Dynamic Effort Day: The goal of today, Get the bar from Point A (your chest) to Point B (full lockout) as fast as humanly possible.
A1- Flat Bench Press 8x3
Increase the weight after each set if possible, but do not lose bar speed.
B1- Dumbbell Floor Press 4x3
Pause for a half-second at the bottom. Use a 5RM weight.
C1- 1-arm DB row 4x10
Using a neutral grip. Nothing fancy, using a 12-15RM weight.
Repetition Day:Probably the most entertaining day of this routine. It offers a break from intensity, while still stimulating accessory muscles.
A1- Flat Bench Press 10x2
Think of this as a DE day-exercise variation. Less weight and reps, more sets. Also, bar speed is less “explosive”, more “fast while maintaining tension”, if that makes sense.
B1- Neutral Grip Pull-up 3x10
Nothing fancy. Either on parallel pull-up handles, or a close-grip row attachment held over a pull-up bar. 15RM weight.
C1- Lateral Raise 3x10
Standard issue lateral raise. Bring DBs to shoulder-height or slightly above. Technique can be “assisted” by some body swing. 15RM weight.
D1- Seated French Press 3x10
A strict overhead barbell extension, using a straight or EZ curl bar. 15RM weight.
Maximum Effort Day:The goal for today is to put a bunch of weight on the bar, and move it. Sounds easy enough.
A1- Three-Board Press 5x3, 5x1
Use a half-beat pause on the boards. If you don’t have boards, improvise (textbooks, phonebooks, whatever). Work up to a 1-rep max, over those last 5 sets sets.
B1- Tricep Pressdown 3x8
Use any handle: rope, straight bar, v-bar. Just working the movement, getting blood to the muscles. 15RM weight.
C1- Seated Cable Row or Chest-Supported Row 3x4
Overhand (pronated) grip. Preferably same grip-width as bench press. 6RM weight.
Other Stuff, Maintenance Day: Maintenance work for the rest of the body. We don’t want to stress the pressing muscles much, as they get plenty of attention during the other workouts. Note the use of supersets here, unlike the other workouts.
A1- Squat 4x4
A basic ass-to-grass Squat. Nothing fancy. Bear in mind, this is the only lower body exercise you get. Make it count, but we’re not trying to break any records. 5-6RM weight.
A2- Hammer Curl 4x6
Yay for arm work! We’re using it to reinforce bar grip. You can be a little “loose” with form, within safety limits. 8-10RM weight.
B1- Russian Twist 3x10
From a crunch position, use a DB or plate held half-an-arm’s length from the abs. Rotate as far to either side as is comfortable and controllable. 12-15RM weight.
B2- Hanging Pike/Leg raise 3x10
Rather than using weight, focus on bringing the legs as high as possible by rotating the hips under. The closer your toes get to eye-level, the better.
Very High Rep Day: Today will help to teach the body how to perform a bunch of reps in a row, and will be a nice break from the rough and tough workouts of the past few weeks. A nice transition to the actual competition.
A1- Flat Bench Press 4x12-12-12
Standard issue flat bench technique. Casual tempo, not super fast. Nothing fancy. We’re going to use a modified Thibaudeau concept, the cluster set. Basically, do 12 reps, rack the bar, count to 15, do another 12, repeat a third time. That’s 1 “set”. Rest a full 3or 4 minutes between “sets”. The last two sets should be using your bodyweight.
B1- Seated Cable Row 3x15
Standard issue seated row. Pronated (palms-down) grip. Don’t stress over tempo. Just an easy 15 reps per set. 20RM weight.
And that, is that. It goes without saying that I’m open to comments/questions/critique. However, do remember that this was a successful program, in that it accomplished the client’s goal, and caused no injuries. (In retrospect, I may have wanted to to some more pulling, but, it worked as what it is). Enjoy.