Not completely different. You stated in your last post do some speed / plio stuff pre-training, and that is what I added. So speed work on a different day would be optimal?
[quote]joehawk wrote:
Not completely different. You stated in your last post do some speed / plio stuff pre-training, and that is what I added. So speed work on a different day would be optimal?[/quote]
I was more against the idea of doing it four days per week. Three is probably the most I’d go.
It doesn’t necessarily have to be on different days, but rather consolidated into 24-hour blocks to keep you from burning out.
Check out #1 here:
http://www.T-Nation.com/article/performance_training/7_reasons_youre_a_weakling&cr=
Thanks for the help EC. That makes sense. Based on my schedule here is what I am going to do.
Monday - Speed am / ME LB pm
Tuesday - Off
Wednesday - ME UB
Thursday - Off
Friday - Speed am / DE LB pm
Saturday - RE UB
Sunday - Off
So Eric, what levels of strength is this geared for and what does the book cover? Is it going to be useful for someone chasing 600 in squat/dl? or is it a more athletic/intermediate book?
I love all your stuff, just want to make sure this is applicable to my situation before buying 
Great testimonials and progress, just didn’t see any hard numbers on the PRs hit.
[quote]joehawk wrote:
Thanks for the help EC. That makes sense. Based on my schedule here is what I am going to do.
Monday - Speed am / ME LB pm
Tuesday - Off
Wednesday - ME UB
Thursday - Off
Friday - Speed am / DE LB pm
Saturday - RE UB
Sunday - Off[/quote]
If you just want to do two movement training sessions/week, you’d be better off moving the Monday AM session to Tuesday AM.
Or, you could go to three and keep it as-is, but plug some work in on Wednesday, too. Really depends on how strong vs. reactive you are…
[quote]Aragorn wrote:
So Eric, what levels of strength is this geared for and what does the book cover? Is it going to be useful for someone chasing 600 in squat/dl? or is it a more athletic/intermediate book?
I love all your stuff, just want to make sure this is applicable to my situation before buying Great testimonials and progress, just didn’t see any hard numbers on the PRs hit.[/quote]
This is aimed at taking intermediate lifters to the advanced stage. If you’re already an elite lifter, the volume wouldn’t be appropriate. We’ve seen guys going up 50-60 pounds on 350ish deadlifts over the four months. I believe that among our guinea pigs, we had two 450+ deadlifts at program-end, as a frame of reference.
I see that the program is 4 months (don’t have the book yet). Is this program something that can be scaled down to a shorter period of time?
I have a dual focus on conditioning and strength/power right now. I do see the benefit in making strength/power a priority for a period of time (since conditioning gains come relatively quicker compared to most strength gains unless strength is your primary focus). I just do not want to get to lose too much of my current work capacity.
Just to give you guys a heads up, here’s my log: http://www.T-Nation.com/tmagnum/readTopic.do?id=2149779&pageNo=0#2149779
[quote]gi2eg wrote:
I see that the program is 4 months (don’t have the book yet). Is this program something that can be scaled down to a shorter period of time?
I have a dual focus on conditioning and strength/power right now. I do see the benefit in making strength/power a priority for a period of time (since conditioning gains come relatively quicker compared to most strength gains unless strength is your primary focus). I just do not want to get to lose too much of my current work capacity.
[/quote]
Sure, you can scale it back - just do the first few months instead of all four.
You can also keep your conditioning up just by following the endomorph template for energy systems work.
Great, thanks.
Hello Eric,
Pre-Ordered your book and though I have not had time to go through it thoroughly I have been skimming it at the kids baseball and Lax games. Great JOB!
Got a question for you and thought I would post it here in case others have the same question.
Because of convenience to my house the location I work out at has no Power Rack> SAD I KNOW> Actually had them and took them out> DISGRACE if you ask me.
For now I need to stay training here just because of location but need some help with the Maximum Strength Program.
What alternatives could I use for the time being for the following exercises.
- RACK PULLS FROM KNEES
- DEADLIFT BAR ELEVATED
- SPEED PIN PRESS
- ANDERSON FRON SQUATS FROM PINS
- Close Grip Floor Press
Would Explosive Push-ups or clapping push-ups be an Ok replacement for Speed Pin Press?
I guess I could try to get the Bar up on a pair of Rebook Steps for partial deads> But thinking it would not be the same?
I am thinking also maybe DB floor press as replacement?
Your thoughts?
Thanks Ray
I just finished reading EC’s book and was impressed. The book reads very well (a really quick read) and isn’t filled with a lot of fluff. He spends a couple of (short) chapters on the idea behind his book and then heads straight into the exercises.
As he mentioned in a post above, the book is for intermediate lifters that need/want to improve or have stagnated. Each 4 week block is designed to work on different aspects while taking you to the ultimate goal of improving your strength.
Pros:
-
The book covers warm up drills that include foam rolling and ball (all with pictures and descriptions) work as well as 2 routines to choose from for warmups
-
Photos with explanations of the exercises used in each 4 week phase
-
Energy system work for different body types
-
A simple diet plan taken from John Berardi’s Precision Nutrition along with a list of recommended fruits and vegetables
-Has ideas for overcoming common setbacks
-
Includes ideas for where to go when the program is done
-
Key indicators for measuring progress
Cons:
-
Not designed for a home lifter unless you have the right equipment
-
There could have been some better guidelines for the warmup drills/foam rolling. Some of the exercises have a time limit while others he doesn’t say when you should stop. If you aren’t familiar with these, you may not know if you should do them 2-3 times or just once or until you feel better
-
EC points out that not all commercial gyms have the equipment necessary for all the exercises but doesn’t offer alternatives. (Since this is for intermidiates this isn’t that much of an issue but EC has pointed out that he knows inexperienced lifters will try using this program.)
-
Doesn’t explain proper use of the tutu. Is there a top/bottom, front/back to one of those?
Overall, this is well laid out program. At the least, a person can get a really good pre-workout template and a new workout. The use of the key indicators is a way to keep someone motivated and striving to work toward improving. As mentioned, this book takes some experience and knowledge but EC does a good job of explaining the exercises that if something is new you can still incorporate it. I was a little disappointed to not have all the equipment in my home gym (cable machine) but I am working on fixing that. As soon as I do, I’m putting this into my training plan.
[quote]Ray336 wrote:
Hello Eric,
Pre-Ordered your book and though I have not had time to go through it thoroughly I have been skimming it at the kids baseball and Lax games. Great JOB!
Got a question for you and thought I would post it here in case others have the same question.
Because of convenience to my house the location I work out at has no Power Rack> SAD I KNOW> Actually had them and took them out> DISGRACE if you ask me.
For now I need to stay training here just because of location but need some help with the Maximum Strength Program.
What alternatives could I use for the time being for the following exercises.
- RACK PULLS FROM KNEES
- DEADLIFT BAR ELEVATED
- SPEED PIN PRESS
- ANDERSON FRON SQUATS FROM PINS
- Close Grip Floor Press
Would Explosive Push-ups or clapping push-ups be an Ok replacement for Speed Pin Press?
I guess I could try to get the Bar up on a pair of Rebook Steps for partial deads> But thinking it would not be the same?
I am thinking also maybe DB floor press as replacement?
Your thoughts?
Thanks Ray[/quote]
For those interested, I responded to Ray’s inquiry in my blog yesterday:
http://ericcressey.blogspot.com/2008/05/maximum-strength-working-around.html
[quote]Arioch wrote:
I just finished reading EC’s book and was impressed. The book reads very well (a really quick read) and isn’t filled with a lot of fluff. He spends a couple of (short) chapters on the idea behind his book and then heads straight into the exercises.
As he mentioned in a post above, the book is for intermediate lifters that need/want to improve or have stagnated. Each 4 week block is designed to work on different aspects while taking you to the ultimate goal of improving your strength.
Pros:
-
The book covers warm up drills that include foam rolling and ball (all with pictures and descriptions) work as well as 2 routines to choose from for warmups
-
Photos with explanations of the exercises used in each 4 week phase
-
Energy system work for different body types
-
A simple diet plan taken from John Berardi’s Precision Nutrition along with a list of recommended fruits and vegetables
-Has ideas for overcoming common setbacks
-
Includes ideas for where to go when the program is done
-
Key indicators for measuring progress
Cons:
-
Not designed for a home lifter unless you have the right equipment
-
There could have been some better guidelines for the warmup drills/foam rolling. Some of the exercises have a time limit while others he doesn’t say when you should stop. If you aren’t familiar with these, you may not know if you should do them 2-3 times or just once or until you feel better
-
EC points out that not all commercial gyms have the equipment necessary for all the exercises but doesn’t offer alternatives. (Since this is for intermidiates this isn’t that much of an issue but EC has pointed out that he knows inexperienced lifters will try using this program.)
-
Doesn’t explain proper use of the tutu. Is there a top/bottom, front/back to one of those?
Overall, this is well laid out program. At the least, a person can get a really good pre-workout template and a new workout. The use of the key indicators is a way to keep someone motivated and striving to work toward improving. As mentioned, this book takes some experience and knowledge but EC does a good job of explaining the exercises that if something is new you can still incorporate it. I was a little disappointed to not have all the equipment in my home gym (cable machine) but I am working on fixing that. As soon as I do, I’m putting this into my training plan.
[/quote]
Thanks for your review. If you want to give me a list of exercises you’re having a hard time replacing, I’m happy to help.
Should I buy this book, Eric?
So Eric
i was wondering what you best broad jump has been
i just started the program and i did 97in. on testing day but since not many people talk about the broad jump i wasn’t sure how that compared to other lifters
[quote]j3brady wrote:
So Eric
i was wondering what you best broad jump has been
i just started the program and i did 97in. on testing day but since not many people talk about the broad jump i wasn’t sure how that compared to other lifters[/quote]
As a frame of reference, to be on our high school athlete record board (top 13), you need to have a 101-inch or better BrJmp. Best is 115.
I’ve gone 112 myself and had a few older athletes go over 120.
[quote]Bergman wrote:
Should I buy this book, Eric? :)[/quote]
Aren’t you still trying to maintain your girlish figure?
Eric,
I am working at home and have nearly everything I need. I only have standard dumbbells that I can use for up to 40lb so I was thinking of purchasing Olympic dumbbell handles since I have lots of 5 and 10lb plates. I also need to buy some bands and a rope handle. Already have double-D and V handles.
Even after these purchases, I still need to figure out how I can do Kneeling Cable External Rotation (only one cable) and Chest Supported Row w/ Neutral Grip (no machine). If this sounds familiar, I posted a comment on your blog just before I found this on T-Nation.
Also, I will be on vacation for a week in the middle of the 16. Should I just continue where I leave off?
Can anyone familiar with the Maxium Strength routine confirm how the Pull-Through is done? When you start you do have the weight stack raised so that it is trying to “pull your hips back” as the exercise description mentions?