BACK TO BASICS!

The longer I lift the more I am convinced strength training should be 85-90% big compound lifts with assitance exercises being only 10-15%. Before I get my fair share of hate mail I do want to say I am not against assitance exercises, they have their place: muscular hypertrophy, weight gain, local targeted muscular hypertrophy, imbalances, stability issues, firing patterns, etc.

Still, several big compound exercises will get you covered for decades. If you look at lifting careers of for example Konstantin Pozdeev or Andrey Malanichev it is usually squat, bench, deadlift and their variations, then some DB flys, back work, hypers. That's pretty much it. And their careers, totals and physiques were awesome.

If you think about it it is very logical. The human physiology recognizes 7 basic movement patterns: squat, lunge, bend, carry, push, pull, rotate. This is how humans have been moving for thousands of years so it only makes sense we train like that, based on evolution, with multi-joint compound exercises which train many muscle groups at the same time in coordinated patterns.

Does that mean that you should only squat, bench, deadlift for the rest of your life? Not really. People forget there are many variations and you may utilize many of them in your training as your main lifts or as your big assistance lifts afterwards. 

Examples below:

SQUAT (low bar squat, high bar squat, pause squat, tempo squat, SSB squat, front squat, zercher squat, cossack squat, box squat)

BENCH PRESS (bench press, CGBP, pin press, lockouts, board press, band press, push press, OHP, snatch press, BTN press)

DEADLIFT (conventional, sumo, pause deadlift, deadlift up to knees, block pulls, RDL, SLDL, GM)

The above should be 85-90% of your year-round training and the little stuff rounds up your program based on current needs (local hypertrophy, lagging muscle group, firing patterns (e.g. glutes), unilateral work, core work, stability muscles, etc.). You need only couple of sets a week of these and please do not believe the nonsense you have to hit everything every week. Most of your body muscles are hit by the big lifts anyway, remember?

Example of a 3-week cycle based heavily on the big lifts. 

Mon: SQUAT 4x4@70%, pause squats 2x3, core 2 sets

Wed: BENCH PRESS 4x4@70%, OHP 3x5, DB rows 2 sets

Fri: DEADLIFT 3x4@70%, hypers 2 sets

Mon: SQUAT 3x3@80%, pause bench press 3x3@65%, abs 2 sets

Wed: DEADLIFT 2x3@80%, bent-over rows 3 sets

Fri: BENCH PRESS 3x3%80%, front squat 2x3@65%, GHR 2 sets

Mon: SQUAT 3x2@85%, CGBP 3x5, pull-ups 2 sets

Wed: DEADLIFT 2x2@85%, RDL 2x5

Fri: BENCH PRESS 3x2@85%, SSB squat 2x3

Yep, that little. Try it and let me know.

I was wrong!

Hmmmm ... a man should be able to admit he was wrong. At least I think I was wrong. I am 47 now and have been lifting for 31 years; past 5 years I have been doing a hybrid training: lifting combined with triathlon training (swim - bike - run).

I still lift heavy 3 times a week (and the training is still built around the powerlifts and their variations) but I have noticed that the older I am I tolerate intensity very well and total volume less so. 6 sets of 3 with 80% of my max squat was a standard session for me about 8 years ago; today it would be too taxing, IMO and would tap into my recovery abilities for the next session.

Nowadays, I typically do 2-3 working sets on the main lifts and usually 2 working sets on the assistance exercises. Surprisingly, I still tolerate high RPE very well, I still can go really heavy but on less sets. It means still quite a lot of heavy doubles and triples; less of those heavy 5's and 8's.

I also enjoy working in Oly lifts and their variations for enforcing proper body positions and working on flexibility under load.

Recent research shows anyway we probably need to do way less heavy sets a week than we used to think a decade ago or so. So, why not do less and get the same stimulus?

This is an excerpt from my current training cycle; two weeks shown:

Day 1

- snatch-grip high pulls 3 working sets to a heavy triple

- squat 3 sets of 3 with 80%

- behind the neck press 2 heavy sets

- GHR 2 sets

Day 2

- dynamic side plank 2 sets

- deadlift 2 heavy doubles with 85%-90%

- CGBP 2 heavy sets

- barbell lunges 2 medium sets

Day 3

- clean-grip high pulls 3 working sets to a heavy triple

- front squat 2 heavy triples

- pull-ups two sets of max reps

- push-ups one set of max reps

Day 1

- ab wheel 2 sets

- squat 3 heavy doubles with 85%-90%

- snatch-grip push press + overhead squat 3 progressively heavy doubles

- seal rows 2 sets

Day 2

- paused deadlift 3 triples with 65%

- bench press 3 sets of 3 with 80%

- behind the neck press 2 heavy sets

- hammer curl 2 heavy sets

Day 3

- one-arm KB farmer's walk 8min

- power clean 3 progressively heavy doubles

- front squat 2 sets of 2 very heavy

- band leg curl 2 sets

Hope this helps :-)

Powerlifting and olympic lifts??? Oh, yeah!

 As a powerlifter you have to practice the powerlifts because that is how you compete. The law of specificity. Your entire program is built around them (squat, bench press, deadlift). But it is wise to borrow sometimes from other sports and see if it can improve your skills.

As I am getting older (I am 47 now) I can feel that I can get stiffer in shoulders, upper back and hips more easily than when I was 25. Recently, I have decided to include some variations of olympic lifts into my programming, especially in offseason when you can allow yourself to experiment with other lifts/exercises to see if they benefit you.

Benefits of the olypic lifts for a powerlifter are significant: 

Increased power and speed

Because olympic lifts are fast and dynamic they change the power curve. You rely on technique, muscles, momentum. If you learn, for example, how to perform the snatch properly and fast and slowly work up to some significant poundages most likely your speed and power on your squat and deadlift increase as well. There is a high correlation. And we know in order to lift big weight you need both, strength and speed.

Increased flexibilty

Please do not believe the nonsense that static stretching increases muscle bellies. It does not. If you were born with a short biceps, well, sorry, but you going to have a short biceps all your life. What can be changed though, is not the length of the muscle belly but the flexibility in your joints. But it has to be under load. Look how flexible olympic lifters are. Olympic lifts force you into very flexible positions under load therefore permanently increasing you flexibility. No more super stiff hips, upper back, shoulders. Troubles getting under the bar on squats because of stiff shoulders? Well, try 2 months of push press behind your neck or drop snatches and watch your shoulders become loose and flexible (and stronger).

Increased local muscular hypertrophy

Variations of olympic lifts are excellent for this. For years I believed heavy deadlifts and shrugs are the answer for big and strong upper back. Nothing has put meat on my upper back as much as the snatch-grip high pull. Not even close.

Here is an example of a 3 day strength program with some incorporated olympic lifts or their variations.

Monday

snatch-grip high pulls 4 progressively heavier triples to 3RM

squat 4 sets of 3 with 80%

GHR

core

Wednesday

deadlift 4 sets of 3 with 75-80%

bench press 5 sets of 3 with 80%

behind neck push press 4 progressively heavier triples to 3RM

barbell lunges

Friday

clean and jerk 5 progressively heavier doubles to 2RM

front squats 3 sets of 3 heavy

push press 3 sets of 3 heavy

DB rows

P.S. In the 40's and 50's of the 20th century it was very common people competed both in powerfilting and olympic lifting.

Now go do some snatches :-)

5 variations of paused squats and deadlifts to boost your strength

What I love about the internet is that Eastern Europe training methods are now available for example in the US and vice versa. Still though, when watching some of the IG posts of famous Western Europe or the US/Canadian lifters, I am quite surprised how little the paused variations of squats and deadlifts are used. Paused squats and deadlifts are mainstay movements in Eastern Europe training protocols because they are extremely effective.

Here are some of the main advantages of paused squats and paused deadlifts:

- you can program them as assistance lifts to regular squats and deadlifts or as main lifts in the off-season

- they build massive amount of strength at sticking points

- they are excellent substitutions for the main lifts when you want to tax the CNS less and still work hard the muscles and tendons

- excellent for tendon strength and stabilizing muscles

- excellent for enforcing correct form

I have successfully used 5 variations of pause squats and paused deadlifts. They are not pleasant, you have to leave your ego at the door but they are extremely effective. Here they are:

paused squat (pause in the hole)

Excellent for squatters who are stuck in the hole; who have throuble with the rebound and often misgrove the lift because the bottom position is weak. You take the bar out, descent into the bottom position and wait there 3 seconds before you start getting up using no momentum only the squatting muscles. You cannot relax anything in the hole; core, glutes, upper back - all is tight. I typically like to do 3 sets of 3 or 4 sets of 2 a tad heavier. Quality of movement is key here, you should finish the last set with still 2 quality reps in the tank. Be careful, eventhough you use much lighter weight, you will be spent after them because the supporting muscles must work extra hard.

paused squat (pause right below parallel)

This is extremely efficent for lifters like me, who have longer legs and shorter torso and tend to be better at deadlifting than squatting. The is a huge ego crusher. Just when you rebounded from the hole you stop the movement right below parallel, pause there for 3 seconds and then re-start the squat again. Quads are crushed after this variation. Again, 3 sets of 3 or 3 sets of 2. Be ready to reduce the working weight big time, these are difficult.

paused squat (pause right above parallel)

These are very demanding (and efficient) for naturally strong squatters with short legs who tend to be super strong out the hole and tend to stall above parallel when glutes and back muscles have to assist the legs. You descent into deep squat, rebound, go up. Just tad above parallel you stop, pause for three seconds and finish the lift. Easy for natural deadlifters, difficult for squatters. Use heavier weights here. 3 sets of 3, 2 sets of 5 or 4 sets of 2.

deadlift up to knees

Fantastic variation for people who struggle pulling off the floor. You setup in the correct starting position, pull the bar up, stop when the bar is just below the kneecaps, pause for three seconds and set the bar down on the floor. That is one rep. Typically 4-5 sets of 3 with roughly 60-65% of 1RM. These are taxing, be prepared. This variation is still prescribed a lot by the famous Russian coach Boris Sheiko.

paused deadlift

This one is trully brutal. You pull the bar up just below knee caps, pause there for three seconds, then finish the pull strong with hip extension. Your entire core, low back, mid back, traps and glutes will fight like hell to keep the position as the bar is trying to force you bend your trunk during the pause. Typically, 4 sets of 3 or 4 sets of 4. Don't be surprised if the next day your lats, mid back, glutes and core are sore as hell. These are also demanding on the CNS so don't go crazy.

Two pieces of advice to close this post:

1/ Leave your ego at the door, choose the variation you are the WORST at and keep the form perfect. Work the pause, don't worry about the weight on the bar.

2/ Let someone else count the pauses; chances are as you quickly become fatigued your 3-sec pause in your head when counting is likely to become a 2-sec pause :-)

Happy lifting!

strength training for older dudes ...

If you are 25 or 46 (as I am now) the same training principles apply and produce results. Yes, you still get jacked and very strong even when you are over 40, 50, 60. But, IMO, you have to implement certain modifications. Still, even at 46 years old, strength training is going to produce all the great benefits:

- great neuro-muscular coordination

- great muscle activation

- increased bone density

- stronger muscle fibers

- more hypertrophy

As said above, there are several modifications you should consider if you are over 40 compared to when you were 25 and could get away with just about anything you put your body through.

Volume

Volume is still king but you will have to reduce volume a bit as your recovery capacity is objectively lower. Intensity can still be high or very high but the number of work sets should be lower. Also limit the number of exercises per workout. If you want to increase volume it is better to do it with higher frequency instead of higher volume per session. As a 20 year old I could easily do 6 sets of 3 with 80% of 1RM, these days I opt for 4 sets of 3 with 75-80%. Ilike to do no more than 3-4 exercises per session; usually two compound lifts and 1-2 accessories. Accessories no longer serve for local muscle hypertrophy but raher for local muscular imbalances and tight muscle groups. You will have tight muscle groups from time to time when getting older.

Mobility

As we grow older we tend to get stiff in certain areas. For me it is the upper back and thoracic spine. To combat that I include olympic lifts into the training week to enforce full ROM and extreme positions under load. Learn proper form though before you load the lifts or you will get injured.

Bodyweight

Reduce your bodyweight. I know, I know, when I was 20 I too wanted to be as strong as possible and as huge as possible. Nowadays, I choose to be leaner, lighter, still very strong and athletic.

Accept lower poundages

This one was difficult for me as my strength level is about 15%-20% lower than in my early thirties. I know very clearly I will never break my all-time max in deadlift or squat because, first, I am 20kg (45 lbs) lighter and 15 years older. Good rule of thumb is to set new strength goals for every 5 years of your age. Set goals for when you are between 40-45. Then set new goals when you are 45-50. They do not have to be only 1RM goals as the top end strength tends to drop the fastest since you objectively lose testosteron as you age but rep strength and AMRAP strength tend to hold the longest. 5RM on deadlifts. AMRAP 10 min on front squats or thrusters. Max number of pull-ups. max 3 sets of 8 on safety squat bar squats, etc. No longer strong and huge, rather strong and lean and athletic should become your motto.

Muscle activation

Spend solid 15-20mins before training on warm-ups and muscle activation as it takes more time to "awaken" muscle groups to fire properly. I typically focus on shoulder blades movements, hip mobility, glute activation and I am good to go.

I strongly believe one should lift till 70s, 80s, 90s. But you also have to be realistic, modify the training as needed and listen to your body.

Excerpts from my current training (1 week) @ 46 years old:

Day 1:

1/ behind the neck presses (for forcing the upper back mobility and shoulder strength)

5 sets of 3

2/ snatch grip high pull (for explosiveness and upper back strength)

4 sets of 3 (up to a very hard triple)

3/ squat

4 sets of 3

4/ chest-supported rows

6 sets of 6 with very precise form

Day 2:

1/ one-arm KB farmer's carry (for core strength and hip stability)

heavy KB for 8 minutes non-stop

2/ conventional deadlift

5 sets of 3 (up to a heavy triple)

3/ bench press

5 sets of 5 with the same weight for all sets

4/ optional: arms work or shoulders

Day 3:

1/ snatch

5 sets of 2 (up to a heavy double)

2/ front squat

4 sets of 3 with heavy weight

3/ seated GM

5 sets of 3 with medium weight

4/ pull-ups

max reps for 8 minutes

Have fun!

powerbuilding for young dudes

Let's face it. Oldtimers like me (I am 46 when writing this post) usually want to be strong, fit and lean. Or they want a sport-specific strength training. But young dudes? Hey, they want to be strong and jacked. Well, it is actually quite simple. You combine a time-tested strength training of multiple sets and low reps with bodybuilding hypertrophy training typically with higher reps and medium weights. It gives the lifter a variety of both worlds, big compund lifts and isolation movements for the bodybuilding exercises. 

The variations are endless and you should never get bored. The big compound lifts are progressed in the block periodisation pattern while the assistance exercises can be done to 1-2 reps shy of failure with perfect form and medium-heavy weights. I would still not do the typical 1x week main lift as the frequency is too low, I would do the main lifts twice a week, once in the strength pattern and once in the assitance pattern, possibly a variation of the big lift (safety squat bar for squat, RDL for deadlift, OHP for bench press, etc.)

You could progress the big lifts as follows:

week 1: 5x5 @ 65%

week 2: 4x5 (4 sets of 5) @ 70%

week 3: 4x4 @ 75%

week 4: 5x3 @ 80%

week 5: 4x2 @ 85%

deload on week 6 and start over

Example of the 1st powerbuilding week might look like:

Monday:

squat 5x5 @ 65%

behind the neck press 3 sets of 8

Bulgarian split squats 3x6

lying leg curl 4x5

hanging leg raises 3x12

Wednesday:

bench press 5x5 @ 65%

RDL 3x6

triceps pushdowns 6x10

DB rows 3x12

hammer curl 4x6

Friday:

deadlift 5x5 @ 65%

SSB squat 3x6

DB bench press 4x8

hypers 5x5

face pulls 3x12

This should build tons of strength AND muscle.