Full Body 3X3, 3X6

Bigger Stronger Leaner Christian Thibaudeau Coaching
1

Coach, wanted to see if this still could apply to how an older lifter could lay out a 3-day a week plan….

Day 1
Front Squat 3X3, 3x6

Bench Press 3x3, 3x6

Deadlift 3x3, 3x6

Dead squat Bar Row 4x6

Curl 3x8-12

Day 2
Bench Press 3x3, 3x6

Deadlift 3x3, 3x6

Front Squat 3x3, 3x6

Military Press 4x6

DB Lateral Raises 3x8-12

Day 3
Deadlift 3x3, 3x6

Front Squat 3x3, 3x6

Bench Press 3x3, 3x6

Leg Press or Prowler work 4x6

Band Leg curls 3x8-12

For the first workout use 85% of your 1RM for your sets of 3 reps. If you can complete all 27 reps with 85% (3 sets of 3 = 9 reps, 3 training days = 27 reps/week for each main lift) add 5lbs for the next week (2.5lbs per side for a 5lbs total, not 5lbs per side). If you once again complete all 27 weekly reps, you can go up another 5lbs the 3rd week. IF YOU CANNOT DO 27 REPS stay with the same weight for the next week.

For the sets of 6 go with 20% less than for the sets of 3 (for example if you used 300 x 3 it would mean using 240lbs for your sets of 6 reps)

Or is it just better to chose a rep bracket and use the double progression method throughout?

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That’s quite a bit of squatting, benching, and deadlifting you’ve got there… you able to recover from all that?

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This is an old CT template he put out in the forums as a suggestion to a skinny beginner, so yeah if someone was putting up crazy pounds maybe it’d be too much.

But if you notice really only the sets of 3 are being pushed even somewhat, the sets of 6 are going to be in the 65-70% range, so submaximal.

But to answer your question, I haven’t tried it, I had some of the same questions on volume you have! Lol.

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Wasn’t aware, my mistake.

No worries if we disagree here, but for me at a roughly 500lb Deadlift- I’d be struggling after 9 reps at 420lbs to the roll into another 18 reps at ~345lbs. I suspect you are correct that this is better suited as a beginner template but ill :speak_no_evil: as CT is coaching me at the moment and I’d like to hear his thoughts on this as well =)

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That was indeed for lower level lifters, kinda like starting strength by Rippetoe or Strongest Shall Survive by Bill Starr. But in retrospect, it was too much volume.

I used to be a much higher volume guy than I am now because all the guys I worked with were high-level athletes with a very high work capacity.

To be fair, I still use a workload that is close to that with athletes whom I’ve been working with for a long time and know they can handle the volume. But it’s rare.

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Thanks guys, yeah kinda what I assumed, would it just be better to go with 4 sets in the 4-6 rep bracket double progression style?

Really just wanted to kind of start over with training from the beginning (destroy/rebuild) I’ll be 43 in October so I really only want to commit to 3 days a week( a hard but necessary decision), with already having a physical job.

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The best approach will depend on what is the most iimportant to you. What do you want to get out of your training?

Of course, we all want to get bigger, stronger, leaner and healthier, But I find that it’s best to pick one and focus on it and make the best decisions with that specific goal in mind. Trying to get everything at once, especially as you get older, is a fast track to stagnation or injuries.

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Understood, and I’d say at this moment I’d love to
be stronger, especially in the big basic movement’s.
I don’t feel like I’ve tapped into my potential in those regards.

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what is your pick for the 50+ people ? / healtier is out of a bucket /

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I’m coming out with a 16 weeks periodized program to improve the big lifts on Thibarmy.

But here is the skeleton of the program, from there you can build your own plan.

The periodization is applied to the 4 main lifts (squat, bench, deadlift, military press)

Evaluate your 1RM on the 4 basic lifts before the program. Pick a weight you can get 3-6 reps with and get as many reps as you can. Then plug-in the numbers in the 1RM calculator here:

BLOCK 1 - ACCUMULATION

  • Lift-specific split (squat, bench, deadlift, military)
  • 3 assistance exercises for the main lift of the day
  • 1 “back” exercise per session (squat = rear delts , bench = upper back, deadlift = traps, military = lats)
  • 3-5 sets for each assistance exercise
    WEEK 1
    4 x 8 @ 65%
    WEEK 2
    4 x 10 @ 65%
    WEEK 3
    4 x 12 @ 65%
    WEEK 4
    5 x 10 @ 65%

BLOCK 2 - INTENSIFICATION (STRENGTH-SKILL)

  • Whole-body split 3x per week with the 4 big lifts on each
  • Nothing else on the 3 whole-body days
  • Assistance work on the 4th workout (gap workout) total of 4-6 machine/cable/isolation exercises for key muscles

WEEK 5
Day 1 : 3 x 3 @ 80% (9 reps), Day 2 : 3 x 4 @ 75% (12 reps), Day 3 : 3 x 2 @ 82.5% (6 reps)
WEEK 6
Day 1 : 3 x 4 @ 80% (12 reps), Day 2: 3 x 5 @ 75% (15 reps), Day 3 : 4 x 2 @ 82.5% (8 reps)
WEEK 7
Day 1 : 3 x 5 @ 80% (15 reps), Day 2 : 3 x 6 @ 75% (18 reps), Day 3 : 5 x 2 @ 82.5% (10 reps)
WEEK 8
Day 1 : 3 x 3 @ 82.5% (9 reps), Day 2 : 3 x 4 @ 77.5% (12 reps), Day 3 : 3 x 2 @ 85% (6 reps)
WEEK 9
Day 1 : 3 x 4 @ 82.5% (12 reps), Day 2 : 3 x 5 @ 77.5% (15 reps), Day 3 : 4 x 2 @ 85% (8 reps)
WEEK 10
Day 1 : 3 x 5 @ 82.5% (15 reps), Day 2 : 3 x 6 @ 77.5% (18 reps), Day 3 : 5 x 2 @ 85% (10 reps)
WEEK 11
Day 1 : 3 x 3 @ 85% (9 reps), Day 2 : 3 x 4 @ 75% (12 reps), Day 3: 3 x 2 @ 87.5% (6 reps)
WEEK 12
Day 1 : 3 x 4 @ 85% (12 reps), Day 2 : 3 x 5 @ 75% (15 reps), Day 3: 4 x 2 @ 87.5% (8 reps)
WEEK 13
Day 1 : 3 x 5 @ 85% (15 reps), Day 2 : 3 x 6 @ 75% (18 reps), Day 3 : 5 x 2 @ 87.5% (10 reps)

BLOCK 3 - REALIZATION

  • Lift-specific split
  • I suggest minimizing assistance work. Something like 1 overload (partial range) and 1 more targeted exercise

WEEK 14
1 x 5 @ 80%, 1 x 3 @ 85%, 1 x 1 @ 90%, 1 x max reps @ 90%
WEEK 15
1 x 5 @ 80%, 1 x 3 @ 85%, 1 x 1 @ 90%, 1 x max reps @ 92.5%
WEEK 16
1 x 5 @ 80%, 1 x 3 @ 85%, 1 x 1 @ 90%, 1 x max reps @ 95%
WEEK 17
Test maxes

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Coach, this is amazing, thank you so much for the time. I was actually re-reading your “The best way to get strong” article and was going to put something together, but this is awesome, can’t wait to give it a go!

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Just added a small recommendation for the realisation phase

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Got it! One quick question, in the accumulation phase, the 3 assistance movements for the main lift, should 1 be a multi-joint lift and the other two isolation movements?

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Hi Christian,

Is the rep progression model in the accumulation block meant for the main lift or the assistance exercises?

Going from 65% to 80% from one block to the next is a big jump, hence the question.

Another great example of your generosity and teaching skills here.

Being able to look into these examples of how you periodize for strength, fatloss and hypertrophy really help to get a full picture of how to put the theory into action and adjust based on individual profiles and progress.

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It’s mentioned in the post… “The periodization is applied to the 4 main lifts (squat, bench, deadlift, military press)”… by periodization I mean the planned progression mentioned below.

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Not really. Because:

  1. The work with 80% is strength-skill work, so it is fairly “easy” non-maximal work. Even though it is 80% the reps are very manageable at that load, especially in the first weeks. 3 reps at 80% gives you 3-4 reps in reserve.

  2. YES the feeling of the load might be a large increase from 65% to 80%. But 3 reps at 80% is still “easy” compared to your maximal physical capacities. And even though you trained with 65% weights for 4 weeks it doesn’t mean that you got weaker, quite the contrary. 12 reps at 65% is much much harder than 3 reps at 80%. Will the 80% weight feel heavier in contrast to what you did the weak prior? Maybe, but the sets will still be easy. After 2 sessions you will be fully accustomed to the loads. I have several people on this plan, it is NOT a hypothetical progression. None of them have reported that the transition was hard, quite the contrary.

17

To be honest I simply looked at the jump in percentages, not taking the RIR into consideration.

Your explanation is crystal clear, I should’ve taken the time to figure that out myself. I admit that these logical details can sometimes elude me.

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I missed that, my apologies.

19

That’s an honest mistake because at first glance it looks like a linear progression, but it isn’t. Each block uses a specific approach to building strength:

Block 1: Hypertrophy
Block 2: Strength-skill
Block 3: Maximal/near-maximal effort

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Can I ask why you start out at 65% for 4 x 8 in the first week of block I?

Since Block 1 is oriented towards hypertrophy, are you using the main lift to build work capacity and technical efficiency and the assistance work to accumulate enough effective reps?

I appreciate the input BTW.