When beginning to conceptualize and write a program for myself or for a long-time client, I always ask myself were we successful because of X, Y, and Z or were we successful in spite of X, Y, and Z. With newer clients, it is a bit more of a guessing game that is based on their questionnaire and the training videos they send me, but once we get things rolling I am able to pinpoint the deficiencies better. This approach is my checks and balances, it makes me become a critical thinker and to not just rest on my past successes. We can certainly become complacent if we have had success so it is imperative to make sure you give yourself a system that allows you to see through the success and to evaluate the reason behind it.
With that being said after my last meet which was Record Breakers back in November where I totaled 2006lbs my best meet to date. From there I looked back at the year of prep and thought about the faults in my training and in my missed lifts. Although I had a great meet I knew there was a lot that I have been neglecting and in desperate need to work on. The first step was to drop some fat, build up any asymmetries/imbalances that occurred over the prep and to get my body healthy again. This phase lasted from November until April of this year.
That phase consisted of a ton of low volume, high intensity, higher frequency type of hypertrophy training. Think along the lines of a DC style approach, where the focus is progressive overload through log booking, 4 rotations of exercises per split, the split was a push, pull, legs, and worked with a one top set and one back down set for volume. So, I could progress through load and/or the number of reps completed. With this phase, I was able to drop a good amount of body fat percent while increasing my lifts.
From there I went into a 4-week block of improving my GPP and athleticism, so I could start to become ready for the bulk of what I would consider meet prep which will be 26 weeks long as of this week. I know that seems like a long time but I always tell my clients we are always in meet prep, they are just broken down into phases, this is a way to always create a sense of urgency in their training. I see far too many people say they are in offseason and it is pretty much no plan and no concept of progression. By changing the way, they look at training in a year-long approach it seems to heighten their sense of accountability and their desire to be on point.
Now onto my next phase of training which the focus has now shifted onto speed/hypertrophy/base conditioning using alactic and aerobic conditioning. Those are the top priorities and my biggest areas I need to improve upon if I want to have a successful meet come October 26th. I will write an article outlining all of these phases and the concepts of them but I just wanted to do a brief catch up so I can show you where I am now and the plan moving forward. This week is week 1 of this phase and it will last anywhere from 8-12 weeks.
Training
5-6-19
BW-243.8lbs- HRV 72
Gridiron Bar BP w/ 40lbs of chains per side- 365lbs x6, 315lbs x10
Weighted Dips- 80lbs x14, x10
DB Paused BP- 100lbs x12, x10
Triple Set
Seated Chest Flys- 3 sets bet 10-15 reps
Supinated Lat Pulls- 3 sets bet 10-15 reps
Cable Rear Delts- 3 sets bet 12-15 reps
Triple Set
Prime Triceps Pushdowns- 3 sets bet 15-20 reps
Fat Grip Z Curls- 3 sets bet 10-15 reps
Incline DB Side Raises- 3 sets bet 8-10 reps
Alactic Conditioning- 10mins w/ battle ropes and sled pulls
5-7-19
BW- 245.2- HRV 81
SSB Squats- 425lbs for 6 sets of 3 reps with 90secs rest bet sets
4” Block Stiff Leg Deads- 495lbs x7, x6
High Bar Squats using Squat Wedge- 315lbs x10 for 2 sets
Super Set
Cable Rows- 3 sets of 12 reps
Hip Thrusters- 3 sets of 20 reps
Triple Set
Copenhagen Planks- 3sets of 20secs each side
Ab Wheel- 3 sets of 15 reps
Single Leg Calf Raises- 3 sets of 20-25 reps
Alactic Conditioning- 10mins w/ airdyne bike
5-8-19
BW- 244.6- HRV 84
This is an extra workout, my HRV was high so I decided to add in a quick 30min workout based on weaknesses and recovery
Super Set
Seated Leg Curls- 2 sets of 12-16 reps
Machine Rows- 2 sets of 12-16 reps
Triple Set
Lat Pulls- 2 sets of 10-15 reps
Face Pulls- 2 sets of 15 reps
DB Hammer Curls- 2 sets of 12-15 reps
