Advice / help on program

[super78]

Ash
First of all i just want to say what an excellent source of information this site is!

I have been following the in season mass gaining program with good gains but i would now like to change a few things, to exactly what though is a little confusing. There’s so much great info on here i’m not sure what to go for next!!

My goal is to improve leg power / strength and upper body size. However i am carrying a bit too much body fat at the moment and need to reduce that.

Based on several programs on the site i have devised something like this:

Full body strength =
1 x Full Body exercise
1 x Squat exercise
1 x Hamstring/Lower Back
2 x Upper Body Push super set with Upper Body Pull

Full body power =
2 x Full Body exercises do a jump exercise after each set
2 x Squat (Band Box Squats & Quarter Explosive Squats) do a jump exercise after each set
2 x Upper Body Push (Band Bench Press & Barbell Split Jerk) do an upper body plyometric exercise after each set

Monday pm – full body strength

Lower Body
1. Clean Week 1 – 6,5,4 Week 2 – 5,4,3 Week 3 – 4,3,2
2. Back squat Week 1 – 6,5,4 Week 2 – 5,4,3 Week 3 – 4,3,2
3. Dead lift Week 1 – 6,5,4 Week 2 – 5,4,3 Week 3 – 4,3,2

Upper body
1. Incline dumb bell press 5 x 5 (super set with)
2. Bent over row 5 x 5
3. Bradford / military combo 5 x 5 (super set with)
4. Weighted chins 5 x 5

Tuesday a.m – core

Core circuit

Tuesday p.m – speed

Warm up
Power Skips x 15m (emphasis on the vertical drive)
Acceleration 10 x 15 metres from different starting positions
Speed Bound 4 x 30 metres
Flying (10‐20‐30m) – 10m build up and then sprint the distance indicated
Zig Zag Bound 4 x 20 metres
6 x 30 m slalom runs

*this session may have to be substituted with interval on the rower working on short duration and maximum effort rest 1:1 on the rower.

Wednesday p.m – full body power

Full body power

1. Clean and press 6 x 3 plus 6 x 3 contrast tuck jumps
2. Dumb bell snatch 3 x 6 plus 3 x 6 kness to feet jump
3. Squat 6 x 3 plus box jump
4. Over head squat 3 x 6 plus lunge jump
5. Bench press 6 x 3 plus clap press up
6. Split jerk 3 x 6 plus med ball throw

Thursday a.m – arms

Bicep / Tricep workout

Thursday p.m – speed

1. 12 Sprints:
40m Straight Sprints alternating with 30 m Slalom Sprints

40m straight line of sprints
Sprint: 1,3,5,7,9,11.

30m Slalom Sprints
Going on: 2,4,6,8,10,12
This should take about 5 – 7 seconds to complete.
It involves one down and up half way

Each sprint starts every 30 seconds
During the 23-25 seconds recovery perform 3 press up’s.

2 minutes recovery

2. Distance Covered Shuttle Run – Continuous 45 seconds
Place cones every 5m (5, 10, 15, 20, 25 & 30m) sprint and return 45 seconds rest. 6 repetitions

Friday – full body strength

Lower Body
1. Dumb bell clean and press
Week 1 – 6,5,4 Week 2 – 5,4,3 Week 3 – 4,3,2

2. Front squat
Week 1 – 6,5,4 Week 2 – 5,4,3 Week 3 – 4,3,2

3. Good mornings
Week 1 – 6,5,4 Week 2 – 5,4,3 Week 3 – 4,3,2

Upper body

1. Flat dumb bell press 5 x 5 (super set with)
2. Single arm row 5 x 5
3. Seated shoulder press 5 x 5 (super set with)
4. Weighted chins 5 x 5

Saturday

Depending on how i’m feeling pick from rowing intervals, hill sprints cross country run

Sunday

Rest

Does this look ok and have i picked the right exercises?

Also will this help shift some of the excess fat i have? Should i include a Beastly Metabolic Circuit somewhere / instead of something?

Thanks very much for your help on this!

Cheers

Iestyn

[ashley]

Wow Iestyn, I have just read through your program and the reality is that this would kill a Bull Elephant, since your first stated goal was to drop body fat, I would be looking at that first and working a program around that, so I would be working the Beastly Circuits and a power circuit, you will still improve your strength with these methods,I would not worry about the speed work just yet:

Monday: Beastly Circuit Upper Body 2 x Push Pull Tabata Intervals

Tuesday: Cross Training intervals say rowing machine/bike Boxing session

Wednesday: Power circuit Upper Body Push Pull Repeated speed session

Thursday: Cross Training intervals say rowing machine/bike Boxing session

Friday: Beastly Circuit Upper Body Push Pull Tabata Intervals

Saturday: Cross Country Fartlek Run

try something like this for 6 weeks and let me know how you have come along, cheers,
ash

[super78]

Ash

Thanks for that.

Just a few questions with volume and reps etc.

How many Beastly Circuits should i complete on the Monday and the Friday – 6? The same goes for the push / pull on the Monday and Friday?

How many power circuits and push pull should i go for on the Weds?

Last one….is the Tabata with weights or cardio? How many intervals?

Really appreciate your help on this!

Cheers

[ashley]

Hey there,

How many Beastly Circuits should i complete on the Monday and the Friday – 6?

I would try and do the full 6 circuits of 6 exercise with 6 reps on each, trying to increase the weight as you can, as for the upper push pull, I would do one bar combination and one DB/KB or machine combination

Bar – 4 x 6 or 5 x 5 or 6 x 4 or 8 x 3

DB etc – 2 x 12 or 3 x 10 or 4 x 6 or 3 x 8

or cycle them over a 4 week plan

The same goes for the push / pull on the Monday and Friday?

How many power circuits and push pull should i go for on the Weds?

Change the Push Pull each day and adhere to the sets/reps as above, power circuit we have used a 5 x 5 x 5 as a good session, so 5 exercises, 5 sets and 5 reps, the one I use the most is:

Power Snatch from Floor

Hang Clean Push Press

Band Box Squats

Band Bench Press

Dominator/Power Tackler or something similar both side with a cable unit

Last one….is the Tabata with weights or cardio? How many intervals?

I would do it both maybe 10 minutes with a weight exercise and 10 minutes with a cardio exercise, so a 20 seconds work 10 seconds rest for both, enjoy, ash

[super78]

Ash

Thanks for that it is fantastic – i’ll let you know how it goes!

[super78]

Hi Ash
Next week will be the 6th week of following the program above. It’s been tough but very enjoyable and I have made some gains, great psychologically too for pushing yourself! In terms of body fat I can visually see it has reduced, friends say I look leaner too. I still have a bit to go on the body fat front. Diet has been good and I have given up the alcohol during this period.

Pre season training with the rugby club will start at the beginning of July and I am concerned I haven’t got any real power / strength work into my lower / upper body. With my main goal of still dropping body fat is there a way I can work these two objectives into my program? I have also been given a sprint sled on a long term loan that I would like to make use of.

Would this work……?

Monday – Lower body strength /power

Clean / front squat / good morning jump contrasts – interval rowing / bike

Tuesday – Upper body strength / size

A.M Chest / back – Strength
P.M Chest / back – power

Tabatta intervals

Wednesday – Beastly speed intervals

Thursday – Shoulder circuit Tabatta intervals

Friday – Lower upper body Power / strength

Snatch / squat / dead lift jump contrasts, bench – interval rowing / bike

Saturday – Sled sprint

What do you think? Look forward to your suggestions!

Cheers

Iestyn

[ashley]

Hi Iestyn, good effort keeping your program on track and all for the 6
weeks, looking through your plan for th enext wee while I have a few
comments that I hope you will be able to incorporate:

Firstly, I have come to believe that there is not a lot of use doing
upper body power, so your pm workout chest power on a Tuesday I would
leave out, the reason I believe this is in rugby any upper body power is
first generated through the lower body then transferred through the
core, so I believe more in a full body power, unless you want to do some
speed bench press with bands or chains, or weight releasers and then you
can do that as your first exercise on a chest day

Also I am a big believer in keeping weekends free so I would take the
sled sprints out of Saturday and move them across to a lower body day
and so them as a primer for the lower body, so your program would look a
little more like this:

*Monday* – Lower body strength /power – Sled Sprints, Clean jump
contrasts/ front squat jump contrasts/ good morning – interval rowing
/ bike

*Tuesday *- Upper body strength / size – Bench Press, Bent Over Row,
Bradford Military combo then upper body endurance/fat loss circuit
continuous for 10 minutes (chins, Dips, Fat Man’s chins, Hindu Push ups)

*Wednesday* – Beastly speed intervals

*Thursday* – Upper body strength / size – Incline Bench Press, Weighted
Chins, Seated DB Shoulder Press, 3 way DB Shoulder Raise then Tabatta
intervals

*Friday* – Lower upper body Power / strength – Sled Sprints, Snatch
jump contrasts/ 1/4 Explosive squat jump contrasts/ Romanian Dead
Lifts – interval rowing / bike

Weekend – REST & RECOVERY

Cheers, ash

[super78]

Ash

Thanks again for your advice I can’t wait to start this next week!
On the Monday I was looking at the 5/3/1 routine on the clean and front squat x 2 or 3 sets and switching to a bi weekly 3 x 6 then 6 x 3 for the Friday snatch and ¼ explosive squat.

I was also thinking of 5 x 5 (Tuesday) and 6 x 4 (Thursday) for the chest work.

Will the 5/3/1 suit the Monday – I’ve had really good results with this protocol before?!

Cheers

Iestyn

[ashley]

Hi Iestyn, that all looks good to me, keep us all posted on what works for you I am sure you will make some excellent gains, cheers, ash

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