Got your manual and read it through once. I've got the basics down but am still trying to grasp chapters 8 onwards and the spreadsheets.
My basic question is can you train 3 days a week with success? I saw on page 49 you mentioned it briefly under "Reduced frequency, Increased Fatigue" but that seems to be a variation. I can only dedicate 3 days a week to the gym.
I also have a contest on Oct 19. I was wondering if you could give me any tips on how to manage my programming from now until the contest. (I am going to compete raw)
1)Should I do a volume block of say 2 weeks followed by intensity for 2 weeks followed by a deload week?
2)Also in the volume block when you say 5X5-does the working set weight remain the same for ALL 5 sets or do you just go up in weight?
Yes, it is certainly possible to have success with a 3 day per week template. It would be a good idea to try to vary it sometime down the road (even if it's a long time from now).
As for what the template might look like... you could take the advice in the book and use the standard template and simply rotate it over 3 days per week instead of 4, but that presents some programming challenges. You might want to design your own. I don't really have the time to do it right now, but I'd be more than happy to critique one that you put up here. If we get the two of us working together, we should be able to come up with something that works pretty good.
As far as tips programming wise... 2 weeks volume, 2 weeks intensity, deload might be ideal. It depends on what your prior training was like.
For 5x5... it's up to you on how to distribute the weight. It doesn't matter much because as soon as possible, you want to implement Fatigue Stops, then Fatigue Percents so you'll stop counting sets at that point. Then your focus goes to waving your training weights and noting where fatigue jumps in. Does that help?
I learned my lesson on RTS 1... RTS 2 will be a long time! Kidding.... In all honesty, I haven't even started writing it. I have a list of topics I want to cover, but it's not started to turn into a book yet. Right now, I'm focusing on the seminar that's coming up as well as some other projects. I'll be posting it up here well in advance, though! Thanks for the interest!
And by the way, don't worry about not digesting the whole book at once. It was intended to go in the read-a-chapter-do-a-chapter format, so if you're getting multiple steps at once, you're probably already ahead of the power curve.
I was thinking something like the basic Sheiko 3 day a week. Obviously the volume wont be as high as Sheiko but the set up would be Mon-Squat, Bench,Squat assistance(limited) Wed-Deadlift, Bench Assistance Friday-Bench, Squat, Abs.
Any thoughts?
The book is great-try to read & re-read stuff. It's to bad I'm here in Australia otherwise I'd have come to your seminar in the States!
It looks good except for the deadlift on consecutive days. I read your post 'Deadlift Blues' and had to chuckle. I'm one of those folk who finds heavy or even medium intensity deadlifting hard-especially on a frequent basis. I usually deadlift from the floor once every 2 weeks.
Guys like Louie Simmons & Bill Starr seem to be a fan of not training the deadlift. I find when my squat goes up so does my deadlift. No problem with the lock out really-it's getting the weight OFF the floor.
I think the deadlift is taxing on the CNS because you are gripping a very heavy weight in your hands and anything to do with grip work really taxes the CNS.
No rant -- i just disagree with you about the grip. You'll find many reccommendations for training grip are similar to training abs or calves -- you can train it mostly everyday. Why would grip be taxing on the CNS? You grip things everyday. If it were taxing on the CNS, then I think you'd have more problems with adrenal fatigue among even weekend warriors. And besides that, bodybuilders sometimes train deadlift with legs, then shrugs with shoulders, then heavy rows with back, then forarms on arm day. And then there are the Olympic lifters who pull 3-4 times per week and even though the weight on the bar is submaximal compared to a deadlift, the force generation and TUT is very high. I just don't see grip being a big deal.
And I'll go ahead and say it -- I flat out disagree with Louie and Bill Star. And Kenny Croxdale (if anybody recognizes that name). If you look at the best pullers in the world -- or even the above average pullers -- they all deadlift often. At least once a week. But you say, "they are built to deadlift! It's not as hard for them!"
I disagree here, too. Generally speaking you can be built do pull (long arms, short torso) or built to bench (short arms, long torso), but not both. They tend to be mutually exclusive. Then why is it that of the ones who are built to pull, nobody only benches every other week? Yet if someone is built to bench, they couldn't possibly deadlift often. It makes no sense.
I'm not saying you need to pull from the floor four times a week. What I am saying is this: Follow the law of specificity. If you want to get better at squatting -- squat and do it's variations. If you want to get better at benching -- bench and do it's variations. If you want to get better at deadlift -- DEADLIFT and do it's variations. Goodmornings by themselves will not improve anything except your ability to good morning.
Good mornings, Hi Pulls, Rack Pulls, and every other variation is GPP for the deadlift. They are good for establishing a base, but that potential must be converted into performance thru the use of specific training means.
And I'm getting very long winded....
As far as the template is concerned -- that doesn't mean unadulterated deadlifts from the floor on Friday. I was intending to make that a Deadlift-centric GPP movement. SLDL, RDL, GM's, etc. Does that make more sense? Sorry I wasn't more clear on that. Thanks for the response!
-- Edited by Mike Tuchscherer at 20:15, 2008-09-05
