Questions about 6 Weeks to Superhero

Training
1

I am not sure where this goes, the program is linked on the front page, so I assume it is still recommended, but the livespill is closed, so I am posting it here.

Given the reformulations, what are the new peri-workout guidelines?

For exercises, what replacements can be made for the following:

Power clean from Hang: I don’t know the lift, and don’t want to dorsiflex my wrist, can I use KBs until I exceed the maximum weight available?

Jump good morning: With meaningful weight, the landing is too high impact for my crappy knee, what can I replace this with?

Power snatch from Hang: What less technical lift can I replace this with?
Jump squat with bar: Same problem as the good morning, what can I replace this with?
Backward sprint with prowler: I do not have a sled in the gym, what can I do instead?

Feet-elevated plyo pushup: I am going to try this with my hands in rings, if that is too awkward, I can do plyo pushups on my knuckles. Edit: Knuckles it is.

Can I do the bench press and speed bench press sections with DBs so that there are fewer moving parts to set up?
plyo pushup: same as above, I will try rings, and if that is awkward, I will just use my knuckles (no boxer breaks yet!)

2

How in Sam Hill can you do plyo pushups on knuckles!? Aren’t you essentially punching the floor?

What’s going on?

3

[quote]roybot wrote:
How in Sam Hill can you do plyo pushups on knuckles!? Aren’t you essentially punching the floor?

What’s going on? [/quote]

Yes, you are, I wasn’t able to keep stable and do them in rings, but punching the floor works fine, and actually hurts less than landing on my flexed wrist. I did a few yesterday just to prove the concept.

I just used carpet, but I suppose a mat would be a good idea. It isn’t actually that bad, just make sure you land on the knuckles of your index and middle fingers, and keep your wrist straight. I’ve known a number of fighters with ‘boxer breaks’, which happen when you punch something hard with your ring/pinky knuckles; it is surprisingly easy to get them, and those two metacarpal (I think that’s what they’re called?) bones apparently break really easily.

4

Might not be the best program for you if you have that many issues with the exercises. There are sub-outs and alternatives, but you are asking to sub out quite a bit of the program. The jumps and oly lifts are integral to the program, so not doing them really isnt an option if you want this program to do its thing.

What are your goals? What made you pick this program? Lets see if we can find a more appropriate program for you to try out.

5

Goals: Strength, work capacity, looking good, that order

Reasons for choosing that one follow:

-I have done Russian complex style programs before and responded well to them.
-It is a whole body program
-It was featured prominently on the front page of the website, away from the ‘new articles’ section, implying that it had a strong endorsement by this website.
-I want to commit to a heavy, many days a week program.

Quoting from the livespill attached to the article…

Christian Thibaudeau: TO ALL THOSE COMPLAINING ABOUT THE PROGRAM NOT BEING EXACTLY LIKE THE VIDEO… Guys! The goal is to teach you a system… there are several options for every exercise in a complex when you understand the founding principles. The fact that both have some different exercises is a GOOD THING because it shows you some options. I could show you at least 5 different options for every exercise of every complex, so you can imagine how many good complexes you can build!

I feel like with some creativity, this could be made to work. Since posting this thread, I have been looking through the archives for answers.

For jump squats and jump good mornings, I think the solution will be to either use a medicine ball and toss it on the way up (I might be too strong for this, I will find out today), or something creative with a cable machine. As I understand the program, the intent is to get the benefit of the ‘concentric explosive movement’, the eccentric (absorbing the weight on the landing) is undesirable from the perspective of both the program and my joints, so I think this can be overcome.

For the oly lifts, I missed the livespill comment from CT suggesting a DB swing as a possible replacement for the snatch in the squat section. I would like to know if I can use KBs instead of DBs.

For the power clean, he suggested learning the power clean, or failing that, potentially using a BB high pull. I am not strong enough that I cannot get enough weight on a KB, so I would like to know authoritatively, if double KB hang cleans at my 2-3RM are acceptable.

The DB for BB bench swap makes the logistics of setting up all the equipment for the set easier, if that compromises the program, I will have to deal with it.

6

KB swings should be fine in replace of DB swings, and the power clean is really an easy movement to learn. To MASTER? Probably not… But you literally just yank the bar up to your shoulders. Any youtube video on the matter should be fine. Same thing with the Snatch really. We are NOT after technical MASTERY here, we are just looking for a training EFFECT (whole body explosive movement).

You could always stop in the LiveSpills on the home page and ask him. They are not “Indigo-3G users only” any more, and I’m sure he would be happy to answer your Q’s.

7

Thank you for the advice, I will get someone to teach me the oly lifts and just do it.

I will re-ask the supplement support question on the livespill tomorrow, because it really does need to be addressed in the article if it’s going to be on the front page.

Unfortunately, I figured out that this training will not work for me :frowning:

There is too much demand for the barbells, the different required pieces of equipment are scattered across several rooms, and ‘jump medicine ball toss’ is not an option due to low drop ceiling. Enough substitution would be required to make this work for me, that instead of altering it, I should just put together a program that is good on its own, and will do so in my training log.

8

I think thats the way to go. Its a pretty “space intensive” program when you factor in the med balls, the multiple barbells, and the jumping.

As far as the supp question, I can almost assure you they would recommend a full serving of Anaconda to support the workout. At bare minimum a full serving of MAG-10 before hand and after, but they would most assuredly recommend the Anaconda as the “real” workout nutrition recommendation.

Let us know what you decide on, and work hard.

9

Ok, I posted an attempt at a program in my training log here: http://tnation.T-Nation.com/hub/JoinInTheChant#myLogs

Thank you for your comments!