One Plan to Rule Them All
My goal in training has always been to develop the physical qualities necessary to be an agile bodyweight athlete (rock climbing, ninja warrior stuff), with explosiveness (Highland Games), and stamina (MMA, boxing), with enough muscle to look like a badass (marginal bodybuilder).
I have finally distilled it all down to the principles that make most sense to me, and are yielding consistent results. I'm going to lay out my principles as succinctly as I can, and hopefully in a logical order.
1. Follow the Old-school Split:
I was a whole-body training zealot for years, till my deadlift got to 500+ lbs and my squat to 475. Once I started getting heavy in those lifts and my snatches and cleans, my lower back just couldn't handle the constant exposure to training stimulus. Also, my targeted muscles needed more time to recover. Paul Carter recently wrote an article on why Push, Pull, Legs is the best split. I use it. It works. At the moment I'm cycling through Push, Pull, Legs twice per week; Mon - Sat. When I start to plateau, I'm going to reduce to Push, Pull, Legs, Off, Whole Body, Field work. When That plateaus, I'll reduce to Push-Mon, Pull-Tue, Legs-Thu, Field work-Sat.
2. Always Specialize
Start every session with the movement that you most need to develop. For me, that's pullups and chinups. I start every session with 5 sets of ring pullups, using Pavel Tsatsouline's Fighter's Pullup Plan.
When I reach my goal (+45lbs x 10,9,8,7,6), I'll switch to another movement that needs work. Maybe Turkish getups? 3min AMRAP burpees?
3. Core From All Angles
I rotate between static and dynamic core work, but it gets done at every session. I find it helps to do static work on leg days and dynamic work on upper body days. Include lots of rotational work.
4. Build Volume Before Adding Weight (Volume Accumulation Part 1)
Progressive overload is nice when you are a newbie and/or young, but it doesn't work so well in my 40s. Now I always try to build volume by 100% before adding weight. Example: if I start with a weight that I can handle for 5 x 5, I'll keep grinding at it till I double the volume to 5 x 10 before adding weight. This is a novel way to build in periodization. The weight starts out as something that feels heavy, making your training on the "strength" end of the spectrum. After a few weeks, it become more of a metabolic challenge, putting you in the "hyportrophy" zone.
5. Time Every Set; not just the rest period (Volume Accumulation Part 2)
This is another novel way to create an automatically periodized approach to your training. It's something like Charles Staley's Escalating Density Training ("EDT"), but with more rigidity. This means as your reps per set go up, thus extending the time under tension, your are doing more work in a fixed amount of time (aka EDT). As importantly, the rest periods naturally become shorter, shifting your sessions more to the Metabolic / Hypertrophy end of the spectrum.
A Sample Program:
This is exactly what I'm doing right now.
NOTE: VAS = Volume Accumulation Sets
I have finally distilled it all down to the principles that make most sense to me, and are yielding consistent results. I'm going to lay out my principles as succinctly as I can, and hopefully in a logical order.
1. Follow the Old-school Split:
I was a whole-body training zealot for years, till my deadlift got to 500+ lbs and my squat to 475. Once I started getting heavy in those lifts and my snatches and cleans, my lower back just couldn't handle the constant exposure to training stimulus. Also, my targeted muscles needed more time to recover. Paul Carter recently wrote an article on why Push, Pull, Legs is the best split. I use it. It works. At the moment I'm cycling through Push, Pull, Legs twice per week; Mon - Sat. When I start to plateau, I'm going to reduce to Push, Pull, Legs, Off, Whole Body, Field work. When That plateaus, I'll reduce to Push-Mon, Pull-Tue, Legs-Thu, Field work-Sat.
2. Always Specialize
Start every session with the movement that you most need to develop. For me, that's pullups and chinups. I start every session with 5 sets of ring pullups, using Pavel Tsatsouline's Fighter's Pullup Plan.
When I reach my goal (+45lbs x 10,9,8,7,6), I'll switch to another movement that needs work. Maybe Turkish getups? 3min AMRAP burpees?
3. Core From All Angles
I rotate between static and dynamic core work, but it gets done at every session. I find it helps to do static work on leg days and dynamic work on upper body days. Include lots of rotational work.
4. Build Volume Before Adding Weight (Volume Accumulation Part 1)
Progressive overload is nice when you are a newbie and/or young, but it doesn't work so well in my 40s. Now I always try to build volume by 100% before adding weight. Example: if I start with a weight that I can handle for 5 x 5, I'll keep grinding at it till I double the volume to 5 x 10 before adding weight. This is a novel way to build in periodization. The weight starts out as something that feels heavy, making your training on the "strength" end of the spectrum. After a few weeks, it become more of a metabolic challenge, putting you in the "hyportrophy" zone.
5. Time Every Set; not just the rest period (Volume Accumulation Part 2)
This is another novel way to create an automatically periodized approach to your training. It's something like Charles Staley's Escalating Density Training ("EDT"), but with more rigidity. This means as your reps per set go up, thus extending the time under tension, your are doing more work in a fixed amount of time (aka EDT). As importantly, the rest periods naturally become shorter, shifting your sessions more to the Metabolic / Hypertrophy end of the spectrum.
A Sample Program:
This is exactly what I'm doing right now.
NOTE: VAS = Volume Accumulation Sets
| Monday | wk1 | wk2 | wk3 | wk4 | wk5 | wk6 | |
| 1 | Ring Pike | 3min AMRAP | |||||
| 2 | Ring pullup | 5RM Plan | |||||
| 3 | Overhead press | 10 min EMOM (from 10x3 - to 10x5, Add 5lbs) | |||||
| 4 | Ring pushup fly (90sec VAS) | 5 x 6 | 5 x 8 | 5 x 10 | 5 x 8 | 5 x 10 | 5 x 12 |
| 5A | Lateral raise (60sec VAS) | 5 x 10 | 5 x 11 | 5 x 12 | 5 x 13 | 5 x 14 | 5 x 15 |
| 5B | EZ-bar skull crusher (60sec VAS) | 5 x 10 | 5 x 11 | 5 x 12 | 5 x 13 | 5 x 14 | 5 x 15 |
| Tuesday | wk1 | wk2 | wk3 | wk4 | wk5 | wk6 | |
| 1 | Dynamic side plank | 3min AMRAP | |||||
| 2 | Ring pullup | 5RM Plan | |||||
| 3 | Snatch grip high pull | 10 min EMOM (from 10x3 - to 10x5, Add 10lbs) | |||||
| 4 | Ring row (90sec VAS) | 5 x 6 | 5 x 8 | 5 x 10 | 5 x 8 | 5 x 10 | 5 x 12 |
| 5 | EZ-bar curl (90sec VAS) | 5 x 10 | 5 x 11 | 5 x 12 | 5 x 13 | 5 x 14 | 5 x 15 |
| 6 | EZ-bar reverse curl (90sec VAS) | 5 x 10 | 5 x 11 | 5 x 12 | 5 x 13 | 5 x 14 | 5 x 15 |
| Wednesday | wk1 | wk2 | wk3 | wk4 | wk5 | wk6 | |
| 1 | Front plank | 3min ALAP (As Long As Possible) | |||||
| 2 | Band face-pull-apart (90sec VAS) | 5 x 15 | 5 x 16 | 5 x 17 | 5 x 18 | 5 x 19 | 5 x 20 |
| 3 | Jump rope | 2 x 2min / 1min | |||||
| 4 | Sumo deadlift | 10 min EMOM (from 10x3 - to 10x5, Add 20lbs) | |||||
| 5 | Goblet squat (90sec VAS) | 5 x 10 | 5 x 11 | 5 x 12 | 5 x 13 | 5 x 14 | 5 x 15 |
| 6 | Lateral jump lunge (90 sec VAS) | 5 x 10 | 5 x 12 | 5 x 14 | 5 x 16 | 5 x 18 | 5 x 20 |
| Thursday | wk1 | wk2 | wk3 | wk4 | wk5 | wk6 | |
| 1 | 50# kettlebell windmill | 3min AMRAP | |||||
| 2 | Ring pullup | 5RM Plan | |||||
| 3 | Ring dip | 10 min EMOM (from 10x3 - to 10x10) | |||||
| 4 | Ring pushup fly (90sec VAS) | 5 x 6 | 5 x 8 | 5 x 10 | 5 x 8 | 5 x 10 | 5 x 12 |
| 5A | Front plate raise (60sec VAS) | 5 x 10 | 5 x 11 | 5 x 12 | 5 x 13 | 5 x 14 | 5 x 15 |
| 5B | French press (60sec VAS) | 5 x 10 | 5 x 11 | 5 x 12 | 5 x 13 | 5 x 14 | 5 x 15 |
| Friday | wk1 | wk2 | wk3 | wk4 | wk5 | wk6 | |
| 1 | Toe to bar | 3min AMRAP | |||||
| 2 | Ring pullup | 5RM Plan | |||||
| 3 | Kettlebell Row (90sec VAS) | 5 x 3 | 5 x 4 | 5 x 5 | 5 x 6 | 5 x 7 | 5 x 8 |
| 4 | Ring row (90sec VAS) | 5 x 6 | 5 x 8 | 5 x 10 | 5 x 8 | 5 x 10 | 5 x 12 |
| 5 | Altntng hammer curl (90sec VAS) | 5 x 10 | 5 x 11 | 5 x 12 | 5 x 13 | 5 x 14 | 5 x 15 |
| 6 | Barbell curl (90sec VAS) | 5 x 10 | 5 x 11 | 5 x 12 | 5 x 13 | 5 x 14 | 5 x 15 |
| Saturday | wk1 | wk2 | wk3 | wk4 | wk5 | wk6 | |
| 1 | Side Plank | 2min ALAP (As Long As Possible) per side | |||||
| 2 | Band face-pull-apart (90sec VAS) | 5 x 15 | 5 x 16 | 5 x 17 | 5 x 18 | 5 x 19 | 5 x 20 |
| 3 | Jump rope | 2 x 2min / 1min | |||||
| 4 | Front squat | 10 min EMOM (from 10x3 - to 10x5, Add 20lbs) | |||||
| 5 | Lateral shuffle | 5 x 20 yards each direction; 1 min recovery | |||||
| 6 | Plyo skip | 5 x 20 yards; 1 min recovery | |||||
| 7 | 300 yard sprint (one block) | 5 x 1; 2 mins recovery | |||||
| 8 | Kettlebell swing (90sec VAS) | 5 x 15 | 5 x 16 | 5 x 17 | 5 x 18 | 5 x 19 | 5 x 20 |
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