If you like the simplicity/hard work aspect of OLAD but you’re not recovering I really like two lifts a day every other day. A great routine is:
Monday:
Clean and press
Farmer’s walks
Wednesday:
Chin
Squat
Friday:
Deadlifts
Bench
[quote]Jeff_with_a_G wrote:
I’m getting ready to start my fourth OLAD cycle tomorrow. Through trial and error I’ve settled into a specific wave parameter that worked miracles on my third cycle. I’ve set so many PR’s in the last few months that I can’t believe it. Since I have no clue what kind of percentages you guys are using on your waves, I’ll just throw mine out there as a point of reference.
Week 1
Set 1 50% of scheduled max weight
Set 2 70%
Set 3 85%
Set 4 scheduled max weight
Set 5 80%
Set 6 92.5%
Set 7 max weight again (sometimes I may
go up or down 5 pounds here if the
max set was too hard or too easy)
Week 2
Set 1 50% of scheduled max weight
Set 2 70%
Set 3 85%
Set 4 scheduled max weight
Set 5 90%
Set 6 same as described for Week 1
Week 3
Successive sets of 40%/60%/80% of scheduled Set 1 weight (for 5 reps)
Then I follow my prescribed rest period
and begin with Set 1.
As a side note—I set my rest periods at 3min for Week 1, 4min for Week 2 and 5min for Week 3.
These parameters have worked wonders for me. No real science to it. Just past experience and trial and error. I know some people may find the percentages too low, but I have yet to miss a top set. I’m sticking with it until it fails me. If you try these waves and they work for you, please let me know.
For anyone who’s new to OLAD, a few tips. I’ve been using Spike in the mornings for “get up and go” and Power Drive in the afternoon for CNS recovery. Great shit!!!
It takes three cycles or so to get your top weights dialed in. I alternate exercises every cycle. Keep the focus on the same muscle groups but give it a different grip, angle, etc. Watch the PR’s get destroyed…[/quote]
This is an absolutely fantastic post Jeff. It almost inspires me to get out a calculator. I play things a bit more by ear than this but if I ever stop making progress I’m going to use this template.
[quote]jdearl wrote:
So what exactly do the rest of you guys do on the “off week.” I am on my third week of my third cycle and I am looking for pointers. The last two cycles “life” crept up on me during my off week and I didn’t do any structured training while I was off. This cycle, however, I should be able to work in at least 30 minutes a day of something, but what sort of something should I do?
I am actually hestitant to do any sort of structured training because taking a break from structured exercise has worked fairly well for me. However, without the crazy schedule that made working out impossible during my rest week the last two cycles I am not entirely sure I will be able to just do nothing during the time I normally work out.
I’ve been meaning to work in some hill sprints, and I haven’t done Tabata front squats in a while. Are these sorts of brutal cardio exercises going to allow for enough recovery?[/quote]
So far on my week off, I’ve been sick so have done nothing apart from lie in the sun and mope.
[quote]Jeff_with_a_G wrote:
My shoulders end up with slight twinges by the end of week 3, so I’ve been mixing light cardio with the 100 reps method for recovery. I do this at least twice and usually three days during the off week. It keeps me from feeling lazy and has helped a lot with recovery of minor aches and pains. Total exercise time is 30min or so each session. The only supplement change I make is that I don’t take Surge after these sessions since they’re not very taxing. I keep my protein and calorie intake about the same overall. Slightly fewer carbs I suppose.[/quote]
I’m glad I’m not the only one with the shoulder twinge. I just finished week 3 today - Deadlifts. I don’t know if I will incorporate DLs into OLAD the next time around as my lower back is hurting right now. I think I had a form lapse on the 2nd max rep. I’ve never done a DL max before, so I’m not sure if a sore low back is common. I’m quite certain its just a muscle issue because it ebbs and flows and stretching out helps out a lot. I plant on taking it easy for at least a few days, then probably incorporate some overhead rock carries one day and some Front Squat tabatas a day or two before starting OLAD again.
DB
[quote]RDC wrote:
This is an absolutely fantastic post Jeff. It almost inspires me to get out a calculator. I play things a bit more by ear than this but if I ever stop making progress I’m going to use this template.
[/quote]
Thanks for the comment RDC.
Keep in mind that I settled on these percentages for two main reasons:
- My CNS tends to reach burn-out quickly if I keep all of my set percentages relatively high. I’ve noticed that this seriously limits the weight I can use on my top sets. Two of my sets are below 80% in order to help avoid this burn-out. I know that my overall workload is probably less by doing this, but my goal is to increase my max lifts. I’ve already devoted over a year to 8X3 and 10X2 protocols in order to focus on overall workload. I wasn’t happy about my numbers on the big lifts, so I decided to focus on max strength for a year or so.
- I chose OLAD specifically because I have a maximum of 45min a day to devote to training. My OLAD sessions (incl. warmup, work sets and post stretching) last 30-40min. By incorporating warmup percentages in two or three sets of the wave I avoid having to add specific warmup sets on the front end. I let my general warmup take care of preparing muscles and joints and let the first three sets of the wave take care of priming my CNS.
Can you tell that I truly love OLAD?
I have done two cycles of the OLAD. It is a good routine. I think one reason it works so well is that in a sense you are specializing each lift since you only do one lift for each day.
So you put all of your energy into one lift instead of spreading yourself among several lifts.
Okay all you olad,errs out there I’ve got a quick question. on week three it calls for 5-3-2 parameters. So do you
do only three sets and done or do you start over 5-3-2 x2 then done. Sorry if this is a dumb question but im a little dense most of the time. come on bastard set me straight.
Just the three sets and you’re done. But the double at the end should be a max double.
[quote]WORKING wrote:
Okay all you olad,errs out there I’ve got a quick question. on week three it calls for 5-3-2 parameters. So do you
do only three sets and done or do you start over 5-3-2 x2 then done. Sorry if this is a dumb question but im a little dense most of the time. come on bastard set me straight.[/quote]
5-3-2 and you are done. The fun bit is that you get to attempt a “max” double. This is where the pain and suffering of doing 7x5 deadlifts on the first week comes in. There’s something very cool about watching the weight you can move go up from one month to the next.
I just started round two of OLAD after a week of almost no training. My lower back is still real tight after tweaking it during my double max DL a week ago. I’ve changed things up a little bit, switching DB Inclines to BB Inclines, Front Squats to Back Squats, Standing Mil Press to Seated and DLs to Romanians. I’m looking forward to it. I’ve also increased my warmups to give my back more time to get loose. I’m interested to see how much improvement I get out of the second go round.
DB
My second round of olad has been battered by pesky life things. Also my jiu jitsu has started back so i’ve missed two days of 7x5. That said, just finished my romanians which were very strong. In fact the only limiting factor was my grip.
Just had a month off from lifting and I am starting up again on monday. I am planning on doing the OLAD program as I have done it before and loved it.
My question/quandry is this. I have to train at home due to job/family commitments and a lack of a gym nearby. I only have dumbells and not really the space to use my barbells (I live in an apartment and my one year old daughters stuff is EVERYWHERE!!) which are now under my bed collecting dust.
I had this idea for exercise selection and split. Let me know what you think.
Day 1. One arm clean and press
Day 2. Dumbell rows
Day 3. One arm snatch
Day 4. Floor press
Day 5. Swings
Any comments are welcome. I figured that sticking the rows and press between the more ballistic movements would be a good idea to keep my lower back from getting too pummelled!!
Cheers for all advice.
[quote]spiderman739 wrote:
Just had a month off from lifting and I am starting up again on monday. I am planning on doing the OLAD program as I have done it before and loved it.
My question/quandry is this. I have to train at home due to job/family commitments and a lack of a gym nearby. I only have dumbells and not really the space to use my barbells (I live in an apartment and my one year old daughters stuff is EVERYWHERE!!) which are now under my bed collecting dust.
I had this idea for exercise selection and split. Let me know what you think.
Day 1. One arm clean and press
Day 2. Dumbell rows
Day 3. One arm snatch
Day 4. Floor press
Day 5. Swings
Any comments are welcome. I figured that sticking the rows and press between the more ballistic movements would be a good idea to keep my lower back from getting too pummelled!!
Cheers for all advice.[/quote]
It’s not bad given your situation. Depending on how heavy you can get your DBs, you could do DB Romanian DLs (I like these)or Suitcase squats.
DB
[quote]dollarbill44 wrote:
spiderman739 wrote:
Just had a month off from lifting and I am starting up again on monday. I am planning on doing the OLAD program as I have done it before and loved it.
My question/quandry is this. I have to train at home due to job/family commitments and a lack of a gym nearby. I only have dumbells and not really the space to use my barbells (I live in an apartment and my one year old daughters stuff is EVERYWHERE!!) which are now under my bed collecting dust.
I had this idea for exercise selection and split. Let me know what you think.
Day 1. One arm clean and press
Day 2. Dumbell rows
Day 3. One arm snatch
Day 4. Floor press
Day 5. Swings
Any comments are welcome. I figured that sticking the rows and press between the more ballistic movements would be a good idea to keep my lower back from getting too pummelled!!
Cheers for all advice.
It’s not bad given your situation. Depending on how heavy you can get your DBs, you could do DB Romanian DLs (I like these)or Suitcase squats.
DB[/quote]
yeah, i see a clean, two presses, but no squat or DL … seems lacking … also, for me, one arm snatches and swings are pretty similar (maybe i do them wrong)
Bastard
[quote]somebody used to be named BFG and wrote:
blah blah blah … I am considering OPADing, or “One Plane A Day.”
M- Vertical day: an overhead press + pullups/chins
T- Quad day: a squat variation finish with OHS
W- GPP 1: lower body dominant, sled dragging, sprints
T- Horizontal day: a row variation + bench/dips
F- Hip day: a deadlift variation finish with OHS
S- GPP 2: stuff from DJ’s Carried Away DVD, tires, sandbags
S- OFF day
every day will begin with dynamic stretching and then an olympic lift warmup of a clean or snatch variation
[/quote]
OK, so after spending way too much (or not nearly enough, I’m not sure yet) time with DJ last weekend, I’ve decided to get back to it. I’m in Staley’s coaching group (rocks, btw) but am giving his program a month off for variety, fun, and DJ inspired progress. So, here’s what I am doing:
Monday:
warmup clean and front squat 5,4,3,2,1
A1 push press @ 7 sets of 5
A2 pull up @ 7 sets of 5
B OHS
Tuesday:
warm up snatch sets of 3,2, and singles
A1 squat @ 7 sets of 5
B1-3 shrugs, calves, ab isos
C OHS
Wednesday:
eat, drink, and chase Mary
Thursday:
warmup clean and front squat 5,4,3,2,1
A1 bench @ 7 sets of 5
A2 row (bar) @ 7 sets of 5
B OHS
Friday:
warmup db snatches (dunno yet)
A1 deadlift @ 7 sets of 5
B1-3 shrugs, calves, iso abs
C OHS
Saturday:
hot air balloon ride then beer and steak
Sunday:
drink wine, err i mean scotch, err i meant wine (really)
(now, you may say, “hey, look idiot bastard eff guy, wth is all of that B and C stuff?” i know, but i need grip and calve work, and those B additions put on about another 10 minutes to the whole workout. in a way it’s like “Bastardizing” my already “Bastardized” OLAD with some perfect 10 ala CW. i am taking 3 days completely off, so i’m going to try it. the OHS’s are for practice and stretching … i have yet to see DJ isntruct someone to do “less overhead squatting,” and i know i need the practice. so, there.)
the summary - i’m:
squatting 3x per week
pressing 2x per week
pulling 3x week
cleaning 2x week
snatching 2x week
drinking the good stuff 3x week
i likey
so i’m just applying DJ’s rec’d set/rep parameters … i have done the first 3 days … i actually feel bigger … tired from all of the volume, but not wasted … and really hungry …
will keep in touch to report progress … week 4 looks to be a total back off week, which i hate but may be required, as i have to move
Bastard
I always found the swings to come much further out from the body with the arm acting as a pendulum. Snatches on the other hand should be as close to your body as possible with you trying to dip under the bar.
As mentioned the choice is lacking in squats or deadlifts so here is my next question(s).
How would you fit these two in with olympic movements?
Do you think would be enough that using the olympic lifts or variations with HIIT would be enough to stave of skinny leg syndrome?
Bastard,
I “likey” this program as well, it looks really good, and really hard, at the same time!
I have 3 questions for you:
-
How heavy are you going with your O-lift warmups? Are the singles anywhere near a max effort?
-
I’m assuming A1/A2 are a superset between exercises, correct? How much rest are you leaving between them, is this done just on how you are feeling?
-
What’s your set/reps on the OHS?
Cheers,
Ben
[quote]Bastard wrote:
somebody used to be named BFG and wrote:
blah blah blah … I am considering OPADing, or “One Plane A Day.”
M- Vertical day: an overhead press + pullups/chins
T- Quad day: a squat variation finish with OHS
W- GPP 1: lower body dominant, sled dragging, sprints
T- Horizontal day: a row variation + bench/dips
F- Hip day: a deadlift variation finish with OHS
S- GPP 2: stuff from DJ’s Carried Away DVD, tires, sandbags
S- OFF day
every day will begin with dynamic stretching and then an olympic lift warmup of a clean or snatch variation
OK, so after spending way too much (or not nearly enough, I’m not sure yet) time with DJ last weekend, I’ve decided to get back to it. I’m in Staley’s coaching group (rocks, btw) but am giving his program a month off for variety, fun, and DJ inspired progress. So, here’s what I am doing:
Monday:
warmup clean and front squat 5,4,3,2,1
A1 push press @ 7 sets of 5
A2 pull up @ 7 sets of 5
B OHS
Tuesday:
warm up snatch sets of 3,2, and singles
A1 squat @ 7 sets of 5
B1-3 shrugs, calves, ab isos
C OHS
Wednesday:
eat, drink, and chase Mary
Thursday:
warmup clean and front squat 5,4,3,2,1
A1 bench @ 7 sets of 5
A2 row (bar) @ 7 sets of 5
B OHS
Friday:
warmup db snatches (dunno yet)
A1 deadlift @ 7 sets of 5
B1-3 shrugs, calves, iso abs
C OHS
Saturday:
hot air balloon ride then beer and steak
Sunday:
drink wine, err i mean scotch, err i meant wine (really)
(now, you may say, “hey, look idiot bastard eff guy, wth is all of that B and C stuff?” i know, but i need grip and calve work, and those B additions put on about another 10 minutes to the whole workout. in a way it’s like “Bastardizing” my already “Bastardized” OLAD with some perfect 10 ala CW. i am taking 3 days completely off, so i’m going to try it. the OHS’s are for practice and stretching … i have yet to see DJ isntruct someone to do “less overhead squatting,” and i know i need the practice. so, there.)
the summary - i’m:
squatting 3x per week
pressing 2x per week
pulling 3x week
cleaning 2x week
snatching 2x week
drinking the good stuff 3x week
i likey
so i’m just applying DJ’s rec’d set/rep parameters … i have done the first 3 days … i actually feel bigger … tired from all of the volume, but not wasted … and really hungry …
will keep in touch to report progress … week 4 looks to be a total back off week, which i hate but may be required, as i have to move
Bastard[/quote]
[quote]spiderman739 wrote:
I always found the swings to come much further out from the body with the arm acting as a pendulum. Snatches on the other hand should be as close to your body as possible with you trying to dip under the bar.
As mentioned the choice is lacking in squats or deadlifts so here is my next question(s).
How would you fit these two in with olympic movements?
Do you think would be enough that using the olympic lifts or variations with HIIT would be enough to stave of skinny leg syndrome?[/quote]
don’t swings stop ~ head level? i dunno, i haven’t done them. i have and do perform a straight arm db snatch though … Staley thing.
[quote]Day 1. One arm clean and press
Day 2. Dumbell rows
Day 3. One arm snatch
Day 4. Floor press
Day 5. Swings [/quote]
ok, you just can’t do every movement, but … you don’t need to. you could add a day for squats or DLs. or you could replace either the snatch or swings. personally, i like that clean and press day and that snatch day, so i’d replace the swings day. (i don’t like the db row day either, but that’s just my preference)
if you’re trying to tackle skinny legs AND do OLAD, i would think you’d need TWO leg days, a pull day, a press day, and maybe an oly day.
hope that helps,
Bastard
first, the actuals:
Monday:
warmup clean and front squat 5,4,3,2,1
A1 push press @ 7 sets of 5
A2 pull up @ 7 sets of 5
B OHS
Tuesday:
warm up snatch sets of 3,2, and singles
A1 squat @ 7 sets of 5
B1-3 shrugs, calves, ab isos
C OHS
Thursday:
warmup clean and front squat 5,4,3,2,1
A1 bench @ 7 sets of 5
A2 row (bar) @ 7 sets of 5
B OHS
Friday:
warmup db snatches 5,4,3,2,1
A1 deadlift @ 7 sets of 5
B1-2 bulg split squat, db tri ext
C OHS
re: your questions:
(1) on the clean and fs day, the single is ~ 90% 1RM for the clean but way less for the fs. to clean more i would need straps or someone else’s hands and forearms.
on the bar snatch day, i am just learning the lift, so while it feels really really hard, it’s not much weight, and it’s not very taxing.
the db snatches on friday were tough. i did approximately 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 100% for the 5,4,3,2,1. coupled with deadlifts, i’d say it was too much. i was sooo freaking tired about 2 hours after that session.
(2) yes. i’ve been resting 2 minutes between sets. (so, push press, 2 min, pull ups, 2 min, repeat)
(3) depends … if i’m really tight, i may just do a 3-4 sets of 8-10 with any where from the bar to 95#. if i feel good, i may go for a 5x5 with 135, which is my 10RM. i basically do the OHSs at the end to stretch out and keep greasing the groove.
btw, the rest on the squat and deadlift days started out at 3 minutes and ended up towards 5 minutes.
thoughts, comments?
Bastard
[quote]bg100 wrote:
I “likey” this program as well, it looks really good, and really hard, at the same time!
I have 3 questions for you:
-
How heavy are you going with your O-lift warmups? Are the singles anywhere near a max effort?
-
I’m assuming A1/A2 are a superset between exercises, correct? How much rest are you leaving between them, is this done just on how you are feeling?
-
What’s your set/reps on the OHS?[/quote]