My first meet is finished with moderately acceptable results so it's time to outline the plan for the next, in this case, 2 blocks.
I am going to call my program "The 5 sets method" for obvious reasons and to disambiguate from the GVT tag I have been using. The structure is still the same.
Block 1 Highlights:
1) Unbelted. Everything. I was hesitant at first, but Danny talked me into it. Of course doing this obviously means that I will be dealing with smaller percentages, probably only 65-75% of belted 1 RM as opposed to 75-85% that I usually work with.
2) Back to timed rest periods, nothing too aggressive but since mid-February my rest times between sets has gotten way too long, turning this program into more of an intensity cycle rather than volume. (Actually not a bad tactic with the meet coming up, but certainly not the best utilization of time/the structure of the 5 sets method.) Long story short, 2-5 minutes between sets TOPS.
So this is the basic outline with starting weights indicating 5 sets of 5 and, of course, subject to change once I actually get back to the weight room.
Saturday:
Squats @ 275
Deficit Deads @ 275-315
Good Mornings @ 185-225
Sunday:
Close Grip Floor Press @ 200-225
Weighted Dips @ BW+70
Weighted Pull Ups + Chin ups @ BW+55
Tuesday
Deadlift @ 405
Pause Squats @ 225
Some other quad driven exercise (preferably not leg presses...I don't like moving all those plates)
Thursday
Bench Press @ 215
Military Press @ 125
Kroc Rows @ 145 (sets of 12, 16, 20, 24, bump 10 lbs, etc...)
Block 2
Barring complete and total stall of progress during block 1, this will be much of same, with a belt. Also, since Danny has been hinting at this for a couple months now, I think it will incorporate more dynamic work as well in squat and bench (e.g. bands, since the Z has so graciously decided to ban my chains).
I won't outline it here, but the goals for the end of block 2, which would be, roughly in early-mid September would be:
Squat: 365x3
Bench: 245x3
Deadlift: 495x3
Given that I can squat 345x3 and bench 235x3 these may be conservative, and my pull may be ambitious.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
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Conservative is fine. It's not like goals are set in stone. You can just move them once you hit them.
ReplyDeleteNothing else to comment on besides that.
Hi Shanker, I have a few remarks that won't change anything for you, but can make things more clear to other people:
ReplyDelete-- The percentages are exactly the same as before, but these are taken out of what you can do without a belt, which is only an estimate right now.
-- I think that it's important to explain how the sets / reps / weights evolve over the program. The exact weight in each lift doesn't make sense to others. To my knowledge, Shanker starts on week 1 with slightly less than the heaviest weight possible for 5x5 with reasonable rest periods. Then there are 1-2 more weeks of 5x5, then one week of 4x4 and finally 3x3. Correct me if I'm wrong.
-- I was suggesting the use of bands, but not the DE method. Just like any other exercise, and following the same loading pattern (several weeks of 5x5, then 4x4 and 3x3).
-- I think that the goal is not to hit certain weights for a certain number of reps. At this stage, it's simply to get stronger on all lifts. Whether you will fall short / reach / exceed what's written above is immaterial, as long as things are done the right way: be smart, but SFW.
Just one modification Danny, I always do 5 sets, I don't decrease them. So from week to week it would be 5 sets of 5, then 5 sets of 4, 5 sets of 3, and so on...
ReplyDeleteWhat you mentioned is the modified block we came up with prior to the meet to raise the intensity and decrease volume.