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| Periodization Information + Routines | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jun 21 2005, 10:21 PM (1,369 Views) | |
| Captain | Jun 21 2005, 10:21 PM Post #1 |
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Routine: 3x3, Smolov Squat Routine, Coan/Phillippi Deadlift Routine, 5x5, Russian Bench Routine Periodization: http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do;jse...cle=body_129per (There was a lot of info in there, and I couldn't get the charts nice and neat on here ) Also: For the past thirty or so years, American powerlifters have used something called "periodization." We all understand that word to mean different things. For purposes of this article, periodization is the process of increasing one's strength to its highest level over a given period of time by varying the volume and intensity of the lifts in a progressive manner. Various periodization strategies are used in sport settings. The most common form used here in the Western Hemisphere was popularized by Matveyev (Matveyev, 1964). It consists of decreasing training volume while increasing training intensity over the course of the training season; the aim: to have an athlete training at maximum intensity just prior to competition. Generally routines of this type are for periods of 8 to 12 weeks but can be longer or shorter. The routine starts out with low intensity, or light loads of around 60 to 70 percent of a one rep maximum, and usually employs from 8 to 12 reps per set. Over the given period for the routine, the intensity (or load) is raised and the reps (or volume) lowered until just prior to the end of the routine cycle when the lifter peaks his/her strength and is ready for a meet or a max lift test. One advantage of these types of routines is that they provide the lifter's body (muscles, tendons, joints and central nervous system [CNS]) with a break from the constant heavy loads that ravage the body over long periods. In the first part of the routine it is assumed that one is building muscle, endurance and conditioning ability. As the routine progresses one focuses more on peaking power and the one rep lift maximum. Another advantage is that it provides a fairly good idea as to where one's strength level is on any given lift, thus enabling one to pick the right poundages in competition lifts. Most current gurus in the field of powerlifting would scoff at these routines, claiming that they are outdated. Personally, I think there is nothing wrong with periodization. I have used it for thirty years and still incorporate it, in theory, into my lifting. I will explain how when I discuss my own routine. Credits: Dolphzine.com. |
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| Captain | Jun 21 2005, 10:42 PM Post #2 |
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----------------------------------------------------------------------- Routine: Westside Westside periodization: In Part I of this article, Dave gave you a thorough explanation of linear (or Western) periodization. This time, Dave will explain the improved Westside variation of this popular method. The Westside method is a periodization program known as conjugated periodization. Simply put, this means that several abilities are coupled together throughout the training. The Western method of periodization separates these variables while the Westside method puts it all together at the same time. The entire Westside method is centered around three basic pathways to strength development: 1. Max Effort 2. Repetition 3. Dynamic Effort The Max Effort Method The max effort method is considered by many coaches and athletes as being the superior method of strength development. It places great demands on both intramuscular and intermuscular coordination as well as stimulating the central nervous system. These demands force the body into greater adaptation and this adaptation is what's responsible for strength gains. When training using the max effort method, the central nervous system inhibition is reduced. Thus the max number of motor units are activated with optimal discharge frequency (Zatsiorisky). The one drawback to using this method is that you can't train with weights above 90 percent RM for much longer than three weeks before the nervous system begins to weaken. When this happens your strength will begin to diminish. This is one of the major reasons why progressive overload will only work for so long. With this in mind, Westside set out to find a way around this three-week barrier. The way to overcome this barrier is to switch the exercises used for the max effort method every one to three weeks. This keeps the body fresh so the method can be used year round. So how do you use this method? First, decide on one main exercise that will be trained with this method. After a proper warm-up, proceed to this exercise and begin to warm up with the bar. Taking small weight increases, you begin to work up in weight with sets of three reps. When three reps begins to feel heavy, you drop down to single reps. This is when you begin to try to max out on the exercise. Keep increasing the weight until you've reached your one rep max. Make sure to keep track of what this record is because this is what you'll try to beat next time out. It's very important to use this method with only one exercise per workout and no more than one time per week for each lift. The Westside method schedules one max effort day for the bench and one for the squat and deadlift as follows: Monday: Max effort day for building the squat and deadlift (while this seems contradictory to the above statement ? doing only one exercise per workout ? it's not, in that you'll be doing one exercise to build both movements). Wednesday: Max effort day for building the bench press. Since many of the same muscles are used for the squat and deadlift, they're trained on the same day. Actually, very little deadlifting is performed with this style of training because of these reasons. The best max effort exercises for the squat and deadlift are good mornings, low box squats and deadlifts themselves. The good morning is probably the best overall exercise for strength development and should be utilized 70% of all max effort days. There are several different types of good mornings that can be performed. Good mornings using a variety of different bars such as the safety squat bar, buffalo bar, and cambered bar are classics at Westside Barbell. Many of these good mornings are performed with the bar suspended from chains. By suspending the bar from the power rack (called Anderson good mornings or suspended good mornings), you're creating the same specificity as when you deadlift. This is because you start the deadlift without any eccentric or lowering motion. This is also true when you have to squat under a suspended barbell and lift it to a standing position. The best max effort exercises for the bench press are the floor press, board press, close grip bench press, JM press, and reverse band presses. All pressing motions! As with the squat and deadlift max effort exercises, there are several variations of each movement. Each exercise has a specific function. For instance, the floor press (basically lying on the floor, benching sans bench) takes your legs out of the motion so greater emphasis is placed on the pecs, delts and triceps. The close grip incline press takes your lats out of the motion so there's greater emphasis placed on the deltoids and triceps. The board press also takes your lats out of the motion and provides you with the opportunity to train at specific points of the bench press. The max effort meso cycle should only last one to three weeks with the latter being for the novice and intermediate strength athlete. The more advanced the athlete, the shorter the time spent per cycle (or time spent per max effort exercise). This is due to the neuromuscular coordination and motor learning. The advanced athlete can call upon more motor unit activation (use more muscle) than the novice. For example, the novice may use 40% of his total muscle while the advanced lifter will be able to use 80%. The second reason involves neuromuscular and muscular coordination. The advanced lifter has already figured out and mastered how to do the movement. His body knows what to do and when. The novice athlete hasn't figured out how to do the movement and is far from mastering it. This will allow the novice to progress and break records for around three weeks on each max effort exercise. However, this won't be the case for the advanced athlete. These advanced athletes will have one good week where they break a record then will be unable to break it for the next two weeks. So the solution is simple: switch every week! This will allow you to break records on a weekly basis and avoid overstraining. (Max effort training, by the way, is a process of learning how to better synchronize the muscle involvement. This is because of the activation of the central nervous system as well as other factors such as motivation and concentration.) If you don't always break a record, don't worry about it. The strain is more important than the record itself. With this in mind, if you happen to break your record and it was very easy, to the point that you really didn't strain, then you must take another record where you actually strain. Max Effort Parameters Load (Intensity) :90 to 100% Number of Exercises :1 Repetitions: 1-3 Rest Interval : 2 to 5 minutes Frequency / Week : 1 (Squat Day) / 1(Bench Day) Weeks per Exercise: 1-3 The Repetition Method The repetition method, otherwise known as the bodybuilding method, is the best method for the development of muscle hypertrophy (growth). This is the method in which all supplemental and accessory exercises are trained. This method is defined as "lifting a non-maximal load to failure." It's during the fatigued state when the muscles develop maximal force. According to this method, it's only during the final lifts that, because of fatigue, the maximal number of motor units are recruited. This system of training has a great influence on the development of muscle mass which is why it's become so popular among the bodybuilding population. The fact that the final lifts are performed in a fatigued state makes this method less effective compared to the others when it comes to maximal strength development. This is one of the reasons why powerlifters are much stronger than bodybuilders. Another disadvantage of this method is that each set is carried to failure. This makes it very difficult to increase your volume and work capacity over time because of the amount of restoration needed. Training to failure is very hard on your ability to recover and in my opinion should only be used sparingly. When you extend a set to failure many times, the last few reps are performed with bad technique and this, of course, can lead to injuries. Westside has modified this principle to what I refer to as the modified repetition method. With the modified version all sets should be stopped with the breakdown of technique and there should always be a rep or two left in you. Remember this principle is applied to all supplemental and accessory movements. These movements are designed to be exactly what they are: supplemental and accessory. The main goals of these movements are to complement the overall training program, not take away. By training to failure on every set you'd be taking away from the general purpose of the movements, which is to increase work capacity. The parameters of this method are varied and depend upon the individual. Some athletes develop muscle mass with high reps and other with low reps. It would be crazy to assume one specific rep range works for everybody. What we've found to be best with supplemental and accessory work are sets in the range of 5 to 8 with repetitions between 6 and 15. This is a rather large range, but as I mentioned before, everybody is different. If you've been training for some time, I bet you have a better idea of what works for you than I could ever prescribe. The load or weight to be used should fall in the 60 to 80% range and you should always leave a rep or two at the end of each set. Try to switch the exercise after every one to five workouts in which it's used. If you decide not to switch the exercise then switch the way it's trained. Try to add an extra set for a few weeks. Try to work it up for four weeks then deload it for four weeks. The point is to change it up as much as possible. Modified Repetition Method Parameters Load (Intensity): 60 ? 80% Number of Exercises: All Supplemental and accessory Sets / Repetitions: 5-8 / 6 - 15 Rest Interval:1 to 3 minutes Frequency / Week:All workouts Weeks per Exercise:1-5 The Dynamic Effort Method The dynamic effort method is used to train the box squat and bench press. This method is defined as lifting a non-maximal load with the greatest speed possible. This method should be coupled with compensatory acceleration. This means you must apply as much force as possible to the barbell, i.e. pushing as hard and as fast as you can in the concentric phase of the lift. If you squat 700 pounds and are training with 400 pounds, then you should be applying 700 pounds of force to the barbell. The weight used should be non-maximal in the 50% to 75% range. In the text Supertraining, Siff and Verkershonsky state the best range for developing explosive strength in the barbell squat is two-thirds of your best one rep max. Angel Spassov defines this as 50 to 70%. This method isn't used for the development of maximal strength but for the improved rate of force development and explosive force. Let's assume an athlete can only get so strong for genetic reasons. If this lifter has reached his genetic strength potential and has been stuck for five years, can he not get stronger? I was told at one time that I had reached this limit. I was told this by several university professors in the field of exercise science. What they forgot is that if I learned how to better synchronize my muscles to perform, then I could get stronger by better neural activation. The result was 300 more pounds on my total! This is because at the time I may have only been activating 50% of my absolute strength potential. Through dynamic effort training I was able to activate 70 or 80%. (The percents are used as examples, this was never tested.) This is also a reason why the percent should never be as important as bar speed. Everybody has different motor learning and the advanced strength athlete will activate more than a novice athlete. This is why the more advanced the lifter is, the harder the work is. For example, if both athletes performed a set of 10 reps in the barbell squat with 80%, the novice would walk away like it was no big deal while the advanced athlete wouldn't be walking anywhere because he'd be on the floor! If you've followed Louie Simmons' articles over the years, you'll notice how the percents he writes for the squat and bench press have reduced over the years. This is because the gym as a whole has gotten so much stronger and more experienced. The percent for the bench press used to be around 70, now it's around 45 to 55%. Many have asked how this can be. Well, as stated above the athletes are now recruiting more motor units than before so less percent is needed to produce the desired results. The best way to determine what your training percent should be is to begin with 50% and have someone videotape your bar speed. If you can maintain this bar speed then increase the percent. When the bar slows down then decrease the percent. The dynamic days are scheduled as follows: Friday: Dynamic effort squat day Sunday: Dynamic effort bench day These dynamic days are to be done 72 hours after the max effort day to allow for proper recovery. The training scheme for the dynamic days begins with plenty of warm-up sets and progresses onto the work sets. For the bench press, use 8 sets of 3 reps and for the box squat use 8 sets of 2 reps. There are many reasons for this set and rep structure. Prilepin studied weight lifters to see what the optimal number of reps in each intensity zone should be. Louie applied this research into the training of the power lifts. At the time the bench press was being trained in the 70% range while the squat was being performed in the 80% range. This would equate to an optimal number of 18 lifts for the bench press in a range of 12 to 24 reps, and 15 lifts for the squat in a 10 to 20 rep range. He decided on two reps for the squats and three reps for the bench press because of time specificity of the competitive lifts. The time to unrack the weight to the completion of the lift in competition came out very similar to two reps in the box squat and three reps in the bench press. Credits: Dave Tate |
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| Captain | Jun 21 2005, 10:43 PM Post #3 |
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ROUTINES: 3x3: http://www.deepsquatter.com/strength/archives/korte.htm Smolov Squat Routine: http://www.dragondoor.com/cgi-bin/articles...e3&articleid=81 5x5: http://www.joeskopec.com/five.html Russian Bench Routine: http://freespace.virgin.net/jamie.k/russian.htm Coan/Philippi Deadlift Routine: http://powerpage.net/coanphildead.html Coan Squat Routine: http://powerpage.net/coansquat.html Westside: http://www.elitefts.com Brad Gillingham Deadlift Routine: http://www.weighttrainersunited.com/gillingham.html |
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| Liftin4Ever | Jun 22 2005, 04:49 PM Post #4 |
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Totally Rad
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Pin this shit!!! |
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| MXdawg | Jul 8 2005, 06:59 PM Post #5 |
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IQ of 48
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Great post man! You have done your research! Smolov is brutal, Big_Baller at BB.com only made it a little over a week on that routine. |
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| Master Of Puppets | Aug 1 2005, 09:57 AM Post #6 |
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Badass Member
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Dammit, I might've tried this if it wasn't for max effort day.
I don't have a spotter for barbell bench.
Ya think I could max out on dumbbell bench? MOP |
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| Captain | Aug 1 2005, 02:09 PM Post #7 |
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Yes, you can. I need to post up an article Jim Wendler has about raw benchers. He recommends DB bench as one of the staples of ME exercise selections. |
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| Captain | Aug 1 2005, 02:09 PM Post #8 |
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Benching for RAW Benchers...Westside style!: http://www.elitefts.com/documents/bench_like_a_stripper.htm |
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| Master Of Puppets | Aug 1 2005, 07:17 PM Post #9 |
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Badass Member
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Oh, sweet. I'm gonna start PLing once I build a better base. MOP |
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| Captain | Aug 1 2005, 08:31 PM Post #10 |
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Awesome dude! Did you check out the article I just posted btw? |
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| Master Of Puppets | Aug 2 2005, 11:17 AM Post #11 |
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Badass Member
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No, but I'll eventually read everything. MOP |
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I don't have a spotter for barbell bench.

4:40 AM Jul 11