i need help with programing.

[Jean-Patrick Millette]

I want to try new stuff. i know its a dumb question but im just looking for variety here.

my goals are strenght, strength, strength, stamina and cardio.
by strength i mean to lift more in the squat, deadlift, overhead press, pullups and dips. Im not considering oly lifting right now as i really need to get my numbers up first...

I'm tired of training 3 times a week... i would like to train at least 4times a week.

i tried a bit of everything in the past year. westside, 5x5, crossfit, SS, etc.
i was average in crossfit mainly cause im not strong enough. I need to work on my squat, dips and pullups.

anyone got some ideas ?

[Kevin Perry]

SS like programming 3 days a week with plenty of food and protein to support your work and the 4th day can be something to work on your other goals like metcon. simple.

What are your numbers right now on the lifts? and did you really exhaust linear gains while on SS previously? Whats your height and weight? We can help you more if you let us know some of those things.

[Steven Low]

You should be doing at least some oly work NOW because it's such a high skill movement.

Otherwise, what are your lifts and weight? What diet are you on? etc. Like Kevin said.. we can't help you unless we know you're newbie, intermediate, advanced, etc.

[Jean-Patrick Millette]

well, my squat is shit right now but thats because i first learned it with bad form so my quad overpower my ham. So now im going bellow parallel and got good form so obviously its better. number is going up. Oh and my numbers arent singles cause i havent done singles in a lot of time...

19yo (soon to be 20), M, 170lbs, 6ft

bench 150lbs 5x5 (same weight for the 5 sets)
Deadlift 300lbsx1 (thats the most i had, but my form sucked big time. right now i deadlift around 260 for 5 reps)
overhead press 110x5
Pullups deadhang to the chest with 2 sec at the bottom and the top position : 8
squat 145lbsx3 (the most i had was 220x1 but it was a partial squat... i dont count it)
im learning cleans so...



as far as diet, i did the gomad for a while. I did put on some weight but i put on fat too. I just try to eat lots of fat, lot of protein, and average carbs i think i get like 3000 cals a day

[Steven Low]

You would benefit from doing SS (again?).

Do you have the book? If not I would suggest buying it.

[Jean-Patrick Millette]

yeah i do. I read it all. Problem i had with it is that its only 3 days a week.

training is my favorite thing to do and by no mean i want to overtrain too.
Could i add something along the lines?


Some friend from another board suggested doing wave loading 4 times a week like in Pavel book ''power to the people''. Basicly, you use 1 pull and 1 push combo 4 days a week or more (like deadlift/overhead press). he also think SS is quite good too. He had good succes with both. May be i could look into pavel book a bit..

i just want variety a bit hehe

[Ben Moskowitz]

I believe Pavel also said that actuaries make better lifters than artists, because they don't have mental block doing mundane tasks repeatedly. If you find that training gets boring, than crossfit.com may be the way to go. You also get to work out 6 days for every 8.

That said, any O-lifting will begin with lots of singles and doubles of teensy-tinsy weights. You can do that probably everyday if you want to hit the gym a lot. Being strong has no bearing on your technical ability.

[Kevin Perry]

The thing is that you needto concentrate on building a strong base of strength first before you can focus on anything else and that means getting a lot of food and rest. The more you rest the better your gains will be and the faster you can get through the program and move on to other things.

You could follow SS on the standard 3x week and throw in a short metcon once a week if that suits you but it could hinder your recovery.

6ft 170... you need to be stronger.

[Jean-Patrick Millette]

thx for the suggestions.

stength is my number 1 goal. mass isnt just a benefit.
So i dont want to bulk like crazy and end up around 200.
I just want to be as strong as i can be pound for pound.

look at any gymnasts they arent big yet they are freaking strong so i dont think i should train to gain muscle. i should train to get strenght. Its about using as much as possible of your muscle. That being said, more muscle means more strenght too.
Im all in to gain muscle a bit tho. Def not looking for the huge bulk tho.

Training doesnt get boring. i have been training for 1 year.
It has been a wonderful experience. Im just looking into new techniques/split out of curiosity to switch things up a bit.

so what you all think of the pavel thing?

[Allen Yeh]

well, my squat is shit right now but thats because i first learned it with bad form so my quad overpower my ham. So now im going bellow parallel and got good form so obviously its better. number is going up. Oh and my numbers arent singles cause i havent done singles in a lot of time...


Are you training for anything in particular? An Oly squat is more anterior chain while a low-bar/PLing squat is more posterior chain. Not good or bad just depends on what you are training for.

[Jean-Patrick Millette]

Are you training for anything in particular? An Oly squat is more anterior chain while a low-bar/PLing squat is more posterior chain. Not good or bad just depends on what you are training for.

to get as strong as possible.

[Steven Low]

You could go 4-5x a week. I'd hit up a push/pull/legs exercise everyday (maybe two for each) if you were going to do that. Add in some prehab work too.

I still suggest going SS though.. you really need to be squatting 2-3x a week at least. Do something like learning a new sport or hobby in your "off" time. Recovery is when you grow.. you should learn to love your off/rest days.

[Jean-Patrick Millette]

ok.

what do you mean by prehab work?

im sorry, im french eheh.
so i could do monday 1-2 leg exercises, tuesday 1-2 push exercises, thursday 1-2 pull exercises, saturday 1-2 leg exercise.

i would be squatting/deadlifting 2 times a week, i would have 3 rest day a week.
how would that sound?

im reading the pavel book too right now... once im finished i will make a decision about that 'cause my friends says it worked for him a lot. added 20lbs to his deadlift in 1 month and he is an experienced lifter.


and as far as diet is concerned... just eat lot of fat protein, and some carbs right?
around 3000cals should be ok i guess.

[Jean-Patrick Millette]

i will read pavel pbook tonight.

[Steven Low]

Prehab stuff = things to prevent injury.

Stretching tight stuff, foam roll, massage, tennis ball work, improving mobility/stability in different joints, etc.

As far as diet is concerned check out the Paleo foru,. But yeah.. that sounds ok.

[Jean-Patrick Millette]

Prehab stuff = things to prevent injury.

Stretching tight stuff, foam roll, massage, tennis ball work, improving mobility/stability in different joints, etc.

As far as diet is concerned check out the Paleo foru,. But yeah.. that sounds ok.

steven, do you have any links ?

youtube or text, i dont care. this is one important part of training that i feel im really not knowledgeable of.

i would appreciate any great infos. thanks.

i will be reading the paleo book soon (i ordered it along the zone book)

[Jean-Patrick Millette]

1/3 of the book read.

right now, i would recommend it.
Its a great read.

[Steven Low]

Uhhh, check out the recovery forum here. That should provide with pretty much most of the stuff a lot of us use.