Training by the Numbers Revisited Ashley Jones

[sthompson@getstrength.com]

Training by the Numbers Revisited

Experimented with the Prilepin Table today and I must tell you that my old philosophy of training by the numbers is back it just makes too much sense, plus the numbers never lie, mathematics rules!

Remembering the Prilepin Table

Percent	Reps/Set	Optimal Total	Range
55 – 65	3 – 6	24	18 – 30
70 – 75	3 – 6	18	12 – 24
80 – 85	2 – 4	15	10 – 20
> 90	1 – 2	7	4 – 10

Well today I played around with the following:

5 sets x 3 reps @ 80% – Power Snatch Hang Snatch Full Snatch

then I did 45cm Box Squats with a Cambered Bar working up to a heavy set of 2 (near maximal) which I then used my 1RM estimation charts to set up my next 3 week cycle with this movement, using the old 3 week progression that I have refined over the last few years:

Week 1 – 6,5,4,4

Week 2 – 5,4,3,3

Week 3 – 4,3,2,2

To clarify a few aspects of this program, the first set of 6 is at 80% of your estimated or actual 1RM for that movement, second set of 5 is at 82.5 – 85%, then you hit 4 reps with 87.5%, if that went okay and you feel you have left in the tank, add a small amount to the bar, this is where I love to use fractional plates, in the words of Richard McCaw, “there is always more”

So the next week your opening set of 5 is the same weight as the previous weeks set of 5 then you do 4 reps with the second of the 2 sets of 4 weight that you used last week, then you hit a 3 at roughly 90 – 92.5%, and again add some for the next set of 3 if you feel you can or try and do that weight again.

In the final week of the progression, you start at the 4 rep weight you achieved last week then jump to the heaviest of the 3 reps sets for the second set today and finally hit a double at 95 – 97.5%, again if successful add some weight and go again for the final double of the program.

Originally I only had the one heaviest set but found through training that often you either underestimated your strength in this set or you often primed the nervous system to go even heavier for the final set, and I prefer finishing a cycle on a double for the reason that if you miss the double then you still should have a good solid single at close to and hopefully exceeding your previous best effort.

So back to Prilepin Table, I will be using it again on Saturday to work the components of my clean and jerk separately, having done the king of the hybrid combination movements earlier in the training week, so here is what it looks like:

2 sets x 2 reps @ 80% – Power Clean Squat Clean
(so 1 power clean then 1 squat clean)

then

2 sets x 2 reps @ 80% – Squat Clean Front Squat
(so 1 squat clean then 1 front squat, the Luke Borreginne special)

5 sets x 4 reps @ 70% – (Push Press Split Jerk) x 2 out of the rack

The workouts you can create are endless and the system ensures that you are not under or over taxing your system, thus ensuring optimal training to improve your strength and power,
enjoy, ash

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