@duketheslaya, it seems like a really early Christmas
So, phase two of the program has been tested for a while, and I’ve been liking it a lot
For phase 1, see:
I’d suggest reading that first, this post will be a lot easier to understand by doing so.
So, phase 1 was the building phase, so I guess this is the intensification phase
I’m not trying to do anything fancy with the program, so I chose a straight-forward type of progression between phases
To recap, I’m phase one you did (squat/dead as example)
- Squat 4x3x75%,3+x75% of estimated max
- Dead 2x5x70%,5+x70% of estimated max
- Squat hard variation 2x5x65%,5+x65% of estimated max
- 1-2 assistance exercises for 4x8
If needed you can do calves, abs, rear delts etc. For a couple of sets of a lot of reps afterwards
On day B you just reverse the order so it’s dead, squat, dead hard variation.
PR sets on first two exercises (the 3+/5+ sets), calculate estimated max off of them and use it in the next session. Plus set on the hard variation, you do not calculate anything off of that. In phase one you do not use belt or straps apart from PR sets (and they are optional even then)
Now, phase two:
You are allowed to use equipment if you feel like you need it/you feel banged up, personally I’ve tried to get at least a couple of sets in completely raw.
Using squat/dead as an example again:
(Sets x reps x %of estimated max)
- Squat 2x3x80%, 2x2x85%, 2+x85% (PR set)
- Dead 2x5x75%, 5+x75%
- Squat hard variation 2x5x70%,5+x70%
- 1-2 assistance exercises for 2x8 and 2x6 (increase weight when moving to the heavier sets)
On day 2 just reverse squats and deads
Now you see straight away that there’s only one PR set, and two plus sets. In this phase you calculate your estimated maxes only from PR sets with 85%, which is the first exercise of the day.
That’s because the less reps you get, the more accurate the calculation is. And because your second exercise of the day may suffer a bit, especially if you do like me and go with behind the back pulls and front squats (changed up again)
So you calculate your max off of the first exercise. Let’s say that comes to 300 pounds on the front squat (so you did, say 6x247)
In that case you’ll use
225 for a 2x5,5+ on the next lower body day and you’ll do
2x3x240
2x2x255
2+x255
On the following day.
Then you’ll calculate the new max from your PR set with 255
On the hard variation work don’t get too stuck with the % used, just use a weight that will make you fail at around 6-8 reps on your plus set.
So, the program as a whole is:
Upper
- Press variation
- Pull variation
- Press hard variation
- 1-2 assistance exercises
Lower
- Deadlift variation
- Squat variation
- Deadlift hard variation
- 1-2 assistance exercises
Rest
Upper
- Pull variation
- Press variation
- Pull hard variation
- 1-2 assistance exercises
Lower
- Squat variation
- Deadlift variation
- Squat hard variation
- 1-2 assistance exercises
Rest
Repeat
Sets x reps x % estimated max for exercises (in numerical order)
- 2x3x80, 2x2x85%, 2+x85%
- 2x5x75%, 5+x75%
- 2x5x70%, 5+x70%
- 2x8, 2x6 with an appropriate weight
This applies to all of the days
You do not need to have a transition phase between the phases, just move onto the percentages laid out above when you want to switch phases. I suggest keeping the main exercises the same as they were and rotating the assistance exercises and hard variations.
With the hard variations I’d suggest picking the harder ones for phase one and moving onto a bit easier ones with phase two. (Think going from feet up paused bench to just paused bench), or you can pick variations that target different weaknesses with phase two if you’ve fixed your initial weakness with phase one and a new one has arisen.
Regarding the duration of the phases, 10-12 weeks for the first one and 8-10 weeks for the second is about appropriate, beginners can go a bit further (think 12-15 and 10-12) and more advanced guys should move on quicker (think 8-10 and 6-8)
Any questions are welcome, I’ll be glad to clear things up and help you guys out.
