Increasing Strength

[MikeC]

Just finished reading this thread and give it 2 thumbs up!

[BendtheBar]

First week done.

3 heavy squat and deadlift sessions and I feel great. Looking forward to week 2.

[BendtheBar]

Going to lower my high box squats just a hair...by 3 inches this week. My high boxes are still a little too high right now.

[BendtheBar]

Nevermind. I was feeling punch drunk and went heavy.

515 x 10 box squat PR.

[Fazc]

Hell yeah!

Despite a couple of minor joint annoyances I am feeling very strong on this.

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by Fazc

Hell yeah!

Despite a couple of minor joint annoyances I am feeling very strong on this.

Same here.

I decided it was better to put a big weight on my back. After all, that's one of the reasons I am doing this.

[LtL]

Great work guys.

LtL

[Fazc]

Some things I did to deload back when I used to do it:

1) Absolutely nothing.

Just literally sat on my ass.

2) 2-3 full body sessions with the big 3.

Squat up to 220lbs
Bench up to 185lbs
Deadlift up to 220lbs

3) The exact same routine but with greatly lowered sets/reps and weight.

I rarely did this, because after two weeks of THERE-IS-NO-TOMORROW in the gym I was usually too far gone and needed rest.

4) Take half a week off, then another half a week of light lifting on the same routine.

5) Other activities; squash, tennis, circuit training or anything else you have a vested interest in.

I rarely opted for splits during my deload week as I didn't see the point of splitting up 80kg benches and 100kg squats. Not enough stress or volume to warrant two gym sessions, better to just sit on my ass, watch star trek and have another pint or two of milk.

Whatever I did, I would typically set a PR or close as soon as I got back. There was no ramping up of weight/intensity. It was either ON or OFF.

[BendtheBar]

I think I might do something like:

--4 Day Upper/Lower.

Upper
Bench 3 x 10 @ 50%
Rows 3 x 10
One arm OHP 3 x 10
...etc

Lower
Squats 3 x 10 @50%
Speed Deads
Abzors and side bends
...etc

Upper
MP 3 x 10 @ 50%
Rows 3 x 10
Close Grip Bench 3 x 10
...etc

Lower
Deads 5x5 @50%
Speed Squats
Abzors and side bends
...etc

Might throw in some 10 rep curls, calf raises, power shrugs...that sort of thing.

Thoughts?

I want to do some hypertrophy-style work that is much lighter intensity. Nothing challenging, just something to stay active and have fun with.

[Fazc]

Well it's definitely a step down from what we've been doing but I'd just bear in mind the idea behind planned deloads, they are a very different concept to deloads in general and as a result this causes some misconceptions about the usefulness of planned deloads. Unlike general deloads which basically just happen when a trainee is tired, planned deloads are an integral part of a bigger overall plan in which an advanced trainee intends to absolutely destroy his body with an immense amount of loading over a number of sessions (in our case 12), with the hope of causing an even greater adaption response during the recuperation time.

A couple of scenarios for you:

1) 2 weeks of extreme loading followed by 2 weeks of active rest. This is the sort of thing Rippetoe wrote about in PPST when citing Pendlays research. The idea behind the two weeks of rest was a complete reversal of the hormonal balance between test/cortisol. The key thing to note here is that 2 weeks of rest is a long time and he recommends some limited heavy work in the middle of those two weeks. I take this to mean a couple 90% singles done around days 7-9 of the 14 day deload.

2) 2 weeks of extreme loading followed by 1 week of active rest. This is our approach, unlike the previous example 1 week isn't a sufficient enough time following a period of extreme loading to detrain from lifting maximum weights.

They key thing to note with both of the above, very different, examples are that during the planned deloads weeks both intensity and volume were reduced heavily. This is unlike a traditional periodisation scheme where volume starts high/intensity low and then goes to lower volume/higher intensity. This is quite simple high intensity/high volume followed by low intensity/low volume, as I've written about before it's the contrast which will cause the change.

Just to point out again this is a different approach to traditional periodisation but one which is equally as viable and in some cases even more so.