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Post by osu122975 on Nov 10, 2012 23:40:56 GMT -5
How often do you train? What works for you?
I train everyday as long as my body will let me. The volume is low and the weight is heavy. I do very little assistance work. My philosophy is heavily influenced thru Bulgarian weight training.
I have tried many different philosophies (5x5, 531, Conjugate, etc.) and anything that seems to push more than 3 reps in a "workset" I find to compromise my recovery. That doesn't mean I don't do 5's from time to time, but I use them sparingly.
What are your thoughts? How does your training frequency impact you? Have you tried many different philosophies to find the one that works best for you?
Thanks in advance for your opinions or responses.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2012 10:25:14 GMT -5
It mostly depends on the results. What are your gains and are you meeting your goals.
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Post by zekester on Nov 11, 2012 10:51:55 GMT -5
Im 54...I use to lift {bench press},low reps/heavy weight all the time in order to maintain my 1RM for when I could make a meet...It was destroying my shoulders, I was in pain everyday and I thought I may have to stop lifting...I then switched to what i call a wave, I'll lift heavy/low reps for awhile. then I'll rep challenge myself at a particular weight, say 315 and see if I can increase the # of reps I can do, and then I'll use one of my 2 push days to work on the low end {with light weight & a cambered bar} and high end {with heavy weight/low rep pin presses}...My shoulders are now much better and I rarely have pain...
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Post by dbunch on Nov 14, 2012 12:09:41 GMT -5
I train between 5 and 7 days a week. The last couple of months it been closer to 5. Normally I’m lifting 4 days and the other 3 days I do conditioning. I train for a lot of different thing powerlifting, strongman, highland games and all round weightlifting. I also bowl (smile). I only train about an hour a day during the week and anywhere between 2 and 4 hours on Saturday and Sunday. If I was independently wealthy I would train 2 to 4 hours every day. During the week my training is a lot more concise as I move quickly from set to set because of the time constraint. On the weekends I’m a bit more lax so it takes me about 1 and a half hours to do what I would do in one during the week.
I’m a big fan of the 5/3/1 program, mostly because it is so flexible and it works well with what I do. I’ve been using it for a little over 2 years now and I’ve seen some nice gains on it. Depending on the weights it normally takes me 30 minutes to do the core lifts for deeds and squats and about 20 to do bench and pressing. After that I will do what I can until time runs out.
Saturday is almost always a conditioning day. I run (and I use that term loosely) then I spend 1 to 2 hours with my daughter in the pool. Sunday is events training and my favorite training day. It’s the one day I get to train with other people. I train at a fiends house and we just about everything, Stones, Axel, kegs, truck pulls, farmers, car deadlift, and the list goes own.
My philosophy about training is this. “All roads lead to Rome”. What I mean by that is I think most programs can get a person to where they want to be. You just have to find the route best suited for you. There is not holy grail of weightlifting, no one program that stands out above the rest.
For me having goals is very important which is why I compete a lot throughout the year. I many do as many as 10 or 12 competitions a year. (In the various sports.)
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Post by dbunch on Nov 14, 2012 12:10:26 GMT -5
Oh, and I'm 48
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Post by osu122975 on Nov 15, 2012 11:45:50 GMT -5
Set a bench PR last night so I'll be changing the intensity until my meet in April.
Started reading about Alexander Faleev and his philosophy. Although it's very simple and obvious, it reminded me of a philosophy taught to me by a man named Marty Ross (800lb squatter 500lb bencher 700lb deadlifter single ply SHW - you can find him on YouTube); to only go up when you're manhandling the weight. He also advocated no assistance work and competing often.
That seemed to be Faleev's philosophy too. So....
I'll be hitting a 5x5 workout for offseason training. Using the same weight for 5x5 and only moving up when a 5x5 workout is completed adding 10lbs every move up.
Monday - heavy squat 5x5 Tuesday - heavy bench 5x5 Wednesday - off Thursday - heavy deads 5x5 Friday - light bench (80% of weight of heavy day) 5x5 Saturday - light squat (80% of weight of heavy day) 5x5
When the meet is 5 weeks out, all my "worksets" will be singles pushing max effort (not an all time max) for that day based on bar speed and correct form.
I'll also be utilizing the slingshot as well so I'll alternate that only on heavy bench days every other week.
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Post by rickhussey on Nov 16, 2012 10:09:48 GMT -5
osu - love the faleev routine. i tweaked it a bit, since using the same weight for 5 sets is really tough. I ran it with the following:
set 1 80-85%x5 (top set) set 2 70%x5 set 3 70%x5 set 4 60%x5 set 5 60%x5
bump the weight up every 1-2 weeks.
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Post by mikefrost on Nov 22, 2012 15:59:20 GMT -5
I train when I'm recovered. I thinks its pointless to have set days because you never know how you will feel. I follow the Konstantin Konstantinovs approach in this regard. Only time I ever force myself to train is if I'm running Smolov jr. for squat to stay true to the program. Generally works out to about 3 days a week I train.
I'm with Osu, I do 5x5 thats what works. I do 5x5 squats, 5x5 barbell row(from floor strict form), 5x5 bench, 5x5 press, and singles for deadlift as I've found reps on deadlifts to be almost pointless. I also tend to lean towards the Bulgarian method, not in training frequency but in very limited exercise selection. I do my own method, which is alot of failed sessions realizing what works for me and my leverages. Its a combo of 5x5 and bulgarian aspects. I believe the old school powerlifters knew how to train correctly better than many new powerlifters. They did 5x5, and they drank tonns of milk and ate lots. Thats what works well for me.
Jim Wendler is doing alot for the sport. He promotes a common sense approach, eat right, sleep, train smart, and dont mess with bands and silly toys. If you want to get better at the lift do the lift, assistance work is really overrated.
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Post by osu122975 on Nov 28, 2012 10:39:30 GMT -5
I like Wendler's approach as well. Even Ed Coan said at one time - if a progressive style training worked for those before him, why wouldn't it work for him?
I do like 531 as well - probably better than 5x5. Mostly because I don't have to think about the weight and it's autoregulating - meaning if I feel like doing more reps on the last set, I can and if not, then I don't. I like the boring but big for assistance since I'm not a isolated movement type of lifter.
Jim's philosophy is geared more towards being healthy and strong overall rather than just being strong in competition, which I also agree with.
At least there's someone out there who has a voice of reason when it comes to training.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2012 11:45:43 GMT -5
Instead of following other peoples method, why not just learn about the body. It's pretty simple. Understanding how the muscle grow and how it function is the best way to start.
Big example is people who try to get big muscle so they lift heavier. Key to big muscle is food (nutrition), you can't gain mass from nothing. In truth, you don't even need to lift heavy or high rep to get big.
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Post by dbunch on Nov 28, 2012 17:53:26 GMT -5
Supertu - I don’t completely disagree with your concept. I think anyone who is serious about weight training should take it upon themselves to actually go out and learn about the body and the various schools of thought behind the different training methods.
There are a lot of good, proven programs out there so why re-invent the wheel if you don’t have to. Unless of course you want to, and there is nothing wrong with that. I do think if you are going to use a program you need to do two things. First be true to the program. I hear a lot of people bitch that one program or the other didn’t work for them only to find out that they modified the program to the point that it didn’t remotely resemble the original program. Second, you need to give it time. Again I’ve known people who after 2 or 4 weeks decide that the program wasn’t working and scrap it.
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Post by osu122975 on Nov 29, 2012 8:50:45 GMT -5
I find that most people who modify programs or jump from one to the next aren't very patient. Muscle and strength take time.
There are proven programs out there: 531 / 5x5 / Doug Hepburn Method / and the list goes on. Obviously programs are generally set up for certain goals as well.
After some time, you may find certain programs (depending on your goals) might not be the best for you. Recovery plays an important role in certain programs as well.
You won't really know until you give a program 6 months worth of disciplined training. It's thru these programs that you'll begin to discover what works best for you.
Many lifters never figure that out. Small adjustments make a HUGE difference. That is how you fine tune your "own" program. You may modify an original program and that's ok - but don't say that program didn't work for you.
I find some programs (when slightly modified) tend to work very well for some. But the baseline of the program will always be the starting point. There's always a foundational principle to any program.
We have to start somewhere. Who wants to waste time doing things wrong? Find out what works and try it for 6 months then make the necessary adjustments if they need to be made.
I actually started back on 531 again after finding out that Faleev's 5x5 was a bit too much volume for 5x5 at the same bar weight. I could adjust it, but 531 allows me not to have to think too much about the weight other than moving it and making small increases over time. It's worked in the past for me and I'll continue to use it; but until I try something, I'll never really know.
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Post by Ryan on Nov 29, 2012 11:30:37 GMT -5
How often do you train? What works for you? I train everyday as long as my body will let me. The volume is low and the weight is heavy. I do very little assistance work. My philosophy is heavily influenced thru Bulgarian weight training. I have tried many different philosophies (5x5, 531, Conjugate, etc.) and anything that seems to push more than 3 reps in a "workset" I find to compromise my recovery. That doesn't mean I don't do 5's from time to time, but I use them sparingly. What are your thoughts? How does your training frequency impact you? Have you tried many different philosophies to find the one that works best for you? Thanks in advance for your opinions or responses. I train 3 days a week during meet prep, 4 days a week during offseason. Basically, I focus on the core lifts during meet prep (SQ on Mon, DL Friday, BN Saturday for instance) and I walk on the treadmill at a near-jog speed two others days a week for 30min at a shot, and train abs one of those cardio days as well. Offseason (which for me is now) I generally SQ on Monday, BN on Wed and DL on Friday, then OHP on Saturday and then do cardio twice a week similar to my meet prep time of the year, and do abs on one of those cardio days, and on another day off as well on alternating weeks (so that means ab work roughly 6 times a month during offseason versus 4 times a month during meet prep, and all ab work is low reps like everything else I do). My meet prep training is generally Paul Carter-esque because the "no-nonsense/few assistance stuff as possible" routine is where I have made the biggest strength gains, and my offseason is variable but will be (starting this offseason) centered on 5/3/1 to incorporate more assistance stuff and fewer ME sessions. -Ryan
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Post by mikefrost on Nov 29, 2012 12:52:40 GMT -5
Wow great posting here. I agree with all that is being said.
Osu-Bang on about 5/3/1 that is a proven program. Recently I've deployed the top single concept for the standing press as I stalled on 5x5 press. It seems to be working. I like the concept of a heavy single combined with some heavy work sets of 3-5 reps.
Supertu-I agree, everyone is built differently. No one shoe fits all. I do think there is value in the "just" of what 5x5 and 5/3/1 teaches. One program I would guarentee results with is Smolov jr as I've completed once before. The key is it will only work if the lifter eats LOTS and has his technique down.
Ryan-that looks like an awesome program. I really enjoy Paul's stuff, I've been following his blog for some time now. I like his blogs on building a raw bench & squat. I think he is friends with Jim Wendler.
BTW I love the Karwoski quote....."squat and leave!"
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Post by osu122975 on Nov 29, 2012 13:06:19 GMT -5
"Squat and leave"
That was Alexander Faleev's philosophy on every main lift. His philosophy was squat, bench, deadlift and compete often. That was it.
I like bang for the buck. Why would I waste time w/ accessory stuff if I'm not a bodybuilder? The three competition powerlifts give us the best bang for our buck.
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Post by Ryan on Nov 29, 2012 15:41:07 GMT -5
All this is true stuff, but the key with PL (in my opinion) is to keep an open mind because the truth is, everyone is different, and the nature of PL is sport. Sport is a performing art, and so the more scientific we try to be with our training methodologies, the more we miss the point.
Key is: don't out-think yourself and don't jump from pgm to pgm and you'll get where you want to go. It was told to me like that and has been working for me thusfar, so I'd recommend that philosophy to anyone.
-Ryan
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Post by mikefrost on Nov 29, 2012 18:03:45 GMT -5
Only problem with doing just the 3 powerlifts is muscle imbalance. Makes sense to add pull ups and rows imo so imbalances don't happen and they inevitably would.
In my experience Squat to increase squat thats all that is needed. For deadlift, squat & deadlift to increase deadlift. And for Bench I find assistance is needed the most for this paticular exercise. Standing press is awesome for carry over, rows, and tricep work(JM Press CGB, French Press ect.)
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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2013 14:13:25 GMT -5
I lift every day doing low volumn and heavy weights. Doing 3 reps sometimes 5, 5 to 7 sets. On the last set I always increase the weigfht by 5lbs. As an example I'll warm up and my last set will be 205, next 210 untill I get to 250. I than go back to 205 and work up to 255 etc. I follow Pavlow training method to a degree and have had a good response. I'm 71 and this works for me.
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Post by crazy on Feb 25, 2013 17:46:49 GMT -5
AGAIN WOW!
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