Jim Wendler

Boring But Strong – 13 Cycle Challenge

Negative Birth

[NOTE: This is from the Jim Wendler Forum.]

How this all came about is a long, long story so I’ll edit it down to the bare minimum: I am

currently at the tail end of this challenge and I love it. This, like the majority of training ideas

that are born, happened by chance and by necessity. This training is meant to be done by

intermediate and advanced lifters. I don’t recommend it for beginners because of the fatigue it

illicits and their inability to keep good form.

Sets – 10

Reps – 5

Weeks 1-3 – 70%

Weeks 4-6 – 75%

Weeks 7 – Deload (choose the deload you want to do, no BBS training)

Weeks 8-10 – 80%

Weeks 11-13 – 85%

The training is not meant to be done for every lift but theoretically, it can be done. I highly

recommend you do it for one lift or at the most, one upper body movement and one lower body

movement. But judging by last 15 years of answering questions and writing programs, no one will

listen to that. So here is the entire program and the EXACT assistance to do on each day. I only

recommend what is written and will not sign off on any change. This is because this is what I

believe in.Your training max will change as normal – after each 3 week phase. The % of the

volume work will change AS YOUR TM CHANGES. For example, let’s say you have a TM of 400

on the squat. The first 3 weeks the % will be based on 400. After 3 weeks, your TM will go up to

410. The % work is now based on 410.

http://www.jimwendler.com/2014/07/boring-but-strong-challenge/lordmantis/

NOTE: The goal of this training is to finish the 10 sets of 5 reps @ 85% of your TM for each lift.

Weeks 1-3

Monday

Squat – 5/3/1 sets and reps

Squat – 10 sets of 5 reps @ 70%

Ab work

Tuesday

Bench Press – 5/3/1 sets and reps

Bench Press – 10 sets of 5 reps @ 70%

Face Pulls – 100 reps

Thursday

Deadlift– 5/3/1 sets and reps

Deadlift – 10 sets of 5 reps @ 70%

Abs

Friday

Press – 5/3/1 sets and reps

Press – 10 sets of 5 reps @ 70%

Rear Laterals – 100 reps

Weeks 4-6 (remember to adjust TM)

Monday



Ab work

Tuesday




Thursday



Abs

Friday




Week 7 – Deload – no volume work

Weeks 8-10 (again adjust your TM)

Monday



Ab work

Tuesday




Thursday



Abs

Friday




Weeks 11-13 (adjust TM)

Monday



Ab work

Tuesday




Thursday



Abs

Friday




Notes:

In general, I recommend 1:00-1:30 rest between each set. The goal is to get the volume work

must be done in 15-20 minutes. Don’t rush the first 5 sets as it will catch up to you. You may feel

like it is too light/easy but it creeps up on you!

Conditioning: the only conditioning I recommend is using the AirDyne for 30 minutes, 4

days/week. This is not performance based conditioning but it is consistency based conditioning.

Flexibility/Mobility: I recommend the Defranco Agile 8 each morning, before each training session

and before bed.

Jumps/Throws – 20 jumps or throws (or a combination of each) before each training session.

I recommend using the 5’s Progression on the 5/3/1 sets/reps – the goal of this training block is

not to set PR’s. So I only recommend 5’s Progression. No jokers.

Obviously this is not to be done with FSL or BBB.

Recovery: Since this is very intensive training, be sure you are getting the adequate sleep. In

general, at least 8 hours/day.

Diet: same recommendation as any heavy training – be sure you are eating enough protein, carbs

and fat that you have found to improve performance. Reference the article I wrote on diet and

how to simplify your eating. Don’t follow those with eating disorders!

Supplements: I recommend the following: Mag-10 after training (I use 5 scoops), ZMA, Vitamin C

– 2-3g a day, Multi-vitamin of your choosing every day, Fish oil (I love Krill oil by Mercola – 9

caps/day)

I personally don’t time my rest between my sets. What I do is set a running timer and just use it

as a guideline for the rest between my sets. I try to get the first five sets done in 8 minutes or less.

Then I space out the time for the remaining sets based on how I feel.

Do you feel like doing more assistance work? Don’t do it.

Primer cilusa za mrtvo

You are on the right track Frank! The two ways I would do them would either be to do them after deadlifting light, then go heavy on the below the knee pulls (or vice versa), or do them every other week, alternating with deadlifts.

So a few different cycles could be like so.

heavy light alternate weeks -

week 1 - light deads 5 sets of 3week 2 - heavy block deads - to a top single for 3 singles

heavy light on same daylight deadlifts - 5 sets of 3heavy block deads - 3 singles at top weight

alternate heavy/light in same dayheavy deadlifts - up to top single then back off set of 3-5light block deads - 1-2 sets of 10-12

Raw Powerlifting - DeadliftingOk now it's time to talk about tugging stuff up around your crotchal region. Yes I'm talking about the deadlift. What else would I be talking about?

Ok deadlift training, in terms of how to use your percentages, go a bit different than how I plan for squats and bench. The reason why is, you have no myotatic reflex to start the movement. This is one reason why calculations don't always work as well for the deadlift as they do the bench and squat. Case in point, a lot of time the reps that follow the first rep seem easier than the initial one. That's because you do in fact get some of that myotatic reflex on the follow up reps. Especially if you go touch n' go style. So where 405x10 in the squat or bench pretty much always puts you in the 520-525 range, 405x10 in the deadlift probably means a lot less than that. That has been my experience and generally the experience of guys I have talked to about this. You can do reps with something closer to your 1RM in the dead than you can the squat and bench.

Therefore, I like to set the training max percentage a little higher in the dead than the squat and bench. Usually 95% for a double at the end of the cycle seems to be about right.

Second, unlike the squat, I feel like the dead generally needs a little bit of help from assistance work. Yes the dead will build itself just fine, and you certainly can't go wrong with just pulling but some chins, shrugs, and rows thrown in there seem to help. I have not found that adding a lot of hamstring work to my training to help my deadlift as much. I do know this has helped a lot of guys but it just doesn't seem to be the case for me. I've done stiff legs with 500 for reps, good mornings with 455 for reps and all sorts of other things for hams to strengthen them and my dead never budged. It wasn't until I just started focusing on pulling from the floor and from blocks that my deadlift started to move at a good clip.

And speaking of pulling from blocks, what I am referring to here is not deficit deadlifts where you stand on something, but rather where you put the plates on short blocks, so that the bar is at mid-shin or so, and pull from there. To me, pulling from this

height is actually harder than pulling from the floor. The weight feels more "dead" than usual, and there is less quad involvement. When I have pulled from a deficit I have noticed that I can really bend down and get my quads involved. This is not something I get much use from because when I pull from the floor, it doesn't feel the same. I always feel as if my low back and upperback are the weak links. So pulling from blocks made my low back do a lot more work, and get a lot stronger. This actually made pulling from the floor feel easier for me.

So also unlike the bench and squat, I feel like the dead does need some assistance plugged in to cover some weak links because the posterior of the body seems to need a little more work. However what kind of work you choose to plug in there, will need to be determined by you.

I don't add lower back work into my routines generally because if you are squatting and pulling heavy each week the low back gets a ton of work. The low back also takes longer to recover than most bodyparts, so adding in low back work has never been part of my philosophy.

So let's get down to looking at the cycle.

Training Max = 95% of real max or second attempt for the meet

Week 1 - 80% x 1 65%x2x5Week 2 - 85% x 1 70%x2x5Week 3 - 88% x 1 75%x2x5Week 4 - 90% x 1 80%x2x3Week 5 - 92% x 1 85%x2x3Week 6 - 95% x 1 90%x2x3Week 7 - 97% x 1 93%x2x3Week 8 - 100% x 2Week 9 - deload 70% x 5Week 10 - meet

Notes on this training cycle -

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/oTbpGkLFVpQ/0.jpg

What to do after deads?

One way to do things is to pick something for hamstrings, lats, and upperback and do 2-4 sets for each for around 8-12 reps. So you could do leg curls, chins, then db rows. Another option is to do the block deadlifts like I mentioned above for a set of 10 or 2-3 sets of 5. The weight on the block deads could easily be what you did for your back off sets to keep things simple. As I noted, I don't notice any kind of bump in my deadlift from extra hamstring training therefore I don't do any. It will be up to you to figure out if your hamstrings are holding you back.

Why do I set up these cycles this way?

I had a few questions like that. I like to set it up this way because the singles give you practice at what you will do for the meet. The back off sets are the actual strength builders. Then you need to test where you are at in week 8 for the meet. This is my own philosophy. Some may think my percentages are low, however I have found that using higher percentages tends to either make me peak too fast, or burn out and hit a wall too fast. I like to feel confident in everything I lift. This way, come meet day I haven't missed weights and have an idea of what I am at. Knowing this also gives you confidence on the platform

Ultimate Beastdom - Training to get "what constitutes strong"...strong Part 1A while back my buddy Jim Wendler linked up a quick piece I wrote up called "What Constitutes Strong" on his log at elitefts. I knew there would be some backlash to this article. I knew fat guys would complain about chins and dips and the high reps. I knew weak small guys would complain about the weight being asked to be moved in the squat and deadlift (500 pounds) for reps (20 for each). The excuses poured in from both sides.

"Oh chins and dips are for small guys."

Uh huh.

"Why are the reps so high?"

Because we were talking about elite level repping strength?

"Why isn't it a certain weight for guys that only weigh X amount? Like 315 for guys under 180, or 405 for guys 200?" Because a million guys have squatted and deadlifted 315 and 405 for 20. We wanted to establish a number that looked ridiculous, but possibly attainable. And for those that think 500x20 is not attainable then this article is not for you. I know of a guy that squatted 500x20 in bare feet. It's doable. For everyone? Certainly not, but that's why we said it was ELITE level repping strength. Not everyone , even Jim and I, will attain all of these lifts. That is really the point actually. Most lifters will never attain all of these at once. That is the point thank you very much.

People asked why we picked 315 for a single on the strict standing press. Because it looks good. That's it. Being able to stand and strictly press 315 overhead is rare for the majority of serious strength trainers. For those who can point to a bunch of 400 pound strongmen that can do it I say fine, have em strap on the 100 pounds we ask for chin-ups and meet that challenge as well. You see, there is always an equalizer in the exercises and sets and reps we picked. Either way, anyone that can overhead press 315 is strong. Once you can consistently put 300 pounds over your head from a standing position, and do it strict, you are a strong presser. Period. For the little guy who can sumo (abomination) deadlift 500x20, have him bench 315x20 and squat 500x20 and overhead the 315. There is always an equalizer in this.

The thing Jim and I both liked about setting these standards is we both had a picture of what the guy that could accomplish all of this might look like, and perform like, and how he would have to train to reach these standards.

- He would look the part.

Taking the time to work up to these lifts over time would build an incredible amount of muscle mass. When you factor in the next item, you have to believe he would also carry an athletic level of bodyfat. I don't give a damn what anyone says, looking like you could run through brick walls and having the goods to go with it IS in fact the goal here. In any sport or competition, your appearance initially will carry an intimidation factor with it. You want to look strong AND be strong. You want to be in shape AND look in shape. The function creates the form.

- He would be in outstanding condition.

You're not going to rep out sets of 20+ in the squat and dead without being in very good condition. Being able to sprint, fight, screw, practice cannibalism, and compete at a high level at whatever is a great feeling and you can't do those things without good conditioning.

- He would limit the amount of crap he was doing that didn't matter.

One phrase Jim and I both clung to when talking about all of this was from Doc Ken about getting brutally strong on squats, deadlifts, chins, dips, etc. That phrase always made sense to both of us and really hit home in coming up with these standards. Get brutally strong on the exercises that give the biggest bang for their buck, in a higher rep range and you'd be as developed as you were ever going to be.

Approaching these goals -

So how would one go about approaching these goals, if we were far away from such lofty lifting?

The first thing he would have to understand is time. This isn't going to be a 12 week program, this is going to be your training life. What I mean by that is, it will probably be a goal you would work towards forever. And it's very possible you would never make it. This isn't meant to be depressing. If you fall short and end up squatting 450x20, and deadlifting 475x20, benching 275x20, etc you're still going to be big and strong as hell. So even if you didn't reach the ultimate numbers, your journey will have rewarded you anyway. And that's what training is all about. The journey.

Block Training -

I'm not talking about block periodization here. I'm about focusing on specific goals during specific blocks of time. 6 weeks is generally the length I settle on. There are reasons for this.

1. It's a long enough period of time to get some real work and results in.

2. Bulking/conditioning/strength maximization done in blocks has an easier carryover than doing say, 6 months of hard conditioning then trying to recoup lost strength in that time. You spend the next 6 months trying to gain that strength back, then lose a great deal of conditioning. Round and round you go.

3. Mentally, it's easier to push the envelope for 6 weeks, then focus on what to do next. Planning out 6 months of training to me is awfully hard and unrealistic. You get sick, injured, and life in general can get in the way of even the best laid plans. If you have a bad week on a 6 week plan, just run a 7th week to make up for it. And even if you have to start all over it's still just 6 weeks.

So with that out there, let's talk about the different blocks of training you would need to rotate in at various times to reach Ultimate Beastdom. There are three blocks I will talk about. Hypertrophy and strength block. The Conditioning Block. The strength endurance block. Each block runs 6 weeks.

Today we'll go over the hypertrophy and strength block.

Hypertrophy and Strength block - 6 weeks

Who this block is for -

Skinny guys needing to gain a lot of mass. Advanced guys that maintain a good or great level of conditioning but have been stagnant in strength and size gains.

Who this block is NOT for -

Fat guys Guys that have been bulking for a while

This block is all about big eating, big lifting, pushing weight onto the bar and on the scale. But within reason. Because there are going to be strength endurance blocks, and conditioning blocks too. If you turn into a major league fat ass over the course

of a month and a half (I've done this, so it can be done) then a follow up conditioning block or strength endurance block is going to be harder than trying to take a shit on pain killers.

Conditioning is going to be in the background during this block. I constantly have to reference the fact that you cannot serve two masters. You cannot get as big and as strong as possible while increasing your conditioning. Not unless you're a complete novice. One will take a backseat to the other eventually.

So during this block, only 1 day of hard conditioning is done per week, and lifting is four days per week. The hard conditioning will be done on the day you squat. Steady state cardio should be done for 10 minutes after lifting or for 30 minutes on off days twice a week.

For the big 4 (squat, deadlift, bench, and the overhead press of your desire) you will do a simple 5x5 rep scheme, to a "top" set of 5. I say "top" set because the first two weeks there should be a lot of room to spare. In fact the first week should be easy, the second week, moderate, then start adding some real weight on the 3rd week. But ALWAYS leave one or two reps in the tank.

After the core lift you will do two exercises that "help" that core lift. These will be done for what's called a 50% set. You pick a weight that you should hit failure around the 10-12th rep. You will rest 1 minute and try to get half the number of reps you did on the first set. So if you got 12, you will rest for 60 seconds and try to get 6. You may never ever get 6, but that's the goal. Still add weight each time you make 12 reps on the first set. So if you get 14 reps, you will shoot for 7 and the next week you will add enough weight so that it brings you down to 10 again. Keep pushing that first set until you're banging out 13-14 reps before you increase the weight again.

If you go 3 sessions without progress on that first set, drop that movement in favor of something similar. Since you're only running each block for 6 weeks this shouldn't happen very often. But as soon as you do stall on a movement, swap it out. Even if it's for the final week of the block only.

The Training Week - 5x5 50%

Day 1 - Squats + calves, quads, and hamsCalf Raises - 3 sets of 15 to a top setSquats - 5x5 to "top" set of squats. If you need more than 5 sets, fine, but work up to a solid set of 5. Reread the above part about what that set of 5 should feel like.

Leg Press - 50% set SLDL - 50% setHard Conditioning - 10 minutes worth of some type of interval training. Just make sure you bust ass.

Day 2 - Bench + neck, chest, and tricepsNeck - 3 sets of 20Bench Press - 5x5

Incline Db Press - 50% setDips - 50% set

Day 3 - Off

Day 4 - Deadlifts + calves, traps, and latsCalves - 3x15Deadlifts - 5x5Power Shrugs - 50% setChins/Pulldowns - 50% set

Day 5 - Off

Day 6 - Overhead Work + neck and shouldersNeck - 3x20PBN or Standing Press - 5x5Upright Rows - 50% setSide Laterals - 50% set

Day 7 - Off

Repeat

Notes about how to work this training block -

For the 5x5 what I have found to work best is to figure out what you would like to REALISTICALLY hit for a set of 5 to end the block. Then work back from there. However, there is a catch. What I generally find is that week 1 to week 2, there isn't much of a strength gain. But week 2 to week 3 I always find a decent jump, and another big jump from week 3 to week 4. I have noted this in my training logs over and over again through the years. So if I wanted to hit 405x5 in the sixth week, this is how I would stagger the weeks...

Week 1 - 335x5 Week 2 - 345x5 10 pound jump from week 1Week 3 - 365x5 20 pounds jump from week 2Week 4 - 385x5 20 pound jump from week 3Week 5 - 395x5 10 pound jump from week 4Week 6 - 405x5 10 pound jump from week 5

When you finish the block, take good notes and take notice of what weeks you felt the strongest. This will help you to setup your own customized training cycle the next time you run this block. And when you figure those things out that's when progress really begins to take off.

On the exercises that follow the core movement, bust ass hard from week 1. Make sure you pick something you hit 12+ reps with the first week. So start light, but work hard. Go to failure and don't fudge on that 1 minute rest between sets.

There are no curls. Chins work biceps just fine. Your triceps get plenty of work with heavy pressing twice a week.

This routine is slightly bodybuilderesque. That's for a reason. Bodybuilders are masters at training for size. To increase your strength ceiling you will need to increase your size. Bodybuilding works best for this. You don't need to shave your body and pour salad dressing all over yourself and pose in order to embrace this style of training.

Diet -

I've written about big eating a million times. If you are a really skinny guy (and I mean really skinny) then eat big. Three big solid meals a day with my patent pending PBnJ's between meals. Set your watch and eat every three hours without fail. Remember this is just a 6 week block so go balls out on the eating as well.

Meal 1 - 6-8 whole eggs any style1 cup uncooked oatmeal with raisins Two pieces of toast with jelly1 cup of milk

Meal 2 -PBnJ with milk

Meal 3 -Two tuna sandwiches (1 can per sandwich) with regular mayo2 apples, 1 banana

Meal 4 - pre-training half cup (uncooked) oatmeal1 bagel with peanut butter

Training - use gatorade mixed with BCAA powder

Meal 5 - Post Training8 ounces of lean beef, chicken, pork10 ounces if it's fish2 large baked potatoes with buttersalad1 cup of grapes

Meal 6 - same as meal 2

On non-training days swap out the pre-training meal with the PBnJ meal.

For guys who are in pretty good shape, and have a decent amount of size, simply eat less on non-training days. Swap out the PBnJ meal with a cup and a half of low-

fat cottage cheese with pineapple along with a handful of almonds. Cut the baked potato down to only 1 at meal 5 as well.

What to aim for -

3-5 pounds for an advanced guy, around 7-9 pounds for a skinny novice trainer. This is lean mass I'm talking about here.

"OMG Paul I'm going to bust hump for 3-7 pounds?"

Hell yes. Because I care more about quality than quantity. I can gain 30 pounds over the winter without thinking too much about it, but it's not quality weight. I can bust ass for 3-5 real pounds of lean mass and still be around the same bodyfat level. Or I can gain 30 pounds of fat on top of 5 pounds of lean mass, then lose 2 or 3 pounds of that lean mass on a long sucky ass diet plan. Dave Tate talked about this recently on T-Mag. Every time he would bulk up he would diet back down and be right about the same weight as what he started. I have written about this terrible phenomenon many times, and every time I went through it I felt like stabbing myself in the taint with the claw side of a hammer for doing a shitty bulk again. If you care about being the total package in terms of form and function, then think about quality rather than quantity. If you run this block 3 times a year and gain 3-5 pounds each time, you're now 9-15 pounds heavier and LEAN. And 10 pounds of quality lean mass will literally transform what you look like.

Obviously there will be SOME fat gain, but the point of this block is to minimize that. A 1-1 muscle to fat gain ratio is ideal. So if you gain 3 solid pounds of lean mass, you've only got 3 pounds of fat to take off. This can be done in a short time without a crazy diet and you get to keep your hard earned muscle. So monitor the scale and your waistline, and even get your bodyfat checked every few weeks to see what's going on. It's only 6 weeks so it shouldn't get out of hand no matter what. If it does, scale the calories back to a deficit for 4 days, then slowly add them back in until weight gain resumes at a SLOW pace.

Part 2 will discuss the Conditioning Block.........

Ultimate Beastdom - Training to get "what constitutes strong"...strong Part 2The Conditioning Block -

Continuing down our line of building the ultimate beast, we have to talk about conditioning. This is not about something you put on your hair after you shampoo it either.

Being in awesome shape might be a better feeling than hitting a big PR. When you can run hills as hard as you can until you get bored, and never tire. That is a damn good feeling. A few months ago I ran 40+ yard sprints for about an hour and could have gone on for another hour. I never got tired or breathless. It's an incredible

feeling. Your strength tends to not be top notch during this time, but you can knock out high rep sets of squats and be fully recovered in just a couple of minutes, rather than being put down for the day.

Outside of feeling great, you look better, the nutrients you eat get shuttled through your system better, you recover faster, and have an ability to do a greater amount of work.

So to cover the conditioning block we have to take two types of guys into account. Lifters who are out of shape and need to build a decent level of conditioning, and lifters who already have that, but want to take it up a notch.

The other factor is strength, or the maintenance of it. There is a delicate balancing act here. You don't want to run through several blocks of mass and strength training, only to lose a lot of that because you condition too much. Lots of folks get overzealous in their quest to shed fat and get in shape and the next thing they know they have several overuse injuries, their strength is in the shitter, and they wonder where they went wrong. Again, being slightly unbalanced is key. What I mean by that is, each block is geared slightly towards one goal while the other maintains a certain status quo. This is what you need to strive for when it comes to conditioning. You want to improve your conditioning, but not at the expense of losing a significant degree of the strength you have built. Some can or will be lost. But it needs to fall in the realm of what you deem acceptable. That will be different for everyone. You will need to learn to adjust the template I give you to suit your own needs.

Strength Maintenance -

During this phase lifting should be cut down to twice a week. You can still make strength gains on a twice a week program. If you don't think so ask Jim Wendler and Scott Yard who both train that way now, and have set PR's doing it. Is it for everyone? No. It's all about where a guy is in his lifting life and what it is he's trying to accomplish. I don't think that training twice a week is a great way to train for ultimate mass gain, but for pure strength it will work just fine. From a strength maintenance perspective, it's very optimum in my opinion.

There are a few ways you can do this. For guys who are in the 400 bench, 550 squat, 600 deadlift range I advise squatting one week and deadlifting the next. So if you trained squats on Saturday, you would deadlift the next Saturday. On the other lifting day of the week do your pressing and pulling work. So bench one week, overhead press the next, and get your rows, chins, and dips in.

During strength maintenance said advanced guy would do 3 sets of doubles at 85% of your current max (don't overshoot it either ego maniac) for the big lifts for the first 3 weeks. The last three weeks do 5 singles at 90% of your max. After the big lift is done, do your assistance work fast and furious. I personally don't care what it is to be honest. You don't really need to spend that much time thinking about it. If you want to do a curl and side laterals after bench, do it. Just don't overdo it.

Advanced lifter -

Week 1 - Day 1 - PressingBench - 3x2 @ 85% for three weeks - 5x1 @ 90% the last three weeksAssistance

Day 2 - SquatsSquats - 3x2 @ 85% for three weeks - 5x1 @ 90% the last three weeksAssistance

Week 2 - Day 1 - PressingOverhead Work - 3x2 @ 88% for three weeks - 5x1 @ 92% the last three weeksAssistance

Day 2 - DeadliftsDeadlift - 3x2 @ 88% for three weeks - 5x1 @ 92% the last three weeksAssistance

For a more novice guy, someone in the 200-315 bench range with a 365-405 squat and a 455-500 deadlift I would set it up like this, squatting and pulling every week. With one deadlift session at 70% for a set of 5 then the next squat session at the same. No assistance work to be done after squats and pulls.

Week 1 - Day 1 - PressingBenchAssistance

Day 2 - Squats and Deadlifts Squat - 3x2 @ 88% for three weeks - 5x1 @ 92% the last three weeksDeadlift - 1x5 @ 70%

Week 2 - Day 1 - PressingOverhead Work Assistance

Day 2 - Squats and DeadliftsSquat - 1x5 @ 70%Deadlift - 3x2 @ 85% for three weeks - 5x1 @ 90% the last three weeks

They key during this time is to move those weights fast and keep overall volume low. As I noted on assistance, pick something, do it fast and furious and be done with it. It will be hard enough to keep your strength as is, so don't overtax yourself systemically in the gym. You're going to be doing some hard conditioning during this block and that's the point of it. Not to get bigger and stronger, but to try and keep your strength levels at a good base level while you improve your conditioning.

Conditioning -

Since the whole point of this block is to increase and improve your conditioning level, this phase will involve doing so 4 days a week. And we are going to make the conditioning very simple. Simple doesn't mean easy, it just means simple. Writing out a diet is simple, following it to the letter can be difficult. Writing out this conditioning plan is simple, doing it can, and should be, difficult.

Each of the conditioning tasks will take into account your current level of conditioning, or lack of. Day 1 - 1 mileWalk it, run it, walk-sprint, whatever. But you have to time it. What can you do a mile in? My suggestion is to start easy because you will need to beat your time each week for the next 6 weeks. So if all you can do is walk it, just walk it. But record your time. If you can run it, I'd say to start easy. You don't want overuse injuries from conditioning because they become a real pain in the ass to get rid of. Usually involving time off to fully get rid of them. So take it slow for your own sake, and peak out in week 6.

Day 2 - Sled Hammer on tire -If you don't have these, go buy them. You can get a used tire for cheap and sledge hammers aren't that much either. You give your legs a break (although your hips will get a workout) and still get good conditioning work in. Go hard for 30 seconds and rest for 10. Repeat this until you feel worked. Make note of how many 30 seconds rounds you did before you called it quits. Try to beat this number each week. This comes back to the honor system. You can go easy and add rounds every week but never get the real benefit while lying to yourself. Or you can go hard, but not crazy, and get better each week, knowing you're really putting in some work.

Day 3 - HillsFind a hill and run it. How long should the hill be? I suggest a minimum of 30 yards. If the hill is forever long just run up to the same point each time and turn around. Again, run a number that you feel worked from, but not like you're having an asthma attack, and add on to that number each week. Your walk back down should be the "rest' portion, however if you need to take longer do so. Again, start with a number you know you can add on to for several weeks. So the first week should NOT be incredibly difficult.

Day 4 - Steady State - 45 minutes walk, swim, or bikeThis is a recovery day and the pace should be solid. Not easy, but not difficult either. If you checked your heart rate it would be in that "fat burning zone" that you see on the treadmill according to your age. That's the best way I can describe the effort involved here. You should feel better after doing this than you did before you started it. I always do anyway. Take plenty of time to stretch after this and foam roll and do restoration work.

Notes about this block -

The conditioning is a little more ambiguous because everyone has different levels of conditioning starting this block (duh!). So I want everyone to be their own judge in regards as to what they can or can't handle early on. If you push too hard early, bad

things are sure to follow. If you are smart, you will start at a comfortable pace and slowly add until you're looking and feeling like a champ in week 6.

Do be surprised if your strength goes south for a while, especially in the beginning or middle portion. After a few weeks it will come back a bit. Remember this is a conditioning block, not a strength building block. The hope is maintenance, but if you can't that's ok. It may just mean that your base level of strength isn't as high as you think it is. Don't let this bother you. I don't know how else to tell you that.

Figure out your own schedule here. You may want to do something 6 days a week, or do some of the conditioning after lifting, or whatever. I don't know everyones schedule so just figure out how it works for you in that regard. It's ok to mix and match these around. Just take note that if you run hills on day, then the next day try to run that mile, your mile could suck ass. And vice versa as well. So if you want to stick the sledge hammer work in between the hills/mile run/steady state that works great too. So an optional schedule would be like so.......

Day 1 - hillsDay 2 - sledge hammerDay 3 - mile runDay 4 - sledge hammerDay 5 - steady stateDay 6 - sledge hammeretc

This doesn't mean you HAVE to do 6 days a week either, what I am pointing out here is if you start noticing an overuse injury (which you shouldn't if you are smart and start slow in the beginning) then go to this schedule and take more rest between days. Or you can use this schedule right off the bat. Again, use some of your own judgement about what looks/feels best and can work with your own schedule.

How to get "What constitutes strong...strong" Part 3In this part we're going to talk about strength endurance. The truth is, this block could be swapped out with the hypertrophy and strength block with a little tinkering, however this block will focus on building strength endurance, which also leads to hypertrophy in a big way (combined with good eating).

For this block we're talking about raising your strength levels in a high repetition zone. Namely something in the 20-30 rep range. This won't be done with a single set however. Generally a version of rest/pause training will be used until these reps are reached, then over the weeks you want to lower the number of rest/pause rounds it takes to get there.

One of the things that came to mind when the elite repping numbers were thrown out there, was that most every lifter that could hit X amount for a single, could also hit X amount for reps. For example, almost all of the 500 pound bench pressers we knew, they were all in the 315x18-22 rep range. The guy that could squat 405x20 was also usually good for somewhere around 650. The deadlift was a little different, but you get the idea.

Now let me say right up front, that just because you can rep 315x20 that doesn't mean you can hit 500 for a single but I can bet you'll be in ball park range. Certainly if you can only hit 315x13 and

raise that to 18-20 your single should have gone up as well. If not, you are the exception and we don't use exceptions to make the rule.

Goals for this block -

The goal for this block is to hit something that has some kind of coloration to a certain max. I will lay out the projected max and the weight associated with it in regards to 20 reps for some landmark weights......

Projected Max = Weight you need to hit for 20 reps

185 = 115

205 = 135

225 = 145

250 = 160

275 = 175

300 = 190

315 = 200

335 = 210

365 = 230

385 = 245

405 = 255

425 = 270

455 = 285

475 = 300

500 = 315

550 = 345

585 = 370

605 = 380

635 = 400

650 = 410

675 = 425

700 = 440

750 = 475

800 = 500

Again, I can't emphasize enough that just because you can hit 20 reps with that weight doesn't mean your max will in fact be that, however it will probably be ball park, especially if you increase your repping strength while doing some 80+% work as well. I also think that the lower end of the scale will be off more because a guy that can rep 115 might not be able to even get close to 185. However 315x20 on bench, for example, consistently lines up with guys with around a 500-510 bench. 230x20 is usually consistent with a guy that hits 350-365. You get the idea. If you use your calculator for a minute you will figure out pretty quick that the number used there is 63%. So 63% of your 1RM is usually about what you can do for 20.

The Plan -

This block is fairly straight forward. You're going to pick a weight you would like to be good for max wise, and work towards that for the entire 6 weeks. Let me emphasize that if you can't bench 185 right now, to go check out some of my beginner or skinny guy training articles then come back when you are there.

The over-warm up and the plan -

Set your goal for the big 3 for the cycle. I urge you to be conservative. The most surefire way to fail is to get overzealous in your planning and try to add 500000000 pounds to your 160 pound max squat. Don't do that. If your max is 225 shoot for a nice 5% bump. That's around 235. So just say 235*63%=150 (rounded up). This will be your repping weight.

However you aren't going to walk in, do a warm up, then start repping. What I mean is, this is how it generally works for most guys.

They decide to bench. They are going to rep with 245 that day. They do 135x10, 185x5, 225x1, then rep 245x9 or whatever.

This is not the best way to go about this. I have consistently found that doing an over-warm up then coming back to the lesser weight allows for more reps to be done. I'm not going to toss around terms like "CNS" (because the CNS does not have anything to do with lifting weights I hate to tell you) or shit like that. But I have seen this a thousand times. Doing a proper over-warm up will consistently let you do more reps on the back off sets, so long as the over-warm up is not too taxing. If you're start breaching that 93-98% barrier with some grinding on those lifts, the back off repping sets will be hard as well. So let's lay some ground work for proper over-warm ups.

First set - the barThere is nothing wrong with going in and warming up with the bar for a lot of reps. This has saved me some potential injuries by working out early kinks before getting some weight on the bar many times. For deadlifts just do stiff legs with the bar. For squat and bench, just squat and bench. Do 20-50 reps and get everything loose.

Second set - 30% of your projected max for the cycle x 10This set would be super light and feel good.

Third set - 50% of your projected max for the cycle x 6Again, this should be light and easy.

Fourth set - 63% of your projected max for the cycle x 3This is your repping weight for the cycle. Again, this should be very easy.

Fifth set - 75% of your projected max for the cycle x 1Don't rush this because it's light. Be slow and controlled on the descent and explosive on the positive portion of the movement.

Sixth set - 63% of your projected max for the cycle x maximum reps until 30This is the money maker. This will be hard and suck ass, especially on squats and deadlifts. I do understand that you can't rep 30 reps with 63% of your max, which is why we will do it with rest/pause and/or have timed rest periods within the set.

So the set might look like this for bench...63% x 17rest 30 seconds63% x 7 = 24 totalrest 30 seconds63% x 4 = 28 totalrest 30 seconds63% x 2 = 30Done

Obviously your goal for the next week is to get the reps in fewer rest/pause rounds or increase the reps in some of those rounds. So the following week you might get the first round for 19 reps, but then it still takes 3 more rounds to get to 30. That's ok. You still made progress from the week before.

Laying out the rest/pause and timed rest -

For squats and deadlifts the timed rest is 60 seconds. For bench it's 30. That's it. What I do suggest is, that you leave some in the tank instead of approaching failure. This way you don't need quite as many rounds to make the 30 reps as you did before. Second, the truth is you want to bust upwards closer to 40 reps by the end of the cycle if possible. The 6th week is a testing week so you will go all out anyway. So be wise in your effort on the sets to make the reps.

The whole block -

This is the whole block laid out. There is no overhead pressing day because the calculations don't work out as well. Plus, our goal was a 315x1 overhead. The hypertrophy and strength day has a day all for overhead work so use that time to work on it there. But since overhead work does matter you will still do some overhead work on bench day here.

Day 1 - DeadliftsDeadliftsChins

Day 2 - BenchBenchStanding Overhead/Dips (alternate)

Day 3 - SquatsSquatsLeg Curls

The percentages for the big 3 over the next week look like this on a week per week basis......

Week 1 -barx30-50 reps30%x1050%x663%x375%x163%xmax reps - 30 seconds between bench effort and 60 between squat and dead effort to 30 reps

Week 2 -

Week 1 - barx30-50 reps30%x1050%x663%x3

80%x163%xmax reps

Week 3 - barx30-50 reps30%x1050%x663%x380%x163%xmax reps



Week 6 -Week 1 - barx30-50 reps30%x1050%x670%x390%x163%xmax reps without rest/pause or timed rest. You go all out for 1 set here.

Some notes on this block -

I cannot stress enough that you should do this block AFTER the conditioning block. You don't want to try to do this block out of shape. The squats and deads will eat you alive.

How do you know when to try for more than 30 reps? On the last timed set. So if you get 22 and then 7 on bench you know you're going to cross 30 on the next one almost for sure. Go all out and get as many as possible there. Always go all out on the last round if you are going to cross the 30 rep mark. This should make sense and I shouldn't have to explain it over and over again. If you get 18 reps, then 8, then go all out on the last one to get 30+. This is simple, don't over think it.

If your question is "can I go for a new 1 rep max on the 6th week" my answer would be NOOOOOO! WTF? Don't bastardize my shit. The point of the block is to increase your ability to rep big weights. If you want to add a 7th week and try a new max, fine. Take the next week off and start a new block of whatever you want to do. But the point of the 6th week is to bust out something grand with the weight you have programmed in for the block. Not go for a new max. If you do a shit ton of reps with a weight you could only hit 12-15 with before, you got stronger. Ok? If your next question is "why do you wave the top single" well that's because we want to constantly stimulate top level strength through each block no matter what. In this block your top level strength is still kept "alive", in the

conditioning block it is trying to be maintained, and in the hypertrophy block it's pushed with your heavy sets of 5.

Don't do more shit after the chins, dips, presses, and leg curls. The point of this block is to get better at the big 3. Not a bunch of other crap. If you want to change all of those out for a different movement, fine. But you could just do the big 3 for this cycle and that would probably be enough all by itself. It's only 6 weeks. You're certainly not going to get weaker.

Conditioning - Well the lifting in this one is part of the conditioning. You should be busting ass pretty good with the limited rest. With that said, I advise 1 hard day of conditioning, usually on squat day or the day after. Then a couple of days of walking. However because the squats and deads will push the breathing efforts, I don't see conditioning maintenance as much of a problem here, even without doing a day of hard conditioning.

Raw Powerlifting - SquattingSquatting -

Ok so I'm totally not going into the mechanics of the squat or addressing your squat problems with this. I wrote a multi-parter for that. I'm going to assume you feel comfortable with your squat technique and just want to know how to setup a squat cycle to get ready for a meet.

Realistic Goals -

This is going to be the dead horse that I constantly beat. You have to set a realistic goal to hit at the meet, and you have to know what kind of time frame you will need to plan for to hit that goal. If your goal is 50 pounds on your current squat and you are currently near peak strength, then set aside a realistic time frame to do that in. That could be more than a year. Who knows? You know your body, how long you have been training, and how well you respond to certain stimulus.

So I am going to use a fairly novice guy with a 300 squat for example and set him up a cycle for hitting 320 raw.

The first thing I'm going to do is use the 93% training rule. Base the training max on 93% of what the real max or what you want to hit at the meet. This keeps the cycle conservative so that you don't burn out too early, but move enough weight to get stronger, especially towards the end of the cycle where you want to be peaking in strength.

320 * 93% = 300 rounded down

300 = 100% of the training max

300 is also the weight we need to triple in order to be prepared for that 320 single. The lifters current max.

Week 1 - 80% x 1, 70%x2x5, Pause Squats - 60% 2x5Week 2 - 85% x 1, 75%x2x5, Pause Squats - 65% 2x5Week 3 - 90% x 1, 80%x2x5, Pause Squats - 70% 2x5Week 4 - 93% x 1, 85%x2x3, Pause Squats - 75% 2x5Week 5 - 95% x 1, 85%x2x5, Pause Squats - 75% 2x5Week 6 - 98% x 1, 90%x2x3, Pause Squats - 80% 2x3Week 7 - 100% x 3 Week 8 - Deload - 70% x 5Week 9 - Meet, 100% x 1, 110% x 1 - third attempt go nuts

This puts our meet lifter hitting 300 on his first attempt and roughly 320 on his second.

This is one way you can set up a peaking cycle. If you wanted to run it out longer, you could find more splits in the percentages like adding a week of 83% and 88%. That would make it a 11 week cycle total. You could also reduce some weeks and run 6, if you had already come off a meet or were already close to peak strength. Just start at the meet and work your way back 6 weeks. Some guys take a week off after a meet, and some guys go right back at it. All up to you.

Notes -

Don't peak too early. This is where you hit PR's in the gym several weeks out before the meet. No way you will hold it for that long. In my opinion there is about a week gap on each side of the meet that you have where you are going to have a good shot at your goal. So move easy weights the first few weeks, and don't miss anything in training. If you are looking at weights you've never hit before by the time week 5 rolls around, you planned too high on your cycle.

Assistance work -

To me, pause squats beat everything else hands down for squat assistance work. If you want to throw in some leg press or lunges after that, just be mindful of how it effects your squatting. In other words, if your leg press is going up but your squat isn't moving, then you are leg pressing for nothing. Remember the key is to find movements that will help the main lift. That's what REAL weak point training is. And at various times, various lifts are going to help the main lift. So stick with 1 main movement after the big lift that you intend to really get after. If after three weeks you haven't seen anything good happen, switch it out for something else. If you don't want to do any assistance work, that's cool. The squat is the one lift that most people agree moves itself just fine.

The pause squats should be explosive and fast for a few weeks. Make sure you concentrate on staying tight in the hole and exploding out. These should not be grinders. They should get difficult in the last few weeks.

Raw Powerlifting - Bench Press

Obviously after the squat you have the American lift. The bench press. I call it the American lift because American's seem to be obsessed with it, compared to other countries, where big squats and pulls are more revered.

Same as the squat, I am going to assume you have ironed out technical problems in your bench. If not, do that first obviously.

The cycle for the bench is going to look the same as the squat for the most part. That's because from a physiological standpoint both the bench and squat take advantage of the myotatic reflex. This is why squatting and benching rep numbers, generally do pretty well in terms of 1RM calculators. It's also why you can run similar cycles for both in terms of numbers.

With that said, there are some differences, obviously. I think the squat builds itself just fine. I think the bench, for a lot of guys, needs some extra work. How much extra is really up to you to find out. I personally can do some incline and some shoulders after bench and do really well with that. I know other guys who need a lot of volume on bench and in their assistance work, and I know guys who bench a buttload, and just do bench only.

So how do you find out how much extra you need?

This may sound strange, but I have personally found for the most part that beginners and advanced guys need a similar amount. At first people may want to balk at that, but they need the same amount for two different reasons.

You take a beginner and put him on bench and incline, and he'll do really well with just that. That's because he can do some volume and just learning the lifts, he makes great progress. Learning the lifts is enough.

Once a guy has been lifting for a long while, and establishes a good base level of strength, he will get to a point where stagnation and plateaus become very common, and are very frustrating, What I have found in these cases is that focusing on basic progression and few exercises isn't always the best solution. I take guys like this and have them train a little more like bodybuilders, put some mass on them, and without fail I see their lifts start to move again. That guy that has been neglecting shoulder work from different angles, flyes, bicep work, so forth and so on, gets a bump from strengthening all of those neglected areas. And over the next few years of working hard on this, their strength moves up another level. At this point a lot of guys find they do really well again, by dropping back to just a couple of movements and focusing on the basics again with progression. This is because an advanced guy can focus better than a new or intermediate guy, and because of the weights he's moving, recovery becomes a factor. Most really strong guys don't use a ton of volume. If you look across the board at the strongest guys, most of them pyramid up to 1 top set, then might do some back offs. Sure there are exceptions like Brian Siders, but you know what I say about exceptions......

So with that said, I also see a lot of skinny, weak-ass dudes who do flyes and curls and pushdowns and shit from day 1 and yet they are skinny and weak. Those guys missed the boat. Start off with the basics, and when you're in the 300 bench, 400

squat, 500 dead range, add in some things to improve strength in other movement planes.

So now that that is all out there, let's look at the cycle.......

Training Max = 93% of Real Max

Week 1 - 80% x 1, 70%xmax repsWeek 2 - 85% x 1, 75%xmax repsWeek 3 - 90% x 1, 80%xmax repsWeek 4 - 93% x 1, 85%xmax repsWeek 5 - 95% x 1, 85%xmax repsWeek 6 - 98% x 1, 90%xmax repsWeek 7 - 100% x 3 Week 8 - Deload - 70% x 5Week 9 - Meet, 100% x 1, 110% x 1 - third attempt go nuts

Same as the squat, the 100% in week 7 is really 93% of what you are shooting for on your second attempt at the meet. On the set for max reps just go to failure or a rep shy of it.

Now here comes the questions about what to do after. Reference the beginning of the article. Personally if I had to give a cookie cutter answer, I would say to do 1-2 sets of incline press or military press for 8-12 reps just shy of failure, then do some seated db press or side laterals not too heavy with moderate reps. If you want to do some tricep work after that, do something elbow friendly. Rope pushdowns seem to fit this description fairly well.

That's it. If you really want to up your bench, gain 10 pounds. Bodyweight gain really makes the bench take off for the majority of people. Guys with t-rex arms are usually great pressers. If you have long ass gorilla arms I suggest you focus on pec and delt work more than most guys. If you're the t-rex guy, you can probably get away with just benching a lot.

The "do upperback work to increase your bench" stuff has gotten retarded. Yes, you need to do upperback work but doing a shit ton of upperback work is not going to be the difference in you having a moderate bench and a great bench. Your chest, delts, and triceps still are the prime movers in benching. Work those. A big reason for the lat and upperback work for benching is because of bench shirts. Guys that talking about having to "pull the bar down" with their lats are guys wearing shirts. I've never had a problem getting even an empty bar to touch my chest. Gravity seems to bring it right down just fine. Don't train like an equipped guy if you are raw by the way. Train your chest, shoulders, and triceps for benching. Not your back. Lifting has gotten weird over the years with this kind of nonsensical bullshit.

Sam Byrd's answer to question about raw squat progression

hey Sami had a quick question about your squat progression. what are you doing to get stronger at this point?to avoid being to vague.. for me when getting ready for a meet i start with a few weeks of 10's trying to break a new pr with the final week. then i move to 8 then 5 then 3 and so on. you get the idea. but i have noticed after a few years of this i have somewhat stalled. so what are you doing to get stronger at this point? how do you lay out the pregression? thanks in advance!Derek

Ill tell you, but generally people either dont believe me or dont like what they hear so they gaff it off.

**Edited to add this is for raw squatting only. No knee wraps, belt only squat training.

My baseline squat training begins with 60% of my guesstimated max AT THAT TIME. Its a guess because I go through periods where I dont back squat at all for months at a time, either because of injury, burnout, or different focus (usually as a result of burnout). So I guess my max then figure out 60% of that and perform 5 sets of 5 reps without a belt, and below parallel. Thats "the plan" but honestly I just use 420 (4 plates on a squat bar) because thats 60% of 700 and Im pretty confident I can squat 700 any day of the week regardless of how long ive been without training.

I try to perform these quickly with little rest between sets. Depending on my current level of conditioning, it may take 25 minutes (no more) or as little 15 minutes. I do not increase the weight from that number until i can get 5 sets of 5 in 15 minutes, with every rep at least as fast and powerful as the first. I primarily use the principle of Compensatory Acceleration Training (CAT)for the majority of my training. That is, I lift 60% with the same force production required to lift 100% or 60% of max lifted with 100% effort. I want my last rep to be my best and fastest. The purpose of this is to get reconditioned, perfect my technique and build confidence in the lift. This period lasts anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks, but in no event less than 4 weeks. Generally, I can guesstimate my max based on my bar speed and power output with 420 pounds. When Im confident my squat is back up to near my previos best Ill begin increasing the resistance.

I really dont have a set way of increasing resistance. There are a few approaches I take just depending on how I feel at that point, but generally, I dont like to go very heavy very often so I try to avoid adding actual weight to the bar as long as possible. So my next wave period may be to keep the same bar weight and set/reps but add bands to the bar. I personally use green bands and keep just a little tension in the bottom- i have no idea what that added resistance amounts to, i just use it

and it seems to work. So I may spend 2-4 weeks using the same 60% weight (420) plus green bands for 5x5, no belt, below parallel, and still trying to complete all reps as fast or faster than the first using CAT in under 25 minutes.

After this period I will either remove the band and start adding weight to the bar for each set so that my first set is with 60% and my last set is with about 70%. As a raw squatter I must gradually load the bottom portion of the squat because there is little need for major overload training of the top end. For these sets I simply add 20lbs per set after the first- 70lbs is 10% for me, and 80 is easy math so i just do that. Your jumps should be smaller. Take 10% of your max and divide by 4 and make the math easy, no need to be precise. For me, this wave will go 5 sets of 5 reps going 420/440/460/480/500. I will follow this for 2-3 weeks then use the same weights plus the green bands for 2-3 weeks.

At this point Ive got between 10 and 18 weeks of foundation training under my belt. I may do 1 of 2 things here, either take a rep max or start a new wave. It really just depends on how i feel and what i have coming up. I like to use rep maxes rather than heavy singles because its less taxing on me and because its less intimidating. COnfidence is key in this sport, as with pretty much anything else in life. Im a lot more confident with a 5 rep max for a new PR than a 1 rep for a new PR. I use http://www.joeskopec.com/repmax.html to calculate my rep maxes and they are always spot on for 8 reps or less for me. Then I know that whatever that rep converts to I can hit for a max single. If I do this, I reset my 60% based on the new max and start over but spend only 2 weeks in each phase as long as the weights are still flying.

If I start a new wave, which I am likely to do because, as I said, I avoid they heavy stuff as long as possible, then I take the next 3 weeks and wave 60% for 5x5 the first week, 70% 3x5 (plus a set at 60%x5 on the way up) on the second week, and then 80% for 5x3reps (with 60% and 70% both done for 5 on the way up. Remember all these sets are done with CAT- 100% effrot on every single rep- all should be fast and explosive, no grinders. If you are grinding at all or slowing down then you tried to progress too fast. I do add a belt for 80%, but nothing less than that.

The fourth week ill rest, then take then finally take the rep max or repeat one more time before the rep max. I prefer this way because I like to do my rep max with about 80% and I like to feel it on my back a time or two before I have to max out my reps with it. Again, its a confidence thing. After all those weeks crushing weights confidence is pretty high. Ive performed hundreds of explosive powerful reps and not one single miss or grinder any where. By the time i get ready to max im ready to test the limits. Once I test, I reset my max and either begin again or change things up to add some variety- maybe a few weeks of chained singles the last 4 weeks before a meet.

Accessory and Supplemental work--

I really feel i should address this aspect also so you get a complete picture because I squat and Deadlift twice a week.

Main squat day i use the progression outlined above. I also follow that up with some form of

deadlift, usually a SLDL or similar set/rep for speed pulls. I used to do SLDLs for 3x10reps, but I am now performing those with 5-6x5reps moderately heavy but not a max. Or i would do Speed pulls, which is what I am currently doing at 6-8x3 reps at 60% with 1 minute rest between sets. I get more volume on the GHR for 3-4 sets of 10-15, some abs and upper back work.

On a second day, I used to front squat and rack pull. I performed both of these heavy and did not use percents as a guide. I went balls to the wall. Front squats i performed 3x5reps with the same weight- the last set being performed to rep failure. If i got more than 8 i added a little weight the next week. I worked to 445 for 3x5, and top set of 495x5. On rack pulls, i set the bar up just below the knee and worked up in sets of 5 till i couldnt do 5 anymore, then to a heavy set of 3.

--However, I am now focusing on my pull to bring it more in line with my squat (best squat 783, best pull 675- i know it sucks, thats why im working it!) so for now, my second day consists of 5 inch block pulls up to max 3 or single, then several sets 5-8) of 3 at 70-80% of that number from the floor. Some lunges for a unilateral move for some specific weaknesses i have, hanging abs, ghr and lats. Im still working on this, but as of now the plan is a 4 week wave consisting of:

1- 5" block pull to heavy 3, drop to 80% for 5-8x3 from floor.

2- 5" block pull with same weight as week 1 shotting for 5 reps. the 80% from floor for 5-8x3

3- Front squats as outlined, for 3x5reps followed by near max single on 5" block pull.

4- 5" block pull up to weight for single in week 3. Then pull same weight from 2.5 inch block. Then pull same weight from the floor for 3 singles. High rep GHR if anything left.

Now, all that said, I have 12 weeks until my next meet then 12 weeks after that I have another meet, and possibly another meet 7-8 weeks after that. It will be very difficult for me to take a lot of singles and maintain a peak that long so i will have to do some mini peaks. I doubt Ill take any singles before the Clash in 12 weeks, Ill just go by a rep max done about 3 weeks out. My goal for that test is 705 x5-6 or 750x3. Im using knee wraps for the second so i will take singles in those to get used to them with the meet goal being a 900 in wraps.Im starting out for these meets in much better shape than I have the last 2 years, but we'll see how it pans out.

,Sam Byrd

Rickey Dale Crainby Terry Todd (1978)

Of all the athletes featured in this book (“Inside Powerlifting”), Rickey Crain has the strange distinction of being both the youngest and the one with the most years of experience in the sport of powerlifting. At the age of 24, he’s almost ten years younger than the average age of the rest of the champions I’ve covered; but he has spent close to ten years more in the iron game than the average time spent in the sport by the other eight people in the book. Sounds impossible, doesn’t it? Well, had it not been for one person, it would certainly have been improbable, if not impossible. That one person is hid dad, Jack Crain, one of the groundbreakers of powerlifting.

Jack took Rickey and his other son Randy to the Oakland Y when they were only three or four years old, and Rickey can’t remember a time when he wasn’t lifting weights. “I literally grew up on it,” he says. “And my earliest memories are of me and Dad and Randy going down to the Y and tossing the weights around.” He won his first lifting contest at the age of ten, and that same year he and Randy both made triple bodyweight deadlifts – he with 200 weighing 66 pounds and nine-year-old, 55-pound Randy with 165.

To commemorate this important bit of family history, Rickey’s father had two belt buckles made which carried the inscription, Triple Bodyweight. Thinking back on those days, Rickey recalls that his dad used to bribe, threaten, cajole, or shame the boys into being regular in their training, and although Rickey didn’t always appreciate it back then, he’s mighty glad now that the old man cared enough to use his influence to get them to stick to their programs. “He showed me the way,” Rickey told me. “I owe him.”

Of course, one of the best ways to teach is by example. As the Chinese philosopher Lao-tse said, “We teach by what we are,” and what Jack Crain was and is is one hell of a lifter. Today, at the age of 50 and at a bodyweight of 165-170, he’s STILL improving and can total right at 1,500 pounds with a squat of 500, bench press of 380 and deadlift of 620. Naturally this makes his son both proud and confident that his own lifting

career will span several more decades. One thing about Rickey is sure – he’s off to quite a start.

In the Spring of 1977, he established the almost unbelievable world-record total of 1,591 pounds in the lightweight (148.75 pound) class, a total which is the highest pound-for-pound total ever made, according to the Schwartz formula. And yet as astonishing as this total is, his plans for the next season were to push it even higher. His goal for the 1977 National Championships was 1,700 pounds, made up of a 630 squat, 390 bench press and 680 deadlift, and his target for the World Championships two months later in Perth, Australia, was 1,750 pounds via 650, 400 and 700.

To be honest, I doubt seriously that Rickey will reach these figures; in fact, I doubt if even his father expects him to reach them. But that doesn’t matter. The important thing – the crucial thing – is that Rickey believes he’ll do it, and this belief energizes his training and gives him the courage to address himself to weights no man his size has ever lifted. All the lifters in the book, in fact, share this almost obsessive belief in themselves – otherwise, they’d be unable to approach barbells which outweigh them two, three, and even four times. IF THE MIND WON’T BELIEVE IT, THE BODY WON’T HEAVE IT. Believe it.

These stratospheric poundages serve to provide a focus for his pre-contest training cycle by giving him a starting point. Basically, Rickey has four cycles – a six-week cycle, a five-week cycle, a four-week cycle, and a three-week cycle – and he plugs into the appropriate cycle depending on how far ahead the next meet is. For instance, if he had a contest in ten weeks he’d plug into the third week of the five-week cycle, and this would lead him in turn to the four-week cycle and, finally to the three-week cycle.

What he does in the squat is to predict the poundage he feels he can make on the day of the contest, and then take off 10 pounds for every week left. In other words, if he plans to squat with 630 on the day of the National meet and the meet is 14 weeks away, he would back off 140 pounds, to 490, and then use that as his top single. Then, every week of the 14 pre-meet weeks he would plan to add ten pounds, thus bringing him to the contest date with the gradually built strength to squat with 630.

Being 14 weeks ahead of the meet, he would begin with the fifth week of

his six-week cycle. These two weeks (the fifth and sixth weeks of the six-week cycle), plus the five weeks of the five-week cycle, the four weeks of the four-week cycle, and the three of the three-week cycle add up to 14 weeks. The fifth week of his six-week cycle would call for the following sets, reps, and poundages:

MondaySquat:145 x 10245 x 6325 x 4420 x 1465 x 1490 x 1410 x 8410 x 8410 x 8410 x 8

Pause Squat:390 x 5, with a three-second pause at the bottom on each repetition.

WednesdaySquat:145 x 10245 x 6345 x 4420 x 1465 x 1490 x 1

Pause Squat:390 x 5, same as Monday.

For his three singles (420, 465, and 490), Rickey uses the exact costume that he would wear at a meet – the exact lifting suit, shoes, belt, and knee wraps. Also, he uses the same weight increases between his first and second single and his second and third single that he plans to use at the

meet. He always prefers to jump 45 pounds between his first and second attempts and 25 pounds between his second and third. For his 4 sets of 8 on Monday, he drops 10 pounds per repetition from his top single, thus going from 490 to 410. For his set of five in the pause squats, he always drops 100 pounds from his top single of the day. He said quite emphatically when I spoke with him that he considered this final set of pausing squats to be “by far the most important part” of his squatting routine.

After two weeks of the six-week cycle, he’s ready for his five-week cycle, which would begin as follows on the first week:

MondaySquat:145 x 10245 x6345 x 4450 x 1485 x 1520 x 1470 x 5470 x 5470 x 5470 x 5

Pause Squat:420 x 5

WednesdaySquat:145 x 10245 x 6345 x 4450 x 1485 x 1520 x 1

Pause Squat:420 x 5

As can be seen, the only difference between the six-week cycle and the five-week cycle is that he moves from 4 sets of 8 in the six-week cycle to 4 sets of 5 in the five-week cycle. After building up 10 pounds per week during each week of the five-week cycle, he’s ready to begin the four-week cycle. By then, he’d be up to 570 for a top single, so his first week’s workouts would be as follows:

MondaySquat:145 x 10245 x 6345 x 4445 x 2500 x 1545 x 2570 x 1520 x 5530 x 4540 x 3550 x 2560 x 1

Pause Squat:470 x 5

WednesdaySquat:145 x 10245 x 6345 x 4445 x 2500 x 1545 x 1570 x 1

Pause Squat:470 x 5

For his final cycle of three weeks, he would continue adding weight and would train in the following way:

MondaySquat:145 x 10245 x 6345 x 4445 x 2520 x 2575 x 1600 x 1570 x 3580 x 2590 x 1580 x 2570 x 3

Pause Squat:500 x 5

WednesdaySquat:145 x 10245 x 6345 x 4445 x2530 x 1575 x 1600 x 1

By the end of the three-week cycle, he would reach 620 as a top single the week before the meet, and thus be prepared both mentally and physically for his planned competition single with 630 pounds.

As in the squat, Rickey trains his bench twice a week – Tuesdays and Saturday s – but, instead of increasing 10 pounds each week, he only looks for a gain of 5 pounds. Using a 390-pound bench as a contest-day goal, this would mean that he’d drop back to 315 if he were 15 weeks away from the meet. Therefore, his first week’s workouts would be as follows:

TuesdayBench Press:135 x 10225 x 5270 x 3285 x 1300 x 1315 x 1285 x 3285 x 3285 x 3285 x 3

Pausing Bench Press:240 x 5, with a 5-second pause on the chest on each rep.

Narrow-Grip Bench Press:240 x 5240x 5

‘Military’ Press:135 x 5175 x 5175 x 5175 x 5

Wide-Grip Chin:3 sets of 10

SaturdayBench PressPausing Bench Press

‘Military Press’Wide-Grip Chinall – same as Tuesday.

As the contest approaches, rather than switching routines or cycles as he does in the squat, Rickey uses the exact same bench routine – 3 progressively heavier singles followed by 4 sets of 3’s – and assistance exercises throughout the final 15 weeks. The only difference - the vital one, naturally – is that he adds 5 pounds to all his benches every week that he trains. He told me that although he has experimented with many other methods of bench press training, this one seems to suit him the best.

For his deadlift, Rickey divides his final 15 weeks into two equal cycles of seven weeks each and one week (the final one) of complete rest. Projecting a 680 for the forthcoming Nationals, he dropped back to 540 to begin his ascent. His final week of the first seven-week cycle would be as follows:

FridayDeadlift:(sumo style)145 x 10245 x 6345 x 4445 x 2530 x 1575 x 1600 x 1550 x 5

Deadlift(regular style)500 x 5

Deadlift Off Blocks(regular stance)450 x 10, done whole standing on blocks which are four or five inches

higher than the level of the floor.

For his final seven weeks, he alters the program somewhat, cutting down on his repetitions and gearing for the big singles he’ll need at the meet. Assuming he’s in the fifth week of his seven-week cycle, his top single would be 650 and his entire workout would be done thus:

FridayDeadlift:(sumo style)145 x 10245 x 6345 x 4445 x 2545 x 1580 x 2625 x 1630 x 3620 x 3

Deadlift:(traditional style)570 x 3570 x 3

Deadlift Off Blocks:(traditional stance)520 x 10

Note that throughout the 14 weeks of heavy training he always does his three heavy contest singles in exactly the same way he does his heavy squats. That is, he takes them as if he were in a meet, wearing competition gear and making the same inter-attempt weight increases that he intends to use at the meet. As in the squat, he uses a 45-pound jump between his first and second attempts and a 25-pound jump between the second and third.

Because of his particular structure (relatively long back and relatively short thighs), Rickey has excellent leverage in the squat. This leverage, plus

great strength in the hips and thighs, makes it advantageous for him to use the wide stance, close-grip, sumo style in the deadlift. Even though this method of deadlifting allows the bulk of the work to be done by the hips and thighs rather than the back, Rickey realized that even in the sumo style the back STILL plays a vital role. This realization prompted him to wisely add the traditional style deadlift and the deficit deadlift off blocks to his routine, as these two exercises place more strength-building stress on he muscles of the lower and mid-back than do sumo-style deadlifts.

In addition to all the exercises already listed, Rickey also does supplementary work for his legs every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On Mondays and Wednesdays it follows his squat program and on Fridays it comes after his deadlifts. He uses the following supplementary exercises three times a week:

Monday, Wednesday, and FridayLeg Extension – 3 moderate sets of 10.Leg Curl – 3 moderate sets of 10.Calf Raise – 3 moderate sets of 10.Weightless Calf Raise – 2 sets of 50.

He never neglects these exercises because he feels they have contributed heavily to his success in the squat. In particular, he thinks the calf raises are absolutely essential for maximum gains. So, taken as a whole, without going back over his poundages, sets and reps, his weekly schedule would look like this:

Monday:SquatPause SquatLeg ExtensionLeg CurlCalf RaiseWeightless Calf Raise

Tuesday:Bench PressPausing Bench PressNarrow-Grip Bench Press

‘Military’ PressWide Grip Chin

Wednesday:SquatPause SquatLeg ExtensionLeg CurlCalf RaiseWeightless Calf Raise

Friday:Deadlift (sumo)Deadlift (traditional)Deadlift Off BlocksLeg ExtensionLeg CurlCalf RaiseWeightless Calf Raise

Saturday:Bench PressPausing Bench PressNarrow-Grip Bench Press‘Military’ PressWide Grip Chin

In addition, Rickey does 200 situps a day, which tops off what must be one of the most rigorous exercise programs followed by any world-class powerlifter. He seems to thrive on this rather rigid, methodical schedule, but he told me to warn all beginners and intermediates that not only is his routine a very advanced one, it also is tailored exactly to his own particular physiological and psychological requirements. Consider yourselves warned.

In order to fuel himself for this high-stress training, he is very careful to concentrate on beef, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, and fresh fruits and vegetables. As for daily supplements, he takes a good vitamin-mineral tablet, a B-complex tablet, Energol, and 3 grams of vitamin C. Through the

years he’s tried such things as zinc sulfate, niacin, and ginseng, but he noticed no benefit from them. In the future he plans to follow his dad’s lead and try B3 and B7 complex (hydrosolates), as they are said by some to provide muscle-building assistance similar to anabolic steroids. Oh, I wish I was an Oscar Meyer wiener. Besides his nutritious diet, Rickey keeps close tabs on his energy level so that he knows when he needs a little extra sack time.

All this good food and rest have been put to good use, as a glance at the accompanying photos will confirm. Besides his huge, wide-swept thighs, take note of the fact that in the squat his lifting belt is turned so that the wide part is on the front of his body. Many lifters, including Rickey, have noticed that not only do they get more abdominal support this way, but they also get a rebound effect when the belt provides a brace between the hip joint and the lower part of the rib cage. In order for this to work best, the belt should be pushed low on the hips and it should be pulled as tightly as tightly as it can possibly be pulled. Anyone having a belt made could save themselves the trouble of turning it around simply by having it made the maximum allowable width (10 centimeters) all the way around. Marv Phillips and his father make belts this way, and they’re the best I’ve ever seen.

Within the last couple of years, Rickey has learned other tricks of the trade besides turning his belt around, such as placing his feet wide enough and turning his toes out enough so that the large, powerful muscles of the hips and the rear of the thighs are brought into full play. Also, since his Achilles tendons are sufficiently loose for him to “break parallel” without using shoes with raised heels, he has sensibly chosen to squat in low-heeled, but solid, tennis shoes. As the pictures show, he places the bar extraordinarily high on the trapezius muscles, which forces him to maintain a very upright position throughout the lift. This position is dictated by his particular body type – for him it is ideal, allowing him to go below parallel without reaching a particularly acute angle at the knee. Using this upright style, he “sits” into the squat, dips just below parallel, and before you know it, he’s got another world record.

Most of Rickey’s career has been one success after another, but last year at the 1976 World Championships he had a meet I’m sure he’d much rather forget.

After easily winning the Nationals, he made the mistake of allowing his training bodyweight to creep up far too high, all the way into the 170-pound range. This, plus a poorly planned pre-contest reducing schedule, left him a pound or two too heavy when the time limit ran out for the 148¾ pound weigh-in. Even with steam-baths, last minute starvation, and diuretics he was still unable to make it, and this failure contributed significantly to America’s loss to Great Britain in the team championship.

A lesser man than Rickey would no doubt have enlisted in the French Foreign Legion and disappeared after such a disgrace, but he swallowed his pride, got back in shape, and set the lifting world on its ear with that monumental 1,591 pound total. Perhaps he was sustained during his tribulations by his devout faith in Christ. He was then and is now a student at the Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary, where he plans to get a master’s degree and finally, a Ph.D. degree in religious education. Eventually, he hopes to teach or do youth work at a church. Hopefully, he’ll stay in powerlifting, because with his youth, strength, and consistent family support, he could become one of the legends of the game.

by Jim Wendler 10/20/2014

A performance-based program that'll build your legs, traps, neck, shoulders, and forearms. Yes, you'll look awesome too.

Here's what you need to know... The goal of this challenge is performance, not aesthetics. But you'll look

awesome anyway. Goal setting is a three-step process: Set the goal, make the plan, and get

to work. The challenges are very typical of the 5/3/1 set-up in that each day has a

squat, a push, and a pull. Many of the lifts will use the 5's Progression: 5 reps for every set,

regardless of percentage. Once you've completed the first three weeks, you'll have established rep

records for the squat, press, and hang clean. The next three weeks of the program will be devoted to you beating or

attempting to beat each record.

"Beach Muscles"

A couple of months ago I was talking with a friend of mine about what the

5/3/1 "beach muscles" would be. The list was easy to come up with:

Legs Traps Neck Shoulders Forearms

These obviously aren't the usual muscles associated with the beach, but I

live next to a corn field, so cut me some slack. Anyway, it gave birth to the

5/3/1 "Beach Body" Challenge.

The key to the challenge is that performance is the main goal, not

aesthetics. I always focus on performance. I believe that when one has a

concrete training goal – for example, "press 300 pounds, box jump 45", and

run a 6:30 mile" – training becomes more focused and goals become real.

Immeasurable or non-specific goals – "get in shape" or "I just want to get

stronger" – are a great way to shortchange your training and set yourself up

for failure. Concrete goal setting and achieving is a simple three-step

process:

1. Set Goal2. Make Plan3. Work!

People don't know how to set goals. Most of the time the goals are too high

or too far away. There are a lot of 200-pound bench pressers whose goal is

405. That's fine in the long term, but they do have to bench press 205

before they bench over 400. Small steps lead to big rewards.

I also like my training day to be goal oriented. I need something to shoot

for, to visualize, and to achieve. The weight room is one of the few places

most of us have to challenge ourselves physically. But instead of using

these few hours of training to challenge our minds and our bodies, we piss

them away with set after set of plain ol' boring.

Now I'll be the first to admit that shooting for PR's and pushing sets isn't

always the most optimal way to train. But maybe we spend too much time

trying to find the optimal way to train when we should be embracing the

right kind of training.

The "right" way to train largely depends on who you are and what drives

you to be better. For me, this is goal-oriented training. And that's what this

and all the 5/3/1 challenges are about. Let's get started so we can turn

some heads at the "beach."

5/3/1 Beach Body Template

Monday Squat Hang Clean Press Fat Bar Curl

Wednesday Squat Deadlift Press Dumbbell Row

Friday Hang Clean

Squat Press Rope or Towel Chin-Up

As you can see, this is very typical of the 5/3/1 Full Body set-up. Each day

has a squat, a push, and a pull. The only change is that there's an extra

pulling movement on each day.

Sets, Reps, Percentages

For the hang clean, squat, deadlift, and press, you'll need to establish a

Training Max (TM). The Training Max will be 90% of your best gym lift.

(Don't base your TM off any competition lifts). For example, if your best

gym squat is 400 pounds, your TM would be 360 pounds (90% of 400).

This challenge will use the 5/3/1 for Powerlifting set/rep structure. Many of

the lifts will use the 5's Progression, which is nothing more than the basic

5/3/1 program, except that you do 5 reps for every set, regardless of

percentage. So your 3-week training cycle will look like this:

Week One 70% x 5 80% x 5 90% x 5

Week Two 65% x 5 75% x 5 85% x 5

Week Three 75% x 5 85% x 5 95% x 5

After the third week, you'll raise your TM for each lift. The squat, deadlift,

and hang clean will be raised 10 pounds per lift. If your hang clean TM is

under 200 pounds, increase the TM by only 5 pounds.

The press will be raised 5 pounds. For the remainder of the challenge (3

weeks), you'll repeat the sets/reps/percentages above with the new training

maxes. Remember that all percentages listed in the program are based on

your Training Max.

If you're confused, just follow the program instructions below.

5/3/1 Beach Body Challenge: Weeks 1-3

Week One

Monday

A. Squat This program uses the 5's Progression. If you have any

questions about the 5's Progression, check your copy of Beyond 5/3/1. 70% x 5 80% x 5 90% x 5, no extra reps

B. Hang Clean 2 sets of max reps, without going to failure, at 70%

Do 2 sets, going for as many reps as you can get on each set without going

to failure! For example, on the first week (as indicated above), you would

do 2 sets at 70%. The key to this is to shoot for a total amount of reps done

on this day.

If you do 12 reps on the first set and 9 reps on the second, your total reps

would be 21. Keep a record of this. You want to beat the total amount of

reps being done each week. Don't sandbag!

Related: Hang Clean for Total Power

C. Press Work up to your TM for a PR set. Again, don't go to failure but

shoot for a PR. The PR can be done for a repetition PR or an estimated

max PR.

How to work up to your Training Max

You can start at whatever percentage of your TM you want. However, I

advise you to start with the lightest percentage that you can put on the

barbell. Remember that below is just an example of how to work up. It's not

the only way.

There's no reason why you can't do bigger jumps or do multiple sets at the

same percentage. The goal of this lift, on this day, is to set a personal

record. Do what's necessary.

10% x 5 20% x 5 30% x 5 40% x 5

50% x 3 60% x 3 70% x 1 80% x 1 90% x 1 100% (TM) x PR set

D. Fat Bar Curl 50-100 total reps

If you don't have access to a fat bar, use any of the very inexpensive

attachments that can easily turn a regular power bar into a fat bar.

E. Neck Harness 100 total reps

Wednesday

A. Squat Work up to your TM for a PR set. Remember to warm-up and

perform one set with your TM. Do not go to failure. Be sure you have a goal

of the total reps you want to achieve before you do your set.

10% x 5 20% x 5 30% x 5 40% x 5 50% x 3 60% x 3 70% x 1 80% x 1 90% x 1 100% (TM) x PR set

B. Deadlift

70% x 5 80% x 5 90% x 5, no extra reps

C. Press 50 total reps @ 70%

Using the weight for your first work set of the week (70%), perform 50 total

reps. Use the Malcolm X Method. In other words, get to 50 total reps using

as many sets as necessary. It's important that you pace yourself on the first

couple of sets and don't blow your load with an excessive amount of reps.

D. Dumbbell Row 100 total reps/arm

You can use a variety of different weights for this. Just be sure you get all

the reps. You can superset the dumbbell row with the press if you want. It's

not critical to your success or the success of the program in any way.

E. Neck Flexion 100 total reps

Friday

A. Hang Clean Work up to your TM and perform a PR set but don't go to

failure. After the PR set, perform 3 sets of 5 reps at 85% of your TM.

10% x 5 20% x 5 30% x 5 40% x 5 50% x 3 60% x 3 70% x 1 80% x 1 90% x 1 100% (TM) x PR set 3 sets of 5 reps @ 85%

B. Squat 1 set of 15+ reps @ 70%

Using the first work set of the week (70%), perform a PR set. The goal is to

shoot for at least 15 reps. Be sure to warm up properly so that your body

and mind are ready for the set.

C. Press

70% x 5 80% x 5 90% x 5, no extra reps

D. Rope Chin-Up 50 total reps

The goal is to perform 50 total reps. You can do these over as many sets

as it takes to get the job done. If you suck at chins, shoot for a lower

number (for example, 25). If you don't have a rope, use two towels and

hang them from a chin bar.


Week Two

Monday

A. Squat

65% x 5 75% x 5 85% x 5, no extra reps

B. Hang Clean 2 sets of max reps (without going to failure) at 65%

C. Press Work up to your TM for a PR set. Again, don't go to failure but

shoot for a PR. The PR can be done for a repetition PR or an estimated

max PR.




Wednesday

A. Squat Work up to your TM for a PR set. Warm-up and perform one

set with your TM. Don't go to failure. Remember to have a goal of the total

reps you want to achieve before you do begin.


B. Deadlift

65% x 5 75% x 5 85% x 5, no extra reps



reps. Remember, get to 50 total reps using as many sets as needed.

D. Dumbbell Row 100 total reps per arm


Friday

A. Hang Clean Work up to your TM and perform a PR set but do not go

to failure. After the PR set, perform 3 sets of 5 reps at 85% of your TM.

10% x 5 20% x 5 30% x 5 40% x 5 50% x 3 60% x 3 70% x 80% x 1 90% x 1 100% (TM) x PR set 3 sets of 5 reps @ 85%



shoot for at least 15 reps.

C. Press

65% x 5 75% x 5 85% x 5, no extra reps


Remember, the goal is to perform 50 total reps using as many sets as it

takes to hit 50 (or 25 if you suck at chin-ups.)


Week Three

Monday

A. Squat

75% x 5 85% x 5 95% x 5, no extra reps

B. Hang Clean 2 sets of max reps, without going to failure, at 75%

C. Press Work up to your TM for a PR set. The PR can be done for a

repetition PR or an estimated max PR.




Wednesday

A. Squat Work up to your TM for a PR set. Remember to warm-up and

perform one set with your TM. Do not go to failure. Be sure you have a goal

of the total reps you want to achieve before beginning.


B. Deadlift

75% x 5 85% x 5 95% x 5 - No extra reps



reps. Get to 50 total reps using as many sets as necessary. Remember,

pace yourself on the first couple of sets.

D. Dumbbell Row 100 total reps

100 total reps per arm. Again, you can use a variety of different weights for

this; just be sure you get all the reps. You can superset the dumbbell row

with the press. Up to you.


Friday

A. Hang Clean Work up to your TM and perform a PR set but do not go

to failure. After the PR set, perform 3 sets of 5 reps at 85% of your TM.

10% x 5 20% x 5 30% x 5 40% x 5 50% x 3 60% x 3 70% x 1 80% x 1 90% x 1 100% (TM) x PR set 3 sets of 5 reps @ 85%



shoot for at least 15 reps. Warm-up properly.

C. Press

75% x 5 85% x 5 95% x 5, no extra reps


Perform 50 total reps using as many sets as it takes to hit 50.


5/3/1 Beach Body Challenge: Weeks 4-6

Once you've completed the first three weeks of this challenge, you'll have

established the following:

Squat – Rep records for each of the first sets (done on Friday). You'll have records for 70%, 65% and 75%. You'll also have a record for your TM set (done on Wednesday).

Press – Rep record for your TM set (done on Monday). Hang Clean – Total rep records for each of the first sets (done on Monday).

You'll have total rep records for 70%, 65%, and 75%.

The next three weeks will be devoted to beating or attempting to beat each

of these records. This isn't an excuse to use horrible form, so don't get

caught up in chasing numbers if your form suffers.

However, you can learn how to challenge yourself during your training and

learn how to push a bit harder. Learn how to breathe "easier" during sets

and teach yourself how to mentally prepare days prior to your workout.

These are all things that no book or seminar can teach you. Only time and

experience can do these things.

When beating your TM records, there are two ways you can do this:

Repetition Max PR – Your old PR was 225 for 8 reps. You attempt to get 225 for 9 reps.

Estimated Max PR – Your best estimated max for the press is 250 pounds. Figure out how many reps you need to do with your current TM to beat that record.

Notes Flexibility/Mobility – I recommend you do the Defranco Agile 8 prior to

training and at least two times per day. This will help with your recovery. Conditioning – Your conditioning work must meet your current goals and

your current fitness level. This is to be determined by you. It shouldn't interfere with the goals of the challenge. If it does, do something different.

Related: Conditioning 101

Diet – I recommend using the same eating template as the Boring But Big Challenge.

Box Jumps/Med Ball Throws – I recommend doing only 3 x 3-5 box jumps or 15 med ball throws before you begin training. Do not do any more than this.

Use straps on the hang clean. Do not use them for the dumbbell rows. Take adequate rest time between each lift. I like to take a 5-10 minute

break between lifts to clear my mind and focus.

There is an obsession lately with every part of your workout being done as

quickly as possible, thus turning your strength session into a circuit

session. Yes, you can work to improve workout density, but that's best

done with assistance movements, not the main or supplemental lifts.

If you've made the commitment to get stronger in the weight room, make

the commitment to doing things correctly. Quality over quantity. Quality

over everything.

If you wish to add, subtract or change any part of the challenge, you're of course free to do so. It'll be your workout, but it's no longer the challenge. I don't endorse any changes to this challenge.

If you feel your form is beginning to break when doing hang cleans, please stop. There's a difference between "strong but acceptable" and "really shitty." If you're toeing that line, recognize it.

However, the Internet Form Police piss on any lift not done to their

standards, which are inversely proportional to their strength and experience

levels. Don't let any boy judge your lifts. Judge your own.

Be sure you're eating for performance. Too many people eat too few calories and are scared to succeed. Success in the weight room requires the discipline to eat correctly. If you wish to get stronger, don't sabotage your training via diet.

Related: Eat Big and Gain Nothing But Muscle

I believe in setting performance or consistency goals in several key areas of training. I have 10 areas that are examined and these are true "weak points."

For conditioning, I recommend you choose a "consistency goal" for this

challenge. A staple in my training week is always doing 70 AirDyne miles.

This isn't difficult and will allow you to remain in fairly good shape and aid in

recovery.

This challenge (or any of the challenges I've written that are strength-

based) should not have "performance goals" for conditioning. What you

choose to do for conditioning is entirely based on what you have access to

and what your current level is. This is not a time to be pushing any

conditioning.

Don't neglect your mobility and flexibility. Devoting 10-20 minutes a day to these areas can help in the short term and the long term. Spend some time on it, but that doesn't mean you need to spend 4.5 hours a day on it, either. Balance does not mean "equal time."

SOmething worth noting.

For a the last 8-11 weeks I was doing very high volume with moderate weights.

10x10 @55%9x9 @60%8x8@65%7x7@70%…etc… BY the time i got to the 5x5 at 80% which I had at 400 (going off of a 500 1RM, being optimistic)…my biceps pain came back…So i decided to recycle back and add ten lbs.

10x10 @55% +10lbs9x9 @ 60% +10lbs…to 6x6….and then I cycled back again…..worked up to 375 x8x 5 sets….

I went to New Jersey to film some videos with the Madman and there we had a bench work out. I wanted to try lifting something 'heavy' to see how it would feel since I hadn't gone heavier than 405 for sets of 5 in half a year almost. trying paused singles 425x1 felt decent440x1 felt decent455x1 felt heavy but not bad. I thought well, my best is 480, why not try 475 to see if I can be close to my best.475x1 felt powerful off the chest and a little slow through my usual midpoint sticking point…but good.why not try a PR??485x1…..felt better than 475….PRWHy not go for 5 plates..495 on the bar…..last second I decided to make it an even 500…strong off the chest…fail at sticking point…

Point is…I hit a PR doing my Tens to Ones most basic linear progression(Tens to Six's haha)….cycling it back and staying BELOW 80%….a lot can be said of high volume. That is all … thought I would share.

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Jim Wendler