Dec 3, 2012
With the butt load of information at everyone’s fingertips on the magnificent interwebs, it’s no surprise that one would become completely and utterly confused on how to set up their training program.
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| Image courtesy of Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
All the “gurus” and “experts” say to do this and that with
constantly conflicting concepts (three C’s in a row; should’ve been a rapper)
that leave you with information overload. How to sort through the BS and figure
out what’s actually going to work is a daunting task.
In this 4-part series I’m going to discuss simple ways to
set up your training program and rid yourself of paralysis by analysis.
The Best Training Split
Taking into account that the majority of people can only get into the gym 3-4 days per week, I’m going to use 2 different training splits: 1) full body, 3 days/wk and 2) upper/lower split, 4 days/wk. The reason I chose these 2 splits is they make the most sense for the given amount of time that is available for training. If you have the time to get into the gym and train 5-6 days per week then that is awesome for you and I wish I had your availability. But for the purposes of this series we’re going to stick with 3-4 days of well-planned training per week.
Full Body, 3 Days Per Week
I am personally using this type of split in my current
training. Sometimes I may add an extra day for recovery work or sled dragging
but for the most part it’s strictly 3 days of hitting all the basic movement
patterns. These patterns include squatting, bending, pushing, pulling, single
leg dominant, and trunk work. Our hypothetical program will follow these same
patterns.
To keep things as simple and as easy to understand as
possible let’s only perform 4 exercises per training session and limit them to
a push, a pull, a lower body movement, and trunk. It’s going to look like this:
DAY 1
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DAY 2
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DAY 3
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Squat
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Push
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Push
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Pull
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Push
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Pull
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Single Leg
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Pull
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Trunk
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Trunk
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Trunk
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Since I’m a huge advocate of strength and muscle-building
and the outline only allows one exercise from each movement pattern per day,
the exercises will revolve around getting the most bang for your buck. This
means big, basic, multi-joint movements (think barbells, dumbbells, and
bodyweight). Here’s a list of what I feel are the best exercises from each
category:
Squat
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Push
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Pull
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Single Leg
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Trunk
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Back Squat
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Deadlift
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Bench
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Chinup
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RFESS
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HLR
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Front Squat
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RDL
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Incline Bench
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1Arm DB Row
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Step Up
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Ab Wheel
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Zercher Squat
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Good Morning
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Floor Press
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Recline Row
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Reverse Lunge
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1Arm Carries
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Goblet Squat
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Rack Pull
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Dip
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Bent-over Row
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Walking Lunge
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Russian Twists
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Overhead Squat
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Overhead Press
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Chest Supported Row
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Lateral Lunge
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Hollow Body
Holds/Rocks
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Now for the kicker – sets and reps. For our purposes, the
first exercise of each day will be strength oriented and the rest will be
oriented towards muscle-building. We will go hard and heavy for 3-4 weeks and
follow it up with a deload week of lowered intensity and recovery work if
necessary. The 4 week cycle will look like this:
EXERCISE
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WEEK 1
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WEEK 2
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WEEK 3
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WEEK 4
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Strength (option 1)
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5RM
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3-5x5
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2-3x5
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5x5
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Strength (option 2)
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4x5
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4x5
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4x5
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4x5
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Muscle-Building
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3x8-10
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3x8-10
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3x8-10
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3x8-10
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Trunk
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3x12-15
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3x12-15
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3x12-15
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3x12-15
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Take a look at the strength portion of the table. There are
2 options. The first option is for those who have been seriously training more
than 6 months and have a good grasp of form and technique. The second option is
for those who have less than 6 months of training experience or are a little
sketchy on form and technique.
For option 1, week 1, you will work up to the heaviest set
of 5 repetitions you can handle that day. Week 2 you will warm up to a weight
that is 20lbs less than what you hit the previous week and perform 3-5 sets of
5 reps (if you’re feeling good go for the higher end; if you’re tired or run
down stick with the lower end). Week 3 you will warm up to a weight that is
10lbs less than the weight you hit on week 1 and perform 2-3 sets of 5 reps
(same adjustments apply). And finally on week 4 you will hit 5 sets of 5 reps
with no more than 50-60% of the weight you hit on week 1 (this will be the
deload; feel free to add in extra stretching and foam rolling to each of these
sessions).
For option 2, every week will have the same set and rep
scheme. The idea is basic linear progression, meaning every week you will try
to add more weight to the bar. Perform these sets as straight sets (the same
weight for every set). If you’re just starting out this will be your best bet
and you should be able to continue making gains for a long while. If you stall
on a lift take the intensity down a notch (say to 75% of what you’ve been
using) and start over continuing to try to add weight to the bar. If this
doesn’t work then you can move on and try out option 2.
The muscle-building portion will utilize linear progression
as well. Start off with the least amount of reps and do not move up in weight
until you can complete the highest number of reps prescribed. Try to do this as
quickly as possible without sacrificing form. Another thing to keep in mind
when performing the muscle-building is pulling exercises. Far too many people
push more than they pull and work on the mirror muscles. Pulling is essential
not only to becoming a badass but keeping your shoulders healthy. So as far as
the sets and reps are concerned for pulling, always do more pulling. This could mean an extra set or some extra
reps per set. Just make sure you’re
always doing more pulling.
Trunk work is simple: pick 3 exercises from the list to
perform on the 3 different training days and hit each one for 3 sets of 12-15
reps. Nothing complicated. Rotate the exercises as needed and add in one’s that
I didn’t mention. Remember this is not the Holy Grail of trunk exercises. I
only listed the ones I use most often with myself and with my clients. Feel
free to experiment but stick to the basics. You can’t beat the basics.
Stay tuned for the next installment where we’ll get into the 4 days per week, upper/lower split.
In Strength,
Franco Crincoli
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