Help Build a Program Around These Lifts

Training
1

Hi all,

Relative beginner here, looking for some suggestions on how to program. I know there are TONS of great programs on here, and I’ve used templates from CT and Wendler before, but nothing really “fit” right. I don’t really want to be a PL’er, nor a BB’er, just want to improve my sports performance and look good naked. Currently I’m 6’2", 190 lbs, pretty lean with a deadlift build (squat sucks, but I’m working on it). Current lifts are 140 Press, 225 Bench, 265 Squat, 405 Dead.

I play sports 3x a week (Sun, Tues, Thurs), leaving M, W, F, and Sat for lifting. It’s softball season, so the game days aren’t super taxing, kinda figured I’d use them like active recovery days. I’ve had good success with push/pull, push/pull/legs, and full body training in the past, and I am hoping to find a way to put my favorite lifts (below) together in a logical way.

Definitely include:
Squat (olympic), front squat, deadlift, OHP, Clean, Chins/Rows, low-back work.

Nice to have:
Clean&Jerk, Snatch (power/muscle), High Pull, RDLs, Push Press, Lat raises, Calves/Arms/Core work (beach stuff), grip/carries.

Things I could do without:
Single-leg/isolation work, Bench work + Dips (aggravate my shoulders).

For conditioning, I love to do sprints and jumps, as well as working in KB circuits. This usually has it’s own day, 1-2x a week.

It seems like I should probably have 1 day of NOTHING, so that leaves me 3 days to train/lift. I figured that the best “bang for my buck” here would be to do 3 full-body sessions, so that I’m hitting all muscles more than 1x a week (like I would on a push/pull/legs split). So, without getting into rep ranges and stuff, here is what I was thinking:

Mon:
Oly Squat, OHP/Push Press, Lat Raises, low-back work, facepulls/upper back work.

Weds:
Deadlift, Snatch, RDLs, High Pulls, Chins, Grip work/carries.

Fri:
Front Squat, Clean/C+J, Row variation, facepulls/upper back work, Beach day.

Fitting in conditioning with all of that feels like 10 lbs of shit in a 5 lb bag, so I am asking for any help in suggestions on how to improve. I left out bench work and dips, as they can aggravate pre-existing shoulder injuries sometimes, though DB benching is fine.

Thanks for any tips.

2

Have you exhausted a linear progression yet? Just out of curiosity. I’m no expert so I’m not gonna try and write up some magical program I pulled out of my ass. There are much more knowledgable guys on here that will prlly pop in pretty soon.

However I do have 2 suggestions. 1- wendlers program is pretty flexible, as long as you adhere to the core concepts. Also theres a 3 day variation of 5/3/1. Texas method is also a good one but may be a little intense for your non specific goals and playing other sports. Plenty of other great programs as well. 2- as long as there’s nothing glaringly wrong with your program maybe you should try one you make yourself.

Run it by people on here (like you’ve done already) and what’s the worst that could happen (assuming good form, etc)? You’re goals don’t sound too specific and you seem to have a solid base. Just my 2 cents

3

Thanks bNc. I never ran SS or anything after coming back from my last layoff (surgery, then work scheduling). I’ve run 5/3/1 in the past, but I never really “clicked” with it. I love the no-nonsense approach to it from a strength perspective, as well as the periodization and flexibility that all of Jim’s templates offer, but the problems that I had with the templates were:

  1. I am a bit of a volume whore, and even using FSL and/or BBB, I often didn’t feel like I was really doing enough. Granted, that was a while ago when I was moving less weight (not that my weights now are good!), but that was my feeling. Additionally, the variety of exercises was a bit lower than I’d prefer, leading me to #2…

  2. Even with the new templates in Beyond, 5/3/1 didn’t really cater to the lifts that I enjoy. I could work in front squats and cleans, but I really just don’t care about benching and would prefer to do Oly lift variants over bench work. I guess I could try and draw up a 5/3/1 program that replaces bench with snatch or C&J or something, though.

4

[quote]Apothecary wrote:
Thanks bNc. I never ran SS or anything after coming back from my last layoff (surgery, then work scheduling). I’ve run 5/3/1 in the past, but I never really “clicked” with it. I love the no-nonsense approach to it from a strength perspective, as well as the periodization and flexibility that all of Jim’s templates offer, but the problems that I had with the templates were:

  1. I am a bit of a volume whore, and even using FSL and/or BBB, I often didn’t feel like I was really doing enough. Granted, that was a while ago when I was moving less weight (not that my weights now are good!), but that was my feeling. Additionally, the variety of exercises was a bit lower than I’d prefer, leading me to #2…

  2. Even with the new templates in Beyond, 5/3/1 didn’t really cater to the lifts that I enjoy. I could work in front squats and cleans, but I really just don’t care about benching and would prefer to do Oly lift variants over bench work. I guess I could try and draw up a 5/3/1 program that replaces bench with snatch or C&J or something, though. [/quote]

I wasn’t trying to forcing a program on you, just stating there are options. By the program you wrote up I can tell your def a volume whore haha. My biggest critiques of that is there is too much volume. That may have worked when the weights are lower, but once it gets heavier you will eventually get burned out or hurt yourself, trust me. You have a lot of lifts you want to do, which is fine.

However, they don’t all have to be done in the same cycle. For example RDL’s don’t need to be done after Deadlifts, or even on deadlift day. You may want to work them in after high bar or front squatting, or you may just want to alternate them with deadlifts over a period of time. These are just examples of how you can do a decent variety of lifts, but all at the same time may not be the best option.

Also you stated you wanted to do a full body routine, but the one you posted looked a lot more like a push pull split. Nothing wrong with a push pull split, but it would have to alternate on an A/B rotation format. You basically have to push days and one pull day each week.

If I were you I would pick a major lift to focus on each day. Then ONLY add assistance work if it addresses a weaknesses such as a muscular imbalance or form issue. When you start doing full body workouts you by nature will have to use less volume.

5

I bite my tongue on the A/B rotation. Unless you were gonna do a linear progression that would be a bit much for your heavier lifts. However, I stand by my statement of a bit more balance. You’re wednesday is all pulling.

6

Good catch on the Weds programming, oops. I love pulling, and I guess it shows.

I get what you’re saying about swapping in and out exercises after some time, as a way to NOT overload each session. Would something like this be a good “starting point”?

1 Quad dominant move (squat variant)
1 Ham/glute dominant move (deadlift variant)
1-2 Push moves (vert and/or horizontal pressing)
1-2 Pull moves (different planes, again)
1 Core move (lower back or abs, etc)

So, on average, 5-7 exercises per session, probably in a 5x5, 3x8 or similar volume load. No problem dropping assistance like arms/calves if it allows me more big compounds.

7

[quote]Apothecary wrote:
Good catch on the Weds programming, oops. I love pulling, and I guess it shows.

I get what you’re saying about swapping in and out exercises after some time, as a way to NOT overload each session. Would something like this be a good “starting point”?

1 Quad dominant move (squat variant)
1 Ham/glute dominant move (deadlift variant)
1-2 Push moves (vert and/or horizontal pressing)
1-2 Pull moves (different planes, again)
1 Core move (lower back or abs, etc)

So, on average, 5-7 exercises per session, probably in a 5x5, 3x8 or similar volume load. No problem dropping assistance like arms/calves if it allows me more big compounds. [/quote]

Nope, 5-7 compound lifts in one session would probably be too taxing. I mean make sure you hit those 5-7 compound exercises over the course of a week. Focus on one or two each session to go heavy in, then make one or two an assistance with higher reps.

For example:

Monday:
Squat 3x5
Push Press 3x5
RDL 3x8

Wednesday:
Snatch 5x3
Horizontal Press 3x5 (if you can’t B.P. maybe a neutral grip D.B. bench)
Horizontal pull 3x8-12

Friday:
Deadlift 1x5 (work up to 1 heavy set of 5)
Press (1x5)
Chin Ups
Farmers Walk

May not be the best program in the world, might not even be that good. Just an example of what I mean. Notice how it covers all the basic movements over the course of the week.