Muscle Puzzle

BTW, this is not intended to be a substitution for Mark Rippetoe's two highly acclaimed training manuals; Starting Strength and Practical Programming. This is just a glimpse.

Starting Strength
Practical Programming

Squat = Full (ass-to-grass) Squats. No substitutions
Front Squats = Clean grip style.
Bench Press = Powerlifter Style
Pendlay Rows = In short, they are bent rows where your upper half is parallel to the floor. You deload the bar onto the floor for each rep (instead of touch and go). Explosively row the bar to your upper abs/lower chest while arching your upper/middle back.
Deadlift = In most cases one heavy set of 5
Press = Standing Overhead Press. Standing.
Powercleans = An explosive pull from the floor, power shrugged toward chest, racked onto shoulders.
Chin-Ups = Supinated grip. Palms toward you.
Pull-Ups = Pronated grip. Facing away.
3x5xW = SetsxRepsxWeight

Starting Strength Novice Program:

Workout A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift

Workout B
3x5 Squat
3x5 Press
5x3 Power cleans (or Pendlay Rows 3x5)

You train on 3 nonconsecutive days per week.

So week 1 might look like:
Monday - Workout A
Wednesday - Workout B
Friday - Workout A

Week 2:
Monday - Workout B
Wednesday - Workout A
Friday - Workout B

All sets are sets across (same weight). When you get all your reps, add weight the next workout.

Practical Programming Novice Program:

Monday
Squat 3x5
Bench press/press 3x5
Chin-ups: 3 sets to failure or add weight if completing more than 15 reps

Wednesday
Squat 3x5
Press/bench press 3x5
Deadlift 1x5

Friday
Squat 3x5
Bench press/press 3x5
Pull-ups: 3 sets to failure or add weight if completing more than 15 reps

All sets are sets across (same weight). When you get all your reps, add weight the next workout.

Bench Press is alternated with Press.

Witchita Falls Novice Program:

Monday
Squat 3x5
Bench press/press 3x5
Pull-ups: 3 sets to failure or add weight if completing more than 15 reps

Wednesday
Squat 3x5
Press/Bench press 3x5
Deadlift 1x5

Friday
Squat 3x5
Bench press/press 3x5
Pendlay rows 3x5

All sets are sets across (same weight). When you get all your reps, add weight the next workout.

Bench Press is alternated with Press.

Practical Programming Advanced Novice Program:

Week 1

Day 1
Squat 3x5
Bench press 3x5
Chin-ups: 3 sets, weight added so failure occurs at 5 to 7 reps

Day 2
Front squats 3x5
Press 3x5
Deadlift 1x5 (more sets may be added due to reduced frequency)

Day 3
Squat 3x5
Bench press 3x5
Pull-ups: 3 sets to failure, unweighted

Week 2

Day 1
Squat 3x5
Press 3x5
Chin-ups: 3 sets to failure, unweighted

Day 2
Front squats 3x5
Bench press 3x5
Power clean 5x3
Day 3

Squat 3x5
Press 3x5
Pull-ups: 3 sets, weight added so failure occurs at 5 to 7 reps

All sets are sets across (same weight). When you get all your reps, add weight the next workout.

The Texas Method Intermediate Program:

Routine 1

Monday [Volume Workout: High Volume/High Intensity]
Squat 5X5
Heavy Press 5X5
Bench Press Assistance
Power Clean 5X3 or Row 5x5

Wednesday [Light Workout: Low Volume/Low Intensity]
Front Squat 3X3
Back Extensions or GHR
Chin ups

Friday [Intensity Workout: Low Volume/High Intensity]
Squat 1X5
Heavy Bench Press 1x5
Press Assistance
Dead Lift 1X5

Routine 2

Monday [Volume Workout: High Volume/High Intensity]
Squat 5X5
Bench Press 5X5
Power Clean 5X3 or Row 5x5

Wednesday [Light Workout: Low Volume/Low Intensity]
Front Squat 3X3
Press 5X5
Back Extension/GHR
Chin ups

Friday [Intensity Workout: Low Volume/High Intensity]
Squat 1X5
Bench Press 1X5
or 5X3
or 5X2
or 5X1
Dead Lift 1X5

Progress is drawn from Monday to Monday and Friday to Friday. For example bench on Monday will be 5x5x200 (pounds) and on Friday 1x5x225. The next week bench on Monday will be 5x5x205 and Friday 1x5x230 OR 2x5x225 (then 3x5, 4x5, etc...).

The light workout is done at 80% of maximal weights.

Intermediate Split Routine Model:

Competetive shot-putter model:

Monday
Squats and pressing exercises

Wednesday
Pulling exercises such as cleans and snatches, and other back work

Thursday
Squats and presses

Saturday
Pulling exercises

Competetive powerlifter model:

Monday
Bench press and related exercises

Wednesday
Squatting and deadlifting exercises

Thursday
Bench press and related exercises

Saturday
Squatting and deadlifting exercises

Clydefrog

Interesting, thanks.

big

I have both of Mark's books, and I HIGHLY recommend them.

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scott134

Wouldn't heavy squating 3 times a week be too much? Seems to against the usual advice?

big

Not if you weight the intensity correctly.

Clearly maxing out 3x/week would be insane. When squatting 3x/week, you typically would NOT be going to failure or anywhere near.

Unfortunately, the "usual advice" is why so many people are very limited in their weight training progress.

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Muscle Puzzle

For a beginner, squatting heavy 3x/week is optimal on these types of novice programs. With squats the weights will be low enough (sub 130kg) that recovery and adaptation can be made within 72 hours.

to quote Mark:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe, Starting Strength, Pg. 19 There is simply no other exercise, and certainly no machine, that produces the level of central nervous system activity, improved balance and coordination, skeletal loading and bone density, muscular stimulation and growth, connective tissue stress and strength, psychological demand and toughness, and overall systemic conditioning as the correctly performed full squat.

In other words, Squats will spur total body growth when combined with a full body program.

Later on, as squatting 3x/week becomes too diffucult to recover from, adjustments are made as in the other programs (ie. front squating/sub-maximal loads on Wednesday).

Keep in mind that none of these movements are taken to failure. If you don't think you'll complete the next rep, don't attempt it. Failure should be rare and unexpected when it happens. On the first workout you'd be starting well below your 5RM as well. Mark recommends that on the first workout you find your beginning weight by starting with the bar for 5 reps and adding 10-15kg for every set of 5 until the bar slows down even minutely and progress from there.

the_ironman

If you were to max out every time, it probably would be. But varying the volume and intensity by changing weights, number of sets and reps lets you recover and continue to improve.