Starting Sheiko

Soon I will be starting the 13 week Sheiko program from the article “Sheiko shakes up Powerlifting”. Sheiko Shakes Up Powerlifting

I have some questions.

What days should I include my back work on. Would it work to include back work the day after each written day, or should I do it after the written part of the program?
Would the second session of squat/deadlift be consecutive with the first session, or should I go back to the gym later that day?

Would it be good to switch my form around a little in between sets, varying the grip width on bench, or switching between sumo and conventional?
My close grip bench isn’t to far behind my max, but my conventional is at least 50 pounds less than my sumo.

What does deadlift from pins #2 mean, how high should I set the pins?
Could I do block pulls instead of from pins, or replace those with GHR work?

Should I ever reset my maxes higher, such as after week 9, wednesday, skills evaluation, or the final day testing openers and maxes?
How much does Sheiko improve your max lifts the first time doing it, can I expect a 30 pound gain on squat and deadlift, or a 20 pound gain on bench press if I eat enough?

If you have it in you, do it after the written part of the program. If you are not opposed to being in the gym 5-6 days a week then do it the following day.

The written part should be done all at once. If you keep the rests short you should easily be able to do 29 in less than 2 hours, likely closer to 90 minutes. The weights and reps are fairly easy, you should be able to get by with 90 seconds rest on the work sets.

Changing form is up to you, I would recommend against it. What I like best about sheiko was the sheer number of reps. I thought of it as practice, repeating the same exact movement over and over again until everything was second nature.

Deadlift from pins is pretty much from just below the knee. Block pulls would work fine too but I would start them just a little bit lower (if the weight is enough to flex the bar when in sits on pins).

As far as maxes go, you can up them after every 4 week cycle if you like, just add 5% to each and keep repeating 29 until the month before you contest then switch to 32. I have both as excel spreadsheets where you just input your 3 maxes and generates the months worth of workouts for you. PM me with your email if you are interested.

Other Tips that I got from Eric Talmant and Dave Bates (his coach): The GMs should be at about 50% of your squat max, they should be restorative in nature. DB flies can be done on floor to prevent over extension and can even be replaced with db floor presses (I have a bad shoulder and couldn’t do flies). Try to keep rest periods at 90 seconds for work sets (above 50% of max), you may even gain some conditioning. Wait until after week 3 to decide if you want to up your maxes, don’t do it after week 1. And always round the bar load UP to the next 5 pound (or 2.5 kilo) increment! Because the weights are reasonable, every rep should be perfect. Remember this is also PRACTICE.

Good luck with it, at first glance, the volume looks crazy but in fact it is quite manageable. One could even knock 10% of his maxes for the first cycle of 29 to adjust to the volume then for the second cycle go back to the true max and work from there.

[quote]S.Fisher_47 wrote:
What days should I include my back work on. Would it work to include back work the day after each written day, or should I do it after the written part of the program?
Would the second session of squat/deadlift be consecutive with the first session, or should I go back to the gym later that day?

Would it be good to switch my form around a little in between sets, varying the grip width on bench, or switching between sumo and conventional?
My close grip bench isn’t to far behind my max, but my conventional is at least 50 pounds less than my sumo.

What does deadlift from pins #2 mean, how high should I set the pins?
Could I do block pulls instead of from pins, or replace those with GHR work?

Should I ever reset my maxes higher, such as after week 9, wednesday, skills evaluation, or the final day testing openers and maxes?
How much does Sheiko improve your max lifts the first time doing it, can I expect a 30 pound gain on squat and deadlift, or a 20 pound gain on bench press if I eat enough?[/quote]

Soon I will be starting the 13 week Sheiko program from the article “Sheiko shakes up Powerlifting”. Sheiko Shakes Up Powerlifting

I have some questions.

What days should I include my back work on. Would it work to include back work the day after each written day, or should I do it after the written part of the program?
Would the second session of squat/deadlift be consecutive with the first session, or should I go back to the gym later that day?

These both depend on you and your schedule, I didnt split my workouts into two sessions because i have good conditioning and a busy schedule, I did light upper back work daily at home

Would it be good to switch my form around a little in between sets, varying the grip width on bench, or switching between sumo and conventional?
My close grip bench isn’t to far behind my max, but my conventional is at least 50 pounds less than my sumo.

I wouldnt, maybe switch to sumo after a cycle or two if you start feeling a little torn up(base % of sumo max)

What does deadlift from pins #2 mean, how high should I set the pins?
Could I do block pulls instead of from pins, or replace those with GHR work?

means the second hole in a rack, blocks work better IMO, ghr is not a sub for rack pulls add them in if you like though

Should I ever reset my maxes higher, such as after week 9, wednesday, skills evaluation, or the final day testing openers and maxes?

yes I reset mine every 4 weeks, most will reset at the end of every cycle(13 wk)

How much does Sheiko improve your max lifts the first time doing it, can I expect a 30 pound gain on squat and deadlift, or a 20 pound gain on bench press if I eat enough?

Those numbers are certainly possible but this depends on your training age more than anything, after rehabbing an injury i went from 385-425 in one cycle for squat other cycles I only put 5-10 lbs on squat

Thank you both, that clears things up. I just had a meet yesterday, so I’ll restart in a week with Sheiko.

Should I pause the reps on bench, or squat?

If I recall, the prescribed percentages on the bench are pretty low. It wouldn’t hurt to pause your reps at all. Just make sure you take care of your shoulder health as they will take more of a beating.

[quote]S.Fisher_47 wrote:
Should I pause the reps on bench, or squat?

[/quote]

do each and every rep like you would in a competition. For the bench, the bar should be motionless on the chest for an instant.

One more thing about block/rack pulls. I pull sumo, should I block/rack pull sumo or use a conventional stance like Andy Bolton recommends? I’m wondering since Sheiko isn’t his program. Tcsimon I sent you a pm, I’m guessing you missed it, I can resend it.

Hi, S.Fischer. I just finished up a 4 week intro Sheiko and was quite impressed. My deadlift went up 10 lbs, my bench not at all (but didn’t lose), squat a lot, but am relearning squat form so numbers are misleading.

It looks like an awful lot of work, but not that bad. You never get to a max RM, the weights and reps are set so that they’re challenging but not crushing. Just think - you can bench without a spotter!

Do the exercises as described. The program schedules variations as needed.

tcsimon is correct, you’re lifting so many damn reps, your form just has to lock in. By the way, tcsimon, I set weights according to my max without taking off 10% and it still worked fine. Then again, I’ve been lifting for a few years.

PS: Sheiko is great for amazing your friends. “You’re doing HOW MANY sets???”

[quote]S.Fisher_47 wrote:
One more thing about block/rack pulls. I pull sumo, should I block/rack pull sumo or use a conventional stance like Andy Bolton recommends? I’m wondering since Sheiko isn’t his program. Tcsimon I sent you a pm, I’m guessing you missed it, I can resend it.

[/quote]

Sorry for the delay. Email sent.