Work out Routines

[Recoil]

In this topic, i have made posts about certain workouts and plans. Each plan represents the workouts i have described. I have posted Beginner, Intermediate and Pro Plans, all with very detailed info on how to perform them. If you do it, you will notice gains. And if you are new to this, you might notice it in the first week or two, this is called Noob Gains. Enjoy.

I will add video for all the "HOW DO I" questions tomorrow, i'm zonked!

Squat


Question - How do I properly perform a squat?

The basics:

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1) Get under the bar with your chest high and your upper and lower back tight.

2) Ensure your position is balanced from left to right, grip the bar, ensuring your grip is balanced from left to right.

3) Grip the bar as close to your head as possible. This will test your shoulder, elbow and wrist joint flexibility. The closer your hands are (within reason, your hands shouldn't touch your ears), the tighter your upper back will be, and the better the bar will sit on your back. Use a thumbless grip. You aren?t supporting the bar with your hands. You?re holding the bar DOWN against your back. Your wrist should NOT bend in either direction. It should be a straight line from your forearm across the wrist onto your hand.

4) Place the bar on your back across the low portion of the traps and rear delts (low bar position). Elevate your elbows as high behind you as possible, while keeping your chest upright. If your pectorals are sore, you will feel this as a deep stretch in the pectorals and possibly delts.

5) Inhale as deeply as possible, ensure your back is tight, bend down a bit and squat the bar out of the rack. Do NOT LEAN FORWARD and perform a good morning to get the bar out of the rack. You will lose tightness this way and, as a novice, expose yourself to injury.

6) Stand fully upright with the bar across your lower traps and rear delts, and clear the bar from the rack in 3 steps:
** Take 1 step backward with one foot to clear the rack
** Take 1 step backward with the other (trail) foot so that your feet are even
** Take 1 step sideways with the trail foot so that you get your heels to proper stance width.

Do NOT perform a "backward walk" with the bar. No more than 3 steps are necessary, total. Fidgeting with a few hundred pounds on your shoulders gets tiring. Squats are difficult enough as it is, no need to tire yourself needlessly prior to exercise execution with needless steps.

7) Make necessary adjustments so that stance width is proper, i.e. heels at ~ shoulder width, feet pointed in a "neutral" manner, ~30° outward. ~30° is "neutral" because as you widen your stance, your toes need to point outward in order to maintain proper patellar alignment with the thigh bones. When your heels are at approximately shoulder width, your toes will need to be pointed ~30° outward.

8) Keep your chest high and the bar balanced above the midfoot, take a deep breath, hold it, and squat down all the way. Do not look up, do not look down, do not look side to side. Keep your eyes focused on a point that is ~ 6-10' ahead of you on the floor, or if you have a wall close enough, focus on a point a few feet above the floor along the wall.

9) 4 basics of execution:
** Sit back (stick your butt out!)
** Squat down (bending/flexing the knees)
** Balance the weight by keeping your chest and shoulders upright while your upper body leans forward slightly to keep the bar above the midfoot
** "Keep knees tight" - i.e. don't relax your quads and simply "drop" into the bottom position, keep your thigh muscles tight throughout the motion

10) Once you have squatted down all the way into "the hole", without pausing or bouncing (more on this later), stand back up.

11) As you raise out of "the hole", you will be doing 3 basic things almost simultaneously:
** You will be pushing your butt upward
** You will be pushing your shoulders upward
** You will be extending your knees
** You will be forcefully contracting your upper and lower back muscles isometrically to maintain tightness in your torso

Do not begin to exhale (blow out) until you are near to completion of the repetition. This will cause you to lose tightness.


Bench Press


Question - How do I properly perform a bench press?

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Quick, down and dirty. If you want more detail, go buy Starting Strength. This is not a bodybuilding bench press, nor a powerlifting bench press. This is a basic bench press. Don't point to westside-barbell.com or Metal Militia's site and tell me that I am explaining the bench wrong. Don't point to one of Bob Chik's video posting/explanations and tell me that I am explaining the bench wrong. This is the standard bench press for a novice.

1) Lie flat on the bench, ensuring that you are evenly balanced from left to right. Falling off of one side of the bench in the middle of a press is embarassing and decidedly non-anabolic.

2) Your feet need to stay on the floor at all times, and not move. If you need to get blocks or use plates on either side of the bench so your legs can reach, then do so. Don't lift your feet in the air or rest them on the bench. Your knees should be bent at approx. 90 degrees, and your feet should be on either side of the bench, with your legs spread at approximately 30 degrees to either side. An extra wide stance will generally be uncomfortable, an extremely close stance will not allow for proper stability and can encourage the lifting of the butt off the bench, which is a no-no. Find a comfortable stance and foot width, and maintain it throughout the motion.

3) Your glutes should stay in contact with the bench at all times, and should be contracted during all repetitions to help maintain a stable base.

4) Tuck your shoulder blades underneath your body and pinch them together and down. This will elevate the ribcage and stabilize the shoulder girdle. Maintain this state of tightness in your upper back/traps during all repetitions. This will also create a natural arch in the lower back, and will create a stable platform out of your upper back muscles for you to press from. This is called "shoulder joint retraction" and will make your rotator cuff very happy when benching.

5) Without protracting your shoulders (allowing them to roll forward/upward and lose tightness), reach up with each hand and grasp it equidistant from the center of the bar. Use the outer "smooth ring" as a reference point. You should use a hand spacing that places your pinkies within an inch or 2 of the smooth ring. Wrap your thumbs around the bar and allow the bar to rest along the heel of the hand, rather than up near the knuckles (which will cause unnecessary stress to the wrists)

6) Unrack the bar and move it so that the bar is directly over your lower chest area. Do not unrack the bar and immediately lower it to your chest from the rack in a diagonal line.

7) From a stopped position with the bar directly above your lower chest area, take a very deep breath, maintain tightness in the upper back and "pull" the bar to your chest in a controlled fashion. Your elbows should not flare or tuck excessively. Ideally, your upper arm bones (the humerus) will form an angle that is approximately 40-60 degrees from your torso. If your elbows flare out wide to the sides (~90 degree angle) then you hit your pecs incredibly hard at the risk of your rotator cuff's health. If your elbows tuck into your body (20-30 degree angle) then you will place too much emphasis on your triceps and delts, and not enough on your pecs.

8) Touch the bar to your shirt, not to your chest - if you visualize this and then try to perform it, this will pretty much guarantee that you don't bounce off your chest.

9) Press steadily and evenly to complete lockout without hyperextending your elbows or protracting (lifting) your shoulders from the bench (i.e. your upper back/traps should stay tight even at the top).

10) Lather, rinse, repeat

11) On the final repetition of the set, do NOT press directly toward the rack. The last rep should look identical to the first. Once you lockout the final repetition directly above your lower chest, then allow the bar to fall back toward the rack.


Deadlift

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The force that is transferred from the back to the bar doesn’t just leap over to the arms through the air. It is transferred to the arms through the shoulder blades, and it just so happens that when the correct deadlift position is assumed, the shoulder blades—not the front of the deltoids—are in fact directly over the bar in a line perfectly plumb and vertical to the bar. Let’s review the basic force-generation mechanics of the deadlift and see if this makes any sense.

The force that makes the bar go up is generated by the muscles that extend the knees and the hips, and this force is transferred up the rigid spine, across the scapulas to the arms and down to the bar. The weight leaves the floor when the quadriceps extend the knees, but for this to happen the hamstrings and glutes must anchor the hip angle in its position. The hamstrings pull down on the pelvis from below, and the glutes hold it from the top of the iliac crest; if the back stays flat this allows the force to travel up the rigid back held at a constant angle while the quads push the floor.

[Recoil]

The Row

Question - How do I properly perform the dumbell row?


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This guy is gay, but it's the only 1 i could find which would let me have the Embedded request :)


Question - How do I properly perform the barbell row?

YOU WILL MAINTAIN THE NATURAL LUMBAR ARCH THROUGHOUT THIS EXERCISE. At NO TIME will your lower back round for ANY reason.

Here it is, step-by-step.

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1) You maintain your lumbar arch, bend your knees, and lean over at the hips, not the lower back, so that you can grasp the bar. When you lean over, you MAINTAIN YOUR NATURAL LUMBAR (lower back) ARCH/CURVATURE. Yes, this means your bootie sticks up in the air. Deal with it, and don't do these if you go to prison.

2) You reach to the bar and grasp it with a "medium-wide grip". Don't belabor this point. Your hands should be outside of shoulder width. Exactly how far is up to you, I personally extend my thumbs to the smooth, and use that for grip width. Reaching for the bar without allowing your lower back to round will require your shoulder blades to rotate forward, which will round the shoulders forward (protraction). This is natural and normal. At this point, ENSURE YOUR LOWER BACK/LUMBAR ARCH IS STILL BEING MAINTAINED.

3) Suck in a deep breath of air, check to ensure your abs and lower back are tight, which maintains the natural lumbar arch, and EXPLOSIVELY arch your SHOULDER BLADES backward and upward while yanking your elbows up behind your body. Of course, your lumbar arch is maintained throughout, and there is NO motion at the hips. that is, hip extension (the motion you would use to stand upward from this position) does NOT occur during the rep.

4) The bar should hit in the upper abdomen and you should try to pull it through your body, while squeezing your shoulder blades together hard and arching your lats. The "arched lats" affect can be seen in runway models or swimsuit models who arch the lats. This brings the shoulders back (retraction) and it shoves their boobies up in the air (elevates the chest). This is the same action that should occur when you are readying yourself to perform the bench press, but of course, you'll be supine on a bench rather than bent over.

5) Control the weight as it returns to the ground while maintaining your lumbar arch. At this time, learn to control the weight using your lats and upper/midback muscles as much as possible, and your elbow flexors (biceps, brachialis, brachioradialis) as little as possible.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

Note - You must "deload" between *every* repetition. That is, you actually put the bar down and release (or simply relax) your grip so that you remove any type of static tension in the muscles at that time. DO THIS! It is almost counter-intuitive, and I resisted doing this for quite some time. After all, I have lifted 20 years and never deloaded between reps, why should I start now? It will be annoying at first, because you can't use as much weight.

Of course, you can't use as much weight when you do a full squat, nor can you use as much weight when you DON'T bounce the bar off your chest in a bench press. More weight isn't better if the technique isn't proper.

If you are able to row more than 135 with this exercise and you have longer arms, you may need to use 35s so that you can get a better range of motion while pulling from more of a stretch position. Stand on a low, wide box if need be. Do not, however, allow the lower back to round, and do not squat down to reach the bar.

Use less weight on this exercise than on normal 45 degree rows. Reduction in weight, increase in lat stimulation.

[Recoil]

Beginner Stage
If you think you can do this, move onto the Intermediate Stage

The following progression will be SPECIFIC to individuals who have NEVER LIFTED WEIGHTS BEFORE. This is not for the older guy who is getting back in shape, this is for the kid/guy with very little or zero barbell training experience. This is a slight adjustment from the original writeup I did. Mark Rippetoe and I discussed progression via conversation, and he also has a large portion of "Practical Programming" dedicated to this type of question, so here is where things stand now.

"Base Novice program"

Workout A
Squats - 3x5
Bench - 3x5
Deadlift - 1x5

Workout B
Squats - 3x5
Standing Press - 3x5
Lighter pull from floor (rows 3x5 or cleans 5x3)

Why so few exercises? Why so little sets and reps? Why not add a few things right off the bat? Where the hell is the arm work? Check the Table of Contents, Section V. I address all of that specifically.

You progress on the base novice program for as long as you can add weight to the bar every workout. If you stall on one of the lifts but continue to progress on the other 2, you can make some "adjustments" to that specific troublesome lift (See Table of Contents - Section III - Programming - stalling and resetting), but continue to drive on with the other 2. Understand that 99% of you will stall faster on the presses and lighter pulls than you will on the squats and the heavy pulls (i.e. deadlifts).

Once you become tolerant to the volume contained within the base novice program, you can begin to judiciously add exercises. For some completely untrained/unfit/unathletic people, and especially for those who are "more mature" (i.e. an old fart, like me), you could end up sticking with this basic program for several weeks. For the naturally strong or the fit athlete involved in strength-oriented sports such as football, hockey, wrestling, martial arts, etc, this initiation period may only be 2 weeks, and you will be ready to tolerate added work.

At this point, 2 bodyweight exercises can be added.

Workout A
Squats - 3x5
Bench - 3x5
Deadlift - 1x5
DIPS - 2 x 8-12

Workout B
Squats - 3x5
Standing Press - 3x5
Pull from floor (rows 3x5 or cleans 5x3)
PULLUPS/CHINS - 2 x 8-12 - (3 sets of pullups/chins can be done if you do the cleans instead of the rows)

You add dips to Workout A and chins to workout B. Which should you do, pullups or chinups? How wide should your hands be? Why 8-12 reps? See Table of Contents, Section II, under Accessory Exercises.

Give this a few weeks. Most people, if they introduce these 2 exercises correctly (i.e. you don't rush it, and you maintain proper nutrition/rest/recovery) will be able to make a few months worth of solid progress with this exact template. Eventually, however, most of you will get impatient and will INSIST on adding some direct arm work. Here is how you should add it.

Friday workout only
curl - 2 x 8-12
triceps extension (TriEx)- 2 x 8-12

Notice it's not added to Workout A AND Workout B? notice it's not always added to the SAME workout all the time? You add it to the Friday workout because you will have an extra day to recover from the training. Exact techniques on the curls and extensions is further discussed in Section II, Accessory Exercises.

Abdominal work is desirable. Abdominal work can be added carefully from the time you begin the training. Do NOT overdo this, as your midsection will take a pounding from the squats, deadlifts, and pulls from the floor. You do not want your midsection tired while performing these lifts or you can injure yourself. As a result, I highly recommend you start off with 1 set of abs per workout during the first week, and add no more than 1 set of abdominal exercise per week. For more specific advice regarding abdominal training, once again, head over to Section II.

For additional training of the posterior chain (i.e. the lower back, the glutes and the hamstrings), you can add back extensions, aka "hyperextensions", reverse hypers or GHR (glute ham raises). BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN ADDING THIS TRAINING. It's not supposed to be exhausting, so don't make it so. You probably won't need this for a LONG time. Regardless, 1 or possibly 2 sets of 12-15 reps, not to failure, should be sufficient. Of course, head to Section II for more specific information regarding these exercises and their proper application.

If you add ALL this stuff, this is how it will look. Note that it will probably take several months before you really need to work up to this level and volume (and complexity). For God's sakes, DON'T START OFF WITH ALL THIS STUFF!!! Do the BASE NOVICE WORKOUT for as long as possible. The less work you do in the gym at the start, the more energy you have for recovery. The more energy you have for recovery, the better you will grow. You only need to add the extra "stuff" once the original "stuff" no longer sufficiently stresses your body.

Monday - Workout A
Squats - 3x5
Bench - 3x5
Deadlift - 1x5
Dips - 2 x 8-15
GHR - 2 x 12-15
Abs

Wednesday - Workout B
Squats - 3x5
Standing Press - 3x5
Pull from floor (rows 3x5 or cleans 5x3)
Pullups/chins - 2 x 8-15 (3 sets if you do the cleans)
Abs

Friday - Workout A
Squats - 3x5
Bench - 3x5
Deadlift - 1x5
Dips - 2 x 8-15
Curls - 2 x 8-12
TriEx - 2 x 8-12

Once again, you MUST be able to add weight to the bar on your main exercises. If you add the exercises and you aren't able to recover, or you aren't adding weight to the bar on your main exercises, then this is not the answer.

Question - How long should I do this program?

"Until it stops working" is the frustrating response I have given on several occasions. This is obviously an overly simplistic way of describing things, so I will attempt to describe it further here, and give a method to the madness of the slightly more advanced programming necessary for the intermediate trainee.

As I stated earlier, only 2 resets for the squat and perhaps 1 for the deadlift will be done before it's time to move on.
You will probably reset the press a few times before it is time to change programs. As long as the squat and deadlift are still moving up, however, there is no need to change programming. If you need to do a "bigtime reset" as described above, or if you are stalling on multiple exercises at once, then it is time to move on as well.

Question - How can I do an offload/deload within the confines of the program?

Try this as a 'Rippetoe deload', for a week (even 2):

Monday and Friday

Squats - 3 ramped sets up to top set of 5 (i.e. warmups + 185 x 5, 225 x 5, 275 x 5)
Bench - 3 ramped sets up to top set of 5 (i.e. warmups + 135 x 5, 165 x 5, 205 x 5)
Pendlay row - 3 ramped sets up to a top set of 5 (i.e. warmups + 95 x 5, 125 x 5, 155 x 5)
Abs - weightless situps or leg raises, 3 x 10

No accessory work, aside from a few sets of abs to keep them tight, and even this is optional.
Instead of 3 sets of 5 ("sets across"), do what amounts to 1 work set of 5, as described above, by "ramping" your weights, i.e. doing 5 reps per set, but adding weight each set up to your top weight.

This will keep you training, but will give you a much needed break. Workout time should not exceed 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. Your intensity will still be "high" because you'll be hitting a heavy weight at the end of the workout, but your total workload (both actual and adjusted) will be quite low, because only 1 set will be of substance with each exercise.

This is one way of deloading (one of several). Other methods might include only doing 3x3 on Monday and Friday with your previous 3x5-rep weight, another method might be doing only main exercises on Monday, and then only Assistance exercises on Wednesday and/or Friday.

A straight "deconditioning" means you take a week or two completely off. No training at all. This is pretty good for the advanced lifter who can read when they've really pounded themselves into the ground, but is generally less useful for the novice and early-intermediate trainee, who probably hasn't built up enough systemic fatigue to fully benefit from the time off. In other words, I wouldn't try a straight deconditioning yet.

I did the dips and stuff, added the arm work and the GHRs, and now, after a few months, it's time to move on. What now?

You have already progressed past the initial workout scheme (with added stuff):

Monday - Workout A
Squats - 3x5
Bench - 3x5
Deadlift - 1x5
Dips - 2 x 8-15
GHR - 2 x 12-15
Abs

Wednesday - Workout B
Squats - 3x5
Standing Press - 3x5
Pull from floor (rows 3x5 or cleans 5x3)
Pullups/chins - 2 x 8-15 (3 sets if you do the cleans)
Abs

Friday - Workout A
Squats - 3x5
Bench - 3x5
Deadlift - 1x5
Dips - 2 x 8-15
Curls - 2 x 8-12
TriEx - 2 x 8-12

and it's time to move on. You have reached the point where you are in a Catch22 with linear progression. What to do now?

Time to move on to the Intermediate stage.

[Recoil]

Moving on to the intermediate stage

Now that you have advanced in both conditioning and strength, you require more of a workload each training session to disrupt homeostasis. However, the weight you use and the workload you require is too much for you to recover from in only 24-72 hours.

Progression and planning will no longer be from workout to workout, it will be from week to week. Congratulations, you have advanced to the next stage, that of the intermediate!

There are TONS of different things you can do. Chances are good you will want to branch out and play with a bunch of fancy machines and cable exercises and set up a 5-day bodypart split and give teh bicepts their own day, etc. If you want to do that, then go for it, but you'll need to look elsewhere for that type of info.

Generally, after several months of consistent, hard training with proper rest, nutrition and recovery, progress will eventually stall and daily workout-to-workout progress will no longer be possible. The body is simply conditioned to the point where the amount of stress necessary to disrupt homeostasis is greater than the body's ability to recover in a few days. Additionally, the amount of weight being used is going to be much higher than it was when training first began.

In other words, in order to get the "training affect", you need to pound yourself harder than you can recover from. Your workout abilities have exceeded your recovery abilities.

A simple training period (training period = period of training and recovery whereby homeostasis is disrupted by training, and sufficient time is allowed to recover and progress) no longer is comprised of 1 workout, but of several. By this point, the trainee, now at the intermediate stage, may have some specific direction or specialization they desire, and may have decided that he/she wants to become a powerlifter or a football player or a bodybuilder or a track/field athlete, etc. As such, more complex training protocols are going to be needed.

Rippetoe describes in great detail several methodologies for progression in Practical Programming. I will reproduce a very few of these here so as not to "steal his thunder", as well as give a few of my own that I didn't see him mention. He discusses, at length, 4, 5, and 6-day per week training routines, upper/lower, push/pull, and variations on the Starr model. I will discuss and explain the application of a few here.

Question - What are some very basic adjustments I can make to the program?

Here are some more examples using substitution semi-core exercises. Some are mentioned in PP, some are of my own design. All are obviously intuitive for the experienced individual or strength coach.

Incorporating front squats, doing more chinups, all sets 3x5, cleans 5x3, deadlifts = 1x5, chinup/pullups = 3x8-15

Week 1
Monday: Squat/Bench Press/Chinup
Wednseday: Front squat/Press/Deadlift
Friday: Squat/Bench press/Pullup

Week 2
Monday: Squat/Press/Chinup
Wednseday: Front squat/Bench Press/Row or clean
Friday: Squat/Press/Pullup


Front squats, deadlift variations

Week 1
Monday: Squat/Bench Press/Chinup
Wednseday: Front squat/Press/Romanian Deadlift
Friday: Squat/Bench press/Pullup

Week 2
Monday: Squat/Press/Chinup
Wednseday: Front squat/Bench Press/SLDL
Friday: Squat/Press/Pullup

Once an increase in volume is possible, adding a single "backoff" set of 8 repetitions after the 3x5 is done can also be useful (not needed for regular deads or cleans)

So, here we have the "Bodybuilder" variation

Week 1
Monday: Squat 3x5, 1x8/Incline Bench Press 3x5, 1x8/Chinup 4x8-15
Wednseday: Front squat 3x5, 1x8/Seated Press 3x5, 1x8/SLDL 3x5, 1x8
Friday: Squat 3x5, 1x8/Incline Bench press 3x5, 1x8/Row 3x5, 1x8

Week 2
Monday: Squat 3x5, 1x8/Incline Bench Press 3x5, 1x8/Chinup 4x8-15
Wednseday: Front squat 3x5, 1x8/Seated Press 3x5, 1x8/SLDL 3x5, 1x8
Friday: Squat 3x5, 1x8/Incline Bench Press 3x5, 1x8/Row 3x5, 1x8

General guidelines about accessory exercises still apply.

Understand that you should be using heavier weight each time you hit the same specific exercise, in some way or another. The workload must go up consistently until a reset is necessary.

Question - What about the Bill Starr/Madcow 5x5 and stuff? Can I do them next?

Sure. They are excellent training programs!

Bill Starr-type 5x5 workouts
****************************
"Beginner's" 5x5

Monday (Heavy Day - > 85%)
Back Squats: 5 x 5 Ramping to max set of 5 reps across 5 sets
Bench Press: 5 x 5 Ramping to max set of 5 reps across 5 sets
Deadlifts: 5 x 5 Ramping to max set of 5 reps across 5 sets

Wednesday (Light Day - <70%)
Back Squats: 5 x 5 using 60% of Monday's weight
Bench Press: 5 x 5 using 60% of Monday's weight
Pullups: 5 x 5 Ramping to max set across 5 sets

Friday (Medium Day - 70-85%)
Back Squats: 5 x 5 using 80% of Monday's weight
Bench Press: 5 x 5 using 80% of Monday's weight
Rows: 5 x 5 Ramping to max set across 5 sets

Each Monday should be heavier than the previous. As such, Wednesday and especially Fridays will be a bit heavier as well, from week to week.

*******************************
The well-known "Intermediate 5x5" and "Advanced 5x5 by Pendlay" can be found at Madcow's website
**********************************

Another of Bill Star's workouts, this time with a bit more variety and choices:

Monday (Heavy Day)

Back Squats: 5 x 5 ramping to limit
Bench Press: 5 x 5 ramping to limit
Deadlifts: 5 x 5 ramping to limit or Bent-Over Rows: 5 x 5 ramping to limit
Incline Dumbell Press: 2 x 20 (light weight)
Calf Raises: 3 x 30

Wednesday (Light Day)

Back Squats: 5 x 5 using 50 lbs less than Monday or Lunges: 4 x 6 ramping to limit
Good Mornings: 4 x 10 or Stiff-Leg Deadlifts: 4 x 10
Standing Overhead Press: 5 x 5 ramping to limit
Dips: 2 sets, when you can do 20 reps, start adding weight and drop the reps back to 8
Curls: 3 x 15

Friday (Medium Day)

Back Squats: 5 x 5 ramped, using 20 lbs less than Monday
Incline Bench Press: 5 x 5 ramping to limit
Shrugs: 5 x 5 ramping to limit or Clean High Pulls 5 x 5 ramping to limit
Straight Arm Pullovers: 2 x 20
Chins: 4 sets to failure

You can choose either of the optional back exercises and stick with them or set them up as follows and alternate:

Odd weeks: Monday - Deadlifts, Wednesday - Good Mornings, Friday - Shrugs

Even Weeks: Monday - Bent Rows, Wednesday - SLDL, Friday - Clean High Pulls

After two or three weeks, you can add in back-off sets (lighter weight, 8-10 reps) on all of the pressing exercises, squats, and lunges. No back-offs for any back movement. Should you want to work more on any back exercise, do another top-end set.

If you get 5 reps on your top set, add weight next week.

**************************************

Overall, note that Wednesday is a "recovery" day, where you do a workload that is going to be noticeably lighter than either Friday or Monday's workout. it's not just %age of 1-RM, it is also "effort".

Page 150 of Practical Programming - Editorial Edition, has a great table which shows %-1RM and how it corresponds with repetitions and difficulty.
On Wednesday, you might only use 70% of your 1-RM, but if you do 4x10 with it, that is going to be HARD, even if it is "low intensity". If you only do 3x8 with that same 70%, that would be a "medium" type workout, and 2-3x5 would be a "light" workout. This is VERY VERY important and is darn near worth the $15 "preorder fee" of PP alone.
__________________

[Mazman]

Just remember to rub plenty of baby oil on those pecs.

[Recoil]

Intermediate is too Noob, Got anything more Pro?

How about VRI - Volume/Recovery/Intensity? Rippetoe describes this basic programming methodology as one of the most effective for the intermediate trainees. The advanced trainee can also use this, with the obvious adjustment to training periods (i.e. instead of weekly, monthly or bi-monthly, etc)

This Expert training program variation should look rather familiar to those who have made their way around the various internet training sites.

We'll call this one "V-R-I", which, of course, stands for Volume, Recovery, Intensity. The premise is simple...you don't have 1 single workout, you have a week's worth of workouts. Each session builds on the previous session, and influences the next session. The weekend is used for final (and full) recovery. I'll give some examples that Rippetoe doesn't give specifically, but still fit in with the general design. If you want to get his exact workouts, go buy the book.

Session 1 of the week is going to be the "stress" workout, where volume at an appropriate training intensity (%age 1-RM) is used to stress the body. This is the "meat and potatoes" workout of the training period (week).

Session 2 is going to be an offload/recovery workout, where you use easier exercises, submaximal intensity-of-effort and submaximal weights, as well as reduced overall volume. This session is NOT to be skipped.

Session 3 is going to be PR day. Intensity is low, volume is high. The specific exercises do not necessarily have to be the same. Appropriate substitutions can be used. Note that from one week to the next, you should be increasing your workload on the corresponding Monday and Friday workouts. If you do 5x5x200 this week on volume day, next week you should be doing 5x5x205 or perhaps 5x6x200 or 6x5x200.

What would a Volume-Recovery-Intensity workout plan look like?

In the following example, which is of my own specific design based on PP Chapter 7 Editorial Copy, take note of several things:

1) Sets x reps are used as examples, not necessarily as specific recommendations and certainly not as requirements. Take a look at overall workload

2) Each day is organized as "squat/press/pull from floor"

3) Monday will be the highest workload, Wednesday will be the "lighter" variation of the Monday exercises and will be done with less volume, and Friday will be the heavy day where you hit it hard and heavy, but only ramping to a single max workset

4) "Assistance" exercises are introduced (seated press, front squat) - note that assistance exercises are NOT the same as accessory exercises. Assistance exercises can be considered "semi-core" exercises because of their ability to stimulate large amounts of muscle mass across multiple joints. RDLs, barbell rows, chinup/pullups, dips, and front squats are mentioned in PP. They also allow for consistent and accurate workload comparisons between the exercises. For example, the deadlift is the core exercise. The RDL and bent rows are semi-core exercises. The hyperextension and GHR would be accessory exercises. Note - the phrase "Accessory exercise" is NOT used by Rip. It is, however, a generally known, recognized, and understood term which describes "lighter/easier" exercises which can be done to add a bit of volume to an area needing a bit of extra emphasis, without throwing overall workload #s out of whack.

Monday (Volume)
Squat - 4x8
Bench - 4x6
Barbell rows - 4x8
Accessory: Abs + lower back

Wednesday (Recovery)
Front Squat - 3x5
Seated press - 3x5
Power cleans - 5x3 (or pullups, 3 x 8-15)
Accessory: abs only

Friday (Intensity)
Squat - ramp to max set of 3 or 5
Bench - ramp to max triple
Deadlift - ramp to max single, double or triple
Accessory: Abs + Direct arm work + lower back work

Note how Monday becomes a day where you do a lot of sets and reps (5x6, 5x5, 6x3, 4x8, etc).
Wednesday is a day where you use "lighter" substitution semi-core type exercises for less volume
Friday is 'PR day'. This day will be pretty short because only 1 "work set" is being done, so you can fill in a bit of volume with arm work and the like.

Another variation, similar to the above, but with DBs and some other exercise choices incorporated:

Monday (Volume)
Front Squat - 5x5
Incline DB Press - 5x6
Bent Rows - 5x8
Accessory: Abs + lower back

Wednesday (Recovery)
Lunge - 3x8
Seated DB press - 3x5
Pullups - 3x10-15
Accessory: abs only

Friday (Intensity)
Back Squat - ramp to max set of 3 or 5
Barbell Bench Press - ramp to max triple
Deadlift - ramp to max single, double or triple
Accessory: Abs + Direct arm work + lower back work


Question - What about push/pull, upper/lower or powerlifting type routines?



Push-pull workouts require that you separate the body into 4 "functional groups"

Upper body Push
Upper body Pull
Lower body Push
Lower body Pull

You then begin training with this in mind, picking 1 to 3 appropriate exercises for each.

Examples:

Upper/Lower push:
Bench Press
Overhead press
Dips
Squat

Upper/Lower pull:
Chinups
Rows
BB Curls
Deadlifts

This is obviously the most simplistic version. It is quite effective, remarkably so. It is also very useful in "reverse", i.e.

Upper Push/Lower Pull:
Bench
Overhead press
dips
Deadlift

[b]Upper Pull/Lower Push
Chins
Rows
BB Curls
Squats

You would do these on alternating days, i.e. Monday-Wednesday-Friday-Sunday-Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday. You can't do these 2 days in a row, because you can't deadlift and squat on consecutive days, usually.


Upper-Lower workouts tend to be a bit more balanced, as opposed to push-pull, which tend to be upper-body dominant. They also lend themselves easier to performing on consecutive days, i.e. Monday-Tuesday/Thursday-Friday, as well as allowing for weekly progression of "heavy/light" training

Examples:

Upper - Monday (heavy)
Bench Press - 3x5
Barbell row - 4x5
Standing push Press - 3x8
T-Bar Row 4x8
arms

Lower - Tuesday (light)
Squats - 2x10
SLDL - 3x10
leg extensions/curls - 2x15
calves

Upper - Thursday (light)
Incline DB press 2x10
BTN Pullups - 3x10
Seated DB press - 2x10
Chinups - 3x10
arms

Lower - Friday (Heavy)
Deadlifts - 3x3
Front squats 4x5
calves

Don't sweat the exact reps or sets, you make these adjustments as you need. I listed them just as very simple examples, without specific endorsement.

Both of these can fit nicely into a VRI (volume-recovery-intensity) type template as well.

The standard PowerLifting type routine is also very beneficial. If you don't want to be a powerlifter, simply use slightly higher repetitions (i.e. instead of 1-5 reps, use 5-10 reps, etc)

Sunday - Press + assistance (possibly a lighter press day)
Monday - Squat + assistance
Tuesday - off
Wednesday - Press + assistance (possibly a heavier BP day)
Thursday - off
Friday - Deadlift + assistance
Saturday - off

[Recoil]

Just remember to rub plenty of baby oil on those pecs.

we shall, and u can show it off at XL :)

[StylesOfBeyond]

where are teh curlz?

But, broscience jokes aside, this is all good stuff. Anyone thinking of starting to workout should definitely follow the routines up here- doing these compound exercises instead of the usual noob's routine of curling and benching will make a huge difference and set a newbie well on the way to making great gains.

[Recoil]

where are teh curlz?

But, broscience jokes aside, this is all good stuff. Anyone thinking of starting to workout should definitely follow the routines up here- doing these compound exercises instead of the usual noob's routine of curling and benching will make a huge difference and set a newbie well on the way to making great gains.

indeed. i used 2 just do Dumbell curls and Bench and it didn't do much AT all.

Doing the above improved.

[WordPlay]

I'll have a goosey at some of this later.

Need to trim up and would like to get toned a bit more.

What tips on food?

[Recoil]

I'll have a goosey at some of this later.

Need to trim up and would like to get toned a bit more.

What tips on food?

Depends on what you want your body to look like and wat u want 2 aim for.

if u want to bulk up visit this (http://www.bse-clan.org/forums/showthread.php?t=150) forum page of my plan.

if u want to trim up and loose weight, then dont hit the Carbs and Fats as much. Tho no dought ur body will still need them. Just eat more protein overall. Also make your meals light.

Eg.

Day 1:

Morn: 2 Eggs, Bread (no butter) and a piece of fruit.
Snack: Tin of Tuna

Lunch: 4oZ of Chicken with Salad
Snack: (if you can) 30g of Whey Protein.

WORK OUT

Dinner: Salmon, Rice, Veg.
Snack: Fruit

Before Bed: Another Protein Shake.

If you keep to something like that with your workouts, within 1-2months u will see gains in whatever u want 2 achieve.

[flixy]

Just remember to rub plenty of baby oil on those pecs.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

summarises this thread^

34xO87sKP3w

HONESTLY how many of those (as in EXACTLY like that, arms in, fist height off the floor etc) can you do?

lol protein shakes

mess

[DuncRx7]

i dont even think i can manage 2 press ups :lol:

[Recoil]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

summarises this thread^

34xO87sKP3w

HONESTLY how many of those (as in EXACTLY like that, arms in, fist height off the floor etc) can you do?

lol protein shakes

mess

good tips.

go take steroids then

[flixy]

good tips.

go take steroids then

https://www.rodscomputer.com/%5Cimages%5CGB%5CMaryKate%20&%20Ashley%20Get%20A%20Clue.jpg

[Recoil]

https://www.rodscomputer.com/%5Cimages%5CGB%5CMaryKate%20&%20Ashley%20Get%20A%20Clue.jpg

lol ur like, so funny :blush:

[flixy]

yeah safe im gang

[Makaveli]

My bro is mad into this stuff... I'll get him to leave in a post off what he eats etc.....

[Diesel]

can i just get this right.......r u postin this shit as if u did it urself or do u wanna give credit to the source...... i mean we know its not ur work coz the spellings all correct........... so obv C&P'd

just lol at the diet thing as if u even eat that..cup of spinach.....magazine talk if ever i heard it

do u even know what fast twitch muscle fibre is?

im all for ppl keepin fit etc but i would just suggest gettin mens health/mens fitness mag......they r a great read n always have new meals to try, hints n tips n other intresting stuff n motivational things

[Recoil]

can i just get this right.......r u postin this shit as if u did it urself or do u wanna give credit to the source...... i mean we know its not ur work coz the spellings all correct........... so obv C&P'd

just lol at the diet thing as if u even eat that..cup of spinach.....magazine talk if ever i heard it

do u even know what fast twitch muscle fibre is?

im all for ppl keepin fit etc but i would just suggest gettin mens health/mens fitness mag......they r a great read n always have new meals to try, hints n tips n other intresting stuff n motivational things

hey again lol i remember out last visit on workout stuff lol messy..

lol the workout routines i didn't write hell no, i follow them, i just want others 2 as well coz its worth it. lol but the diets r mine. when i say 'cup of spinach' i mean 100g serving, all in a cup. same 4 the oats and so on. i follow this everyday.

[StylesOfBeyond]

all this stuff works. did 4 me. and it will 4 u. simple as. keep 2 it, dont stop.

[BsE Ross]

Jesus christ, is this exercise?! die die die.

I tried those marines push ups and managed 15, before i almost died.

[Recoil]

its hard. but good gains

[Ninjizmo]

Eg.

Day 1:

Morn: 2 Eggs, Bread (no butter) and a piece of fruit.
Snack: Tin of Tuna

Lunch: 4oZ of Chicken with Salad
Snack: (if you can) 30g of Whey Protein.

WORK OUT

Dinner: Salmon, Rice, Veg.
Snack: Fruit

Before Bed: Another Protein Shake.

If you keep to something like that with your workouts, within 1-2months u will see gains in whatever u want 2 achieve.
the fuck man? how can you eat eggs on there own without anything XD or a can of fuckin tuna... thats fucked up

[Recoil]

the fuck man? how can you eat eggs on there own without anything XD or a can of fuckin tuna... thats fucked up

lol u get used 2 it.

[flixy]

Jesus christ, is this exercise?! die die die.

I tried those marines push ups and managed 15, before i almost died.

lol first time i did any, i actually nearly collapsed after about 10

now i can do like 35 a minute o.0

not great but iuts an improvement


lol u get used 2 it.

if your keen its easy,


but tuna by itself is win anyway :D:D::D

[DuncRx7]

My workout:

wake up:
red bull
lunch
ps3
red bull
dinner
red bull
sleep
:D

GO ME!!!

[XUnit]

Workout? I don't have it, but the job I do get's me 'nuff.
On a normal day basis I got 2 breakfasts, one lunch and one dinner.

[DaMiaN18]

My workout.. Eat whatever i want.. Play football, Play basketball, Play (Sorta) Rugby. Play Everything.. Haha ;)
Keeps me fine.. I never work out lol. I go to a gym and just sit on the machines.. :D

[Diesel]

my routine consist of being called Recoil....making a 2nd forum account called "StyesOfBeyond" i might have been trying to spell Styles? and Being the fucking saddest dick around by posting shit on my own thread posing as someone else...n probably being the one giving it a 5 star rating aswell

its working out really well so far as everyone thinks im a total cock with no skill....so ima keep it up no doubt

[XUnit]

You just striked Recoil's plan there. :/

[Recoil]

my routine consist of being called Recoil....making a 2nd forum account called "StyesOfBeyond" i might have been trying to spell Styles? and Being the fucking saddest dick around by posting shit on my own thread posing as someone else...n probably being the one giving it a 5 star rating aswell

its working out really well so far as everyone thinks im a total cock with no skill....so ima keep it up no doubt

lol its my brother. not me

[flixy]

my regime

wake up at about 4.45pm after going to sleep at 6am ;DDD

breakfast = weetabix & newcastle brown ale, PRO COMBO

5.30 skate till like 9, then go out pon' the lash or chill in and play some css/quakelive till 6am

repeat etc


my routine consist of being called Recoil....making a 2nd forum account called "StyesOfBeyond" i might have been trying to spell Styles? and Being the fucking saddest dick around by posting shit on my own thread posing as someone else...n probably being the one giving it a 5 star rating aswell

its working out really well so far as everyone thinks im a total cock with no skill....so ima keep it up no doubt


HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

diesel going on raw

[SteGxK]

my cousin took steroids and turned yellow

[XUnit]

my cousin took steroids and turned yellow
Hulk got angry and turned into Chuck Norris.


Sorry, had to.

[Diesel]

ofc why didnt i think of that............oh cz its bullshit

[Recoil]

ofc why didnt i think of that............oh cz its bullshit

no. i can prove it. 2night. u jump 2 conclusions too fast.

[StylesOfBeyond]

ofc why didnt i think of that............oh cz its bullshit

You utter, utter twat. Yes Recoil has a brother-me. Ask some of the guys in his clan and they'll tell you that they get a response to party invites saying "Recoil's bro."His (Recoil's) name is Matt, mine is Alex.

Yeah I noticed I spelt 'StylesOfBeyond' minus the 'l,' my bad there for sure. The rest of your shit you can take back, cos he didn't make this account to back up his own posts when they're already legit. I'd take the piss outta this for being some kinda dumbass conspiracy theory...but it ain't. It's just stupid





Looking for Diesel's common sense http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/jgeist/omg/Ray_Can_t_See_Shit.jpg

[Recoil]

ouch baby, love triangle

[Reckonage]

Ask an admin to put the l in the name. They can do it.

[DuncRx7]

wow. . . a workout war
how fun

[Source]

I used to be seriously fit, now I'm losing my 4 pack to gaming. Shame. Red Bull helps a lot though, especially when I get fuck all sleep.

[Recoil]

red bull doesn't help ur fitness lol

[DuncRx7]

helps mine
i lift cars for the fun :001_unsure:

[flixy]

so keen .

[Diesel]

stylesofbeyond posts 5.05pm

recoil posts 5.06pm

interesting........

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g99/mcinnes90/zipngeorge1.jpg

[Recoil]

lol facebook me. find alex beasley

[Diesel]

why dont i just type homo in google images.........

[Recoil]

i might come up so dont do it. 4 my sake

[StylesOfBeyond]

stylesofbeyond posts 5.05pm

recoil posts 5.06pm

interesting........

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g99/mcinnes90/zipngeorge1.jpg

He did it right as I posted to prove that we're brothers. He has a mac in his room which he posted it on. If you really think he can post what I put, sign out, sign in, find the thread, write that in a minute you must think him for some kinda sadist Nazi. Which is what you seem to be. I don't give two shits about a streak of piss like you so you can keep trollin the thread, but I'm not gonna be here saying that I'm not pathetic enough to keep arguing my existence post after post. Good fucking day

[Phoenix]

Uh oh.. you shouldnt... just.. run whilst you still can. 0_o

[Centarius]

or this bs can stop otherwise i'll be closing/clearing up and handing out infractions :)

[DuncRx7]

^ if this was my part of the forum. . . id be kicking ass :lol: