Programming from the Ground Up

I haven't trained much in 2019. It was difficult to swallow in the early part of the year, but that progressed to acceptance, even apathy. . Now that the latter half of the year has rolled around I'm finding that it's actually difficult to get back into a routine.

I have plenty of excuses - Ulcerative Colitis, recent shoulder surgery, just found out I have Lyme disease- but really it doesn't matter. Excuses are just preventing me from getting back to where I want to be. Remember that scene in Shawshank Redemption where Andy crawls through 500 yards of sewer pipe? Well, this is my sewer pipe. It's not going to feel good, but on the other side glory awaits.

So in an effort to hold myself accountable, and to fulfill my duties as EliteFTS coach, and most importantly to educate you all, I'm going to explain what I'm doing to 'get back into it.' I'll provide some basic lessons on how to take a blank slate and build a foundation for a strong  training cycle. And along the way you might recognize some holes within your own programming.

Lesson #1 - Do the shit you suck at. 

Coming off of shoulder surgery I don't have the ability yet to get a straight bar on my back in a comfortable position. I also suck at front squats. So I look at this scenario like 1+1=3. I get to squat, rehab my shoulder, and get better at something I've avoided.

This also includes anything that requires a little extra mobility - like Bulgarian split squats in my case.

Or addressing your GPP-  in most cases this is as simple as keeping your rest periods short. The pitfall that a lot of powerlifters fall into is allowing themselves to get full rest between EVERYTHING they do. Instead, use the intensity as your variable instead of your rest periods. I.E. stick to 30 second rest periods for Bulgarian split squats and if you have to drop the weight by the end, then so be it. Too often we get stuck on one variable in our training and as we let rest periods slide our work capacity diminishes.

Lesson #2 - Don't bite off more than you can chew.

Front squat progression looked like this-

Wk 1--135 3x10, Wk 2--185 3x8, Wk 3-- 225 3x6

Wk 4-- 185 3x10, Wk 5-- 225 3x8, Wk 6-- 275 3x6

The only week that was difficult, physically, for me was Week 6. I only did one set because my knees felt like they were going to explode- a symptom of either my UC flaring up or Lyme's disease. (Yeah, I'm a fucking mess.)

Progression with my bench-

Bar - 65 - 85 - 95 - 135 - 155 all 3x10 progressing up each week.

All safe. All achievable. The focus being technique and keeping rest periods short.

How does this relate to your training?

I'll bet most of you bite off more than you can chew every now and then,  whether that's adding 20lbs for your next set when really 10lbs would have been the better choice or projecting  a 30lb meet PR when your training has you realistically looking at 5-10lbs on a particular lift. We tend to overestimate what we can do in a particular day and underestimate what we can do in a whole year. Aim high in the long run, but chip away in your day to day efforts including both training and recovery.

Lesson #3 - Think outside the barbell. 

Yes, the barbell is our friend. Yes, the barbell is how we get strong. YES, the barbell is the greatest gift to mankind. BUT, we forget how our body works sometimes.

We're not designed to move in one plane over and over ad nauseam. We do need repetition to perfect our technique and we can get strong by doing it, but at what cost? Eventually it will catch up with you...at least it did for me.

Use bodyweight exercises - push up variations, bear crawls, cossack squats, step ups, step downs, lateral movements - to force your body to move as a unit outside of one plane.

Use carries - these are the best way to get strong. And they force you into locomotion which can be helpful in addressing imbalances and weaknesses throughout your whole body.

The following is how I set up my lower body training days over the last six weeks. No, it's not a lot of work, but my body is dealing with a lot of other shit right now so I have to manage my recovery. But notice how it addresses all of the points I mentioned above (rest periods are at most 2 minutes). Remember- this is the bare minimum as far as I'm concerned, and it covers all of the basics.