Training Update: 4 months in!

"God arms me with strength, and he makes my way perfect. He makes me as surefooted as a deer, enabling me to stand on mountain heights. He trains my hands for battle; he strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow." - Psalm 18:32-34

Things have been going well with my training for the last several months. I've been using the WS4SB Strength and Speed template for the past 16 weeks as mentioned in a previous blog post.

This particular template has worked well for me since I play Ultimate Frisbee on Sundays. I've become faster and stronger, and it has become much more noticeable during the last four or five weeks.

I recently changed the way I set up my Max-Effort lifts beginning on Week 14 when I started using the 5/3/1 Method by Jim Wendler in his Three Days A Week manual. Previously, I was working up to several heavy sets of 3-5 reps. But I felt that I needed to change it up after 12 weeks. I'm still following the same Strength and Speed template, but I am now using the 5/3/1 Method for the bench and squat on my Max-Effort days to help increase my strength in those lifts.

All my other assistance and supplemental exercises have stayed the same. After next week's deload week, I am going to try another slight variation to my training in addition to the 5/3/1 Method. After I complete my Max-Effort lift, I'm going to follow it with 5 sets of 10 reps with 50% of my max for benches or squats (depending on the training day). This is from the "Boring But Big" template in Jim's manual.

After doing that, I'll go into my regular accessory lifts. This may sound confusing, but when you see how it's laid out, it will make sense.

My overall template will look like this for my second phase (second month) of 5/3/1 with the new variation (5x10) as a part of the WS4SB Strength and Speed template:

Monday - Max-Effort Upper Body
1) Bench Press 5/3/1
2) Bench press 5 x 10 @ 50% of my 1RM
3A) Rowing movement 3 x 8-12
3B) Rear delt movement 3 x 8-12
4) Shrugging movement 3 x 8-12
5A) Biceps 3 x 8-12
5B) Triceps Pushdown variations 3 x 15-25

Abs and/or Finisher

Tuesday - Speed/Conditioning
I've used speed and conditioning workouts from WS4SB 2 & 3 and also my own workouts similar to those and, most recently, the P90X Plyometrics workout.

Wednesday - Off (mid-week bible study at church)

Thursday - Max-Effort Lower Body
1) Back Squat 5/3/1
2) Back Squat 5 x 10 @ 50% of 1RM
3) Unilateral Quad movement 2-3 x 8-12
4) Hip movement 3 x 8-12
5) Glute Ham Raises 3-4 x 3-8
6) Abs

Finisher - Prowler pushes (most often)

Friday - Repetition-Effort Upper Body
1) Dumbbell presses or pushup variations 3 x max reps or 3-4 x 12-15
2A) Vertical pulling 3-4 x 6-12
2B) Rear delts 3-4 x 8-12
3) Side delts 3 x 8-12
4A) Biceps 3 x 8-12
4B) Triceps Extensions 3 x 10-15

Abs and/or Finisher

Saturday - Off

Sunday - Ultimate Frisbee!

That's how it's all laid out. The schedule offers me some flexibility within the week as well. Whenever I need to adjust one of my training days, I'm able to do so. Also, I have my max-effort lower body workout scheduled several days after I play Ultimate Frisbee in order to give my legs time to recover.

If needed (and I've had to do it a few times), I can adjust when I perform my Tuesday (Speed/Conditioning) workout, my Thursday (ME Lower Body) workout and even my Friday (RE Upper) workout.

For example, this week because of Thanksgiving, I'm performing my week as follows:

Monday - ME Upper
Tuesday - Speed/Conditioning
Wednesday - ME Lower
Thursday - Cardio/Conditioning in the AM (Turkey eating in the PM!)
Friday - RE Upper
Saturday - Off (Gators vs. FSU - I might be going to the game)
Sunday - Ultimate Frisbee

I've also done my Friday workout on Saturdays when needed (but I don't like doing that because there isn't enough rest between Saturday and Monday's ME Upper Body Workout).

So there is plenty of adjustability when I need it. If you have any questions, just let me know!

My Current Training Plan - Strength and Speed!

"I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified." - 1 Corinthians 9:27

Earlier this year, I posted my 12-week training plan that helped me increase strength, conditioning and strength endurance while losing about five pounds. I posted the results of that training here - Click me!

Once I finished that program, I spent the next four months (April - July) on fat loss and conditioning programs that included Afterburn 2 and Warp Speed Fat Loss. I lost several more pounds of fat on those programs while increasing my conditioning tremendously, and I only lost a little bit of strength during that time.

Four months is about the maximum amount of time that someone should devote to fat loss training and dieting during the year, as it can be stressful on the body. Thus the reason that I decided to work on maintaining my conditioning and current level of bodyfat while focusing on my strength and speed.

I play ultimate frisbee once each week, so I need to make sure that I am well conditioned. Luckily, the last four months of training prepared me for all the running, sprinting and short rest periods during an intense game. I also know that gaining strength will help me with my overall speed and conditioning.

Currently, I'm on week four of my strength and speed program. I'm actually using the template that Joe Defranco posted in his "Westside for Skinny B*stards III" article. I've made some minor tweaks to fit my goals, but overall, I'm following the same template.

My training week looks like this:

MONDAY – Max-Effort Upper Body

Max-Effort Exercise – I work up to a max of 2-3 sets of 3 reps in some form of pressing exercise. I rotate the exercise every two weeks using a full-range of motion lift for two weeks followed by a partial-range motion exercise for two weeks and repeat every two weeks. For example, I'll peform flat barbell bench presses for two weeks followed by 2- or 3-board presses or floor presses for two weeks and then go to another full-range pressing exercise like close-grip benches or incline benches for two weeks, etc.

Supplemental Exercise – I perform 2 sets of max reps (15-20 reps) or 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps of some sort of pressing exercise (a similar movement as the max-effort exercise).

Horizontal Pulling / Rear Delt Superset - I superset a horizontal pulling movement (rows) with a rear-delt exercise for 2-3 supersets of 8-12 reps of each exercise.

Traps – I perform 2-3 sets of 8-15 reps of some sort of shrugging exercise.

Arms Superset - I perform 2-3 sets of 8-15 reps of a biceps exercise (curls) with a triceps exercise (pushdowns or extensions).

Finisher: I perform sled pushes or another short finisher similar to what I posted in a previous blog.

TUESDAY – Speed Training

General Warm-up / Movement skills (5-15 minutes) – The goal of this portion of the workout is to increase core temperature by performing basic movement skills and calisthenics. (Example: bodyweight squats, jumping jacks, skipping, back pedaling, etc...)

Ground-based mobility (5-15 minutes) – Once I've broken a sweat and my muscles are warm, I perform ground-based mobility drills for 5-15 minutes. (Sample mobility drills include: roll-overs into V-sits, fire hydrant circles, mountain climbers, groiners, etc…)

Frequency drills (2-3 minutes) – I conclude my warm-up with 1 or 2 drills that excite the central nervous system before beginning the speed training portion of the workout. These drills only last 5-10 seconds for 2-3 sets for each. (Example: low pogo jumps, wideouts, ankling, etc.)

Speed training – I follow speed-training techniques for non-athletes (distances of 60 yards or less with complete - or close to it - recovery between sprints). The goal of this workout is to get faster.

WEDNESDAY - Off (or light activity)

THURSDAY – Max-Effort Lower Body & Conditioning

Max-Effort Exercise – I work up to 2 sets of 3 reps or 2-3 singles with 90%. Just like my max-effort upper body day, I rotate the exercise I use every two weeks and use a variety of squatting and deadlifting movements.

Unilateral Movement - I perform 2-3 sets of 8-15 reps of a unilateral quad-dominant exercise such as lunges, step-ups or Bulgarian split squats.

Hip Extension Movement - I perform 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps of a hamstring/posterior chain exercise such as Pull-throughs, Romanian deadlifts, good mornings, etc.

Weighted Abs - I perform a heavy ab exercise for 2-3 sets of 6-12 reps.

Conditioning Finisher – I usually perform one of the following exercises:

1) Sled pushes – I perform 4-6 30-yard sled pushes with about 1 minute rest between sets.

2) Farmer's walks – I perform 4–6 sets of 40 yards with 1-2 minutes rest between sets.

3) Forward or backward sled drags – I perform 4-6 sets of 40-50 yards with 1-2 minutes rest between sets

FRIDAY – Repetition Upper Body

Repetition Exercise – I perform 3 sets of max reps OR 4 sets of 12-15 reps of some sort of pressing exercise.

Vertical Pulling / Rear Delt Superset - I superset a vertical pulling movement (chins, lat pulldowns) with a rear-delt exercise for 2-3 supersets of 8-12 reps of each exercise.

Medial Delts – I peform 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps of dumbbell lateral raises, L-lateral raises, cable lateral raises, dumbbell military presses or a dumbbell side press.

Arms Superset - I perform 2-3 sets of 8-15 reps of a biceps exercise (curls) with a triceps exercise (pushdowns or extensions).

Abs - I perform a bridging (planks) exercise with a rotational exercise (Russian twists) for 2-3 sets for time or reps.

Finisher - If I'm up for it, I'll conclude the workout with a short finisher similar to Monday's workout.

SATURDAY - OFF (this is the day I relax and watch college football most of the day - GO GATORS!).

SUNDAY - Ultimate Frisbee (game day)

Some of the tweaks I've made to Joe Defranco's Strength and Speed template is that I change my supplemental and accessory exercises each week. This is something new I'm trying. Usually, I'll use the same exercise for 4-6 weeks before changing. So this is definitely different than what most trainers may recommend. I've never done this before, so I wanted to see if I can "trick" my body from adapting to any exercise by changing it so frequently. I wouldn't recommend this for a beginner, but it may work well for me since I've been training for so many years.

Also, I change the loading parameters (sets and reps) for my exercises every four weeks. I break up my training (using the template above) into four-week phases. This allows me to use the same set/rep range for all my supplemental and accessory exercises for four weeks (using different exercises each week) before changing the loading parameters (sets and reps) during the next four-week phase.

So that's my current plan that I've been following for the past four weeks and will continue to follow for the next several months.