Strength strategy critique

james forshaw · 12-06-2009, 12:44 PM

I'm currently doing CFFB and loving it. For the moment I'm happy to stay around 77kg and the weights on the SWOD are slowly heading in the right direction. I think pretty soon they'll top out at around the same numbers I was lifting at the end of doing Texas Method and won't go much beyond that. When that happens I think I'll be wanting to start eating and go up to about 83-85kg, whilst simultaneously gaining a lot of strength and hopefully start doing the heavier CFFB metcons as rx'd - in short, goals are rapid weight gain and a vast improvement in my back squat and deadlift (ballpark figures of 180 and 210 respectively).

What do you guys think of my idea to get to mid-80s BW quickly? It's based on one of Bill Starr's strategies, altered to include deadlifts (can't not have deadlifts, even if Bill wrote it):

Monday Heavy
Squat 5x5 (ramped)
Bench 5x5 (ramped)
Deadlift 1x5
Ab work (whatever really, so long as it's hard)

Wednesday Light
Squat 4x5 (last two sets same as 3rd set from monday)
Push Press 3x5
Power Clean 3x3
Either tabata row or Litvinov e.g. 3 x (heavy KBS+sprint) with full rest

Friday Medium
Squat 4x5, 1x3, 1x8 (4 sets as monday, triple monday's 5th+2.5%)
Bench (same as squat)
Deadlift 1x3 (increase over monday's 5RM)
Ab work

Saturday
Sprints
-random e.g. 12x50m, 8x200m, 2x(40-60-80-100) etc etc

I think by the time I've got my squat back to 160kg and deadlift to 185kg from CFFB and a maintenance diet + IF, then I'll be able to handle the volume of this routine and the 2 short, intense metcons if I do GOMAD and get plenty of sleep.

What do you guys think, feasible for 16 weeks or so?

Kevin Perry · 12-06-2009, 01:17 PM

Looks ok to me, I don't know about the sprint stuff too much but if your recovery is good then I don't see any issues with trying the program.

james forshaw · 12-06-2009, 01:21 PM

Yeah, I never feel that sprinting interferes with squatting too much so hopefully it won't hinder me. I just don't want it to be such a huge shock to the system when I start metconning again. A 4 minute row and a 15 minute sprint session per week isn't a lot to recover from if good sleeping and eating is in place.

Kevin Perry · 12-06-2009, 01:48 PM

Well if you also feel it's too much all you have to do is simplify it a little more. Besides it does not hurt to stop doing conditioning for a while anyways if you are focusing on strength, it will come back fast especially if you go back to something like crossfit metcons.

Derek Weaver · 12-06-2009, 06:29 PM

What's the need for rapid weight gain? Rapid weight gain usually comes with rapid fat gain as well.

james forshaw · 12-07-2009, 05:55 AM

What I mean is a programme that is going to put muscle on me at the optimum rate. I guess rapid is a bit misleading. 7kg is a lot of lean tissue to add, I think I'm going to have to do it in 2 or 3 phases anyway, with periods of CFFB in between. I really can't be doing with becoming a fat b@stard.

Derek Weaver · 12-07-2009, 10:25 PM

I don't see why the program above wouldn't be a fine way to go. Adequate volume, certainly the intensity is there and the sprinting etc. shouldn't be so bad that you get worn out. Just be sure to deload when necessary, which may be a good time to drop the sprints altogether.

7kg is quite a bit of LBM to build if you can't handle getting chunky. (you're not alone).

james forshaw · 12-09-2009, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Derek Weaver

I don't see why the program above wouldn't be a fine way to go. Adequate volume, certainly the intensity is there and the sprinting etc. shouldn't be so bad that you get worn out. Just be sure to deload when necessary, which may be a good time to drop the sprints altogether.

7kg is quite a bit of LBM to build if you can't handle getting chunky. (you're not alone).

I do tend to lose faith during times when definition isn't particularly good. It's a hard habit to break but I've always held leanness in high regard as a physical attribute just because it's such a hard condition to attain then maintain if you are not naturally inclined to do so. Being a beefy, undefined gymhead is easy - being strong pound for pound, genuinely fit and lean all at the same time is the opposite. That's just what goes on inside my head anyway. I'm informed enough to be rational though, and know that it's only a temporary means to an end anyway.

Yeah, I intend to hit it hard for 4 weeks or so, then reduce the weight and cut the sprints (and probably eat less) for a week, then repeat. I'm pretty certain I read on here that bulking works best if you really pound the calories hard for two weeks, then eat a maintenance diet for 2 weeks and repeat in cycles like that - any thoughts on that?

Robert Callahan · 01-14-2010, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by james forshaw

Being a beefy, undefined gymhead is easy

False.

As long as there is strength behind the beef it is not easy at all.

Gant Grimes · 02-22-2010, 10:33 AM

1. You're pathalogically obsessed with leanness.

2. You seem to have confused the effort necessary to "attain and maintain" leanness with the effort to be strong.

3. You are gravely mistaken at the effort required to be truly bulky and strong.

4. You are obsessed with micro-managing your training plan.

Until you change some of this thinking, you will not change your condition. It is very difficult to put on 7kg of rip in a short time, especially if you are a true intermediate lifter. You are strong for your size but small for your height.