http://www.allthingsgym.com/2013/01/mikhail-koklyaev-interview-on-olympics-breaking-plateaus-and-recovery-from-inflamed-elbows/
Summary by
Paul Carter:
"Koklyaev says I'm right, and well, that pretty much settles it.
For you people that spent time arguing with me about doing maxes and training above 90%.......
Someone sent me this interview and well, it pretty much mirrors what
I've been writing for a while now, and had to argue with people about.
If you want to get strong as fuck, check your ego at the door, lower
your percentages, and do a lot of work. Stop "maxing in the gym". It's
dumb, it's bullshit, and it works far less effectively than lower
intensity (% of 1RM) training.
Here's the meat and potatoes of it.........
Koklyaev - "The best method to change your plan is (and it works 100%
of the time) – to cut intensity (as in weights on the bar) to around
60-70% and work on volume – reps and sets.
Forget about PRs,
forget about shit like “I deadlifted 300kg today, and i am going to
deadlift 350kg in half a year following this plan”, forget it.
Just cut your weights, stop going for 1RM once or twice a month. If you
have a plateau, then you can say that you’re in the pit.
It
takes a lot time to escape from there, and actually I am in the same
place right now. Before the Worlds championships 2012 I was in the best
shape, but then at some moment I forgot the need to stop and as a result
I didn’t even get to a final during World championships.
So, to escape a pit of plateau you gonna do volume. Relatively little weights, and more reps. That’s it."
And don’t be afraid of your upcoming meets, lower your weights
nonetheless. And increasing your mega-vitamin doses and supplements
won’t work until you change your plan. Sometimes you should just forget
[your ego] and work like a robot with little weights for volume
Soon it will be time when your body will tell you when you’re ready for
PRs. You will walk across the gym and see a 320 kg barbell on the floor
(and your previous PR was 300kg), and you will know intuitively that
you can lift it, when you’re ready."
