Getting Jacked - Part 5 - The Lift-Run-Bang Template Week 2

So with week 1 out of the way it's just a natural course of action to talk about week 2.

Since you pressed and squatted heavy in week 1, what we're going to do is press "light" and do legs "light" with heavy ass back work in week 2.

Mind you, light again is relative.  This means as heavy as you can go for a certain number of reps, namely in the 12-20 rep range for pressing stuff, so it should be as HEAVY as you can go for that particular rep range.  For legs front squats and pause squats will be the staple of week 2 with lots of leg extensions and 1-legged work to follow.

On back day obviously you're going to pull heavy off the floor, do some heavy ass rows, and other such debauchery.

So let's take a look shall we?

Week 2 -

Day 1 - Pressing - Light

Pick One - Seated Db Press/Standing Db Press/Machine Press - 3 sets x 12-20 reps

Pick One - Incline Press/Decline Press/Machine Press - 2-3 sets of 12-20 reps

So obviously we are looking at hitting some db and or machine work as heavy as possible but for higher reps.  Hence this being a "light" week.  You want to pick a weight that you hit close to 20 reps on your first set and go from there.  If you want a progression plan here, when you can hit that chosen weight for 20+ then bump it.  Simple.

Shoulder - Side or Bent Laterals - 5-6 sets of 15-20
Tricep - Pullovers or Pushdowns - 5-6 sets of 15-20

Again, don't overthink this just pick one and go after it.  No long pussy ass rest periods for side laterals and don't worry about weight here.  Just keep the ROM strict and get the blood in there.

Day 2 - Legs Light

So as I noted, fronts and pause squats will be the staple here.  But you can rotate in some BELOW parallel box squats from time to time if you feel like as well.  Just don't kid yourself about what is below parallel.  If you're in doubt about it, squat lower.  And yes, you can alternate the fronts and pause squats week to week if you want to.

Front Squats/Pause Squats - 5,4,3,2,1,1,1 or 5,4,3,3,3 to a "top" triple.

Leg Ext - 4-5 sets of 20-30

This will suck.  Don't kid yourself.  Especially if you have not been doing this kind of work.

Adductor/Abductor Machine - Pick one or both - 4-5 sets of 15-20

1-Legged Movement - Lunges / Speed Skater Squats / 1-Legged Squats - 4 sets of 20

Again, this will suck major ass if you have been a "singles" kinda guy and not doing any rep work.  You will fucking die.  Suck it up and live again.

Day 3 - Back HEAVY

Ok so really there is no such thing as a heavy back day without deadlifting.  If I am not training for a meet I do like to vary some of my heavy pulling from the floor to on blocks to on a small elevation.  This is very much how Brad Gillingham trains his deadlift and I have always had good success coming back to this when I have pulling from the floor too long and stuck in a rut.  Just don't pull from above the knee for the love of God.  That's more douchenozzle than curling in the squat rack as far as I'm concerned.  You can thank Dante of DoggCrapp fame for video after video of 123 pound guys doing above the knee pulls for a range of motion of 0.007845 inches with 500 pounds.  Junk.

Anything from the below the knee is fine.

Deadlifts/ From Floor/Blocks/Rack/Elevated/Stiff Legged/Banded - 5,4,3,2,1,1,1

After heavy pulls, do some heavy ass rows or chins.

Pick One - T-Bars/Weighted Chins/Barbell Rows - 5x6-8 to a top set

After this we're going to hit some MODERATE good mornings, or if you're back is feeling too fatigued at this point, go to leg curls.  You will need to be the judge of this.

Good Mornings - 3-4 sets of 5 moderate weight OR...
Leg Curls - 4 sets of 20-30

Lastly let's get some bicep work in.  No need to go stupid heavy on biceps really, but if you are feeling your oats that day, fine.  I personally do not like to go stupid heavy on curls.  What's the point?

Curls of some sort - 4-5 sets of 10-20

Notes - 

Well that's that.  I have put a lot of thought into this template and I feel like it covers anything/everything a well rounded training program can cover.  There is enough variation within the program that anyone should be able to institute the METHODOLOGIES with ease.

On the light days, use them for what they are for.  Hypertrophy and strengthening the tendons.  That means HIGH reps, forcing lots of blood through those area.  At first I had the reps in the 15-20 rep range but after prodding from Vince Urbank (900 puller and pro-strongman) to up the reps even more, I thought it was a good idea.  So don't be afraid to back way off on the weight on the light days and push the reps into the 30+ range.  Remember you're still pushing barbell movements heavy with limited volume.  You're not trying to kill yourself on the light days, you are trying to strengthen the supportive area.  Forcing a shit load of blood through those joints, tendons, and musculature helps to do that.  So look for reps in the 15-30 range for all the supportive work.

Also during the assistance work, don't rest that long between sets.  This will humble you I promise.  When you limit rest and force more and more blood into the area you will find that puny weight starts to become harder to move.  Again, as you force blood into that area it also stretches the fascia, and this allows ROOM for growth.  Similar to the extreme stretching that DoggCrapp implements.

Remember for the BIG movements, heavy weight/lower volume.  For the assistance stuff, high volume/lighter weight/high reps.  I don't have a problem with doing higher volume on the main lift, but if you do that, you need to really limited the supportive work.  As I have gotten older, staying healthy has become my priority.  A younger lifter tends to be more pliable and I would recommend more volume for the big lifts, and less volume for the assistance work.  After 22 years, I don't need a lot of volume for the barbell lifts because there isn't as much technique to work out on my squats and bench anymore.  Even with deads, I know very well that pulling too heavy for high volume has a propensity for diminishing returns.  So any intermediate/advanced guy should be able to run this template very easily and should benefit mightily.

So to lay the overview of the program out here is what it looks like -

Week 1 -

Day 1 - Press - Heavy
Heavy Overhead Barbell Press
Bench Press
Shoulder Assistance
Tricep Asssistance

Day 2 - Legs - Heavy
Squats
Hacks/Machine Squats/Box/SSB
Leg Press (optional)
1-Legged Movement

Day 3 - Back - Light
Speed Deads/Cleans/Romanians/Shrugs
Supportive Rows/Pulldowns
Leg Curls/Glute Ham Raises
Curls

Week 2 - 

Day 1- Pressing - Light
Db/Machine Press
Incline/Hammer Strength/Machine Press
Shoulder Work
Tricep Work

Day 2 - Legs - Light
Front Squats/Pause Squats
Leg Ext
Abduction/Adductor/Leg Curls
1-Legged Movement

Day 3 - Back - Heavy
Deadlift/Block Deads/Elevated Deads
T-bar/Barbell/Db Rows/Weighted Chins
Good Mornings/Leg Curls
Curls