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 3rd 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.
