What Next?

[lweaver]

I'm looking for input from everyone to see what I should try next. I'm looking for ideas concerning a tried and true strength program for the lower end intermediate lifter.

I've used all sorts of different set and rep schemes and different amounts of volume to get my lifts up and over the past year or so I've made some half-decent progress.

Recently it's been a split as such:
Day 1- Deadlift (5, 5, 5, max, 2nd max attempt) then assistance lifts (GHR, leg curls, hack squat)
Day2- OHP (usually a pyramid) followed by lifts like shrugs, face pulls, lateral raises
Day 3- Squat (either a low rep pyramid, though some days were higher rep) followed by good mornings, zercher squats, leg press, etc
Day4- Bench (5x5) followed by weighted dips and other tricep movements

Now I'm looking for a strict program to follow for some time. I usually lift an average of 4 times a week (sometimes 3, sometimes 4, sometimes 5) depending on my work school and other bullshit.

Current stats
Weight: 205-210, not sure
Age: 23
Back Squat: 385x4 so roughly 420
Deadlift: 425
Bench: I've hit 315, more recently 255x5
OHP: Sucks, 135x10 so maybe 175-180 for a 1RM
Pullups:10-12 depending on the day and grip

Thanks for reading, any advice would be great.

 

[lweaver]

Goals are still to increase strength as indicated by the main lifts. Eventually I'd like to start martial arts again and will have to focus on endurance, flexibility, blah blah blah but not until I have money to play with and am ungodly strong haha.

 

[_cato_]

1. 5/3/1? Very similar to what you are doing already.

2. Westside/WS4SB? Also sort of similar to what you're doing now.

2. 5x5? Choice of which one is mostly dependent on your volume tolerance/current rate of gain on your lifts:
a. madcow intermediate
b. madcow advanced
c. texas method variations, which are similar to advanced madcow
d. design your own but stick to the program

3. Split Routine:
a. Upper/Lower 3 or 4 day/week split
b. Full body push/full body pull 3 or 4 day a week/split
c. Push/pull/legs 3 day/week or recycle it with less rest days so that you end up with 4 days a week

3 or 4 day a week routines tend to be best for strength.

 

[Linda Albert]

1. 5/3/1? Very similar to what you are doing already.

2. Westside/WS4SB? Also sort of similar to what you're doing now.

2. 5x5? Choice of which one is mostly dependent on your volume tolerance/current rate of gain on your lifts:
a. madcow intermediate
b. madcow advanced
c. texas method variations, which are similar to advanced madcow
d. design your own but stick to the program

3. Split Routine:
a. Upper/Lower 3 or 4 day/week split
b. Full body push/full body pull 3 or 4 day a week/split
c. Push/pull/legs 3 day/week or recycle it with less rest days so that you end up with 4 days a week

3 or 4 day a week routines tend to be best for strength.

Well "3 or 4 day a week routines tend to be best for strength.".. what happens if we do daily these routines..

 

[Will_I_am156]

I'm no expert but I'd say training for strength daily will result in over training and slower progress as the body and CNS would not have enough time to recover from near max lifts every day.

Like I say I'm no expert but this seems a pretty logical explanation

 

[lweaver]

Thanks for the ideas. I'll need to brush up on 5/3/1 to see what it entails and Westside is awesome but it would be tough on max effort days with no training partner.

 

[ExtraMile]

imo westside would be better suited for lifters who are close to the genetic limit. If you notice anyone who picks up the westside method usually already has alot of lifting experience and the fact that you hardly ever max out in the regular bench, squat or deadlift means that their is very little technique reinforcement... so anyone who's technique isnt already near perfect will be missing out on form work which comes from doing the lifts regularly.

just wondering but what is the reason for changing what you are currently doing?

 

[_cato_]

imo westside would be better suited for lifters who are close to the genetic limit. If you notice anyone who picks up the westside method usually already has alot of lifting experience and the fact that you hardly ever max out in the regular bench, squat or deadlift means that their is very little technique reinforcement... so anyone who's technique isnt already near perfect will be missing out on form work which comes from doing the lifts regularly.

When I listed it earlier I was thinking more about the basic split, not so much rotating exercises every time you repeat a day. Ie. a 4 day split with upper ME/DE (or RE) and lower ME/DE (or RE) with one main lift and several assistance lifts on each day.

For example, rotating between 3-4 main exercises for upper ME (e.g. bench, floor press, 3 board press) every 3-4 weeks, followed by 3-4 assistance exercises.

You're right that if you're rotating exercises on every ME day and rarely even performing the bench/squat/deadlift, that's obviously less than ideal for anyone outside the advanced category.

 

[_cato_]

Well "3 or 4 day a week routines tend to be best for strength.".. what happens if we do daily these routines..

Certain exercises which tend to be full body lifts such as squat variations clean+jerk and snatch, can be trained every day, or nearly so, for strength. This is often done by advanced level olympic lifters.

Most other exercises, particularly pressing motions, usually can't be trained heavy more than three times a week for most people before you'd start to run into recovery problems in general and joint issues specifically.

If strength is your goal, for most people there's no real reason to weight train more than 3-4 times a week, depending on how the routine is split up. Only advanced strength athletes start to struggle to fit the necessary volume for progress into that many sessions.

 

[lweaver]

EM-looking for a good progression with OHP and flat bench as I havent been as successful with those movements. Stalled out on a flat bench 5x5 at just 255 and OHP hasnt gone up in almost a month.

A 10x3 looks good for my bench...still unsure about what to do with my OHP.

Once everything hits a wall I might go with 5/3/1