'BRB Method 1' - Beginner / Intermediate Basic Strength Programme

This is a simple system which I have used to great effect with several clients now and so I thought I would detail it here so that you can try it out for yourself.

Programme Split
3 days per week
Monday/Day 1 - Chest + back
Wednesday/Day 2 - Legs
Friday/Day 3 - Shoulders and Arms

Exercise / Order
Day 1 - 
Use basic set and rep scheme for all exercises on this day. See below for rep scheme.
A1 - Bench Press
A2 - Neutral Grip Chin Up
B1 - 30º Incline Bench Press
B2 - Bent Over Supinated Grip EZ Bar Row


Day 2 - 
Use basic set and rep scheme for Squats and Deadlifts, and 4 sets of 10-12 on C + D.
A - Squat
B - Deadlift
C - Dumbbell Split Squat
D - Choose one Ab exercise from Ab wheel roll outs, Hanging Knee Raises, Standing Cable Crunches, Dumbbell Side Bends, Weighted Decline Sit Ups.

Day 3 - 
Use basic set and rep scheme for all exercises on this day. See below for rep scheme.
A1 - Standing Barbell Shoulder Press
A2 - Single Arm 'lean away' Dumbbell Shrugs
B1 - Tricep Dips
B2 - Standing Barbell Curls


The basic set and rep system is as follows
Either test 1 RMs in all main lifts prior to starting programme or estimate 1RM if you think you can do this accurately. I would urge you to choose a weight which you can hit on any given day, whether you are feeling good or bad. Do not choose something which is only obtainable when you are at your very peak as this will lead to a quick stall in the programme.

Preceed all of the given sets and reps with an appropriate warm up as follows
Dynamic Warm up, then 3 sets of 3 reps @ 30-40%, 2-4 ramping sets of 2-3 reps to enable you to get to your working weight.
I have given % ranges below, (eg. 70-75%).  I have used this programme with both the lower percentages and the higher percentages both with equal success.  It does depend on the person, but if in doubt, then only use the lower %'s and you will be able to increase the weights more significantly for the following 4 week cycle.
In other words, either choose 70,75,80 and 85% as your programmes percentages, or choose 75, 80, 85, 90%.  In my experience, the higher percentages are normally more suited to people with a slightly longer training history with a bit more experience.

Working Sets are as follows...
Week 1 - 6 sets of 6 reps @ 70-75%
Week 2 - 7 sets of 5 reps @ 75-80%
Week 3 - 8 sets of 4 reps @ 80-85%
Week 4 - 10 sets of 3 reps @ 85-90%

Following end of 4 week cycle, add 2.5 - 5kg (approx) to all weights and repeat.
Every 2-3 cycles, use a week to test your 1RM's on all lifts again.

Notes

1. Missing Reps - If you miss any reps during a session then this is not the end of the world, however if you begin to miss reps prior to half way through then you may have selected a working weight which is too heavy.  In my experience you should not really be missing more than 2-4 reps per exercise (total over all the sets).  So if on week 1 you got 6, 6, 6, 6, 5, 4, then that is acceptable as you have only dropped 3 reps out of 36.  However if you only managed 6, 6, 5, 4, 5, 4 then you have dropped 6 reps in total out of 36 which is really an indication perhaps you have overestimated your max or perhaps increased the weights too much between cycles. In this instance I would drop the weight slightly and recalculate all your %'s.

2. Choosing to use either the higher %'s of the lower %'s - For some people achieving 10 sets of 3 at 90% of their max would be near impossible (initially anyhow), whereas some people have the ability to produce quite high reps all the way up very close to their max.  You should decide which percentages to use based on whether you think you are the sort of person who is better at performing high intensity (load) singles but fall to pieces if someone asks you to do some reps and repeat this effort multiple times, OR if you are someone who can knock out lots of sets at a reasonable weight but the second someone asks you to max out, your form breaks down and you aren't able to maximise your potential.  If you are the former, then using lower percentages would be better, but if you are the latter and are better at performing reps, then you can choose the higher %'s.  You must also consider how long you have been training.  Very often the stronger you get the harder it can become to perform higher reps at a high percentage of your max.  This is because the % increases start representing much bigger increases in weight, so going from 85 to 90% is a bigger jump for someone lifting 200kg than it is for someone lifting 100kg. (stating the obvious I know, but all this must be considered when choosing your weights).

3. If in the programme you will be performing the deadlift, for example, having already squatted, then do not use a 1RM, for the deadlift, which you have achieved when fresh having not done anything prior to it.  The same goes for all other exercises in the programme. Remember that you will undoubtedly be able to lift more weight if you perform an exercise when fresh, but these numbers will not reflect what you can achieve whilst running the programme. I would recommend when testing your maxes, to run the programme in the same exercise order, but simple perform singles up to a max.

4. If you will be sometimes training alone, without a spot, then use the weights you are comfortable attempting on your own for the programme and not the weights which you tried once when you had the luxury of a programme. Again this is something that will skew your numbers. Whatever your regular training circumstances will be, run with those for the whole programme. If you then get the luxury of a lift out from a spotter, then great, but do not count on this if you know it will not always be available.

5. Pause at least 1 rep of each set on the bench press.  My preference is pausing the last rep on the chest for at least 1-2 seconds.  This will build starting strength in the lift, and perhaps also keep your ego in check. 

6. Do not sacrifice form for the sake of increasing weight. The typical one here is sacrificing squat depth for the sake of adding weight.  Keep form to a standard on all exercises.  If you train alone then film EVERY SINGLE SET YOU DO, if you have training partners then get them to give you an honest appraisal.  Do ensure they know what to look for in terms of quality though as a training partner who tells you you are doing great when every lift really looks awful is not your friend and is wasting your time and simply massaging your ego.

7. Alternative exercises can be substituted for the main exercises if preferred but these main lifts should give you strong foundation so think carefully before changing them and always examine the reasons behind the switch.  

If you decide to try using this Method, then I would love to hear how you get on so any feedback is appreciated. Email info@bridgeroadbarbell.co.uk with your thoughts / questions / progress.

Happy Lifting

Phil

Symmetry for the Strength Athlete - Thoughts on Training the Traps and Rhomboids

First Point.  If you aren't deadlifting heavy once a week or more (or at the very least maximal once every fortnight and deadlifting for speed or reps on the weeks in between) then you should address that first, locate your balls (in the proverbial sense) and incorporate the most effective posterior chain exercise available into your programme.

Whether you deadlift conventional stance, sumo stance, from blocks, in a rack off the pins, with a clean grip, with a mixed grip, with a snatch grip, with a hex/trap bar, from a deficit or any other variation, you will get the most bang for your buck in terms of trap/upperback development by performing any variation of this lift. 

I am not however going to go into deadlift variations in this article, but instead focus on what other exercises and how else to train your traps to maximise the development of strength and size of this 'show piece' muscle group.  Virtually everyone lifting weights both for strength and for size wants an impressive set of traps.  Aside from simply the aesthetics, a strong and large set of traps/rhomboids will improve posture, reduce risk of injury and improve all your lifts (squats, deadlifts, bench press and especially overhead pressing).

Too often I have heard people say, "oh if you want big traps then just deadlift heavy".  Whilst I agree wholeheartedly that not deadlifting would be a case of neglecting the best exercise available to you, I do have a problem with hearing this advice being given out.  Specifically the words "JUST deadlift heavy".  The problem I have with this is the following…..

If we all were the same size and shape, and had zero muscular imbalances, all had the exact same technique, and full ability in the neuromuscular sense to achieve maximal muscular contraction, for every rep performed,  in all muscles involved in any given movement, then one could argue that the 'big lifts' or compound exercises would be all we need.  We could survive and train muscles to equal proportions using the squat, bench press, overhead press, deadlift and perhaps bent over row.

The unfortunate fact however is that we do not live in this fantasy world.  We are all different, in shape, size, build, strength, flexibility (not an exhaustive list).  We all have different thought processes in terms of how we approach lifts.  We do not all relate to the same coaching cues, and do not all have the ability to be able to 'feel' every muscle working when we so wish.  We do not all possess 'textbook' lifting technique (whatever 'textbook' means, as text book is individual and more often than not based on whatever enables the greatest efficiency for a particular lifter).  The main point is that we need to also incorporate other exercises to bring up lagging muscle groups.  Now this is by no means a new concept in the slightest.  This has been known as 'weak point training' or 'assistance exercises' or 'special exercises'. 

What I want to speak about in this article refers to looking at addressing weak points in the upper back in particular the traps and rhomboids.  

The reason for this article is because I have recently changed the way I train this muscle group, having managed to finally break the cycle of picking up multiple nagging minor injuries which albeit weren't stopping me from train but we at the very least slowing my progress.  You would think that I fell into the stereotypical meathead category and was training all the pressing muscles with no regard to the postural muscles but this was not the case.  For a long time I have been aware of a muscular imbalance, and I took all the advice from multiple sources that i could.  I performed hundreds of face pull exercises and more band-pull-aparts than anyone else in the gym because these were regarded by many as to be the 'go-to' exercises for developing these muscles to assist in the bench press.  

However, despite performing a large amount of work using these exercises I still kept getting injuries in my neck and upper back.  

Finally I started thinking for myself,  and instead of banging my head against the wall convincing myself that if  **enter any well known T-Nation article author here** said that it was face pulls and band pull-a-parts I needed, then i'd keep doing them until the problem went away.  Eventually, I reviewed my exercise choice and concluded that in actual fact despite the fact that indeed these exercises on paper should be ideal for my corrective exercise programme, they weren't doing the job.  The problem, largely, was because I could not make a significant 'mind-muscle' or neuromuscular connection or link.  I could not 'feel' these exercises working in the way I should.   I revisited some of the older training methods that I used to use when training for muscle gain was my main priority (notice I do not say bodybuilding, because I never had any intention of getting on stage, I just wanted to be bigger).  Years of strength training had caused me to lose sight of some of the training wisdom which comes from the bodybuilding side of the training world.  

Symmetry, muscle tension, being able to feel a muscle working and being able to consciously contract a muscle or muscle group on demand when required were all principles which I had always been aware of but perhaps had pushed to the back of my mind because my training was now solely focussed on powerlifting and subsequently I cared more about movements rather than muscles. Bodybuilders tend to aim to hit a muscle from multiple angles, using different limb and joint positions, different use of levers, different movements  , different training tools and equipment, and a huge variety of exercise variations to 'attack' a muscle in so many different ways in the attempt to achieve well-rounded muscular development.

With this in mind, I revisited my corrective exercise regime to address my Traps and Rhomboids and decided to play around with a few alternatives to what I had been using in an attempt to find more suitable exercises for myself which I could genuinely feel the the muscles working and could make a connection and learn to more powerfully contract the traps and maintain a retracted shoulder position.

My goals were that in addition to improving my bench press by addressing my muscle imbalance, I wanted to develop the muscles significantly for two reasons.  Firstly because I believe it will reduce my chance of injury in this area, and neck and trap strain has really been a problem in the past. Secondly big traps are impressive and building a big 'yoke' is always a good thing.

So after playing around with multiple exercises I discovered that despite the fact I felt it was more my lower traps and rhomboid thats were weak.  If I combined exercises which are traditionally thought of to develop the upper traps with the exercises specifically targeting the rhomboids and lower traps, it was much easier for me to make the mind muscle connection and 'feel' a better contraction throughout the full muscle group.

I will list below the best combinations of trap and rhomboid exercises I have found which work for me, but if you take nothing else from this article, take this point.  These exercises are the ones which worked FOR ME, I advise you to play around with multiple exercise variations until you find the ones which enable you to genuinely feel the muscles working.  During a set you should be able to consciously feel the muscle contracting and in corrective exercise, just as in bodybuilding, this should be prioritised over volume, intensity or any other parameter.  Bottom line, if you can't feel it working, it probably isn't.

Power-Rack Single Arm Lean-Away Kettlebell or Dumbbell Shrugs.  Notes.  Keep head upright,  externally rotate shoulder, draw shoulder up and back, focus on squeezing trap up towards the ear. Keep rep range between 8 and 12. PLus 1 set for higher reps 30-50.

Rope-Grip Kettlebell  Upright rows.  Notes. Place a length of rope through a kettle bell handle. Tilt body forward slightly as this gave me the ability to feel my mid and lower traps working more. The rope grip took stress off my wrists and elbows.  I had a problem with barbell upright rows where I felt pain in the front of my shoulder and this worked much better for me.

Banded Face-pull into External Rotation into Overhead Press (taken from Joe Defranco) Hold in each position for 3 seconds to give time to feel contraction.

Keep reps between 12 and 20.

Sled Rear Delt Crucifix Walks (L shape, Y shape and T shape) + YTWLs with DB Prone on Incline Bench.

Neck harness Sled Walks + Regular Neck Harness Neck extensions (seated)

Trap Bar Bent Over Shrugs (head supported on bench)

Supinated Rope Grip Face Pulls

Also do not neglect stretching the muscles of the neck, traps, levator scapulae etc.

Phil

Estimated Maxes Vs Actual Maxes

When beginning a programme and establishing your working weights do not estimate 1 rep maxes. Do not take a stab in the dark and say 'I reckon i could squat......kg'. Chances are you are over estimating ability due to ego, or in rarer cases under estimating your ability and selling yourself short. Instead use factual information to set your max weights. Either test your 1 rep maxes under the same conditions as you will be performing reps in the programme. For example If you will be close stance squatting below parallel with a pause at the bottom of the rep, then do not use a previous record for a wider stance squat above parallel with no pause. The difference in weight will be significant as it is a totally different movement. My advice is to take a week prior to starting a programme to test all primary movements in the programme to a technical max. This could be a 1 rep max, 5 rep max or whatever, depending on the type of training you are doing and what info you need before starting your programme. Note that I said a technical max. This is a weight you can lift with a bare minimum of breakdown in form. In training you want to spend most of your time performing reps which are technically as perfect as possible. If you base your workouts off a max which your form completely broke down and looked horrendous then chances are you will stall out in your programme very quickly due to the fact you have over shot the runway a little and need to be working slightly lighter to ensure progress. The key is to recognise the difference between training and competition. Granted training is supposed to challenge you but it is not where you take risk in injuring yourself. During competition you are at risk enough as this will be an all out maximal attempt where some breakdown in form is probably acceptable / normal. You will make better progress in training if you are honest with yourself about your current level. Too often I see people come in and say, well Ive deadlifted 220kg (for example) before, so I am going to base my programme off that. Omitting the facts that firstly the last time they performed this lift at this weight was months / weeks ago, and they have no idea if they can actually hit that today, and also that the previous time was performed under different circumstances, different bar, different gym, different stance, different shoes, perhaps using straps. All in all it would be ridiculous to base a max by anything other than what you know for 100% certainty that you can get on any given day of the week whether you are feeling good or bad. If in doubt estimate a few kg's too low, you will more likely make progress for longer this way. In summary, control your ego and lift what you CAN lift, not what you think you probably could lift on a good day.

Staying hungry

I am never satisfied and always want more progress, so often when someone hits a PR, my response will be "well done, what's next?".  Please do not assume I am not hugely impressed and pleased with what you have achieved.  I simply want you to keep the momentum and not rest on your laurels.  Do not lose that drive, the second you achieve one goal, set your sights on the next and keep moving forward. As Dan John says, it isn't about the individual achievements, it is about the journey and the struggle and the continuous dedication over months, years, decades. 

Often when someone hits a PR, they 'take their foot of the gas' so to speak and this many times can be a mistake.  I am fully acceptant that sometimes someone needs a lighter recovery week following hitting a PR (note that I did only say SOMETIMES), however often people take too many steps backwards when really what they need to do is push as hard as they can at this point to squeeze as much progress as they can out of their 'good spell'.  When the going is good you need to take advantage of that.  Progress is rarely linear, especially when you have been training for a while.  Many programmes would try to convince you that you can make continuous gains over a long period of time and slow and steady increases will get you there in the long run, but life and training is much more complicated than that.  Sometimes you come on leaps and bounds with a lift and PR very frequently, other times, you have to wait out a plateau and figure out what is missing from the puzzle before you can go on to continue your progress. My advice would be to stay fluid with your programming, learn how to programme on the fly sometimes.  Learn when to push it and when not to. Learn to understand and recognise when you are 'surfing the crest of a progress wave', and when you are about to get 'knocked off your board'. (I don't know where the surfing metaphors came from, Ive never even been surfing)

Sometimes, just because your programme tells you to have a week off after hitting a PR, maybe you need to push it for one more week.  Maybe you can wait another few days before you rest.  Maybe you need to exploit this sudden boost in strength you seem to be having.  Maybe not, but if you stick to rigidly to your programme and do not take advantage of these situations then you are missing out.  Too many people settle for mediocrity these days.  Mediocre job, mediocre life, and worst of all mediocre strength levels.  Don't be the guy who says "I'm pretty happy with where I've got to, I just want to maintain', because you may as well chop your proverbial balls off, strap a couple of twenties to yourself and throw yourself into a canal.  Stay Hungry, keep pushing it, keep challenging yourself, don't set limiters on your strength and keep working your ass off.  I often hear people say things like 'I'd like to be able to squat 200kg' whereas I'd much prefer to hear someone say 'hitting 200kg will be a nice milestone'.  You have no idea what you are capable of, and should never set a limit to what is possible.

Progressive Strength Template

Sometimes simplicity is the key when it comes to training.  Here is a basic template which has been tried and tested and is producing some good results already.  Nothing revolutionary here I'm afraid just a simple system which if used correctly will enable you to make gradual progress at your own pace. Assistance exercises can be altered and other days can be added in for extra assistance work, however this is a basic 2 day per week programme which covers quite a lot of the basics without needing to be too over complicated.  This programme has been written for a member of my Thunder-Ducks class who also trains 2 more times per week.  The Thunder-Ducks classes consist of lower and upper body lifting and programmes for these are rotated every 4 weeks.  This lifting programme is to compliment the classes, however can be used on its own.  It would also go well if combined with added conditioning or sprint sessions.  Here it is......

Session 1

Deadlifts - Warm up - 3 sets of 3 reps @ 30-40%
    Ramping Sets - 55% x 1, 65% x 1, 75% x 1
    Working Sets - 5-6 singles @ 85% and above     

(N.B. These could be all done at 85% or taken to a new PR (100%+), remember push the boundaries, then build the foundation, then push the boundaries again etc. I would advise phasing a new weight in gradually over time by initially just performing it for your last single, and then next week your second to last single, and then your third to last single etc.  Just play the singles by ear, take advantage of the times you feel strong, and keep it conservative when you arent feeling your best.  Remember that getting 5 singles on a weight, where you previously could only get 4 singles is still progress.)

    Rep Sets - 5 sets of 5 reps @ 70-75%                    

(N.B.  once you can get all 5 sets of 5 at 75%, then increase by 5kg and start the progress of building up to 5 sets of 5 reps again)


Bench Press - Warm up - 3 sets of 3 reps @ 30-40%
    Ramping Sets - 55% x 1, 65% x 1, 75% x 1
    Working Sets - 5-6 singles @ 85% and above     (see notes above)

    Rep Sets - 5 sets of 5 reps @ 70-75%                    (see notes above)


Assistance 1 - Glute Ham Raises - 3 sets of 10 reps
Assistance 2 - V- grip Inverted Rows - 3 sets of 15 reps @ 1012 tempo
Assistance 3 - Ab wheel (kneeling) - 3 sets of 12-15 reps



Session 2

Squats - Warm up - 3 sets of 3 reps @ 30-40%
    Ramping Sets - 55% x 1, 65% x 1, 75% x 1
    Working Sets - 5-6 singles @ 85% and above

    (see notes above)

    Rep Sets - 5 sets of 5 reps @ 70-75%          

    (see notes above)

Military Press - Warm up - 3 sets of 3 reps @ 30-40%
     Ramping Sets - 55% x 1, 65% x 1, 75% x 1
     Working Sets - 5-6 singles @ 85% and above        (see notes above)

     Rep Sets - 5 sets of 5 reps @ 70-75%                     (see notes above)


Assistance 1 - Supinated Grip Chin Ups - 3 x 10 reps @ 3011 tempo
Assistance 2 - Tricep Dips - 3 sets of 10 reps @ 3010 tempo
Assistance 3 - Dumbbell Side Bends - 3 sets of 20 reps @ 2010 tempo

Note on Avoiding Over-Training

I am largely convinced that most time people say they are over-trained, they are in fact under-trained, under conditioned, not eating properly, not undergoing at least some attempts at a recovery protocol.  However this note is simply to recommend that you use your 'common sense' when using this template.  If you try and hit a new 1RM every single session when performing the singles, then you will probably start to burn out your C.N.S, and you will also probably spend a lot of time practicing compromised form and technique.  This will lead to bad habits and most likely some form of injury.  If however you use your B-R-A-I-N and learn for yourself which days are ok to push the weights a little and which days are ones where you need to reign it in a little bit.  You are making progress if you increase your Total volume of work performed at a given weight.  One way of measuring this would be to add up the total weight of all your single reps added together.  This is a valid Method of Progression, and one which will take the focus from always being on whether you lift a heavier top set than the previous week.  If one week you perform 3 singles at 225kg, 1 single at 235kg and 1 single at 245kg, and after a few weeks you perform 5 singles at 245kg then granted your max weight hasn't increased, but you have built the work capacity to repeat your previous 1RM 5 times which, I would put money on, is actually no longer your 1RM and you are capable of lifting significantly more. Without knowing it, you have actually turned your previous 100% effort into a lift requiring merely 90-95% effort meaning you should be then ready to test yourself again and lift a new 1RM, before starting the cycle all over again.  This may seem like common sense to many, but what is very evident when observing and reading about many people's training habits, is that common sense isn't always so common.

Any questions, feel free to email info@bridgeroadbarbell.co.uk.  If trying the programme, please be sure to let me know how you get on.......

P.S. This programme works best when the athlete/trainee has been taught how to lift with good form and understands the mechanics of at least the main 4 lifts involved (squat, deadlift, bench and military press). I would advise all undertaking a new programme both get checked by your GP before doing so and also to enlist the help of a qualified coach. If you choose not to do so, then understand you do this at your own risk.