Need Some Help with My Program

Hi,

I’ve been training at elite level in martial arts… Muay Thai, boxing and MMA. I lived in Thailand for 6 months and trained like a thai, a normal day:

Morning:
10km Run
15 - 20 Minutes Skipping
100 Kicks each Leg (Heavybag)
100 Teeps each Leg (Heavybag)
300 Knees Total (Heavybag)
5x3-5 Minutes Pads
5x5 Minutes Heavybag
Some kind of drills, technique or shadowboxning for about 30 minutes
Clinch 30 Minutes

Strength:
100-150 Push Ups
150 Sit-ups
30-50 Pull Ups
or
Some barbell exercises (thai style)
Curls
Overhead Press
Explosive Punching
Squats
3 Sets x 10 Reps

Afternoon:
3, 5 or 6km Run
15 - 20 Minutes Skipping
100 Kicks each Leg (Heavybag)
100 Teeps each Leg (Heavybag)
300 Knees Total (Heavybag)
5x3-5 Minutes Pads
5x5 Minutes Heavybag
Sparring 30 minutes
Clinch 30 Minutes

Strength:
100-150 Push Ups
150 Sit-ups
30-50 Pull Ups
or
Some barbell exercises (thai style)
Curls
Overhead Press
Explosive Punching
Squats
3 Sets x 10 Reps

And usally some more on both morning and afternoon sessions…

This is very extreme training but your body gets used to it after a few months and some motivation (money usally for the thais)

Recently I found a great boxing coach and started training boxing in another country but not long after I had a serious concussion (I’m not posting to get any medical help about my head)
this was my 4th concussion in just one year…
I decided to stop competing becuase of my head trauma and it was getting worse each time…
But now I found a new LOVE strength training!

My question is :
How do I structure a good training program for strength? My main goal is strength and then second goal is size.
I’m used to extreme training and i’m also an extreme person that cannot listen very well to my body unless it’s obvious i’m in danger for getting hurt.
I want a program were I train a lot becuase i’m used to it and it also helps me getting over some depression I got after I’m not fighting anymore.

My currently program looks like this (I’m just worried it might be too much for my body over time, I’ve been following this for 7 or 8 weeks now and seen good progess so far).

Monday – Chest, Back & ABS

Barbell Flat Bench Press 6 Sets
Barbell Incline Bench Press 4 Sets
Dumbbell Decline Bench Press 3 Sets
Weighted Dip 3 Sets

Deadlift 4 Sets
Barbell Row 3 Sets
One-Arm Dumbbell Row 3 Sets
Weighted Pull Up 50 Reps
Lat Pulldown 3 Sets
Farmer’s Carry 3 Sets

Superset
Hanging Leg Raise 2 Sets
Weighted Sit Up 2 Sets
Dumbbell Side Bend 2 Sets

Tuesday – Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps, Forearms & ABS
Standing Barbell Military Press 6 Sets
Clean & Press 4 Sets

Superset
Upright Row 3 Sets
Dumbbell Lateral Raises 3 Sets
Dumbbell Front Raise 3 Sets

Superset
Close-Grip Bench Press 4 Sets
EZ-Bar Curl 4 Sets

Superset
Weighted Dip 4 Sets
Seated Incline Dumbbell Curl 4 Sets

French Press 4 Sets

Weighted Chin Up 50 Reps

Superset
Wrist Curl 4 Sets
Reverse Wrist Curl 4 Sets

Superset

Weighted V-Up 2 Sets
Machine Crunch 2 Sets
Plank 2 Sets

Wednesday – Legs, Calves & ABS

Legs

Squat 5 Sets
Straight-Leg Deadlift 5 Sets
Barbell Walking Lunge 3 Sets
Leg Press 3 Sets

Superset
Leg Extension 5 Sets
Leg Curl 5 Sets

Calves
Seated Calf Raises 5 Sets
Standing Calf Raises 5 Sets

Superset
Leg Press Calf Press 5 Sets
Kneeling Cable Crunch 5 Sets

Thursday – Chest, Back & ABS

Barbell Flat Bench Press 3 Sets
Dumbbell Flat Bench Press 3 Sets
Barbell Incline Bench Press 2 Sets
Dumbbell Incline Bench Press 2 Sets

Superset
Cable Fly 3 Sets
Dumbbell Pullover 3 Sets

Power Clean 4 Sets
Barbell Row 3 Sets
One-Arm Dumbbell Row 3 Sets
Weighted Pull Up 50 Reps
Close-Grip Pulldown 3 Sets
Farmer’s Carry 3 Sets

Superset
Hanging Leg Raise 2 Sets
Weighted Sit Up 2 Sets
Dumbbell Side Bend 2 Sets

Tuesday – Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps, Forearms & ABS
Standing Barbell Behind-The-Neck Military Press 6 Sets
Seated Dumbbell Military Press 4 Sets

Superset
Upright Row 3 Sets
Dumbbell Lateral Raises 3 Sets
Reverse Pec-Dec 3 Sets

Superset
Close-Grip Bench Press 4 Sets
Close Grip EZ-Bar Curl 4 Sets

Superset
Cable Tricep Pushdown 4 Sets
Seated Incline Dumbbell Curl 4 Sets

French Press 4 Sets

Weighted Chin Up 50 Reps

Superset
Wrist Curl 4 Sets
Reverse Wrist Curl 4 Sets

Superset
Weighted V-Up 2 Sets
Machine Crunch 2 Sets
Plank 2 Sets

Wednesday – Legs, Calves & ABS

Legs
Squat 5 Sets
Straight-Leg Deadlift 5 Sets
Barbell Walking Lunge 3 Sets
Leg Press 3 Sets

Superset
Leg Extension 5 Sets
Leg Curl 5 Sets

Calves
Seated Calf Raises 5 Sets
Standing Calf Raises 5 Sets

Superset
Leg Press Calf Press 5 Sets
Kneeling Cable Crunch 5 Sets

Sorry for my English as it isn’t my first language.

Cut out about 60-70% of what you have listed.
Strength and size aren’t mutually exclusive of one another. As you get stronger, size will come with it. As you get bigger, strength will come with it.

•5/3/1
•Best Damn
•Paul Carter
•WSFSB

Take your pick, there’s plenty of well designed programs for strength and size on this website.

4 Likes

Thank you @planetcybertron

May I ask another question?
I’m somewhat strong 182cm and 80kg (Squat 140kg, Deadlift 180kg, Bench Press 100kg, OHP 65kg)
What do you recommend?
Training 6 days a week ex (Push/Pull or Push/Pull/Legs)
Training 5 days a week
Training 4 days a week
Training 3 days a week (Full body)

I don’t want any “bro splits”.

They all work, I’ve only had two years experience but I’ve ran two, three and four day programmes. The list you’ve been given is pretty good, so have a look and see which one suits you or gets you psyched.

E.g I pick two day in the summer so I can put in climbing, cycling and running. If I did all that on four days lifting, I’d get injured. But that’s just me.

I’ve just switched to a ftor day 531 as that suits winter in the UK and my work schedule.

I get the feeling that you’ll probably want to add in some conditioning work as you are used to doing so much. Might be worth considering a programme with that built in. Beyond 1.1 531 on this site might be a start as it has weight vest walking etc built in. Also watching wendlers ugss on YouTube might work as he talks about his krypteia programme and American football players. I might be wrong but, if like me, you get fidgety on none training days, it’s worth getting a programme with that built in.

Are you interested in competing in any strength sports, like bodybuilding, powerlifting, or strongman, or are you just training because it’s something you enjoy? And what’s more important, running a program that gets you the best results, or running a program that you enjoy? Also, do you have access to any equipment aside from standard barbells and dumbbells?

A few problems I see with your program: 1. There are some VERY unnecssary lifts incorporated. You’re trying to do too many different things. The best way to get results in the gym, ESPECIALLY when your priority is strength first, is to pick the lifts that give you the most bang for your buck. Things like wrist curls do not fit that bill. I would also limit your gym sessions to 4 per week, at least to start.

High intensity is key. If you’re doing a thousand different lifts, then you’re not going to be able to apply appropriate intensity to any of them, or at best, just the first 2 or 3.

The biggest issue here though is that you only mentioned sets, not reps. I have no idea how much work you’re really doing here, because reps are not mentioned.

My advice would be to scrap this program completely, as has already been suggested. Find a program on this site that addresses your goals. I am a fan of the variations of 5/3/1. That’s the one I would recommend. You should be able to find a 5/3/1 template that suits your goals.

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Would recommend 5/3/1 with only the 5/3/1 stuff, assuming your Muay Thai is pretty intensive. But if you got alot more in you, I’d go 5/3/1 Boring But Big.

Sooooo many people do not give these questions enough thought before asking for advice.

2 Likes

If want a lot of training try this…

If reealy want to push it try one of this guys programs and check out his Training logs in logs section under ‘Alpha’…

Kind of off topic, but it’s just incredible to see exactly what Brian does in training, what he’s capable of lifting, how well conditioned he is, and know that he’s a very mediocre competitive strongman on the national level. Absolutely blows my mind how good the middleweight class is.

3 Likes

As someone who runs and trains, I can tell you that it will be difficult to run this much each day and put the required effort into strength training (if you really want to see big gains in strength). Once you’re in good cardio shape, you can maintain it pretty easily with ~3 miles per day.

But running ~15 km per day (which is about 9 miles) is more than is needed for marathon training. I just did a half marathon at a pretty good pace, and ran between 12-18 miles per week. You’re doing more than that on just Monday and Tuesday. When doing marathons, I would run ~25 miles per week, which is less than half of what you’re doing on a given week. This philosophy is also apparent in your weight training: you’re just doing too much without any focus. You can’t train for a marathon, set PR’s in the weight room, and compete in combat sports all at a high level.

Gotta wonder how he may have fared if health wasn’t such an issue.

which health issue are you talking about? I’m pretty sure he was relatively healthy going into the 2016 nationals (the last time he was there I believe). I know injuries have been an issue the last couple years.

I think he went into that competition with a jacked up shoulder, although I could have my timeline mixed up. But iirc he tore something in his shoulder and that kind of doomed his performance.

Back in 2016 maybe, but poor Brian has had a looooooot of health issues in the last two years. He’s talked about them pretty extensively on his channel. Had some periods where he was puking up basically everything he ate/drank, or could barely eat. Seems like the aftermath of his shoulder surgery has been one long string of complications, unfortunately.

Admittedly, that’s more recent, and I agree with the basic point that it’s insane to see someone who could press 400 on an axle with his athleticism struggle to sniff the top 20 at nationals back when he was healthy.

yea that’s what I was getting at. I’ve watched his entire performance at that nationals. He didn’t place well in a single event. I don’t think he placed in the top half of competitors at anything. He was like 10 seconds too slow on the moving events, 6 reps short on deadlift, 7 short on circus db, etc. And as he mentioned in his video running through that comp, it’s not like he was even particularly dissatisfied with his performance. Just the placing, lol. He mostly performed to his expectations.

Sounds like I’ve got my timeline mixed up. But agree, there’s some monsters out there if they’re making Brian a middle of the pack athlete.

The 231 lb class is crazy. I know a 231 lb competitor with his pro card, and he is no joke either. 1000 lb yoke walks, deads with 700 lbs for reps in training, but also pretty average in that weight class.

You mean pretty average for a pro? because that’s a different thing than ‘pretty average in the class in general’, lol.

Also, is it Terry? Please tell me it’s Terry.

Better than average for the gym (I think pretty average for a pro). He has mentioned winning a comp that Brian was in.

Not Terry. Matt Moeller is his name. Seems like a nice guy (has gone out of his way to help me with log, yoke, recovery and grip stuff). He has broken more than his share of equipment though including bending a Texas squat bar.