Training Program/Split

I thought I would "share" a pseudo-program/split I put together a few years back for a couple athletes (I use quotations around share because nobody will actually see it, but I digress). I'm not going to proclaim it the greatest thing since sliced bread, but I do think it is a very solid program. I'm constantly considering using it, but I'm making progress with what I'm doing right now, so I need to simply stay the course.

I put the program together when I was a bit naïve, and not completely informed as to the “hows” and “whys” behind some of the programming principles used by other coaches. However, it worked out OK, as I think it is still a solid program, and a solid split. In fact, while I will outline several variations, I think that the split itself can be used as a guideline for other templates.

Basically, I came up with it because I like full body training, especially for athletes. It’s what I cut my teeth on in the “strength and conditioning” industry, and as such, has largely been my go-to when programming for both myself and athletes. With that said, I’m not quite as sold on its superiority anymore, but I also think it is very much individual, and some people thrive on full body training, while others will do better with upper/lower splits.

I initially wrote it for athletes, however, I did not factor in and prescribe other training, such as sprinting, change of direction, jumping, med ball throws, etc. In hindsight, I should and would do that, and as such, it would greatly change the program in and of itself. That said, I think that the general theme can absolutely stay the same, merely massaging and changing some of the particulars to fit the situation.

You will also notice there is little to no overhead work. After reading some coaches I respect a lot, I’ve greatly reduced, and in some cases eliminated, overhead work for many of my athletes. If you feel that you are fine with overhead work, that’s fine. Simply plug it in on the pressing days.

Anyway, I wanted to marry the Westside tenets of exercise rotation and concurrent training of multiple qualities within the week, while still avoiding too much stress. Ergo, I did away with max effort lower body work, while still keeping max effort and rep effort work for the upper body. As well, in an effort to keep the body fresh for the lower body session on Friday (or whatever your day 3 is), I put only single-leg work on Wednesdays. This was also because I kept reading how important single-leg work is and wanted to include it, but didn’t feel that it needed to be as prominent as some think. I’m not going to say it’s not, but if you would rather simply do some bilateral lower body assistance work on that day, that is fine too.

I put the rep effort pulling on Monday with squatting because I feel like the back will be a bit too fatigued after deadlifting to really put forth its best work after. Obviously this doesn’t mean you can’t do it that way, but in my head, that’s the rationale and I think it’s sound.

I also wanted to get some heavy pulling in for the upper body, but it’s can be tough to do with traditional barbell exercises. Therefore, I simply use pullup variations as the max effort pulling work. If you want to figure up some heavy horizontal pulling, have at it, but try to choose some sort of chest-supported variation so that the low back doesn’t become the limiting factor. You could probably also use Pendlay rows if you want to use a barbell exercise.

There are many variations just within the way I originally wrote it, which I will outline, and then, as I will illustrate at the end, many variations thereof that you can make as offshoots.

So here’s the general template:

Day 1

Squat variation

A. Upper pull – rep effort

B. Upper push – modified rep effort

Ab wheel or other moderately heavy ab work

Day 2

A. Max effort pullup variation

B. Quad-dominant single-leg variation

A. Max effort press variation

B. Posterior chain single-leg variation

Ab wheel or other moderately heavy ab work

Day 3

Deadlift variation

A. Upper push – rep effort

B. Upper pull – modified rep effort

Ab wheel or other moderately heavy ab work

A few other notes:

-          I utilize a partial range of motion squat variant with a full or extra ROM deadlift variant, and vice versa. So if I have a front squat, I may use the trap bar deadlift (high handles), rack pull, etc. as the deadlift variation. If I’m using a parallel or higher box squat (because an ass-to-grass Olympic squat is my default squat), I’ll use low-handle trap bar deadlifts, deadlifts from the floor or a deficit, etc.

-          The rep effort work is pretty much always a body weight or dumbbell variation. If the athlete is pretty strong, we simply add weight to the body weight movements with chains or a weight vest if you have one. The modified rep effort work is usually a dumbbell movement. If you use a dumbbell variation for the rep effort work, choose a weight that you can get 20+ reps with.

-          The ab work is pretty much optional, though I would recommend you do it. That said, you can do lower-intensity ab work on the days between if you wish

Exercise selection – this is not a complete list

Squat

Olympic squat (I just call this a squat)

Front squat

Box squat (various heights)

Safety squat bar squat

Buffalo bar squat

Low bar squat

High bar squat

Change depth, foot positioning, etc.

RE pull

Pullups (palms facing away)

Chinups (palms facing toward you)

Neutral-grip chin-ups (palms facing each other)

Blast strap/TRX pullups

Blast strap/TRX inverted Rows

Blast strap/TRX inverted Rows, feet on bench

Barbell inverted rows

Barbell inverted rows, feet on bench

Kroc rows

RE press

Pushups

Barbell pushups

Feet-elevated pushups

Handstand pushups

Dips

ME pull

Same as RE

ME press

Any barbell pressing movement – change grip width, incline, etc.

Deadlift

Deadlift

Deadlift from deficit (no more than 2-3” max)

Trap bar deadlift

Low handle trap bar deadlift

Rack deadlift (various deadlift)

Elevated deadlift (on mats, blocks, etc.)

Snatch-grip deadlift

Stiff-leg deadlift

Stiff-leg deadlift from deficit

Stiff-leg deadlift from elevated surface

Sumo deadlift

Semi-sumo deadlift

Sumo rack deadlift (various heights)

Semi-sumo rack deadlift (various heights)

Where is the trap work? The gun show work? Direct shoulder/forearm/whatever else work? You can include it where you want. If you still have some “go” after the main stuff, throw it in at the end, otherwise it can be done on the days in between. Allow at least 1 full day between the heavy days. The other stuff can be done on those days.

Putting it together

So, let’s say you’ve decided, for the first 4 weeks, your exercises will be:

Squat – Parallel box squat

RE upper pull – blast strap inverted rows

Modified RE upper press – DB bench press

ME upper pull – weighted chin-ups

Quad dominant single-leg – walking lunges

ME press – close-grip bench

Posterior chain dominant single-leg – single-leg RDL

Deadlift – low-handle trap bar deadlift

RE press – barbell pushups

Modified RE upper pull – Yates rows

There are a few options for what to do with each slot, at least that I have come up with. I’m sure others could come up with more.

Main lower work (squat or deadlift variation) – Week 1 – 3x5, 3x3; Week 2 – 6x3, Week 3 – 8x3

If you want, simply choose your own weights for these lifts. This will allow you to push it as hard or moderate as you want to. If going moderate, you would probably want to be around a 7 or 8 on Mike Tuchscherer's RPE scale. Or, you may utilize percentages (which I like), which allows you to modulate the effort a bit more. While most will argue that you must go as heavy as possible on everything always, I believe, and KNOW, that that is not at all true. Submaximal weights are not only a method of getting stronger, but in many cases superior to maximal weights. In such a case, use a semi-conservative estimate for your maximum and simply progress from 70% in week 1, 75% in week 2, and 80% in week 3, with an option of working up to a non-psyched 1RM AFTER your 8x3 in week 3.

The RE work which follows the main work on Days 1 and 3, again, can be done a few different ways. The first way I have done it is to use a few warm-up sets of 10 reps, with a third all-out set, with the goal of beating your reps each week. An alternative would be to do your all-out set first, then utilize rep drop-offs (probably 20% per set) for each successive set. So if you get 25 on the first set, the second set would be 20 (25-20%), and the 3^rd set would be 16 (20-20%). The modified rep effort work is done for 3-4 sets of 10-15 reps. I usually superset these two exercises as well.

The Day 2 exercises are usually 3x5 or 3x3 for the upper pull, and working up to a 5RM (week 1), 3RM (week 2), and 1RM (week 3) for the upper pressing movement.

Unlike some, I’m not married to any single “program” any more than I’m married to any single exercise or loading scheme. The fact is, different athletes, different situations, different sports, etc. all may dictate different programming approaches. With that said, I do think the aforementioned “program” provides a very solid framework and starting point from which we can create programs for those with different needs. For instance, if you are an athlete, and have to do sprint work, change of direction, energy systems development, explosive work, and so on, your weight work is secondary at best, if not tertiary. However, the template can still serve as a useful jumping off spot. Consider:

Day 1

Squat – moderate to heavy

Upper pull – RE

Upper push – modified RE

Day 2

Upper pull – heavy

Single leg quad dominant OR bilateral lower assistance

Upper push – heavy

Single leg posterior chain OR bilateral lower assistance

Day 3

Deadlift OR squat – moderate to heavy

Upper push – RE

Upper pull – modified RE

And any smaller/assistance work can be sprinkled in around it. I included an OR on day 3 due to the fact that some coaches do not use deadlifts with their athletes (I don’t either in some cases). In such a case, another squat day works fine. However, again, this is merely a 3 day template for weights, which certainly does not have to be followed. Some athletes have 4 days to lift, some only 2. In each case, a different program entirely is likely necessary.

Keep in mind also that “heavy” in such a case does not have to mean “maximal.” Athletes do not have to lift heavy to get stronger, and in many cases it may actually be detrimental. As such, something like the submaximal effort method may be of great use in those instances, because of the decreased stress it imparts on the athlete’s body and nervous system.

You could easily utilize something like 5/3/1 for your “big” lifts, or even a modified version if you so choose. Jumps and/or lower-body centric med ball throws on day 2 would probably be a good idea, too. The possibilities are endless.