Hey, I wanted to see if you guys that know way more than me about this can help me to program myself (I know the basics, I’ve read programmingtowin and rippetoe’s programming books) or to find a program that meets my goals.
My lifts are (all in KG) BP: 100 S: 100 (started squatting a little time ago bc of knee injury) DL: 130 (i felt I could have done more, but this is the max I’ve pulled)
I want to be squatting 4x week, benching 3x week and deadlifting 2x week (maybe 1 speed day?), If squatting 4x week is undoable I can do 3. I can hit the gym as many days I needed, I want to do it at least 4x week, as i’m a novice I dont want to run 5/3/1, i prefer to stick to faster LP and save wendler’s for later. thanks all
Don’t test maxes, just choose a linear progression program and stick with it. What @mikey1871 posted in another thread would work if you don’t like the typical programs. Most LP programs like SS or Stronglifts have OHP as a main lift, I don’t think that’s necessarily the best idea but it doesn’t mean you can’t do OHP at all. I would use it as an assistance lift for higher reps.
Day 1: Squat, Spoto Press
Day 2: Deadlift, Close Grip Bench, Speed Squat
Day 3: Pause Squat, OHP
Day 4: Bench, SLDL or deficit deadlift, Beltless Squat
3-5 sets of 3-5 on the first movement (leave a rep or two in the tank)
4-6 sets of 4-7 on the second/third set (leave two or three reps in the tank - except speed squats)
I’d probably do an 8 day week or do day 3 and 4 back to back - you may want to play with where the speed squat is (i.e. make day 3 a light day but then day 2 is a bitch haha).
Some rows/other assistance can go on the 2 movement days
I like it but I dont know how could I recover, that was the main issue when I tried to do it myself, another thing is lower back recovery from dl’s to squats, that sucks.
What do you think about this? DAY 1: DEADLIFT 1X3 90% 1RM
BARBELL ROW 3X5
HYPEREXTENSIONS 3X8 DAY 2: BENCH PRESS 3X3 85% 1RM
CGBP 3X5
BOARD PRESS 3X6 DAY 3: SQUAT 3X5 80% 1RM (DAY 6 + 2.5 KG)
BOX SQUAT (WITH A BENCH) 3X5
LEG EXTENSIONS 2X15 DAY 4:
REST DAY 5: PAUSED BENCH 3X5 60% 1RM SQUAT PAUSED 3x5 60% 1RM SPEED DEADLIFT 3X10 55% 1RM DAY 6:
REST DAY 7: SQUAT 3X3 DAY 1 + 2.5 KG BENCH 3X3 DAY 1 + 2.5 KG DAY 8: REST
Do not attempt to write your own program at this point or you will live to regret it. Some of the percentages you have are too high, there is no room to progress and you will probably fail lifts the first week. There is also no reason for a novice to train five days a week. You can do a full body variation of 5/3/1 (I recommend doing 5’s progression on the main lifts so you avoid grinding out ugly reps and learning shit technique) or an existing linear progression program.
Because my squat sucks and I think Ill be able to handle such a frequency at least for some weeks till it reaches my other big lifts, bench 3x week because I just ended smolov jr for it (i know its not optimal for someone of my level, but we did it with a friend because we wanted to try something new and why not…) and deadlift 2x week because I can basically, I know i can recover from it and it seems like a waste of time doing it 1x week only.
Im not trying to write my own program, I’m just trying to figure it out with your help so I can do something I enojy and its beneficial, I know I can do a full body version of a lot of programs but I simply dont like training that way, I dont enjoy hitting the gym when I do it, and splitting my workouts on more days makes it so much more enojyable for me, about the percentages, what would you recommend?
Who came up with the program you posted? It’s certainly someone you would do well not to take advice from.
OK, but the program you posted had full body days in it. Why did you consider using that program? If you don’t want to train full body then a 4 day upper/lower split is the way to go. If you want something coherent then look at 5/3/1. Otherwise hire a coach.
You and your friend need to seek guidance in life.
It has full body days but its splitted on a lot of days so volume is low and frequency is high. If you dont care, I would love if you could give me a recommendation, what upper lower do you recommend?
5/3/1, 5’s progression, opposite first set last. My preference would be to only do OHP on the main OHP day and do some additional benching on bench day, perhaps close grip bench. You could also do your light benching before OHP. OHP is good but not worth getting carried away with like some people if your goal is to compete in PL.
Yes, Ive readed about CHANGING ohp day for another bench day, what are your thoughts on that? And is the progression any faster with 5’s? I mean the 1RM improvement.
I would keep OHP in there still, at the very least as an assistance lift. Stronger shoulders never hurt anyone. Since your back is fucked you can do it sitting down, I do OHP seated because it fatigues my back and plenty other do the same. If you were going to do another exercise as the main lift then I would just keep it simple and go with close grip bench, do dips or dumbbell bench on your bench day.
5’s progression is in beyond 5/3/1, I suggest you get a copy. You do all the work sets for 5’s (no max reps) and work up in 10% jumps (if I’m not mistaken) if you feel good. The point is to do all reps with proper technique rather than grinding out ugly rep maxes that won’t improve your technique and can lead to getting injured (again). Progress might be faster in the short term with rep maxes (but it also might not), however rep maxes lead to technique breakdown for advanced lifters as well so a beginner like yourself would do well to avoid them for now. Notice that all the other novice programs don’t have rep maxes.
There are a lot of ‘I thinks’ in there. You’re pretty inexperienced, so chances are you will think wrong over half the time. Do the 5/3/1 option set out.
