Hi, CT
I have some questions for this program sir…Thanks beforehand!!
Can the exercise selection be modified for Powerlifting? Maybe something like :
Days 1,3,5: Ohp > Incline Press > Bench Press
Days 3,4,6: Front Squat > Back Squat > Deadlift
(my Squat is lagging, thus the focus)
I see absolute numbers in the three training zones (eg: mtw - 20pounds), yet 20 pounds correspond to a different percentage of 1RM between two lifters. ( for a 200lbs Lift mtw-20 = 10% reduction, but for a 400lbs Lift mtw-20lbs = 5%). Please, I would love to know about the percentages insted of absolute values.
If strength is a priority, but muscle mass is to be maintained, are there any possible changes in the percentages ( MTW)??
Hi coach i have two quick questions about the program.
is there any way to incorporate loaded carries into the program? They have made a huge difference in my training and i would love to continue with them.
how much rest do you reccomend between sets?
Thanks again for releasing this amazing program!!
Thanks for the article/program Coach. Started yesterday and love it already! My questions revolve around your nutrition protocol and timing, with respect to training. What time of day do you train? And can you provide some insights into your current nutrition protocol? Thanks as always!
I was wondering if you could fit periodization into this? I’ve always trained a sort of 3 weeks accumulation/volume, then 3 weeks intensity, rinse and repeat. Could this be taken as an intensity block, and for the volume block just do sets of 5 reps (or similar)? Thanks for the program!
Really like the look of this program. It matches my current training goal of becoming more explosive/athletic, but doesn’t look like it would hinder recovery much.
My question is every coach/author’s least favorite: how do I modify it to fit my situation?
I’m currently doing a pretty high volume (for me) of martial arts training (boxing ,muay thai, BJJ, submission wrestling) 4-5 days a week for 2-3 hours at a time, with occasional two-a-days. Also doing a dedicated conditioning/speed training session with my team mates wednesday morning consisting of ladder/hurdle work and some bodyweight/KB/bag work circuits. On top of this, I work between 40-60 hours a week. Because of this, I can only reasonably make it to the gym 4 days a week; Mon Tues Thurs Fri in the morning.
I had two ideas for this: One idea was to drop the Zone 2 training entirely each week doing something like Upper Zone 1, Lower Zone 3, Upper Zone 3, Lower Zone 1. Another idea is to stretch the 4 week cycle out to a 6 week cycle. Week 1: Upper2 Lower2 Upper3 Lower1. Week 2: Upper 1 Lower 3 Upper 2 Lower 2…continue this pattern.
Any thoughts? Or should I just try to find a different program. Thanks for the articles and assistance.
Any type of lifting increases protein synthesis to some extent, its part of the adaptation process Net muscle gain in the difference between protein synthesis and degradation.
With low reps you might not stimulate as much protein synthesis per session but if you train a muscle more frequently you have more episodes of protein synthesis and if you minimize cortisol production you get a greater net muscle gain.
Great article. One of my favourites of yours. Just one question, how would you use a template such as this to include the pull-up, or some variation of it, as one of the main exercises? Of course, I do not want to take away from the pushing, so is there no room for the pull-up as a main movement in the program, or what modification would you make?
I start many of my athletes with 30 total pull ups in as little time as possible at the beginning of each workout. When they can do them in 3 sets or less we add weight.
I don’t quite understand your question. To me open vs. closed kinetic chain is only one aspect of an exercise. It cannot be used as the sole determinant toward the impact or effectiveness of a movement.
I rank exercises in 8 levels:
LEVEL 8: Complex lifts (variations of the Olympic lifts, gymnastic or advanced bodyweight drills)
LEVEL 7: Big strength lifts involving whole body tension and/or spinal loading or simpler body weight drills (squats, deadlifts, push presses, bent over rows, pull-ups, dips, etc.)
LEVEL 6: Other big strength lifts with free weights (bench press, seated shoulder press, DB incline press, DB squats/lunges, etc.)
LEVEL 5: Multi-joint exercises with pulley apparatus
LEVEL 4: Multi-joint exercises with machines/Smith machine
LEVEL 3: Isolation work with free-weights
LEVEL 2: Isolation work with pulley apparatus
LEVEL 1: Isolation work with machines
That specifically refers to the neural impact of the movements. It can’t refer to the effectiveness of the movements since effectiveness is relative to the goal. If the goal is overall physical performance, then yes levels 6,7 and 8 are better But for some specific goals like correction of a precise weakness or a lagging muscle group the better exercises might very well be isolation ones. Just like no tool can be universally “best” for every job (a chainsaw is a great tool, but might not be best to use as a screwdriver) no exercise is universally best for every goal.
As far as chains or other elements they are “intensifiers” . Elements that can be added to the exercise and that also increase the stress level of the movement. Other intensifiers are the load used, how far you go toward failure, special methods, etc.
For example a level 5 or 6 exercise done with a very heavy weight can have a stronger impact than a level 7 or 8 done against a smaller resistance.
Suuuuuure… although doing front, back squat and deadlifts in he same session is a recipe for disaster. Sounds doable or even smart in theory but in reality there is no way you will recover properly or perform the last exercise at a high level, especially if you have to do it 3x a week.
So yeah you can change some of the exercises to fit your own objective, but you must be smart about how you do it,
[quote=“Alex9797, post:42, topic:214735”]
2) I see absolute numbers in the three training zones (eg: mtw - 20pounds), yet 20 pounds correspond to a different percentage of 1RM between two lifters. ( for a 200lbs Lift mtw-20 = 10% reduction, but for a 400lbs Lift mtw-20lbs = 5%). Please, I would love to know about the percentages insted of absolute values. [/quote]
I don’t like to function with percentages for many reasons. If you go with percentages you also have a relative problem. Using weights decrements instead of percentage is something I learned from Olympic lifting. You can find your own percentages if you want but it’s not how I designed the system. If I had to give you rough numbers it would be 85% of MTW , 92.5% of MTW and MTW.
Considering that I did not give percentages you cannot change them since they are none
Well one phase of this program is 5 weeks (4 training weeks, 1 test week). So you can’t use 3 week blocks. And no cutting it short to fit the 3 weeks frame will not work since the purpose is to accumulate a lot of practice on the training lifts.
Besides that if you want to do 3 weeks of volume work then a 5 weeks cycle of this program by my guess. I personally prefer to have at least 2 successive cycles, if not more but you can try whatever you want.
It wont work the same at 4x a week The basic principle behind this program is the frequency of doing every lift. By cutting the frequency by 1/3rd you will not get the same benefits.
And with your volume of work honestly it will be hard to find a training program that will give you the results you want. Not because there aren’t any good programs out there, is that your volume of work is so high that it will be REALLY tough to have positive adaptations in muscle mass and maximum strength. And accumulated fatigue will always mask any progress you might be making.
Both targe visual changes via an increase in performance, The big difference is that 6 weeks to superhero is a short term blitz program that cannot be sustain over the long run. Look like a bodybuilder… is sustainable over the long run