Hey Mike- Bought the book! One question I do have is, is there a standard number of sets for a volume block and a set for an intensity block. I'm a Westside converter and am alittle confused on the rep/set scheme. Also will RTS work if I switch my exercises every week or 2 weeks ala Westside? Keep up the good work and good luck @ Worlds! What did you think of Mike Hedlesky? That's my training partner. First year of training and competing and almost qualified for Worlds.
I'm not sure exactly what you mean about a standard number of sets. What chapter are you implementing from the book?
I wouldn't reccommend switching exercises that frequently. The most I would do is every 3 weeks (one set of exercises for the volume block and another set for the intensity block). The reason for going so long before switching is you want to give your body time to develop and perfect a particular movement pattern -- especially with your SPP work. You'll notice I've been doing the competition lifts every week for the last year. That's because I need to perfect that movement. If you cycle your intensities then you won't "overtrain" the movement pattern. If you switch exercises more frequently than that, it won't negate the program, but it will work better if you give it time.
And to qualify that statement, there are periods of time where you want to drop or severely restrict SPP movements, but that has to do with transition periods after a meet.
I'll say this about Mike Hedlesky. I met him very briefly at Nationals and he's a very nice guy. I have a four names written in my notebook that I take to the gym. They are the names of guys I consider to be my biggest competition, either now or in the future. Mike is on that list. And thinking about what he's doing in the gym helps keep me motivated when I don't feel like being there. That's not to say I consider us "enemies" or anything. I'd help him in a heartbeat, just as he would do for me, I'm sure. Just that I recognize that 1) he has a lot of potential, 2) he's an up an comer in my weight class (and coming up fast) and 3) I better stay on top of my game if I want to keep going to Worlds year-in-year-out.
I guess what i'm trying to ask is, is there a certain number of lifts I should be shooting for in a volume block or an intensity block in relation to the stress factor(Referring to page 10-11). Please forgive my ignorance. I'm 45 and sometimes its hard to teach an old dog new tricks.
No, it's not a certain number of lifts. At that point in the book, the protocols are there to provide a moderate to high level stimulus. You may find that you need to turn down the volume a little. The point is that you're doing SOMETHING productive between the time you read Chapter 1 and Chapter 3.
