new natural routine, help with periodization

[bas4lizzife]

After I come off PCT i'm going to focus more on strength and the basics than building mass so that when I cycle again in a few months I will hopefully have a great base to build from. I'm thinkin a 4 day routine that looks like this

Push A-
Incline Bench
Dips
Lateral Raises
Seated Half Press

Push B-
Squats
Step Ups
Calf Raises
Abs

Pull A-
Hang Cleans
BB Rows
Pullups
Rear Delt Work

Pull B-
Deads
GHR
Seated Good Mornings
Shrugs

I'm looking for some help with my loading. I would like to intensity load the major lifts (incline, dips, squats, cleans, rows, and deads) and volume load everything else. Want to stay in the low rep ranges for the compounds and am thinking a deload every 5th week will be good. Anybody more knowledeable that can help me out here?

 

[Guinness5.0]

I'm pretty much a newb when it comes to periodization and loading, but so much of it is dependant on your specific capacity and history that it's tough to know what to tell you w/out more info.

I like your exercise choices with the exception of lat. raises, specific rear delt work and seated half press. IMHO you should go with standing overhead (military or push press) and let your rows/presses take care of your delts. This is based on my recent experience of doing no direct work for side/rear delts and watching 'em grow like never before. Those hang cleans will hit your delts hard too.

I'd also offer this advice: look into power shrugs in place of regular shrugs. You won't go back . There's a great description in the monster 5x5 thread- first post under exercise description.

 

[JL_204]

You should load the major lifts with high volume and ramp the intensity until you are overreaching. Could be 3 weeks could be 6, only you will know. Then deload and start over again.

Just a suggestion

 

[Guinness5.0]

hey bas-

What does your previous training history look like (natural I mean)? Do you have any online journals? Any good online articles/templates relating to loading/periodization worth sharing?

I'd like to see what it would look like to load different exercises in different ways w/in the same training cycle- I had always considered loading to be a systematic concept whereby one would approach their exercises in a homogenous fashion (similar set/rep scheme on all lifts for a given period).

 

[bas4lizzife]

You should load the major lifts with high volume and ramp the intensity until you are overreaching. Could be 3 weeks could be 6, only you will know. Then deload and start over again.

Just a suggestion

Could you provide an example of this please?

Something like this possibly?


Incline Bench
wk 1: 3x3 @ 305 lbs
wk 2: 4x3 @ 310 lbs
wk 3: 5x3 @ 315 lbs
wk 4: 6x3 @ 320 lbs
wk 5: deload

or maybe im way off here. Then what about week 6? Start around 310 or 315 and go again?

 

[bas4lizzife]

hey bas-

What does your previous training history look like (natural I mean)? Do you have any online journals? Any good online articles/templates relating to loading/periodization worth sharing?

For the most part I've always just done the classic bodybuilding split routine and pounded away week after week until i was worn down and needed a break. As I get closer and closer to my potential I know that this will no longer get it done and need to be much more cerebral with my training, especially when clean. I did follow a dual factor program very similar to that laid out in the online DFHT article and saw great gains. However, how much was due to the program is tough to say since it was my first "cycle" (1-test/4-ad) If you are interested in the program I'm sure you can find it linked from this board somewhere, I dont have the link myself anymore though.

 

[HaZaRDouZ]

go with the 5x5 program. great mass/base builder

 

[Guinness5.0]

Gotcha- I'm familiar with dfht and I will probably be running it and/or dfst somewhere down the line.

 

[anotherbutters]

Something like this possibly?

Incline Bench
wk 1: 3x3 @ 305 lbs
wk 2: 4x3 @ 310 lbs
wk 3: 5x3 @ 315 lbs
wk 4: 6x3 @ 320 lbs
wk 5: deload

I know you said you wanted to use intensity to control load, but sticking with a typical 5x5 layout for a second, a 5x5 would probably look something like this:

load
wk 1: 5x5 @ 295 lbs (total load = 5 x 5 x 295 = 7375 lbs)
wk 2: 5x5 @ 305 lbs (7625 lbs)
wk 3: 5x5 @ 315 lbs (7875 lbs)
wk 4: 5x5 @ 325 lbs (8125 lbs)

deload
wk 5: 3x3 @ 325 lbs (2925 lbs)

intensity
wk 6: 3x3 @ 335 lbs (3015 lbs)
wk 7: 3x3 @ 345 lbs (3105 lbs)
wk 8: 3x3 @ 355 lbs (3195 lbs)
wk 9: 3x3 @ 365 lbs (3285 lbs)

As you can see, the total load (around 8000 lbs) drops dramatically when you deload (to around 3000 lbs) and stays down whilst you increase the intensity. So you incur lots of fatigue in the loading phase, then you get to increase the intensity later, whilst keeping fatigue down.

Now to go back to your example:

wk 1: 3x3 @ 305 lbs (total load = 2745 lbs)
wk 2: 4x3 @ 310 lbs (3720)
wk 3: 5x3 @ 315 lbs (4725)
wk 4: 6x3 @ 320 lbs (5760)
wk 5: deload

Even on your 4th week of loading, you're still not even close to the first week's load on the 5x5 example. You see the problem? What you do on the 6th week and beyond is irrelevant as you haven't loaded up yet.

If you were going to try 5x5, I'd keep it as it is.

Hope that helps.

 

[Guinness5.0]

To get back to your original q, an alternative to intensity loading some moves and volume loading other would be to use what A-B wrote above- a period of volume followed by a deload, then a period of intensity. That set/rep scheme is used on all lifts as all the lifts would be core, compound movements. Something to consider...

 

[bas4lizzife]

I know you said you wanted to use intensity to control load, but sticking with a typical 5x5 layout for a second, a 5x5 would probably look something like this:

load
wk 1: 5x5 @ 295 lbs (total load = 5 x 5 x 295 = 7375 lbs)
wk 2: 5x5 @ 305 lbs (7625 lbs)
wk 3: 5x5 @ 315 lbs (7875 lbs)
wk 4: 5x5 @ 325 lbs (8125 lbs)

deload
wk 5: 3x3 @ 325 lbs (2925 lbs)

intensity
wk 6: 3x3 @ 335 lbs (3015 lbs)
wk 7: 3x3 @ 345 lbs (3105 lbs)
wk 8: 3x3 @ 355 lbs (3195 lbs)
wk 9: 3x3 @ 365 lbs (3285 lbs)

As you can see, the total load (around 8000 lbs) drops dramatically when you deload (to around 3000 lbs) and stays down whilst you increase the intensity. So you incur lots of fatigue in the loading phase, then you get to increase the intensity later, whilst keeping fatigue down.

Now to go back to your example:

wk 1: 3x3 @ 305 lbs (total load = 2745 lbs)
wk 2: 4x3 @ 310 lbs (3720)
wk 3: 5x3 @ 315 lbs (4725)
wk 4: 6x3 @ 320 lbs (5760)
wk 5: deload

Even on your 4th week of loading, you're still not even close to the first week's load on the 5x5 example. You see the problem? What you do on the 6th week and beyond is irrelevant as you haven't loaded up yet.

If you were going to try 5x5, I'd keep it as it is.

Hope that helps.

good stuff, thanks for the help everybody