Hello Guys,
Merry Christmas everyone.
I am the strongest I've ever been.
I am the leanest I've ever been.
I cut out most fluff stuff recently.
I really push it on compound lifts.
Well, this is my program for past few months. Give it a try, it will make you strong and jacked.
Day 1:
deadlift: 6 sets of 5 (week 1) to 6 sets of 3 (week 5)
floor press: 4 sets of 8 medium heavy plus sometimes a set of 15-20 reps close-grip to fry triceps
leg raises or incline sit-ups: 2 sets of 20
Day 2:
front squat: 4 sets of 6 heavy
standing press: 4 sets of 8 plus a hypertrophy set 15-20 reps
low cable rows or T-bar rows: 4 sets of 8 heavy as fuck
Day 3:
squat: 6 sets of 5 (week 1) to 6 sets of 3 (week 5)
bench press: 6 sets of 5 (week 1) to 6 sets of 3 (week 5)
Romanian DL: 4 sets of 6 heavy or 2 sets of 20 go for the burn
Note: I do arms 1-2x a week on off days, like 8 sets of 8 with medium weight.
Good luck ;-)
2015/12/23
2015/11/15
High-frequency minimalist training
If I was twenty years younger with raging testosterone and could do it all over again, I would do high-frequency minimalist training to get brutally strong and jacked. I would push myself on a couple of big lifts multiple times a week. I would cut the fluff stuff altogether, maybe I'd have kept abs and some rows. Or at least, I would do such a minimalist high-frequency 6-week cycle 3-4 times a year to get me back on track.
Lack of time? Confused with all the routines out there? Don't have time to think about program design all the time? Need something super-efficient? Big bang for your buck? Yes, I have it for you.
Right from the start, for the haters:
- no, it is not rounded, but that's ok because it's only 6 weeks. You can still do your face pulls later.
- Yes, it is not balanced but we are not shooting for the Olympia finals, are we?
- Yes, it might be boring but for 6 weeks you can bear with it
- Yes, it is hard but it's only 6 weeks
- You will do only squat, front squat, bench press, standing press, sumo, conventional and rows and abs. If you can't get strong on that, go to your cable crossover station and be doomed forever.
Here we go:
WEEK 1
Day 1:
sumo deadlift: 6 sets of 5 @ 60%
bench press: 4 set of 8 heavy (but not to failure)
abs: 3 sets of 20
Day 2:
front squat: 4 sets of 8 heavy (but not to failure)
press: 4 sets of 8 heavy (but not to failure)
rows: 4 sets of 8 heavy
Day 3:
squat: 6 sets of 5 @ 60%
bench press: 6 sets of 5 @ 60%
conventional: 3 sets of 6 moderately heavy
WEEK 2
Day 1:
sumo deadlift: 5 sets of 5 @ 65%
bench press: 4 set of 8 heavy (but not to failure)
abs: 3 sets of 20
Day 2:
front squat: 4 sets of 8 heavy (but not to failure)
press: 4 sets of 8 heavy (but not to failure)
rows: 4 sets of 8 heavy
Day 3:
squat: 5 sets of 5 @ 65%
bench press: 5 sets of 5 @ 65%
conventional: 3 sets of 6 moderately heavy
WEEK 3
Day 1:
conventional deadlift: 5 sets of 4 @ 70%
bench press: 4 set of 6 heavy (but not to failure)
abs: 3 sets of 20
Day 2:
front squat: 4 sets of 6 heavy (but not to failure)
press: 4 sets of 6 heavy (but not to failure)
rows: 4 sets of 8 heavy
Day 3:
squat: 5 sets of 4 @ 70%
bench press: 5 sets of 4 @ 70%
sumo: 3 sets of 5 moderately heavy
WEEK 4
Day 1:
conventional deadlift: 4 sets of 4 @ 75%
bench press: 4 set of 5 heavy (but not to failure)
Day 2:
front squat: 4 sets of 5 heavy (but not to failure)
press: 4 sets of 6 heavy (but not to failure)
Day 3:
squat: 4 sets of 4 @ 75%
bench press: 4 sets of 4 @ 75%
WEEK 5
Day 1:
conventional deadlift: 6 sets of 3 @ 80%
bench press: 4 set of 5 heavy (but not to failure)
Day 2:
front squat: 4 sets of 5 heavy (but not to failure)
press: 4 sets of 6 heavy (but not to failure)
Day 3:
squat: 6 sets of 3 @ 80%
bench press: 6 sets of 3 @ 80%
WEEK 6
stay 5-6 days out of the gym. No need for 7 days but give the rest 5 full days. Test new maxes then and add 10kg on squat and deadlift for calculations of new maxes and 5kg on bench press. You do not have to test, if you do not want to. During this week do nothing or go light swimming or 2 long walks. If you rested properly, the next week with 60% even with increased weights should feel super light and crispwith spot on form.
So simple, isn't it? :-)
Lack of time? Confused with all the routines out there? Don't have time to think about program design all the time? Need something super-efficient? Big bang for your buck? Yes, I have it for you.
Right from the start, for the haters:
- no, it is not rounded, but that's ok because it's only 6 weeks. You can still do your face pulls later.
- Yes, it is not balanced but we are not shooting for the Olympia finals, are we?
- Yes, it might be boring but for 6 weeks you can bear with it
- Yes, it is hard but it's only 6 weeks
- You will do only squat, front squat, bench press, standing press, sumo, conventional and rows and abs. If you can't get strong on that, go to your cable crossover station and be doomed forever.
Here we go:
WEEK 1
Day 1:
sumo deadlift: 6 sets of 5 @ 60%
bench press: 4 set of 8 heavy (but not to failure)
abs: 3 sets of 20
Day 2:
front squat: 4 sets of 8 heavy (but not to failure)
press: 4 sets of 8 heavy (but not to failure)
rows: 4 sets of 8 heavy
Day 3:
squat: 6 sets of 5 @ 60%
bench press: 6 sets of 5 @ 60%
conventional: 3 sets of 6 moderately heavy
WEEK 2
Day 1:
sumo deadlift: 5 sets of 5 @ 65%
bench press: 4 set of 8 heavy (but not to failure)
abs: 3 sets of 20
Day 2:
front squat: 4 sets of 8 heavy (but not to failure)
press: 4 sets of 8 heavy (but not to failure)
rows: 4 sets of 8 heavy
Day 3:
squat: 5 sets of 5 @ 65%
bench press: 5 sets of 5 @ 65%
conventional: 3 sets of 6 moderately heavy
WEEK 3
Day 1:
conventional deadlift: 5 sets of 4 @ 70%
bench press: 4 set of 6 heavy (but not to failure)
abs: 3 sets of 20
Day 2:
front squat: 4 sets of 6 heavy (but not to failure)
press: 4 sets of 6 heavy (but not to failure)
rows: 4 sets of 8 heavy
Day 3:
squat: 5 sets of 4 @ 70%
bench press: 5 sets of 4 @ 70%
sumo: 3 sets of 5 moderately heavy
WEEK 4
Day 1:
conventional deadlift: 4 sets of 4 @ 75%
bench press: 4 set of 5 heavy (but not to failure)
Day 2:
front squat: 4 sets of 5 heavy (but not to failure)
press: 4 sets of 6 heavy (but not to failure)
Day 3:
squat: 4 sets of 4 @ 75%
bench press: 4 sets of 4 @ 75%
Day 1:
conventional deadlift: 6 sets of 3 @ 80%
bench press: 4 set of 5 heavy (but not to failure)
Day 2:
front squat: 4 sets of 5 heavy (but not to failure)
press: 4 sets of 6 heavy (but not to failure)
Day 3:
squat: 6 sets of 3 @ 80%
bench press: 6 sets of 3 @ 80%
WEEK 6
stay 5-6 days out of the gym. No need for 7 days but give the rest 5 full days. Test new maxes then and add 10kg on squat and deadlift for calculations of new maxes and 5kg on bench press. You do not have to test, if you do not want to. During this week do nothing or go light swimming or 2 long walks. If you rested properly, the next week with 60% even with increased weights should feel super light and crispwith spot on form.
So simple, isn't it? :-)
2015/11/07
Top 5 assistance exercises worth doing
I know, I know. I said multiple times no fluff is needed. And that still is true. You can get freakishly strong doing only back squats, front squats, sumo pull, conventional pull, Romanian deadlift, bench press, standing press, floor press, seated DB presses and some heave ass rows. That should be your 80-90% of work for DECADES. Sticking to these will get you both freakishly strong and super jacked, provided you work your ass off, do enough frequency, do multiple sets of reps and constantly increase weight. If you want to do more work, add another squat session weekly. Weak shoulders? How about shoulder pressing 2-3 times a week with huge volume and moderate weights? The possibilities are endless.
However, there are situations when some of the fluff stuff can be useful: weakness in a muscle or a muscle group; wrong firing patterns within specific muscle groups, need to flush lots of blood through specific muscles and joints, need for local hypertrophy, need for variations, especially for some lifters who do not like doing the same all the time. Still when choosing the fluff stuff, choose what you really need, not what you like. And rule No.2, the fluff stuff can NEVER take away from your main work. Remember, it is just the remaining 10-15%, the 85-90% is still the main lifts and their variations.
I like doing concentration curls but they do nothing for my main lifts.
I like drinking beer while watching movies but it does nothing for my lifting as well.
Ok, enough of the preaching, below is what I think are Top 5 useful fluff exercises worth doing:
No. 5 - FLAT DB PRESSES
I think you get enough of pec work from all the benching and floor pressing but if you think you need extra pec mass and/or flushing some blood through your shoulders, they have their place in training. Go moderately heavy or even very light. If you want to build some pecs, I'd suggest 5 sets of 8, if you want to speed up recovery, I'd go something like 3 sets of 20 or even 2 sets of 30. My favourite is the hammer flat DB press as I feel it hits the triceps very hard and still builds some pecs.
No. 4 - TRICEPS EXTENSIONS aka SKULLS
You should get enough triceps work form benching and overhead pressing but again, if you feel your triceps need some more strength and mass or you need to flush some blood through elbows, do some DB extensions. Go for volume and short rest periods. 8 sets of 12 or 6 sets of 15. Do not go heavy. Go for the pump. On a sidenote, my triceps grew the most when I did sets of 15-20 close-grip floor presses ;-)
No. 3 - LEG CURLS
This is a no brainer. Strong hams are necessary for both heavy squats and pulls. And while I do think Romanian deadlift is a better hams builder, machine leg curls are a very nice addition. Do low reps, hams for some reason, respond better to heavy weights and lower reps than high reps and lower weights. 5 sets of 5 heavy or 6 sets of 3. Yes, that low. Do one or two sets of 100 reps from time to time to rehab tendons. do machine leg curls or band curls. If you have an access to a GHR machine, you are a lucky bastard, use it and be awesome.
No. 2 - ABS
Any kind. Here you can go crazy with variations. Incline sit-ups, leg raises, hanging leg raises, side bends, heavy hammer on the tire, all kinds of leg lifts. Vary the reps as well from session to session. One session do incline sit-ups 6 sets of 8 with a heavy plate on your chest, next session do 3 sets of 50 of hanging leg raises. Go hard. I have yet to see a lifter who'd say: my abs are so strong that they hurt my lifts. Any idea why Konstatinovs pulls in the 850-900+ range in a competition beltless? Guess what, his abs are made of steel.
... and the winner is ... No.1 - HYPERS
Probably the best assistance exercise you can do. All the Russian powerlifting superstars do them, or weightlifters do them and you can find them in pretty much all Eastern Bloc templates. The volume is usually quite high, 5 sets of 10 or 6 sets of 8 or 8 sets of 6 and very heavy or 3 sets of 12 lighter. This is an awesome exercise, it hits your glutes, hams and lower back. Do them correctly, put the pad on your thighs, not your groin. The rotation axis should be in your hip joint not lower back. Most people put the pad too high and then they bend at their waist and complain they have low back pain. The low back never moves, it is static through the whole ROM. Rotate in your hips, pause a second at the top and squeeze you glutes like hell.
But remember, next time when you are about to analyze your routine again and debate whether you should do 3 sets of 12 of hypers or maybe 5 sets of 5 of leg curls, ask yourself: "How much did I improve on front squats over past 6 months?"
However, there are situations when some of the fluff stuff can be useful: weakness in a muscle or a muscle group; wrong firing patterns within specific muscle groups, need to flush lots of blood through specific muscles and joints, need for local hypertrophy, need for variations, especially for some lifters who do not like doing the same all the time. Still when choosing the fluff stuff, choose what you really need, not what you like. And rule No.2, the fluff stuff can NEVER take away from your main work. Remember, it is just the remaining 10-15%, the 85-90% is still the main lifts and their variations.
I like doing concentration curls but they do nothing for my main lifts.
I like drinking beer while watching movies but it does nothing for my lifting as well.
Ok, enough of the preaching, below is what I think are Top 5 useful fluff exercises worth doing:
No. 5 - FLAT DB PRESSES
I think you get enough of pec work from all the benching and floor pressing but if you think you need extra pec mass and/or flushing some blood through your shoulders, they have their place in training. Go moderately heavy or even very light. If you want to build some pecs, I'd suggest 5 sets of 8, if you want to speed up recovery, I'd go something like 3 sets of 20 or even 2 sets of 30. My favourite is the hammer flat DB press as I feel it hits the triceps very hard and still builds some pecs.
No. 4 - TRICEPS EXTENSIONS aka SKULLS
You should get enough triceps work form benching and overhead pressing but again, if you feel your triceps need some more strength and mass or you need to flush some blood through elbows, do some DB extensions. Go for volume and short rest periods. 8 sets of 12 or 6 sets of 15. Do not go heavy. Go for the pump. On a sidenote, my triceps grew the most when I did sets of 15-20 close-grip floor presses ;-)
No. 3 - LEG CURLS
This is a no brainer. Strong hams are necessary for both heavy squats and pulls. And while I do think Romanian deadlift is a better hams builder, machine leg curls are a very nice addition. Do low reps, hams for some reason, respond better to heavy weights and lower reps than high reps and lower weights. 5 sets of 5 heavy or 6 sets of 3. Yes, that low. Do one or two sets of 100 reps from time to time to rehab tendons. do machine leg curls or band curls. If you have an access to a GHR machine, you are a lucky bastard, use it and be awesome.
No. 2 - ABS
Any kind. Here you can go crazy with variations. Incline sit-ups, leg raises, hanging leg raises, side bends, heavy hammer on the tire, all kinds of leg lifts. Vary the reps as well from session to session. One session do incline sit-ups 6 sets of 8 with a heavy plate on your chest, next session do 3 sets of 50 of hanging leg raises. Go hard. I have yet to see a lifter who'd say: my abs are so strong that they hurt my lifts. Any idea why Konstatinovs pulls in the 850-900+ range in a competition beltless? Guess what, his abs are made of steel.
... and the winner is ... No.1 - HYPERS
Probably the best assistance exercise you can do. All the Russian powerlifting superstars do them, or weightlifters do them and you can find them in pretty much all Eastern Bloc templates. The volume is usually quite high, 5 sets of 10 or 6 sets of 8 or 8 sets of 6 and very heavy or 3 sets of 12 lighter. This is an awesome exercise, it hits your glutes, hams and lower back. Do them correctly, put the pad on your thighs, not your groin. The rotation axis should be in your hip joint not lower back. Most people put the pad too high and then they bend at their waist and complain they have low back pain. The low back never moves, it is static through the whole ROM. Rotate in your hips, pause a second at the top and squeeze you glutes like hell.
But remember, next time when you are about to analyze your routine again and debate whether you should do 3 sets of 12 of hypers or maybe 5 sets of 5 of leg curls, ask yourself: "How much did I improve on front squats over past 6 months?"
2015/09/13
The Magic 8
No matter if you compete or not, you can build your program around The Magic 8 compound lifts.
Really. I wish someone told me this many years ago when I started lifting that 80-90% of your training should be The Magic 8. These are time proven lifts/exercises which built tons of muscles and strength. For decades. New routines come and go, new machines and gadgets hit the market but if you build your program around these Magic 8, you can't go wrong. For years. For decades. Bored? Play with frequency, volume, sets & reps, stances, bands, chains, blah, blah. But don't change the bread and butter lifts.
The Magic 8:
1 - Squat
Enough said. The 1st powerlift and the best exercise ever. "But I have long legs and I can't squat!" Crap. Find your technique. I myself have spider long legs and it took me a while before I found my optimal form: slightly wider than shoulder width, with Oly shoes, sitting quite back with a solid forward lean. Do squats. Do not find excuses. If you do not do squats you are just lazy. Squats build legs, hips, glutes, lower back and abs. Bored? It's ok to be bored, we are humans, not robots. Do some variation for a while but then go back to regular power squat, for decades. Useful variations: pause squat, Oly squat, box squat, pin squat. Do your power squat 1-4 times per week.
2 - Front squat
Very close second to the power squat. Plus if you have long legs you might find like me that front squats feel much more natural to you than regular squats. Front squats build massive quads, strong middle and upper back and core of steel. Go deep. Really deep. Waaaaay below parallel. Go heavy. Go low reps and high reps. I like 4 sets of 8 of 4 sets of 5. Your front squat should be around 75-80% of you back squat. If not, your quads are weak. Front squats is the best assistance for deadlifts. Variations? None. Just do your front squats.
3 - Deadlift
Sumo or conventional. If you are long legs and short torso, you will probably prefer conventional. If you are short legs and longer torso, probably sumo is better for you. But not necessarily. Deadlifts build everything: legs, hams, lower back, upper back, middle back, traps, abs. Be careful with volume and frequency, they can fry your CNS like nothing else. No, deadlifts are not harmful for your lower back. Check some of the best pullers on Youtube, the axis of rotation is in the hips, not lower back. Lower back stays rigid throughout the whole lift. Conventional builds more back while sumo builds more the hips, glutes and hams. One feeds the other. Pull twice a week, once heavy with your competition stance and once the opposite style for assitance. For example you do 5 sets of 3 with 80% of your conventional pull (competition style) and 3 days later you do 3 sets of 8 sumo with moderate weight. Variations? All kinds of deficit pulls, pulls with chains and bands. I do not think rack pulls help the traditional pull because the form is alternated. Try pulls to the knees and be humbled.
4 - Romanian deadlift
Yes, I think it is that importnat. Looking for an exercise which works your lats, middle back, lower back, glutes, hams? Well, look no further, Romanian DL is the answer. Go pretty heavy. I like 3 sets of 8 pretty heavy or lighter 2 sets of 20. They kill glutes and hams like nothing else. Don't blame me if you have to buy bigger jeans couple of months later cause your legs and butt do not fit anymore.
5 - Bench press
Hmmm, why did I put bench press as the 5th lift while it is the most popular gym lift ever known to humankind? Well, at the meet the math is simple. You can usually lift much more in the squat and deadlift than in bench press. 600 lbs (270kg) raw bench press is very unique and there are only handful of people who can do that but 600 lbs (270kg) squat and dead can be done by thousands of people all around the world. Concentrate on your pull, squat and bench, in that order. Yet, bench press is a terrific exercise. Hits pecs, delts, triceps and and tons of other supporting muscles. Learn the proper form and your shoulders will thank you. You can bench 2-5 times a week and still recover well but you have to manipulate intensity vs. volume. Bored? The variations here are endless: paused bench, close-grip bench, incline, decline, chains, bands, reverse bands, etc., etc.
6 - Floor press
A terrific exercise. Takes the lats and legs somewhat out of the move and overloads your pressing muscles big time. I like doing floor presses for 6 sets of 8 with moderate weight. My floor press ROM is from 1" above chest to lockout and I always go close-grip. I do not know better exercise for triceps. Sometimes, after the 6 strength sets, I do a set of 20 reps with moderate weight for hypertrophy in front delts, triceps and pecs.
7 - Standing press
For a raw bench press, if your overhead press goes up, so does your bench press. These two really complement each other like sumo pull and conventional pull. I like going semi heavy with lots of volume. For some reason the shoulders can tolerate lots of volume and frequency if you downturn the intensity a bit. I like 6 sets of 8 with moderate weight. Keep the lockout position for good 1-2 seconds for big traps involvement. Properly done shoulder press heals the shoulders because it forces scapulae do their proper rotation and trains all the small stabilization muscles. Variations? None. Do the standing overhead press. Get freakishly strong. Don't stop until you can press 5 sets of 5 with your bodyweight. You really can, trust me.
8 - Seated DB press
Another excellent shoulder builder and one of the best exercises for bench assistance. I like going medium heavy for lots of volume, 8 sets of 6, 6 sets of 8, 6 sets of 12, etc. Don't go explosive here, concentrate on piston-like controlled reps. Your goal here is not to break the world record but to build some huge shoulders.
Bam, here you have it. The Magic 8 exercises. Don't change them. Ever. Yes, you can round your routine with back work, abs, hams, lower back, arms, etc. But this is your bread and butter. You can add tons of other stuff AFTER your are done with your Magic 8. Your routine should be built around these 8 lifts 90% of your training time for years.
Here are some variations as you can couple them:
Training 5 times a week? (lucky bastard ... :-):
squat
bench
assistance
deadlift
bench
assistance
press
Romanian deadlift
assistance
front squat
seated DB press
assistance
floor press
squat
assistance
Training 4 times a week?:
squat
press
assistance
deadlift
floor press
assistance
front squat
bench press
assistance
Romanian DL
seated DB press
assistance
Training 3 times a week? (Actually, this is what I do at this moment ...):
deadlift
floor press
seated DB press
front squat
press
assistance
squat
bench press
Romanian DL
Assistance: T-bar rows, DB rows, low cable rows, shrugs, leg raises, incline sit-ups, flat DB presses, hypers, ham curls, hammer curls, triceps pushdowns, blah, blah. Here you can go crazy and do tons of variations. But it does not matter, actually, because it is just 10% of you training. The remaining 90% is The Magic 8, remember? :-)
Really. I wish someone told me this many years ago when I started lifting that 80-90% of your training should be The Magic 8. These are time proven lifts/exercises which built tons of muscles and strength. For decades. New routines come and go, new machines and gadgets hit the market but if you build your program around these Magic 8, you can't go wrong. For years. For decades. Bored? Play with frequency, volume, sets & reps, stances, bands, chains, blah, blah. But don't change the bread and butter lifts.
The Magic 8:
1 - Squat
Enough said. The 1st powerlift and the best exercise ever. "But I have long legs and I can't squat!" Crap. Find your technique. I myself have spider long legs and it took me a while before I found my optimal form: slightly wider than shoulder width, with Oly shoes, sitting quite back with a solid forward lean. Do squats. Do not find excuses. If you do not do squats you are just lazy. Squats build legs, hips, glutes, lower back and abs. Bored? It's ok to be bored, we are humans, not robots. Do some variation for a while but then go back to regular power squat, for decades. Useful variations: pause squat, Oly squat, box squat, pin squat. Do your power squat 1-4 times per week.
2 - Front squat
Very close second to the power squat. Plus if you have long legs you might find like me that front squats feel much more natural to you than regular squats. Front squats build massive quads, strong middle and upper back and core of steel. Go deep. Really deep. Waaaaay below parallel. Go heavy. Go low reps and high reps. I like 4 sets of 8 of 4 sets of 5. Your front squat should be around 75-80% of you back squat. If not, your quads are weak. Front squats is the best assistance for deadlifts. Variations? None. Just do your front squats.
3 - Deadlift
Sumo or conventional. If you are long legs and short torso, you will probably prefer conventional. If you are short legs and longer torso, probably sumo is better for you. But not necessarily. Deadlifts build everything: legs, hams, lower back, upper back, middle back, traps, abs. Be careful with volume and frequency, they can fry your CNS like nothing else. No, deadlifts are not harmful for your lower back. Check some of the best pullers on Youtube, the axis of rotation is in the hips, not lower back. Lower back stays rigid throughout the whole lift. Conventional builds more back while sumo builds more the hips, glutes and hams. One feeds the other. Pull twice a week, once heavy with your competition stance and once the opposite style for assitance. For example you do 5 sets of 3 with 80% of your conventional pull (competition style) and 3 days later you do 3 sets of 8 sumo with moderate weight. Variations? All kinds of deficit pulls, pulls with chains and bands. I do not think rack pulls help the traditional pull because the form is alternated. Try pulls to the knees and be humbled.
4 - Romanian deadlift
Yes, I think it is that importnat. Looking for an exercise which works your lats, middle back, lower back, glutes, hams? Well, look no further, Romanian DL is the answer. Go pretty heavy. I like 3 sets of 8 pretty heavy or lighter 2 sets of 20. They kill glutes and hams like nothing else. Don't blame me if you have to buy bigger jeans couple of months later cause your legs and butt do not fit anymore.
5 - Bench press
Hmmm, why did I put bench press as the 5th lift while it is the most popular gym lift ever known to humankind? Well, at the meet the math is simple. You can usually lift much more in the squat and deadlift than in bench press. 600 lbs (270kg) raw bench press is very unique and there are only handful of people who can do that but 600 lbs (270kg) squat and dead can be done by thousands of people all around the world. Concentrate on your pull, squat and bench, in that order. Yet, bench press is a terrific exercise. Hits pecs, delts, triceps and and tons of other supporting muscles. Learn the proper form and your shoulders will thank you. You can bench 2-5 times a week and still recover well but you have to manipulate intensity vs. volume. Bored? The variations here are endless: paused bench, close-grip bench, incline, decline, chains, bands, reverse bands, etc., etc.
6 - Floor press
A terrific exercise. Takes the lats and legs somewhat out of the move and overloads your pressing muscles big time. I like doing floor presses for 6 sets of 8 with moderate weight. My floor press ROM is from 1" above chest to lockout and I always go close-grip. I do not know better exercise for triceps. Sometimes, after the 6 strength sets, I do a set of 20 reps with moderate weight for hypertrophy in front delts, triceps and pecs.
7 - Standing press
For a raw bench press, if your overhead press goes up, so does your bench press. These two really complement each other like sumo pull and conventional pull. I like going semi heavy with lots of volume. For some reason the shoulders can tolerate lots of volume and frequency if you downturn the intensity a bit. I like 6 sets of 8 with moderate weight. Keep the lockout position for good 1-2 seconds for big traps involvement. Properly done shoulder press heals the shoulders because it forces scapulae do their proper rotation and trains all the small stabilization muscles. Variations? None. Do the standing overhead press. Get freakishly strong. Don't stop until you can press 5 sets of 5 with your bodyweight. You really can, trust me.
8 - Seated DB press
Another excellent shoulder builder and one of the best exercises for bench assistance. I like going medium heavy for lots of volume, 8 sets of 6, 6 sets of 8, 6 sets of 12, etc. Don't go explosive here, concentrate on piston-like controlled reps. Your goal here is not to break the world record but to build some huge shoulders.
Bam, here you have it. The Magic 8 exercises. Don't change them. Ever. Yes, you can round your routine with back work, abs, hams, lower back, arms, etc. But this is your bread and butter. You can add tons of other stuff AFTER your are done with your Magic 8. Your routine should be built around these 8 lifts 90% of your training time for years.
Here are some variations as you can couple them:
Training 5 times a week? (lucky bastard ... :-):
squat
bench
assistance
deadlift
bench
assistance
press
Romanian deadlift
assistance
front squat
seated DB press
assistance
floor press
squat
assistance
Training 4 times a week?:
squat
press
assistance
deadlift
floor press
assistance
front squat
bench press
assistance
Romanian DL
seated DB press
assistance
Training 3 times a week? (Actually, this is what I do at this moment ...):
deadlift
floor press
seated DB press
front squat
press
assistance
squat
bench press
Romanian DL
Assistance: T-bar rows, DB rows, low cable rows, shrugs, leg raises, incline sit-ups, flat DB presses, hypers, ham curls, hammer curls, triceps pushdowns, blah, blah. Here you can go crazy and do tons of variations. But it does not matter, actually, because it is just 10% of you training. The remaining 90% is The Magic 8, remember? :-)
2015/07/07
Romanian DL - Posterior Chain KING
I really believe that. It is the best big assistance exercise for your whole posterior chain. Traps, middle back, lats, lower back, abs, glutes, hamstrings.
Hypers for lower back? GHR for hams? Leg curls for hams? Hip extension machine for glutes? GM for lower and middle back? Nope. You do not need all these exercises, you can get all in one, the Romanian deadlift.
Done properly, it very safe, very efficient and one of the best assistance lifts for your pull and squat.
I personally use Romanian DL once a week for volume work. I also pull sumo or conventional the same week. Yep, pulling twice a week. I really think it is the bare minimum. With Romanian DL I do 4 heavy sets of 8 with roughly 70-75% of may max pull or I do 2 sets of 20 with roughly 55-60% of my max pull. I do the Romanian DL as my last exercise of the day because I am tired as hell after. The 4 set of 8 are heavy and taxing but those 2 sets of 20 are the real treat. You'll be puffing as a locomotive and the next day your hams, glutes, mid back, lats and traps should be fried. But not the lower back. I will explain this later when discussing proper form.
Set-up
Closer than shoulder width stance, shins against the bar, knees slightly bent, no belt, overhand grip. Use straps if you must. Your upper back slightly rounded (yes, it's ok), arms gripping exactly when they fall from shoulders, lower back flat (not arched, not rounded), ass waaaay back.
Pull
Brace your core, pull in air, inflate stomach incl. obliques and start pulling by rocking back even more and putting all the pressure on your hams and glutes. Lower back must not round or arch, it must remain flat during the whole pull. You do not pull the bar up, you pull back towards your body. During the whole pull, the bar grazes your shins and thighs. It never leaves them. Once above the knees, thrust your hips forward, squeeze your glutes and mid back. The next day your hams, glutes, lats and mid-back should be sore. Your lower back might be tender from doing the static hold work but never sore. If your lower back is sore, you did it incorrectly. The rotation axis is in your hips, not lower back. You return back the exact same pathway and stop the plates 2-3cm (1 inch) above the ground, wait there 1 sec and pull up again for another rep. Your lats will fight like hell during this stop keeping the bar where it should be and if you do it right, your lats will be sore as hell the next day. I personally think the Romanian DL is the best lat exercise out there. Yes, I just said that.
Romanian deadlifts boost your pull and squat and pack slabs of muscle on your hams, glutes, mid back, upper back, lats. Pretty cool, heh?
I do not understand why so many people treat it as a fitness exercise using 2 x 10kg plates on each side and going for an exaggerated stretch. C'mon, put some weight on the bar.
Are you a serious 90-100kg (200-220lbs) lifter? Well, 4 sets of 8 with 160kg (350lbs) is fine, 4 sets of 8 with 180kg (405lbs) is strong and anything above 4 sets of 8 with 200kg (440lbs) is cock diesel.
Don't believe me? Check Dan Green's hams and check the plates he has on his bar ...
Now pull some damn weight!
(She is doing it wrong but her glutes are quite ok :-)
Hypers for lower back? GHR for hams? Leg curls for hams? Hip extension machine for glutes? GM for lower and middle back? Nope. You do not need all these exercises, you can get all in one, the Romanian deadlift.
Done properly, it very safe, very efficient and one of the best assistance lifts for your pull and squat.
I personally use Romanian DL once a week for volume work. I also pull sumo or conventional the same week. Yep, pulling twice a week. I really think it is the bare minimum. With Romanian DL I do 4 heavy sets of 8 with roughly 70-75% of may max pull or I do 2 sets of 20 with roughly 55-60% of my max pull. I do the Romanian DL as my last exercise of the day because I am tired as hell after. The 4 set of 8 are heavy and taxing but those 2 sets of 20 are the real treat. You'll be puffing as a locomotive and the next day your hams, glutes, mid back, lats and traps should be fried. But not the lower back. I will explain this later when discussing proper form.
Set-up
Closer than shoulder width stance, shins against the bar, knees slightly bent, no belt, overhand grip. Use straps if you must. Your upper back slightly rounded (yes, it's ok), arms gripping exactly when they fall from shoulders, lower back flat (not arched, not rounded), ass waaaay back.
Pull
Brace your core, pull in air, inflate stomach incl. obliques and start pulling by rocking back even more and putting all the pressure on your hams and glutes. Lower back must not round or arch, it must remain flat during the whole pull. You do not pull the bar up, you pull back towards your body. During the whole pull, the bar grazes your shins and thighs. It never leaves them. Once above the knees, thrust your hips forward, squeeze your glutes and mid back. The next day your hams, glutes, lats and mid-back should be sore. Your lower back might be tender from doing the static hold work but never sore. If your lower back is sore, you did it incorrectly. The rotation axis is in your hips, not lower back. You return back the exact same pathway and stop the plates 2-3cm (1 inch) above the ground, wait there 1 sec and pull up again for another rep. Your lats will fight like hell during this stop keeping the bar where it should be and if you do it right, your lats will be sore as hell the next day. I personally think the Romanian DL is the best lat exercise out there. Yes, I just said that.
Romanian deadlifts boost your pull and squat and pack slabs of muscle on your hams, glutes, mid back, upper back, lats. Pretty cool, heh?
I do not understand why so many people treat it as a fitness exercise using 2 x 10kg plates on each side and going for an exaggerated stretch. C'mon, put some weight on the bar.
Are you a serious 90-100kg (200-220lbs) lifter? Well, 4 sets of 8 with 160kg (350lbs) is fine, 4 sets of 8 with 180kg (405lbs) is strong and anything above 4 sets of 8 with 200kg (440lbs) is cock diesel.
Don't believe me? Check Dan Green's hams and check the plates he has on his bar ...
Now pull some damn weight!
(She is doing it wrong but her glutes are quite ok :-)
2015/07/03
Program design ... simple and efficient
Hmmmm, what is the best powerlifting program out there? The magic routine? The champions' secret?
If you have been lifting for 2 decades like me, you know there is no "the best routine". The best program is the one you eventually are able to design yourself. Yes.
"But hey, Pozdeev does this and that, and Ed Coan does this and that ..." I know. But you are not them. Your program should reflect your goals, your leverages, your weaknesses, your recovery abilities, etc., etc. It is ok to learn from the champions but learn the form, technique, modifications and twists. But always check it if it works for YOU. Learn from their mistakes. It is the cheapest way of learning.
So, how do you design your magic routine. It is actually pretty easy.
Step 1: Powerlifts
Well, this should be a no brainer. You are a powerlifter so you have to do the powerlifts: squat, bench, pull.
Step 2: Frequency
Decide on frequency of the powerlifts. Really, the old American Monday squat, Wednesday bench and Friday deadlift is not enough. Learn from the Eastern Bloc. With all respect to my American friends in iron, the knowledge about optimal loading, frequency, and total number of lifts per week is still quite insufficient there. Luckily, it is coming slowly thanks to seminars with Boris Sheiko, Dmitryi Klokov, etc. I personally do each powerlift twice a week. But that is me. Got weak squat? You might end up squatting three times a week, benching twice a week and pulling once a week. Or you can squat 4 times per week and put bench and pull on the back burner for a while. In Poland, one of the best lifters of all time, Jan Wegiera did squat twice a week, bench 5 times a week, deadlift twice a week. Here is what he did. He is still a monster, smashed multiple European records in men and masters:
Day 1:
squat
bench
negative bench
DB flyes
Day 2:
close-grip bench
shoulder press
biceps
Day 3:
bench
decline bench
DB flyes
deadlift
GM
Day 4:
squat
walkouts
1/3 squat
bench
bench lockouts
Day 5:
close-grip bench
deadlift
block pulls
Bam, there you have it. Lots of work. I really think doing each powerlift twice a week is the bare minimum. If you are nuts but can endure going thru hell and expecting HUGE improvements, do Sheiko "sandwiches":
Monday:
squat
bench
squat
assistance
Wednesday:
pull
bench
pull
assistance
Friday:
bench
squat
bench
assistance
Do your homework and search Sheiko programs. Brings results like nothing else.
Step 3: Volume
I did not write sets&reps on purpose because volume and workload is more important than set&reps per se. Working up to one heavy set is not enough. You do not have enough practice and the workload is not enough. Let us compare:
Typical approach in most gyms (max squat 200kg - 440lbs):
Set 1: bar x 20
Set 2: 60kg x 8
Set 3: 100kg x 5
Set 4: 120kg x 5
Set 5: 140kg x 3
Set 6: 160kg x 3
Set 7: 180kg x 2
Set 8: 190kg x 1
You just did only 5 sets abouve 60% (the rest does not count) and if we multiply the reps x weight from set No. 4 and above, the total amount lifted is 2050kg (4510lbs). This session taxed your CNS big time, your form was shit on the last two sets and you are unlikely to repeat it tomorrow or in two days.
But you could do instead:
Set 1: bar x 20
Set 2: 60kg x 8
Set 3: 100kg x 5
Set 4: 130kg x 5
Set 5: 130kg x 5
Set 6: 130kg x 5
Set 7: 130kg x 5
Set 8: 130kg x 5
Set 9: 130kg x 5
You just did 6 crisp sets with perfect form and only 65% of your max. Sure you had to leave the ego at the door but let's look at the numers. We calculate sets 4-9. You just lifted 3900kg (8580lbs). You did almost twice as much work plus you can probably repeat it in two days because you worked only with 65% with your max so your CNS is fresh. Sure, you might be tired but not burnt out. That is a difference.
Step 4: Assistance
Big assistance. Round up your template with big assistance. Assistance that matters. Front squats, military presses, Romanian deadlifts, heavy bent over rows. Base it on your weaknesses, not what you like to do. Weak off the floor when pulling? Weak quads, bro, kick some ass on front squats and high-bar squats. No, not leg extensions. Upper back rounding during squats? How about 4 sets of 5 of some heavy bent over rows twice per week? Nope, no face pulls. Weak off your chest when pressing? How about 6 sets of 8 of military presses with medium weight twice a week?
I read somewhere Dan Green's quote:
"All I do is the powerlifts and then some front squats, shoulder presses and rows." I really like that.
(What will leg extensions do for him after those front squats?)
This big assitance lifts is where you can experiment if you need/want to, not the powerlifts. Low reps front squats, high-rep high-bar squats, deficit pulls, block pulls, Romanian pulls, SLDL, bent over rows, dumbbell rows, high-pulls, close-grip bench, incline, low decline, chains, bands, boards, you name it. Please be honest with yourself and choose what is heavy, tough and needed. Get out of you comfort zone. Biceps concentration curls with 15kg dumbbell do NOTHING for your powerlifting. 4 sets of 5 of heavy ass front squats do. It should be a "brother" exercise to the powerlifts. Front squat helps the back squat, leg extensions do not. Military press helps the bench, cable cross-overs don't. Romanian deadlifts help the regular deadlift building anything from your traps to your knees in the posterior chain. Standing leg curls won't help you much pulling the 300kg (660lbs) deadlift.
Step 5 (optional):
Fluff assistance. biceps, triceps pushdowns, delt raises, cable flys, etc. If you must do them, do them for 2-3 light sets to pump blood. Do the minimum of them. They are the remaining 5% of your training. Focus on the powerlifts and big assistance, that is 95% of your work. Better yet, do this fluff shit on off days.
Good luck with YOUR magic routine!
If you have been lifting for 2 decades like me, you know there is no "the best routine". The best program is the one you eventually are able to design yourself. Yes.
"But hey, Pozdeev does this and that, and Ed Coan does this and that ..." I know. But you are not them. Your program should reflect your goals, your leverages, your weaknesses, your recovery abilities, etc., etc. It is ok to learn from the champions but learn the form, technique, modifications and twists. But always check it if it works for YOU. Learn from their mistakes. It is the cheapest way of learning.
So, how do you design your magic routine. It is actually pretty easy.
Step 1: Powerlifts
Well, this should be a no brainer. You are a powerlifter so you have to do the powerlifts: squat, bench, pull.
Step 2: Frequency
Decide on frequency of the powerlifts. Really, the old American Monday squat, Wednesday bench and Friday deadlift is not enough. Learn from the Eastern Bloc. With all respect to my American friends in iron, the knowledge about optimal loading, frequency, and total number of lifts per week is still quite insufficient there. Luckily, it is coming slowly thanks to seminars with Boris Sheiko, Dmitryi Klokov, etc. I personally do each powerlift twice a week. But that is me. Got weak squat? You might end up squatting three times a week, benching twice a week and pulling once a week. Or you can squat 4 times per week and put bench and pull on the back burner for a while. In Poland, one of the best lifters of all time, Jan Wegiera did squat twice a week, bench 5 times a week, deadlift twice a week. Here is what he did. He is still a monster, smashed multiple European records in men and masters:
Day 1:
squat
bench
negative bench
DB flyes
Day 2:
close-grip bench
shoulder press
biceps
Day 3:
bench
decline bench
DB flyes
deadlift
GM
Day 4:
squat
walkouts
1/3 squat
bench
bench lockouts
Day 5:
close-grip bench
deadlift
block pulls
Bam, there you have it. Lots of work. I really think doing each powerlift twice a week is the bare minimum. If you are nuts but can endure going thru hell and expecting HUGE improvements, do Sheiko "sandwiches":
Monday:
squat
bench
squat
assistance
Wednesday:
pull
bench
pull
assistance
Friday:
bench
squat
bench
assistance
Do your homework and search Sheiko programs. Brings results like nothing else.
Step 3: Volume
I did not write sets&reps on purpose because volume and workload is more important than set&reps per se. Working up to one heavy set is not enough. You do not have enough practice and the workload is not enough. Let us compare:
Typical approach in most gyms (max squat 200kg - 440lbs):
Set 1: bar x 20
Set 2: 60kg x 8
Set 3: 100kg x 5
Set 4: 120kg x 5
Set 5: 140kg x 3
Set 6: 160kg x 3
Set 7: 180kg x 2
Set 8: 190kg x 1
You just did only 5 sets abouve 60% (the rest does not count) and if we multiply the reps x weight from set No. 4 and above, the total amount lifted is 2050kg (4510lbs). This session taxed your CNS big time, your form was shit on the last two sets and you are unlikely to repeat it tomorrow or in two days.
But you could do instead:
Set 1: bar x 20
Set 2: 60kg x 8
Set 3: 100kg x 5
Set 4: 130kg x 5
Set 5: 130kg x 5
Set 6: 130kg x 5
Set 7: 130kg x 5
Set 8: 130kg x 5
Set 9: 130kg x 5
You just did 6 crisp sets with perfect form and only 65% of your max. Sure you had to leave the ego at the door but let's look at the numers. We calculate sets 4-9. You just lifted 3900kg (8580lbs). You did almost twice as much work plus you can probably repeat it in two days because you worked only with 65% with your max so your CNS is fresh. Sure, you might be tired but not burnt out. That is a difference.
Step 4: Assistance
Big assistance. Round up your template with big assistance. Assistance that matters. Front squats, military presses, Romanian deadlifts, heavy bent over rows. Base it on your weaknesses, not what you like to do. Weak off the floor when pulling? Weak quads, bro, kick some ass on front squats and high-bar squats. No, not leg extensions. Upper back rounding during squats? How about 4 sets of 5 of some heavy bent over rows twice per week? Nope, no face pulls. Weak off your chest when pressing? How about 6 sets of 8 of military presses with medium weight twice a week?
I read somewhere Dan Green's quote:
"All I do is the powerlifts and then some front squats, shoulder presses and rows." I really like that.
(What will leg extensions do for him after those front squats?)
This big assitance lifts is where you can experiment if you need/want to, not the powerlifts. Low reps front squats, high-rep high-bar squats, deficit pulls, block pulls, Romanian pulls, SLDL, bent over rows, dumbbell rows, high-pulls, close-grip bench, incline, low decline, chains, bands, boards, you name it. Please be honest with yourself and choose what is heavy, tough and needed. Get out of you comfort zone. Biceps concentration curls with 15kg dumbbell do NOTHING for your powerlifting. 4 sets of 5 of heavy ass front squats do. It should be a "brother" exercise to the powerlifts. Front squat helps the back squat, leg extensions do not. Military press helps the bench, cable cross-overs don't. Romanian deadlifts help the regular deadlift building anything from your traps to your knees in the posterior chain. Standing leg curls won't help you much pulling the 300kg (660lbs) deadlift.
Step 5 (optional):
Fluff assistance. biceps, triceps pushdowns, delt raises, cable flys, etc. If you must do them, do them for 2-3 light sets to pump blood. Do the minimum of them. They are the remaining 5% of your training. Focus on the powerlifts and big assistance, that is 95% of your work. Better yet, do this fluff shit on off days.
Good luck with YOUR magic routine!
2015/06/28
Boris Sheiko in the US !!!
Hi Guys,
In my blog statistics it shows there is a significant number of readers from the USA. Thank you for that, I am glad this blog is helpful for so many people.
To all my ligting friends, the infamous powerlifting coach Boris Sheiko is travelling the USA right now with seminars. I just learnt it from Instagram.
I strongly encourage you, if you are close, go to his seminar. If you wanted to come up with a list of Top 5 powerlifting coaches in the world, Boris Sheiko would surely be among them.
His lifting principles produced not dozens, not hundreds but thousands of the best world powerlifters and record holders. Suslov, Belayev, Pozdeev. All the Russian beasts. I think Boris Sheiko is the most influential coach in Eastern Europe. There are great coaches and there is Boris Sheiko, way above anyone else. Sheiko boys almost all of them pull over 400kg (880 lbs) at meets.
Got 800 lbs pull? You will not even qualify, this is the last warm-up for Sheiko boys.
Boris Sheiko is the Louis Simmons of Easter Bloc powerlifting.
To those who are not familiar with Sheiko methods, he is very famous for his high-frequency, high-volume methods. I call them "Sheiko sandwiches".
Typical Monday workout could look like this:
squat: 6 sets of 3 medium-heavy
bench press: 5 sets of 3 medium heavy
squat (again): 4 sets of 4 medium
assistance
assistance
Brutal, simple but terribly effective. You'll be dragging ass but after a few weeks your body adapts and you'll be a squatting machine.
Go to Sheiko seminar, you will thank me later for the reminder.
Note: never met Sheiko, not associated with Boris Sheiko in any way, just using his principles for years with solid results.
Good luck !!!
In my blog statistics it shows there is a significant number of readers from the USA. Thank you for that, I am glad this blog is helpful for so many people.
To all my ligting friends, the infamous powerlifting coach Boris Sheiko is travelling the USA right now with seminars. I just learnt it from Instagram.
I strongly encourage you, if you are close, go to his seminar. If you wanted to come up with a list of Top 5 powerlifting coaches in the world, Boris Sheiko would surely be among them.
His lifting principles produced not dozens, not hundreds but thousands of the best world powerlifters and record holders. Suslov, Belayev, Pozdeev. All the Russian beasts. I think Boris Sheiko is the most influential coach in Eastern Europe. There are great coaches and there is Boris Sheiko, way above anyone else. Sheiko boys almost all of them pull over 400kg (880 lbs) at meets.
Got 800 lbs pull? You will not even qualify, this is the last warm-up for Sheiko boys.
Boris Sheiko is the Louis Simmons of Easter Bloc powerlifting.
To those who are not familiar with Sheiko methods, he is very famous for his high-frequency, high-volume methods. I call them "Sheiko sandwiches".
Typical Monday workout could look like this:
squat: 6 sets of 3 medium-heavy
bench press: 5 sets of 3 medium heavy
squat (again): 4 sets of 4 medium
assistance
assistance
Brutal, simple but terribly effective. You'll be dragging ass but after a few weeks your body adapts and you'll be a squatting machine.
Go to Sheiko seminar, you will thank me later for the reminder.
Note: never met Sheiko, not associated with Boris Sheiko in any way, just using his principles for years with solid results.
Good luck !!!
2015/06/11
Fluff Stuff ... it does matter
What? Have I lost my f**king mind? I have everywhere in my blog that fluff stuff don't matter, that you should cut it out or limit it significantly.
But I do think it matters (to a degree).
When I say "fluff stuff" I do not mean the big important assitance lifts like standing press or front squats, I mean the small things like face pulls, DB flyes, biceps curls, rear delt raises, etc.
I think you can still do the fluff stuff if it does not compromise the main program. Which means:
1/ benches, pulls, squats, shoulder presses, rows, Romanian deadlifts are still 95% of your program throughout the week
2/ the big lifts still get priority over the fluff stuff. Always.
3/ If time is an issue you skip the fluff stuff, never the main lift. Never. One of my sessions typically looks like this:
- heavy conventional: 5 sets of 5
- medium-heavy floor press: 6 sets of 8
- heavy abs: 3 sets
- additional hamstring work: 3-6 sets
Limited time? Then I only do the pull, floor press and abs. Very limited time? Do the pulls, floor press and get out. You've done 95% of the work.
4/ Do the fluff stuff on your off days. Really, I think it is the best option. It does not take away from your main sessions, it speeds up recovery and EVERYBODY has time to do it because it lasts 10-20 minutes tops.
Examples:
#1:
band face pulls: 3 sets of 20
band triceps pushdowns: 1 set of 100 reps
#2:
band leg curls: 4 sets of 20
abs: 3 sets of 30
#3:
hammer curls: 4 sets of 10
rear delt raises: 3 set of 30
#4:
miniband pull-aparts: 4 set of 50
ab wheel: 4 sets of 15
Don't sweat it, it's only the remaining 5% of your training.
Good luck!
But I do think it matters (to a degree).
When I say "fluff stuff" I do not mean the big important assitance lifts like standing press or front squats, I mean the small things like face pulls, DB flyes, biceps curls, rear delt raises, etc.
I think you can still do the fluff stuff if it does not compromise the main program. Which means:
1/ benches, pulls, squats, shoulder presses, rows, Romanian deadlifts are still 95% of your program throughout the week
2/ the big lifts still get priority over the fluff stuff. Always.
3/ If time is an issue you skip the fluff stuff, never the main lift. Never. One of my sessions typically looks like this:
- heavy conventional: 5 sets of 5
- medium-heavy floor press: 6 sets of 8
- heavy abs: 3 sets
- additional hamstring work: 3-6 sets
Limited time? Then I only do the pull, floor press and abs. Very limited time? Do the pulls, floor press and get out. You've done 95% of the work.
4/ Do the fluff stuff on your off days. Really, I think it is the best option. It does not take away from your main sessions, it speeds up recovery and EVERYBODY has time to do it because it lasts 10-20 minutes tops.
Examples:
#1:
band face pulls: 3 sets of 20
band triceps pushdowns: 1 set of 100 reps
#2:
band leg curls: 4 sets of 20
abs: 3 sets of 30
#3:
hammer curls: 4 sets of 10
rear delt raises: 3 set of 30
#4:
miniband pull-aparts: 4 set of 50
ab wheel: 4 sets of 15
Don't sweat it, it's only the remaining 5% of your training.
Good luck!
2015/05/01
complete quad rupture and how to get back on track ...
I debated with myself whether to share this expericence or not and then I said what the hell, if it helps someone then I share this ...
January 06, 2015, family walk on a lazy winter afternoon. Everything is frozen and some places are icy. Out of the blue, I slipped on ice, left leg folded under me and I fell with full weight on my knee.
Then I crawled to the nearest bench and my wife called ambulance.
I thought I only dislocated my knee but the exams in the hospital showed I had torn completely the quadriceps muscle (all heads) off the patella.
Under the knife I went immediately, woke up after several hours with a cast from my balls to my heel.
But all this is not interesting. The comeback is interesting and the experience I would like to share.
Four months after the surgery I went to the doctor and to say he was shocked with the progress would be an undestatement. When I had the surgery he told me I would get back on track in 6-12 months, would not do any sport anymore and would have problems for the rest of my life. The doc never did any sports himself.
As of now, I walk normally, ride a bike, started doing light leg presses of 20 reps with 120k (260 lbs) and do deadlifts with 140k (315 lbs) for easy sets of 5. Every week I am stronger. The ROM is back to about 90-95%, and the quad returned to about 80% of its original size and is growing every week.
These are things that helped and they might help you as well with similar injury and comeback:
Believe
All doctors who do no sports will tell you you are done. They also tell you that you will rehab for many months. Take their advice very seriously because they know their shit but remember their typical patient is usually an overweight person with zero sport experience. You are different: muscles are highly trained, you've got lots of veins in your muscles and you have way faster recover abilities than the average coach potato. You must obsessively believe that you are a super healer and that you will recover 100%. It can be done. Soccer players tear off muscles and they go back to playing. But you must believe and you must be very serious with your rehab.
Rehab in hospital
Start immediately after the surgery. There was a very good doc who told me to start moving the newly re-attached muscle only several hours after the surgery. What can you do when on pain pills with the whole leg in a cast? Muscle contractions. You have to remember the brain shuts off all injured muscles after the rupture to prevent any further damage. They atrophy very fast. Your quad disappears in a matter of days. I did sets of 500 contractions. Slow and controlled. In total I did 5000-10000 contractions a day. The good news is once the cast comes off, the muscle returns very quickly. The muscle contractions pump blood in the injured area, help building of the scar tissue, keep the muscle fibers firing. It is boring as hell but well worth it. You should also do tons of circling movements with your ankle.
Nutrition
This is very easy and simple. Clean out your diet immediately. Drop out all shit. Tons of protein, collagen, vitamin C for healing, fish oil. Mostly collagen. Tons of it.
Sport rehab guy
Here I was very lucky. The rehab center where I went 4 weeks after the surgery (when the cast went off) had some rehab guy of whom one was a former active soccer player. He had me doing lots of mobility movements, as soon as I could I did some static quad holds, lots of movements with a large Swiss ball, manual hamstring curls and tons of other stuff. Later when I regained most of my ROM and some quad strength he kicked my ass with lots of proprioceptic drills, stability exercises, quad strenthening static holds, quarter squats. It is important that your rehab guy works on 3 things at the same time: quad strenthening, regaining active and passive ROM, knee stability in different motions and stances.
Soft tissue work
I cried on this one. I had two guys working on me. One did mild massage of the scars, of the repaired region above my knee. His goal was to keep the scar tissue soft and elastic. He still does my knee area today and I will keep him for 2 more months. Remember that your knee will be swollen like mutherfucker which is normal. There are fluids above patella, on both sides of patella, under the patella and on top of it. Four months after the surgery I still have some very small swelling there. The knee can be swollen for 4-6 months after the surgery which is completely normal so do not sweat it. On the other hand you want the swelling go away ASAP because it obstructs the patella in free movement. Once the swelling is fully gone, you will then achieve a full 100% contraction and full ROM. The other guy was massaging my injured quad. Man, did I cry. He literally dug his elbows into my quad, IT band, hips and glutes. He said I had tons of tight spots inside the muscles after years of lifting. But I felt so relaxed and great every time after the massage that I knew it must be working.
Ice
Ice the knee and the injured area a lot. As said before, the sooner the swelling goes away, the better. Be patient. Ice several times a day if you can. If you work somewhere where you cannot, ice in the morning and in the evening. For good 20-30 minutes. I still ice today, 4 months after surgery.
Pussy movements
Leg partial knee extensions, sliding heels ham curls, hip extensions, band leg curls, hip cirles. All these are your friends. As soon as the cast went off, although I was very weak, immobile and stiff, I started working the leg from as many angles as I could imagine. Blood must flow, you must regain your mibility (you will be stiff as fuck after 4 weeks in a cast) and you must start strengthening the muscles again.
Bike
When I regained about 60-70 degress in my knee I could pedal through the whole ROM on a stationary bike. Once you can do that, watch your rehab speed up big time. Now I do 20-30 min session multiple times a week with different intensities. It builds the strength back and pumps the muscles and knee with lots of blood.
All surrounding muscles
When I was given the green light from the doc to start gym rehab I was happy as hell but there is not much you can do. Squats are out of the question yet so in the beginning I did partial light leg presses, machine adductors, machine abductors, hip extensions, light Romanian deadlifts, leg curls. Lots of volume. Weight is not important. Regain ROM, work the muscles and pump blood. 4 sets of 20 per exercise or whatever. Increase weights as possible. After only 2 weeks in the gym my walking gait went back to normal because all the surrounding muscles got so much stronger. Now 4 months after the surgery I do leg presses with sets of 20, 30, 50, deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, very light box squats, BW only squats and super heavy and high volume hamstring work and calf work. I promised myself that I will build some huge quads, huge hams and huge calves, to stabilize the knee as much as possible. In about 2 months I plan to return to back squats and front squats as I believe they are the best rehab and strengthening exercises you can do for legs. Important: forget leg extensions. They are unnatural, dangerous and put torque on your knees. Closed-chain leg exercises are best for both rehab and strength. All upper body heavy lifting done as soon as I could walk without crutches and wore the leg brace only.
Proprioceptic drills
Boring as shit but it has to be done. Remember, if you gain ROM very fast and regain strentgh very fast, the joint has to keep up as well and the re-attached tendons must be up to par. That's where all the boring stabilization drills become helful. Standing on uneven surfaces, mild jumps, side shallow lunges, all kind of athletic foot work, changing directions while mild running, walking backwards, etc., etc., Just google it and there is tons of good info there.
Patience
Last but the most important. Listen to your doc but make your own judgement; follow the rehab guys to the letter and never ship the rehab. Never. Do not rush it. Do more and faster if your leg allows but do not rush it and don't risk anything by pushing more. Don't be stupid. Completely torn quad takes 6-12 months to be fully recovered. The muscle must get strong back to 100% before you crawl under a heavy bar, the ROM must be 100% and most importantly the tendons and scars must be fully recovered, healed, and strengthened back to 100%. If you re-tear it again, you are fucked. I keep telling this to myself when my brain is telling "put some more plates on the leg press". Be patient. Really. Complete quad tear is a major injury.
But I will be back to heavy squats and deadlifts. But not before the leg is back 100%.
I will share more progress as time goes. Keep you posted.
In the meantime, stay injury-free ;-)
January 06, 2015, family walk on a lazy winter afternoon. Everything is frozen and some places are icy. Out of the blue, I slipped on ice, left leg folded under me and I fell with full weight on my knee.
Then I crawled to the nearest bench and my wife called ambulance.
I thought I only dislocated my knee but the exams in the hospital showed I had torn completely the quadriceps muscle (all heads) off the patella.
Under the knife I went immediately, woke up after several hours with a cast from my balls to my heel.
But all this is not interesting. The comeback is interesting and the experience I would like to share.
Four months after the surgery I went to the doctor and to say he was shocked with the progress would be an undestatement. When I had the surgery he told me I would get back on track in 6-12 months, would not do any sport anymore and would have problems for the rest of my life. The doc never did any sports himself.
As of now, I walk normally, ride a bike, started doing light leg presses of 20 reps with 120k (260 lbs) and do deadlifts with 140k (315 lbs) for easy sets of 5. Every week I am stronger. The ROM is back to about 90-95%, and the quad returned to about 80% of its original size and is growing every week.
These are things that helped and they might help you as well with similar injury and comeback:
Believe
All doctors who do no sports will tell you you are done. They also tell you that you will rehab for many months. Take their advice very seriously because they know their shit but remember their typical patient is usually an overweight person with zero sport experience. You are different: muscles are highly trained, you've got lots of veins in your muscles and you have way faster recover abilities than the average coach potato. You must obsessively believe that you are a super healer and that you will recover 100%. It can be done. Soccer players tear off muscles and they go back to playing. But you must believe and you must be very serious with your rehab.
Rehab in hospital
Start immediately after the surgery. There was a very good doc who told me to start moving the newly re-attached muscle only several hours after the surgery. What can you do when on pain pills with the whole leg in a cast? Muscle contractions. You have to remember the brain shuts off all injured muscles after the rupture to prevent any further damage. They atrophy very fast. Your quad disappears in a matter of days. I did sets of 500 contractions. Slow and controlled. In total I did 5000-10000 contractions a day. The good news is once the cast comes off, the muscle returns very quickly. The muscle contractions pump blood in the injured area, help building of the scar tissue, keep the muscle fibers firing. It is boring as hell but well worth it. You should also do tons of circling movements with your ankle.
Nutrition
This is very easy and simple. Clean out your diet immediately. Drop out all shit. Tons of protein, collagen, vitamin C for healing, fish oil. Mostly collagen. Tons of it.
Sport rehab guy
Here I was very lucky. The rehab center where I went 4 weeks after the surgery (when the cast went off) had some rehab guy of whom one was a former active soccer player. He had me doing lots of mobility movements, as soon as I could I did some static quad holds, lots of movements with a large Swiss ball, manual hamstring curls and tons of other stuff. Later when I regained most of my ROM and some quad strength he kicked my ass with lots of proprioceptic drills, stability exercises, quad strenthening static holds, quarter squats. It is important that your rehab guy works on 3 things at the same time: quad strenthening, regaining active and passive ROM, knee stability in different motions and stances.
Soft tissue work
I cried on this one. I had two guys working on me. One did mild massage of the scars, of the repaired region above my knee. His goal was to keep the scar tissue soft and elastic. He still does my knee area today and I will keep him for 2 more months. Remember that your knee will be swollen like mutherfucker which is normal. There are fluids above patella, on both sides of patella, under the patella and on top of it. Four months after the surgery I still have some very small swelling there. The knee can be swollen for 4-6 months after the surgery which is completely normal so do not sweat it. On the other hand you want the swelling go away ASAP because it obstructs the patella in free movement. Once the swelling is fully gone, you will then achieve a full 100% contraction and full ROM. The other guy was massaging my injured quad. Man, did I cry. He literally dug his elbows into my quad, IT band, hips and glutes. He said I had tons of tight spots inside the muscles after years of lifting. But I felt so relaxed and great every time after the massage that I knew it must be working.
Ice
Ice the knee and the injured area a lot. As said before, the sooner the swelling goes away, the better. Be patient. Ice several times a day if you can. If you work somewhere where you cannot, ice in the morning and in the evening. For good 20-30 minutes. I still ice today, 4 months after surgery.
Pussy movements
Leg partial knee extensions, sliding heels ham curls, hip extensions, band leg curls, hip cirles. All these are your friends. As soon as the cast went off, although I was very weak, immobile and stiff, I started working the leg from as many angles as I could imagine. Blood must flow, you must regain your mibility (you will be stiff as fuck after 4 weeks in a cast) and you must start strengthening the muscles again.
Bike
When I regained about 60-70 degress in my knee I could pedal through the whole ROM on a stationary bike. Once you can do that, watch your rehab speed up big time. Now I do 20-30 min session multiple times a week with different intensities. It builds the strength back and pumps the muscles and knee with lots of blood.
All surrounding muscles
When I was given the green light from the doc to start gym rehab I was happy as hell but there is not much you can do. Squats are out of the question yet so in the beginning I did partial light leg presses, machine adductors, machine abductors, hip extensions, light Romanian deadlifts, leg curls. Lots of volume. Weight is not important. Regain ROM, work the muscles and pump blood. 4 sets of 20 per exercise or whatever. Increase weights as possible. After only 2 weeks in the gym my walking gait went back to normal because all the surrounding muscles got so much stronger. Now 4 months after the surgery I do leg presses with sets of 20, 30, 50, deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, very light box squats, BW only squats and super heavy and high volume hamstring work and calf work. I promised myself that I will build some huge quads, huge hams and huge calves, to stabilize the knee as much as possible. In about 2 months I plan to return to back squats and front squats as I believe they are the best rehab and strengthening exercises you can do for legs. Important: forget leg extensions. They are unnatural, dangerous and put torque on your knees. Closed-chain leg exercises are best for both rehab and strength. All upper body heavy lifting done as soon as I could walk without crutches and wore the leg brace only.
Proprioceptic drills
Boring as shit but it has to be done. Remember, if you gain ROM very fast and regain strentgh very fast, the joint has to keep up as well and the re-attached tendons must be up to par. That's where all the boring stabilization drills become helful. Standing on uneven surfaces, mild jumps, side shallow lunges, all kind of athletic foot work, changing directions while mild running, walking backwards, etc., etc., Just google it and there is tons of good info there.
Patience
Last but the most important. Listen to your doc but make your own judgement; follow the rehab guys to the letter and never ship the rehab. Never. Do not rush it. Do more and faster if your leg allows but do not rush it and don't risk anything by pushing more. Don't be stupid. Completely torn quad takes 6-12 months to be fully recovered. The muscle must get strong back to 100% before you crawl under a heavy bar, the ROM must be 100% and most importantly the tendons and scars must be fully recovered, healed, and strengthened back to 100%. If you re-tear it again, you are fucked. I keep telling this to myself when my brain is telling "put some more plates on the leg press". Be patient. Really. Complete quad tear is a major injury.
But I will be back to heavy squats and deadlifts. But not before the leg is back 100%.
I will share more progress as time goes. Keep you posted.
In the meantime, stay injury-free ;-)
2015/04/29
Full Body Training = Efficient Training
We do not live in an ideal world. Life happens, work happens, unexpected situations pop up. We tend to live busy lives with lots of responsibilities when time is always short.
How can one program a solid 12-week cycle not knowing what might happen? Tons of things happen all the time: unexpected business trip; your child gets sick; relatives come for the weekend; you need to finish important project at work, etc., etc.
Shit like this happens all the time. Let's be honest, if you are not a competitive sponsored lifter chances are good all these things might take priority over your training and you'll probably have to shift workouts.
It means some weeks you go in the prescribed Mon - Wed - Fri but next week it could look like Mon - Fri - Sat or something completely else.
How do you pre-plan the sessions? How do you cram in all the lifts? How do you get all the important training done? What do you do today if you don't know if the next session falls on two days from now or four days from now?
Full body sessions. Hitting the most important things. With enough volume work. That ensures you get the most important shit done and the lifts get worked.
Below I list 8 sample full body training sessions for the average joe powerlifter. Pick one of them just before you go to the gym. Pick a session based on your weaknesses. Feeling sluggish today and depressed after a fight with your moron boss at work? Pick one which you will enjoy and really kick it. Get the work done and get out. This way of picking workouts might not be the best for a competitive powerlifter peaking for a meet but for the average joe lifter it keeps things fresh and interesting. Just don't always do only what you enjoy, work on your weaknesses.
Session #1:
deadlift: 6 sets of 5 with 60-65%
floor press: 6 sets of 8 with moderate weight
leg curls: 4 sets of 12
abs: 4 sets of 20
Session #2:
squat: 6 sets of 3 with 80%
incline bench: 4 sets of 6 with moderate weight
front squat: 4 sets of 5 heavy
lat pulldowns: 6 sets of 8
Session #3:
squat: 6 sets of 5 with 60-65%, then one set of 20
standing press: 4 sets of 8 with moderate weight
Romanian DL: 6 sets of 5 heavy
calf raises: 3 sets of 20 light
Session #4:
bench press: 4 sets of 8
seated DB press: 6 sets of 12
front squat: 4 sets of 5 heavy
low cable rows: 6 sets of 8
Session #5:
deadlift: 5 sets of 2 with 85%
flat DB press: 6 sets of 8
leg press: 4 sets of 20 heavy
hammer curls: 6 sets of 8
Session #6:
squat: 6 sets of 3 with 80%
bench press: 6 sets of 5 with 60%
squat: 4 sets of 4 with 70%
DB rows: 3x20 heavy
Session #7:
bench press: 6 sets of 3 with 80% then down set of 20 reps
standing press: 4 sets of 12 moderate weight
squat: 4 sets of 8 moderate to heavy
hammer curls: 4 sets of 12
Session #8:
deadlift: 6 singles at 90-95%
incline DB press: 4 set of 8 heavy
squat: 3 sets of 10 moderate weight
abs: 4 sets of 20
Pick your poison and kick hard.
How can one program a solid 12-week cycle not knowing what might happen? Tons of things happen all the time: unexpected business trip; your child gets sick; relatives come for the weekend; you need to finish important project at work, etc., etc.
Shit like this happens all the time. Let's be honest, if you are not a competitive sponsored lifter chances are good all these things might take priority over your training and you'll probably have to shift workouts.
It means some weeks you go in the prescribed Mon - Wed - Fri but next week it could look like Mon - Fri - Sat or something completely else.
How do you pre-plan the sessions? How do you cram in all the lifts? How do you get all the important training done? What do you do today if you don't know if the next session falls on two days from now or four days from now?
Full body sessions. Hitting the most important things. With enough volume work. That ensures you get the most important shit done and the lifts get worked.
Below I list 8 sample full body training sessions for the average joe powerlifter. Pick one of them just before you go to the gym. Pick a session based on your weaknesses. Feeling sluggish today and depressed after a fight with your moron boss at work? Pick one which you will enjoy and really kick it. Get the work done and get out. This way of picking workouts might not be the best for a competitive powerlifter peaking for a meet but for the average joe lifter it keeps things fresh and interesting. Just don't always do only what you enjoy, work on your weaknesses.
Session #1:
deadlift: 6 sets of 5 with 60-65%
floor press: 6 sets of 8 with moderate weight
leg curls: 4 sets of 12
abs: 4 sets of 20
Session #2:
squat: 6 sets of 3 with 80%
incline bench: 4 sets of 6 with moderate weight
front squat: 4 sets of 5 heavy
lat pulldowns: 6 sets of 8
Session #3:
squat: 6 sets of 5 with 60-65%, then one set of 20
standing press: 4 sets of 8 with moderate weight
Romanian DL: 6 sets of 5 heavy
calf raises: 3 sets of 20 light
Session #4:
bench press: 4 sets of 8
seated DB press: 6 sets of 12
front squat: 4 sets of 5 heavy
low cable rows: 6 sets of 8
Session #5:
deadlift: 5 sets of 2 with 85%
flat DB press: 6 sets of 8
leg press: 4 sets of 20 heavy
hammer curls: 6 sets of 8
Session #6:
squat: 6 sets of 3 with 80%
bench press: 6 sets of 5 with 60%
squat: 4 sets of 4 with 70%
DB rows: 3x20 heavy
Session #7:
bench press: 6 sets of 3 with 80% then down set of 20 reps
standing press: 4 sets of 12 moderate weight
squat: 4 sets of 8 moderate to heavy
hammer curls: 4 sets of 12
Session #8:
deadlift: 6 singles at 90-95%
incline DB press: 4 set of 8 heavy
squat: 3 sets of 10 moderate weight
abs: 4 sets of 20
Pick your poison and kick hard.
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