adapt to the training. And the training is always getting harder, so you need to push yourself through those times. That is how you get stronger and can handle more volume.

maybe  elite athletes are different..
 
BUT……….. i just got back from my honeymoon.. before then i was dieting and eating super cleans and training hard..
 
I dindt workout out for 2 weeks ate soooooooo much and drank EVERYTHING!! every frozen fruity drink you could think of and finished it off with wine and LOTS of food..
 
guess what! i lost 2 lb!! my body just needed a rest from dieting and training.. i went to the gym today ten times stonger then i was before i left.. try to explain that mike??

That is pretty amazing llulko. It is so weird how the body works like that, sometimes it truly is unpredictable!

hah yeah.. well i have been on my wine, pita chips and chesse streak for the past month in half on the weekends and its not doing me justice,,, i guess a 1-2 week break works for me.!!! boooooooooo i just want to enjoy my wine but my body does not handke it well..

Sometimes it is just best to accept that your body will do what it wants! Well, to a certain extent.