Dave has graciously allowed me to write the program for our conditioning/hypertrophy block. Probably because I just kind of aggressively commandeered it after he said I could write a week to see how I do with it. (don’t worry I send it to him for his approval after I write it) (it’s always approved because I am great) (or maybe he doesn’t read it I don’t know) (jk david).
Working on this program under Dave's watchful eye has been immensely helpful for me in terms of getting a greater understanding of programming structure, changing variables, and working on weak points.
I also got the pleasure of sending out the first week of training accompanied by this meme
source: knowyourmeme.com
Let me also state that a lot of this is based upon what Dave wrote last time for our conditioning/hypertrophy block. I used that as a reference and in a lot of instances just copied/pasted exercises that I liked, think worked, or were bodybuilding things I definitely wouldn’t think of on my own since I just think in reps of 1-3. So in no way did I just write this from scratch based on my own knowledge. This bodybuilding/conditioning phase I also think is the part I am most uncomfortable structuring because it feels so out of my powerlifting zone.
So here is how it’s structured- the building blocks of the program are the speed waves. This is the most important part and is pretty much the only thing I know in advance. The rest of the training falls into place around it. I know the general 3 week structure but I write one week at a time so I can make changes based on how the previous week went. Each 3 week wave after that is built upon the last one.
Before the 3 weeks started, I knew that we were doing conditioning speed squats so week 1- 10x2, week 2 15x2, week 3 20x2. Our speed bench was also higher reps than normal- 10x3, 12x3, 15x3.
From there, the rest of the program is built upon the goals of the block and the needs of the lifters. For the most part, 2 supplemental movements and 3 accessory movements. Supplemental movements are chosen based on what needs to be built up the most and weak points. Since this is a bodybuilding/conditioning block, volume and reps are overall higher, and there are some bodybuilding type…. Shenanigans (drop sets, partials to failure, etc) that wouldn’t normally be in there. Were we in a strength phase, the supplemental movements would be 3-5 reps and accessories would be higher than that, we have some supplemental movements in the higher rep ranges (glute ham raises 8-12 reps) and accessories in the 40-50 range.
I also try to think about waving ME work in terms of intensity (in this case I mean difficulty of the movement). Instead of having weeks and weeks and weeks of crushing ME work, throwing in a movement that is less taxing breaks it up. For example, a triple on good mornings, low box close stance yoke bar, or floor press. Exercises where the weight and intensity (in terms of how taxing it is) are limited by the movement. This is a great way to regulate the load instead of just “deloading”.
Coming into this third week, I will be pulling a little bit from the overall volume here and there since we will be at the highest end of our speed work reps and I am allotting for a little recovery time as well.
I was going to expound upon the exercise selection but if you read any of my logs, you see what the supplemental and accessory movements are and I often talk about why they are chosen. I just wanted to give a brief overview of how the training is structured.
Bye for now.
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