A Complete Look At My Own Training Schedule for Spring 2012
It wasn't too long ago that I made the resolution of posting complete coverage of my own diet, supplementation, and montly training phases. To say I dropped the ball on that resolution would be an understatement. But hopefully the juiciness of this post will make up for some of it.
I say this because my current training program may be the most complete training program ever developed including:
- Neural Activation Plyometric Movements,
- Heavy Compound Muscle/Strength Building Movements,
- an array of Bodyweight Movements,
- Stability Exercises,
- some inclusion of "Strongman" Exercises,
- the use of Fitness Rings and Suspension Training,
- Sled Work,
- Battling Ropes,
- and, of course, a few standard "Bodybuilding" Isolation Exercises
In my current phase of training, I am back to using one of the oldest concepts in strength training - - heavy days and light days. This concept periodizes training each week and makes it easier to recover from.
Basically I have one heavy strength day for both the upper and lower body and one lighter hypertrophy day for each. The biggest and most stressful barbell exercises are done in the first two days of the week (one for upper body and one for lower). My weekly training schedule looks like this:
Mon: Heavy Upper Body
Tues: Heavy Lower Body plus direct Core work
Wed: Off (may do some sled work)
Thur: Light Upper Body Day (mostly bodyweight, ring and suspension work)
Fri: Lighter Lower Body plus direct Core work
Sat: Upper Body Dominant Interval Cardio done with Battling Ropes
Sun: Lower Body Dominant Interval Cardio done with Pushing/Pulling Sled
As you can see, in addition to the heavy and light resistance training days that both the upper and lower body gets directly hit with each week, there are also two days emphasizing cardiovascular training (done with fairly high intensity for about 20 minutes on non-weight training days) for each.
Now what will be a little too much to get into in this post is how many sets and reps I do for each exercise. That's because each week is different. I break my training into 4 micro-phases lasting a week long each:
- The first week is the "Base" phase where I start with less sets and I train with a slightly less intensity. It's more of a deload week after the previous phase of training as well as a CNS learning week to get me in the groove with the new exercises introduced and gain some momentum for the weeks to come. Generally this means doing a moderate amount of volume and stopping each set 1-2 reps shy of failure.
- The second week is the "Stress" phase where sets are added, reps are dropped on certain exercises, and more weight/resistance (higher intensity) is used. A lot of exercises will be found taken to failure during this week.
- The third week is the "Shock" phase which is just more of the same. More volume is added, the rep range on certain exercises are dropped and, hence, more weight/resistance is used, and failure is hit on just about all exercises.
- The final week is the "Peak" phase which rides the momentum set by the 3 previous weeks with the same pattern of added sets and resistance. The name of this phase speaks for itself.
What I will leave you with is what the "Base" week's training looks like:
Monday
1) Plyo Push Up (feet on the floor, hands on bench ) - 3 x 5 reps done explosively
2a) Military Press - 5 x 5 (ramping up weight each set)
2b) Resistance Band Pull Apart - 4 x 8 to 10
3a) Bench Press - 5 x 5 (ramping weight up each set)
3b) Palms-Back, Flat Bench Chest Supported Dumbbell Row - 4 x 6 to 8
4) Resistance Band Triceps Pushdowns - 2 x 10 to 12
Tuesday
1) Explosive High Pull - 5 x 3 reps
2) Trap Bar Deadlift - 5 x 5 (ramping up weight each set)
3a) Blast Strap Ab Fall Out- 4 x 8 to 15
3b) Walking Lunge - 3 x 8 per leg
Thursday
1a) Modified Front Lever - 3 x 6 to 8
1b) Blast Strap Fly- 3 x 6 to 8
2a) Parallel Grip Pull-up - 3 x 6 to 8
2b) Handstand Push Up- 3 x 6 to 8
3a) Suspended Chest Dips (done on Fitness Rings) – 3 x 6 to 8
3b) Hammer Curl – 2 x 10-12
Friday or Saturday
1) Hurdle Jump- 5 x 3 reps working up to my highest jump level
2) Two-Dumbbell Front Squat - 4 x 3 to 5
3A) Dumbbell Swing - 3 x 8 to 10
3B) Straight-leg Floor Crunch to Sit-up - 3 x 6 to 10
4) One-Sided Farmers Walk – 3 x 15 seconds per side
That's it for Phase 1 of my current routine. In closing I would like to make one little note...
My modern day training is very much influenced by the teachings of Christian Thibaudeau and Jason Ferruggia. As much as there is the desire to seek top training weights...as much as the goal of reaching failure increases with each workout... unlike my early bodybuilding days, there is very little emphasis on grinding out reps. The focus is on PERFORMANCE!
I'll be back with an update on warm-ups (not to be overlooked) as well as full coverage of what the two cardio days look like.
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