Workout A
Heavy Lower Body
A1: Front squat (Narrow/Sumo) 6 x 3 45 s rest
A2: Deadlift (Sumo/Narrow) 6 x 3 45 s rest
B1: Leg Curl 6 x 3 45 s rest
B2: Seated Calf Raise 6 x 3 45 s rest
C1: Functional Squats 3 Planes no rest
D1: Hanging Leg Raise AMRPx2 90 s rest
Workout B
Light Upper Body
A1: Incline DB bench press 3 x 18 90 s rest
A2: BB row 3 x 18 90 s rest
B1: DB Bent Lateral Rraise 3 x 18 90 s rest
B2: Pulldowns (Alternate Grip) 3 x 18 90 s rest
C1: Close Grip Bench 3 x 18 90 s rest
D1: Standing Hammer DB drop set x20 reps no rest
Workout C
Light Lower Body
A1: Unilateral leg press 3 x 18 90 s rest
A2: DB Single Leg DL 3 x 18 90 s rest
B1: Jump Squat 3 x 18 90 s rest
B2: Standing calf raise 3 x 18 90 s rest
C1: Weighted Crunch w/ twist 3 x 18 90 s rest
D1: Hanging Leg Raise AMRPx2 90 s rest
Workout D
Heavy Upper Body
A1: BB bench press 6 x 3 45 s rest
A2: T-bar row 6 x 3 45 s rest
B1: Pull-up (Alternate Grip) 6 x 3 45 s rest
B2: Seated BB shoulder press 6 x 3 45 s rest
C1: Dips 6 x 3 45 s rest
D1: Preacher Curl 6 x 3 45 s rest
** “functional squats” use all 3 planes of motion, so basically single legged squats while driving the opposite leg in either the sagittal (front and back), frontal (side to side), or transverse (rotation) plane.
It looks well set up and thought out but the superset on the heavy lower body day of sqauts and deads seems a bit much for the lower back. Maybe try alternating between squats and deads every week or two bc even doing them in the same workout would not be recommended. You would have to sacrifice on one or both to be able to get your reps. So reap the benefits of going all out on once of em.
I think bc of the types of squat you are doing, and the type of deadlift you are doing, that you should be relatively ok, give it a try and see how it feels.
yeah I am training a buddy of mine and this is what I switched him to after a TBT style workout for 6 weeks (gained like 15-20 lbs) then on a 4 day split (Legs, back, off, chest, shoulders) for another 4 weeks and now I have him on this where he completed the first week strong.
One, you shouldn’t be doing jump squats (a power exercise) for high reps. Power based exercises are meant just for that…power. They should be terminated once speed slows down…and I just dont think you can maintain rapid speed for that many reps.
Curious, why do you have 2 light days with sets of 18? are these sets to failure or burnout etc?
if so it must just be a misleading name. If not then what kind of weight are you using on “light” days and Why? Is it for recovery? I dont get it.
Also I would drop the speed/power work [jump Sq] to lower reps. jumps fo 18 is almost counter intuitive. you will just get sloppy and have the bar ‘re-land’ on your neck or something.
Curious, why do you have 2 light days with sets of 18? are these sets to failure or burnout etc?
if so it must just be a misleading name. If not then what kind of weight are you using on “light” days and Why? Is it for recovery? I dont get it.
Also I would drop the speed/power work [jump Sq] to lower reps. jumps fo 18 is almost counter intuitive. you will just get sloppy and have the bar ‘re-land’ on your neck or something.
At first, this seems like a good split. You’ve chosen good exercises and have it laid out just like most upper/lower body splits.
However, your loading parameters (sets/reps) don’t make much sense. Besides your “light” days and doing 3x18 (what’s the reason for that?), you also have numerous exercises being used on your heavy day for 6x3. Although 6x3 is a good loading parameter, I wouldn’t use it for every exercise on your heavy day.
Not only is it going to take you a long time to get through those workouts (most likely two hours), but that means you have to keep your intensity high on each one of those exercises throughout the whole workout. And why would you want to perform 6x3 for exercises like seated calf raises, leg curls, dips, seated BB shoulder presses and preacher curls?
Then you still have to address some of the comments listed above concerning squatting and deadlifting on the same day and the reason for doing 3x18 on jump squats.
The next question to ask once you address and fix all of the above is how are you going to adjust your loading parameters throughout your program?
Is this just a sample of your first four-week block? Then how are you going to change your loading parameters and exercises for the next four weeks?
Rather than thinking short-term, you have to look at the bigger picture and what your goals are and how you are going to accomplish them. I like to work on a 12-16 week blocks where I further break it down into four-week blocks. Each four-week block has a purpose within that 12-16 period.
I suggest you find a better template or figure out a better way to write programs.
Also, there is no reason to change the order of your training days each week. Normally, that is done each four-week block.
In addition, your rest periods are messed up. If you are performing 6x3, 45-second rest periods are not going to work. Not unless your “heavy” day is really just a dynamic day where you are actually using only 35-75% of your max. Otherwise, if you are truly doing a heavy day (75-95% of max), then you should be taking a minimum of 2 minutes of rest between sets and most likely 3-4 minutes.
Even if supersetting, a 45-second rest period is not enough. Think about it. If you are going to perform a heavy set of narrow-stance front squats, do you think you’ll be ready for a heavy set of deadlifts only 45 seconds later?
However, later on in your workouts, you have 90-second rest periods listed for your light days and other exercises. When using lighter weights and higher reps, you should be using shorter rest periods (30-60 seconds).
So my other advice is that you should have 90-second rest periods between supersets of heavy days and 45-second rest periods on your light days and for abs and other exercises.
Again, you should either follow a pre-made template like WS4SB or pick up some books or manuals that show you how to write strength training programs.
Ian King has a very good book on “How to Write Strength Trianing Programs.” Even Alwyn Cosgrove has a good manual on programming as do a few other coaches. Also, some books have good programs that you can then use as a template for future training programs. I think Eric Cressey’s “Maximum Strength” book does a good job of this as do a few others I’ve read and own.
[quote]Nate Dogg wrote:
At first, this seems like a good split. You’ve chosen good exercises and have it laid out just like most upper/lower body splits.
However, your loading parameters (sets/reps) don’t make much sense. Besides your “light” days and doing 3x18 (what’s the reason for that?), you also have numerous exercises being used on your heavy day for 6x3. Although 6x3 is a good loading parameter, I wouldn’t use it for every exercise on your heavy day.
Not only is it going to take you a long time to get through those workouts (most likely two hours), but that means you have to keep your intensity high on each one of those exercises throughout the whole workout. And why would you want to perform 6x3 for exercises like seated calf raises, leg curls, dips, seated BB shoulder presses and preacher curls?
Then you still have to address some of the comments listed above concerning squatting and deadlifting on the same day and the reason for doing 3x18 on jump squats.
The next question to ask once you address and fix all of the above is how are you going to adjust your loading parameters throughout your program?
Is this just a sample of your first four-week block? Then how are you going to change your loading parameters and exercises for the next four weeks?
Rather than thinking short-term, you have to look at the bigger picture and what your goals are and how you are going to accomplish them. I like to work on a 12-16 week blocks where I further break it down into four-week blocks. Each four-week block has a purpose within that 12-16 period.
I suggest you find a better template or figure out a better way to write programs.[/quote]
[quote]Nate Dogg wrote:
Also, there is no reason to change the order of your training days each week. Normally, that is done each four-week block.
In addition, your rest periods are messed up. If you are performing 6x3, 45-second rest periods are not going to work. Not unless your “heavy” day is really just a dynamic day where you are actually using only 35-75% of your max. Otherwise, if you are truly doing a heavy day (75-95% of max), then you should be taking a minimum of 2 minutes of rest between sets and most likely 3-4 minutes.
Even if supersetting, a 45-second rest period is not enough. Think about it. If you are going to perform a heavy set of narrow-stance front squats, do you think you’ll be ready for a heavy set of deadlifts only 45 seconds later?
However, later on in your workouts, you have 90-second rest periods listed for your light days and other exercises. When using lighter weights and higher reps, you should be using shorter rest periods (30-60 seconds).
So my other advice is that you should have 90-second rest periods between supersets of heavy days and 45-second rest periods on your light days and for abs and other exercises.
Again, you should either follow a pre-made template like WS4SB or pick up some books or manuals that show you how to write strength training programs.
Ian King has a very good book on “How to Write Strength Trianing Programs.” Even Alwyn Cosgrove has a good manual on programming as do a few other coaches. Also, some books have good programs that you can then use as a template for future training programs. I think Eric Cressey’s “Maximum Strength” book does a good job of this as do a few others I’ve read and own.[/quote]
Who’d of thought? Programs are in weightlifting books? Or for FREE here on T-Nation? shit…
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Functional squats? As if regular squats build “unfunctional” muscle?
Damn I wish that word would die.[/quote]
Ah yes, the old functional vs unfunctional debate.
Look OP, obviously you havent been on here yet to observe these responses, but let me tell you something. I’ll go easy on you since your new (but I dont know about the others).
ALL muscle is functional. It doesnt matter how you build it, whether it be through machines, free weights or lifting cows. Muscle grows when placed under stress. It grows my increasing the amount of interstitial fluid and contractile proteins.
I presume that you named them “functional squats” because you heard that from some magazine educated personal trainer who weighs as much as Marissa Miller. Or perhaps read about it from magazine that espouses Abercrombie, emaciated “boys”.
To me, squats have always been functional. EVERY variation. I even think machines are functional, with a safety benefit as well.
Please refrain from calling exercises functional or semi functional or fully functional. That fact of the matter is that ALL exercises are functional in there own way.
BTW, I train alone, only using free weights. But heck, if I could afford a leg press machine or a smith machine, you betch ya I’d buy it!
Oh and by the way, “functional” is a relative term. Functional exercises are so called because it means that you would “use them on a systematic basis”. Meaning, if I play a sport that requires alot of pulling of my own body weight, then pullups would be “functional”. However, if my sport (or hobby) is to build big muscles and show them off, than ANYTHING that will build my big muscles are “functional”
I agree squats in general are about as “functional” as u can get. But this is what I ment by them.
What I ment by functional was in some way using all 3 planes of motion. So basically when I said “functional squats” I ment single legged squats while driving the opposite leg in either the sagittal (front and back) frontal (left and right) or transverse plane(rotation in one direction or the other).
