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Post by treders on Feb 1, 2017 12:54:45 GMT -5
Hi Ryan,
I'm planning on giving the Gillingham 12 week bench program a try and wondered if you had any tips as i know you've ran it a few times yourself ?
When i looked at some of your posts i noticed that you use the light day as a speed day but you also still work up to a heavy single that day too which i presume isn't the norm ?
Thanks for your time.
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Post by Ryan on Feb 1, 2017 16:58:02 GMT -5
Hi there Treders. Yep, I've run the Gillingham routine (or a slightly bastardized version of it) somewhere between half dozen and ten times over the last 4yrs or so.
I've had success with the program more times than not so I do endorse it, but I must say this: It wasn't until about 1.5yrs ago when I went "off script" on the volume day that I began having consistent success with this program each time I've run it.
Here's what I do-
I follow the main day to the letter (which is the day called Heavy Day in my training log) where I do exactly as the program prescribes in terms of sets, reps and poundage. However, I do usually add in some heavyish incline barbell bench on the heavy day as well once the prescribed work's through.
Then, on the lighter day, I go off script. The Gillingham protocol is to basically vary from week to week on light days doing with 2 sets of 8 or 8 sets of doubles and in my opinion, you're wasting the second day of benching if you're only moving 16 work reps at a weight that's likely sub-60% to max.
So what I do instead on my volume or light bench day is I target hypertrophy volume sets (which is on avg 8 reps per set) at about 60% to max and aim for a total volume of say 35-40 reps for that training day. Then, when finished with that, I'll typically do a couple of sets of closed-grip bench and possibly round things out with a couple of moderately heavy standing strict press.
Your mileage may vary doing it the way I do it, but this has worked better for me than the stock version of the Gillingham program.
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Post by treders on Feb 2, 2017 14:06:12 GMT -5
Thanks for the reply Ryan it's much appreciated, i think i'll take your lead and try the extra volume. From what i've read you also seem to work up to a heavy single before dropping down to your lighter rep work on the lighter day also would that be correct ?
I noticed that the program calls for the second lighter day to be done 2 days after the heavy day do you think it would be deviating to much if allowed an extra day for recovery as i'm not as young as i used to be haha
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Post by Ryan on Feb 2, 2017 15:11:17 GMT -5
Thanks for the reply Ryan it's much appreciated, i think i'll take your lead and try the extra volume. From what i've read you also seem to work up to a heavy single before dropping down to your lighter rep work on the lighter day also would that be correct ? I noticed that the program calls for the second lighter day to be done 2 days after the heavy day do you think it would be deviating to much if allowed an extra day for recovery as i'm not as young as i used to be haha Yea, I do usually warm up to a heavyish single before dropping back to my work sets on the volume day. It helps get everything firing the way it needs to be for me to be completely locked in to doing each rep the same way at much lighter weight. If I didn't warm up this way, my work reps would be hit or miss. I learned that the hard way over time. As for when to do your volume bench day, I'd say just keep both days within the same 7 day period (obviously), and space them sensibly to give yourself ample recovery time. That said, there are many guys of all ages who bench multiple times a week, so I'm not sure how critical it is when you plan that volume day, again, as long as it's in the same week as the preceeding heavy day. Hope this helps.
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Post by treders on Feb 3, 2017 3:04:48 GMT -5
Thanks again for the input Ryan that's very helpful, i'll probably work up to either a triple or a double and then drop down in weight for the volume work on the light day and see how it goes
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Post by Ryan on Feb 3, 2017 10:31:05 GMT -5
2/2 Bench, Wk8 (volume day)
W/U (all w/feet up until 275): Barx12 135x10 185x5 225x5 275x3 315x1 (paused)
Work: 230x5 (8 sets w/2min break or less in between)
*ran out of time on lunch break, but this was still a pretty solid session....
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Post by Ryan on Feb 5, 2017 0:10:33 GMT -5
2/4 Squat (heavier day)
W/U: bar x 8 135x8 225x6 315x3 405x1 425x1
Work: 415x3 (5 sets)
Pause work: 325x3x3 (2-3sec pause per)
Notes: added just 5lbs per work set and 10lbs per paused set from last squat session. Weight still feels heavyish on my back but smooth and mechanical in motion. Played around with my walk out a bit and figured out that tightening my abs and avoiding any back arch at all when taking the bar out for walk out makes the weight feel slightly lighter and me more structurally stable so I'll keep that in mind for future. Baby steps....
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Post by Ryan on Feb 9, 2017 10:36:04 GMT -5
From earlier this week....
2/6 Bench, Wk9 (main day)
W/U: barx12 135x10x2 225x6 275x3 315x1
Work: 275x5 (3 sets)
Programmed as a ramp-up week after prior deload week.
2/7 Squat (volume day)
W/U: barx10 135x8 225x6
Work: 315x5 (6 sets) kept the rests between sets minimal so as to help spike work capacity.
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Post by Ryan on Feb 9, 2017 15:24:18 GMT -5
2/9 Bench, Wk9 (volume day)
W/U (all w/feet up until 315): Barx12 135x10 225x6 275x3 315x1 (paused)
Work (all w/feet up): 235x5 - 10 sets w/2min break or less in between
Incline BB: 225x5 (2 quick sets)
...on lunch break, out of time.
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Post by Ryan on Feb 14, 2017 9:53:35 GMT -5
Sat 2/11
Deadlift
W/U: barx10 - conv barx10 - sumo 135x8 - conv 135x8 - sumo 225x5 (from here on out, all sumo) 315x3 405x3 - added lever belt 455x1 500x1
Work: 435x3 (5 sets)
---------------------------------------
Yesterday 2/13, Bench, Wk10 (primary day)
W/U: barx12 135x10 135x10 225x6 275x3 295x1 w/pause 325x1 w/pause
Work: 280x3 (5 sets)
Incline BB: 245x4 250x4 (2 sets)
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Post by Ryan on Feb 16, 2017 17:08:41 GMT -5
Squat - Deload Wk
W/U: barx8 135x8 225x6 315x3 405x1 405x3
Work: 315x3 (5 sets) all reps paused, final rep on each set paused for 3ct
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Post by Ryan on Feb 21, 2017 16:06:20 GMT -5
Bench, Wk11 (primary day)
W/U: barx12 135x10 135x10 225x5 275x3 295x1 w/pause 330x1 w/pause
Work: 290x3 (5 sets)
My neck's been flaring up like a pack of hemmroids the last week to ten days, so I wasn't sure how this would go. During warmups, something weird happened and it began feeling uncomfortable. I pushed fwd and got through warmups and then work sets, and then during my final work set, the strange discomfort went away...completely. Now, sitting here typing this, it's the best my neck has felt since a couple weeks ago. Odd, but I can't complain. In any case, I decided to stop training right at the end of prescribed work sets and walk away from the table with the money I won before I lost it all back (lol).
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Post by Ryan on Feb 23, 2017 12:58:35 GMT -5
Squat 2/22
W/U: barx8 135x8 225x5 315x3 405x1 445x1
Work: 405x3 (6 sets, set#2 all reps paused, last rep of final set paused)
*This was a ramp back up from last week's squat deload week and while it was tiring from a work-capacity standpoint, everything felt solid structurally and there were no bad reps.
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Post by Ryan on Feb 24, 2017 16:28:41 GMT -5
Bench, Wk11 (volume day)
W/U: (all w/feet up through 275) Barx10 135x8 185x6 225x5 275x3 320x1
Work: 245x4 for 10 or 11 sets (lost track) <-- final two sets were feet up, all reps paused
Incline BB: 255x3x3
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Post by Ryan on Feb 27, 2017 9:30:42 GMT -5
Sat 2/25
Deadlift
W/U: barx10 - conv barx8 - sumo, and from here on out, all sumo 225x6 315x3 405x3 - added lever belt 455x1 505x1
Work: 440x3 (5 sets)
SLDL: 225x10 245x8 275x6
BB Shrugs: 225x10 245x8 275x4 (neck probs forced me to rack it) 225x8
Dead-hang pullups (thumbless): bwx10 bw+5lbsx8 bw+10lbsx6
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Post by Ryan on Feb 27, 2017 15:53:36 GMT -5
Bench, Wk12 (primary day) - Final bench day of current program
W/U: barx10 135x10 225x6 275x3 315x1 w/pause 340x1 w/pause <-- didn't exactly shoot up, kind of slowed down in the middle but didn't totally stick and there was no doubt it was gonna finish clean.
Work: 300x3 (5 sets)
Incline BB: 265x2x2 275x2 245x4 (2 sets)
Well, that's another 12wk bench program successfully completed. Granted, I programmed it sub-maximally and today's 340 was actually 5lbs under my tested max from this past September, but given all the structural issues and injuries that I'm still not 100% clear of, I see this as a success.
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Post by Ryan on Mar 1, 2017 8:47:11 GMT -5
Squat 2/28 (volume day)
W/U: barx8 135x8 225x6 315x3
Work: 325x3 (7 sets) <-- completed first 6 sets in 15min. Made sure to not rush individual reps because this isn't CrossFit and that's stupid thinking, but I did purposely limit my time between sets to try and keep building work capacity. So the poundage is light here, and the overall volume is actually a bit lighter than I planned, but workload intensity was quite a bit higher than I expected, so it all leveled out.
Bulgarian split-squats: bwx8 30dbX8 35dbX8
out of time and drenched in sweat, heading back to the office :-p
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Post by Ryan on Mar 3, 2017 16:29:18 GMT -5
Did a rare hypertrophy day that I wrote for one of my clients, but adjusted poundages for me. Here's what it looked like:
Bench: Work- 4x10 @185lbs Close Grip BB - 3x8 @155lbs Incline DB - 3x10 @65lbs
Back: Bent over rows - 10,10,8 @135lbs,155lbs,165lbs Cable pull-downs (revers grip) - 10,10,8 @140lbs,150lbs,160lbs BB shrugs - 10,10,8 @225lbs,225lbs,245lbs
*Left some triceps/biceps stuff on the table because I didn't have time to squeeze it all into a work lunch. All in all, not too bad. I can see myself doing something like this maybe once or twice a month because well -it can't hurt- but definitely doesn't line up properly with training for max power output.
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Post by treders on Mar 4, 2017 8:39:51 GMT -5
Hey Ryan well done on another successful 12 week bench cycle hopefully your injuries won't hold you back to much on your next cycle.
With regards to my own cycle i'm supposed to be doing my week 5 light session today however i've got the dreaded man-flu so no lifting for me today which brings me to my question of how do i continue ?
Would i be best to re-do week 5 again or just skip todays week 5 light session and carry on with week 6 as planned ?
Thanks for your time
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Post by Ryan on Mar 4, 2017 10:51:29 GMT -5
Hey Ryan well done on another successful 12 week bench cycle hopefully your injuries won't hold you back to much on your next cycle. With regards to my own cycle i'm supposed to be doing my week 5 light session today however i've got the dreaded man-flu so no lifting for me today which brings me to my question of how do i continue ? Would i be best to re-do week 5 again or just skip todays week 5 light session and carry on with week 6 as planned ? Thanks for your time I believe that more work creates more adaptation, especially over the course of a macrocycle (full training program). So while you could do either of the things you mention above, I suggest repeating Wk5 because that will elongate the program to 13 weeks which I think might be advantageous to you. Good luck and hope you're feeling better soon.
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Post by treders on Mar 5, 2017 5:03:13 GMT -5
Cheer's Ryan i'll do as suggested and repeat wk5 :-)
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Post by Ryan on Mar 7, 2017 16:46:36 GMT -5
3/7 Squat
Continued ramping back up from deload a couple weeks ago and things went fine.
Warmed up to a 430 single
Work: 420 for 3 sets of 5
*Then did a couple sets of landmine front squats.
Problem with training on my lunch hour is there's just not enough time to get in the volume or type of work I need to. I hate training after work, but on days when I squat, I need to strongly consider biting the bullet and training after work.
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Post by Ryan on Mar 13, 2017 8:53:33 GMT -5
3/11 Deadlift
Did something I haven't done here in years: Committed to doing the entire session conventional and with a high-belt position. The results were positive, bordering on mildly surprising.
W/U: barx10 (twice) 135x8 225x6 315x3 405x1 455x1 500x1
Work: 440x3 (5 sets)
SLDL: 275x8 285x6 290x6
BB Shrugs off the floor: 135x15 225x10 (2 or 3 sets)
Notes: I noticed when squatting last week that my lever belt wasn't fitting me as tightly as I'm used to. So I weighed myself and I'm still 198-200, but assume it's leaner weight because of my belt, so I adjust the belt to one notch tighter and then also wore it this session a bit higher up (like I used to yrs ago, but got away from doing for a couple of reasons that escape me now). The difference was complete and immediate. I belted up at 405 and while the weight didn't come off the floor as quickly as I'm used to sumo (which I realize is opposite for most people), it did come off the floor and move smoothly. Then, I went to 455 and it felt literally identical. By the time I got 500 loaded on there, my mindset was simply "I wonder what this is going to move like?" and it honestly didn't feel much different. I could have continued on up the ladder, but because conventional is still an awkward-feeling movement for me, I will need to keep drilling it at moderate poundage levels and go from there.
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Post by Ryan on Mar 20, 2017 7:47:11 GMT -5
Beginning of new bench cycle....
(Based on known current max of 340)
Wk1, primary day
W/U: barx10 (2 sets) 135x10 225x8 275x3 295x1 (pause) 315x1 (pause)
Work: 275x5 (3 sets)
CGBB: 225x5 (3 sets)
Incline BB: 225x3x3 (all paused)
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Post by Ryan on Mar 22, 2017 7:40:58 GMT -5
Squat 3/21
Warmed up to a 445 single
Work: 430x3 (5 sets)
Pause Squats: 315x3x3
*Notes: Loaded bar felt fairly heavy during work sets with what to me is a relatively moderate amount of weight. To qualify that though (and I seem to remember this theme from recent other squat days), the weight did not feel very heavy in terms of movement/bar path but it felt unusually heavy during setup. As a result I stuck to just 5 sets rather than autoregulating until I felt like my form was suffering. So, I went to fairly light pause work afterward just to really drill form and explosiveness out of the hole.
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