Increasing Strength

[jaymax]

Originally Posted by Fazc

Some of that is practicalities, I have a certain set of bands and a set-up that I like to use. I generally prefer high band tension, it just feels harder and more challenging to me.

Other than that, I think you'll find if you look again band tension is typically much higher than just 10% for most wave cycles. 15-25% is usually pitched for most squat waves and upto 50% band tension for some circamax cycles.

Honestly I might be thinking of chains used on ME exercise variations. Just vaguely remembering off of an old writeup on deepsquatter that Simmons did about it. I really think I'm thinking of added chain weight at the top for benches in the range of 30-50 lbs depending on your max.

[BendtheBar]

4 months until RUM. Going to made some changes and test run a higher frequency benching protocol with some volume, which I have never done before. I have run frequency, but never with a Smolovian volume.

I have nothing to lose and only pounds on my bench to gain, so this should be a fun experiment. While benching is changing, squat and deadlift programming is staying about the same; nothing that I haven't been doing for the last 18 months.

Plan is:

1) Frequency. Lift every other day.
2) Lifts. Squat and bench each day. Squat will be to daily max single.
3) Deadlift. Each 4th day perform deadlifts instead of squats, alternating between heavy and moderate sessions. So, I will deadlift heavy every 16 days.

Sample cycle:

Day 1 - Squat and Bench
Day 3 - Squat and Bench
Day 5 - Squat and Bench
Day 7 - Deadlift (light) and Bench
Day 9 - Squat and Bench
Day 11 - Squat and Bench
Day 13 - Squat and Bench
Day 15 - Deadlift (heavy) and Bench

Notes

--This is a decrease in training frequency. For the last 6 months I had been training 60% of days. This now drops to 50%.

--I will repeat the above cycle about 6 times before entering into a minor deload, and then a month long contest peaking plan. I will be testing Kabuki's (Chris Duffin) 3-2-1-0 for peaking:

3,2,1,0 Powerlifting Meet Countdown

--Bench work initial plan is:

Day 1 - 7x5 @ 75%
Day 3 - 6x4 @ 80%
Day 5 - 5x3 @ 85%
Day 7 - 4x2 @ 90%

These percentages are based on my 430 paused Slingshot bench press PR. All reps are paused. The percentages are not as important as the volume and frequency.

[linedriver465]

Looks like a solid set-up Steve.

Will is be straight, flat bench and back squat every time? Or will it be variations of the lifts too?

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by linedriver465

Looks like a solid set-up Steve.

Will is be straight, flat bench and back squat every time? Or will it be variations of the lifts too?

Flat bench, though occasionally I might sneak in some close grip work if my eccentrics are feeling off.

Squats will always be to a daily max, with the minimum goal of going heavy-heavy at least once a month. I find I need to set these minimums or I will talk myself into going for 555 instead of, say, 585.

Light deadlift day may he high rack pulls if I can purchase more weight. 675 just doesn't cut it at that height. I need 800-850, but can't afford it (yet).

[Fazc]

You know I spent a good while re-reading through this thread today, and I just wanted to thank Btb, Mike, Pull, Jay, Al, OR, Kuyt and everyone else who has contributed so far. The discussion and encouragement of sharing ideas is some of the best. Great to be able to share a passion with like minded, decent people.

So it's come around again, I've wanted a bit of a change due to a whole host of factors which I covered here:

Originally Posted by Fazc

1) No spotter. And for a subtle psychological nuance that I have, when I can't do something "all in" I find it hard to motivate myself. That's not an ideal 'condition' to have (!), but it's something I'm conscious of and I think this is possible why I've struggled to get into the gym on week days. Cos when I get to the gym I know I'm not going to be able to do the programme as it's supposed to be done (all out on ME days).

2) Perhaps I need a change. The WSB stuff while awesome just isn't appealing to me right now. Maybe that's cos I'm losing weight/strength or whatever. But mentally I'm not as on it.

3) I have less and less time to think about stuff I need to do. WSB requires thinking time, and my thinking time is wrapped up in other things right now. Something laid out for me may be easier mentally.

4) Related to no spotter, it's harder and harder to psyche up big for the lone workouts. That's something I'm sure I'll get used to but without that element of safety it's hard.

So here's what I'm thinking:

1) Full body sessions. I just don't like training each lift/bodypart only once a week. I can literally feel my muscles wasting away. I need more stimulation than that. Twice or more seems great. Mentally I'm most comfortable with 3 x a week.

2) Frequent lifts mean I don't have to go balls to the wall each time. This is especially important with Squats and Benches where I lack a spotter.

3) Sets/reps. I briefly considered Sheiko but I know myself by now, and I just don't respond well to such a regimented routine. So it'll be a top single (which I love) followed by some back offs to nail form.

4) Variation. This is something I believe in, BUT I also like the idea of specificity on some lifts where I don't need variation to fix stuff. So the solution will be distinctly Bulgarian and is something I've done before. Work up to a single in the big 3 and then during the back offs I'll have the option of doing assistance exercises if needed.

5) Cycling. I was far too regimented last time, and continually smashed the same lifts week in week out. If there's one thing I've learned from WSB it is that frequently changing lifts is golden for staying healthy (for me). So I'll rotate exercise as and when I can.

So a typical session might look something like this:

• Squat upto a daily max in briefs, off a box. Followed by either 3 triples in the Squat, GM or Front Squat.
• Bench upto a daily max in the Slanger. Followed by 3 triples in either the Bench, CGBP or Incline or even BTN Press
• Deadlift upto a daily max. Followed by 3 triples in either the SLDL, BLDL, SDL or something else.

I'd do that anywhere from 3-4 times a week. The idea, at least in the beginning, would be to hit the main lifts each and every time to become accustomed to the high frequency.

My areas for concern:

Deadlifts always get the short end of the stick. Possible solution would be to vary which of the Squat or Dead goes first. Or possibly minimise volume/intensity on the Squat. Any other ideas?

Thoughts welcome as always.

[LtL]

I like the idea of alternating squatting or pulling first in the session. Increased frequency also seems to work very well for you. I think with all that you have going on right now, a routine where you spend less time analysing and working on special exercises and more time doing simple three lift variations will be good.

What about keeping speed bench work?

Al

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by Fazc

1) Full body sessions. I just don't like training each lift/bodypart only once a week. I can literally feel my muscles wasting away..

Understood. Going a week between lifts is almost mental torture for me. I get an itchy trigger finger and at minimum want to practice.

Frequent lifts mean I don't have to go balls to the wall each time. This is especially important with Squats and Benches where I lack a spotter.

Agree. Plus I think the squat frequency will benefit your deadlift.

3) Sets/reps. I briefly considered Sheiko but I know myself by now, and I just don't respond well to such a regimented routine. So it'll be a top single (which I love) followed by some back offs to nail form.

I would rather see you use a looser structure than a rigid one.

BUT I also like the idea of specificity on some lifts where I don't need variation to fix stuff.

I think squats of all the lifts can be handled best with low to no variation. Bench next. Deadlifts are a beast, so whatever works with them.

5) Cycling. I was far too regimented last time, and continually smashed the same lifts week in week out. If there's one thing I've learned from WSB it is that frequently changing lifts is golden for staying healthy (for me). So I'll rotate exercise as and when I can.

While sticking to the same lifts and rep schemes can be done, it's a mental grind after a certain period of time. I think there are far too many quality reasons to cycle in some way, shape or form not to.

I hit burnout from grinding the same grind every week. It took over 6 months to get there, but it still happened.

[oli]

..am really diggin' the information u guys have been posting in this thread - especially regarding the bench & deadlift- it's been more than helpful in getting me back into the gym after hurting myself..

..rounds of beer on me!

[Fazc]

Originally Posted by LtL

I like the idea of alternating squatting or pulling first in the session. Increased frequency also seems to work very well for you

Yeah, that seems to be the best solution I can think of at the moment, it'll probably work out to alternating heavy and light squats and deads. So for example

Squats, Benches, light pulls
light Squats, Benches, heavy pulls

At the moment I'm thinking of using the light blocks for correctional work, so it's none too taxing. More on that later.

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

I would rather see you use a looser structure than a rigid one.

Exactly yeah, this just works so much better for me.

I think squats of all the lifts can be handled best with low to no variation. Bench next. Deadlifts are a beast, so whatever works with them.

Now you mention it, I'm talking with Tom over on Sugden regarding some changes he has made to his Squat style. I'm thinking this is a possible area for improvement for me with me having quite long limbs. So for the correctional work I mentioned earlier it will entail frequent front squats and back squats trying to learn how to do them oly style properly.

(Do try and have a read of that, it's very interesting)

While sticking to the same lifts and rep schemes can be done, it's a mental grind after a certain period of time. I think there are far too many quality reasons to cycle in some way, shape or form not to.

Definitely and this relates to Al's other question about speed bench. I will keep them in. The speed Bench and speed Squats, Deads just worked far too well for me to omit them now. So on some days during the week I'll do heavy speed work. So I'll have roughly

• Heavy squat variations to parallel
• Speed work probably above parallel
• Very deep correctional squats

In any given week, so that's plenty of variety. I won't necessarily do them all, and may do some twice or three times. Whatever I feel I can handle.

I hit burnout from grinding the same grind every week. It took over 6 months to get there, but it still happened.

Yeah, I tend to think there is a rhyme and reason for most things and for this I'm starting to think the reason WSB worked so well is that I was coming off the back of a hyper frequent schedule earlier in the year (remember maxing on 18 exercises across 12 sessions a week!) and the WSB allowed me to peak my strength in the correct way.

So by that logic I'm going back to build a bigger base as it were.

Originally Posted by oli

..rounds of beer on me!

Excellent!

---

Due to the nature of a plan-less plan, I'll update retrospectively in a week or so.

[Fazc]

How about that! This thread has been running for a year, what a trip it's been!

I've been doing some thinking, pondering, deliberating if you will about what to do next. This year has been fantastic in terms of evolution of training. My recent 3 months of WSB training has been somewhat disjointed from the overall year but even so it's been a good learning experience. I thought I would summarise the year in it's 3 distinct phases:

Phase 1:

First time Steve and I started to discuss the ideas in the Chatbox. We were talking about deloads, specificity, varying percentages, varying exercises and the beginnings of what would serve as periodisation for both of us for the next year. What started off for me was a weekly schedule which would encompass 6 sessions, 3 push and 3 squat/pull. The rep schemes were mostly 6-8 sets of low reps with planned variety across the week.

Something like this:

Monday: Push 8 singles
Tuesday: Squat 8 singles, Pull 6 triples
Wednesday: Push 6 triples
Thursday: Squat 6 triples, Pull 6 triples
Friday: Push 6 triples
Saturday: Squat 6 triples, Pull 8 singles

At this point I was doing a lot of geared work. Heavy singles in full gear etc on a weekly basis. Later on we talked about morning sessions and additional work. However that was done alongside the work stated rather than instead of it and wasn't really a major departure in terms of the basic routine.

At this point I started to mess with the rep schemes a little. The constant battering of high sets and low reps was getting to be a bit much so I varied things by working up to a daily max followed by back off sets.

Daily Max upto a top single
90% of that for doubles
80% for triples

Something like that. The tri-weekly schedule was something like this:

Week 1: Heavy
Week 2: Heavy
Week 3: Light

And so on.

Strength and mass was rising, albeit inconsistently. Elbow and knee pain was rampant here from the constant equipped battering and probably poor selection of correctional work.

Phase 2:

At this point, a few months later I decided to up the frequency, come back to full body routines and introduce a more planned variation of reps/sets. The idea was to perform specifically singles for equipped assistance and higher reps for raw work. As well as that I introduced the idea of top end and bottom end work. Something like this:

Day 1: Full Body, fully equipped with multiple singles. Top end.
Day 2: Full Body, raw, higher reps.
Day 4: Full Body, partially equipped with multiple singles. Bottom end.
Day 5: Full Body, raw, higher reps.

This was great because I got to vary reps a lot during the week. But my joints were still taking a hammering and with the increased frequency and lack of variation I had constant knee/elbow/inner thigh issues leading up to the Nationals. But I did get strong.

The lack of variation, constant single work and constant work in gear was tough on the body.

Phase 3:

I switched to WSB early summer and my gains were great right off. I've written a lot of things about WSB and while it was a complete departure from the previous 10 months in terms of control I picked up things which could work.

Box Squats - Properly done are the dogs for increasing hamstring/hip strength and general squatting power. The only negative here being that we're talking mainly of heavily geared squats, as the width of the stance makes raw and singleply squats somewhat inconsistent for depth.

Speed work with heavy band resistance - Love this. Properly performed this is immense for building strength for geared work and stability for both raw and equipped work.

3 week cyles - All credit to Mark Bell and Donnie Thompson for these. I love these 3 week cycles, they're in the same vein as my own deload weeks which also stretch to 3 weeks. A typical 3 week wave would be:

Week 1: 10 sets
Week 2: 8 sets + working up in doubles
Week 3: 6 sets + working up in singles

Then starting a fresh again. A fantastic way to vary speed and intensity across 3 weeks without the need for a specific deload. Varying work and intensity in this way allows for other days where maximal work is done and resulted in some nice PR's and zero joint/injury issues. I was strongest at this point, however this also accompanied by weight gain upto 104kg at my heaviest, as well as that I was 'peaking' the volume built by previous work in the summer so it's not as simple to say WSB was the best routine.

Anyway, based on the above I'm going to work out how to continue this evolution. I just wanted to get all this in one place.