Doc. Sust's powerlifting template

[Doc.Sust]

recently i have been getting questions on what my routine looks like. this is a template! it is not an exact program.i dont use an exact program. i know what weights i have to use and i keep an idea of the the approximate percentages, sets and reps i should be using based on how far i am out from a meet . if i am feeling good, i may go heavier with the percents. if i feel weak,i may use a little less. i change it as needed. variables include my current weaknesses( always addresss your weakneses and make them your strengths), how close i am to a contest, recovery if i am beat up, my work schedule, or if i have an idea i want to try.

here lets go through a typical 4 wk wave of what i do.

squat dead(or speed day if we are using westside terms) is saturday, my leg assistance day is on monday or wednesday.(normally on mondays) i alternate by how i feel on monday. if i am still beat up from saturdays routine. i wait until wednesday and keep it light(this is also called the max effort day)

wk 1 heavy box squats using bands sets 5-6 sets of 2's.
lighter conventional pulls against bands working in a rep range of 3-5 reps 5 sets
1-2 low back/hamstring movements( glute/ham raises, revers hypers, 45 degree hyper extensions,band pull throughs, etc etc) and weighted abs

wk2 box squats again
lighter speed sumo pulls against bands 3-4sets of 2
moderate conventional pull 2-3 sets of 5 not using bands
1 back/hamstring movement and abs

wk 3light box squats(active recovery wk) using anywhere btwn 35-50% of squat max. 8-10 sets of 2
no deadlifts this wk
2 back/hamstring movement light and abs light

wk4 heavy free squats(usually just in briefs or if close to a meet in full gear. i very rarely do full gear.) working up to a 1 rep max
heavy sumo pulls working up to no higher than 90% for a single
ab work, no back or hamstring movement


on monday or wednesday, my auxillary day for the wave may look something like this

wk 1
max effort bar exercise(choose goodmorning variation, partial squat,safety bar squat, manta squat,close stance squat, rack pull, romanian dead.) i usually stick with different goodmorning variations or a romanian dead rather than a squat or a partial deadlift. work up to a 3 rep max done

pick 2 more back or hamstring movements( glute ham raise, revers hyper, leg curls, band leg curls, pull throughs ,dimmel deads, stiff leg deadlifts,weighted hyperextions, 45 degree hyper extensions,and very rarely but sometimes partial deads) exercise are usually 2- 4 sets with reps anywhere btwn 5- 15 reps, if the weight is light, i go higher with the reps. heavier, lower reps,you have to REALLY listen to your body, if you are still beat up from the squat/dead day, hold back a little, if everything feels light, go nuts! if i was goingto use a rack dead i work with reps of 5's. i f was to do pull throughs, i would work with reps of 10-15.

abs

wk2 same as wk 1

wk 3
skip the max effort bar exercise. pick 3 back or hamstring/back movements, keep it light and quick, do NOT use any bar exercises (good mornings, squats , deads ,partial deads stiff leg dead, rack pull etc etc in this workout)

wk 4, same as wk 1

i hope this helps, this is a variation of chuck vogelphols template, only difference is chuck doesnt do ANY bar movements on auxillary day! he can get away with this because of the level he is at and how many years he did use bar movemnts on the max effort day. i dont think to many of us can say we are on the same level as chuck v.
just remember, most important thing is to listen to your body,. if you are beat up from the squat dead day, take it easy on the auxillary day



my press days are tuesdays and fridays. tuesday is shirt bench day, friday is speed work/ tricep day.


tuesdays breaks down like this, shirt press 5 sets of 3 reps. i use perccents form 75% to 90%. as i get closer to a contest i work in singles only.

i than do board presses at whatever board height i need work with. for me it is usually a 3 or 4 board. 2 -3 sets of 5 reps.


i than work lats . one to 2 exercise and do 3- 5 sets of 8- 15 reps



friday

i use about 50% of my raw max with mini bands doubled. i do 6 to 8 sets of 3 reps with about a one minute break btwn sets.

next a rack lockout variation or reverse band presses. i do-2- 3 sets of 5 reps

next tri push downs or extensions. 2-3 sets of 8- 15 reps

light rotator cuff, rear delt , and shoulder work. keep it light easy and quick. alternate exercsies each wk so they are different all the time.


on tuesday shirt press day. i do 2wks in the shirt and than take one wk off. on the wk off. i work my raw press. 3- 6 sets of 5 - 3reps. the auxillary lifts are the same on raw day

for more info, check out www.elitefts.com look at the training logs of some of the sports top lifters. if you have questions about specific exercises or want to learn a few new ones, check out the exercise index

[MuscleScience]

Thanks Doc,

[TatMan]

Thanks

[Doc.Sust]

sure. any questions, please ask

[MuscleScience]

I have been struggling with a sore lower back. It has effected my squat and deadlift. I dropped doing deads after getting my raw dead to a little over 500lbs. I liked doing the split you showed me a while ago back. I really gained, just the fact that my low back will not cooperate right now. LOL

I would like to try this program out when I get back to 100%

[Doc.Sust]

I have been struggling with a sore lower back. It has effected my squat and deadlift. I dropped doing deads after getting my raw dead to a little over 500lbs. I liked doing the split you showed me a while ago back. I really gained, just the fact that my low back will not cooperate right now. LOL

I would like to try this program out when I get back to 100%

when you heal up. give it a try. feel free to make some modifications as you need too.

[guessgirl]

Good info. Thanks

[Doc.Sust]

glad to help, i have changed it up recently.

saturday
squat day free weights only. no bands. , 1st wk briefs only using 70-75% of brief max, 2nd briefs and suit straps down using 80-85% using suited max,3rd wk fully suited straps up using 90-95%. briefs only i work with 4-5 sets 3 reps with increasing weight. fully suited straps down wk i work up to 3-4 heavy doubles. strap up wk i use 90-95% 3 sets of singles. on the wks i do full suit straps down and straps up, after i finish my regular squat sets, i do 2 sets of reverse bands with an extra 100lbs for 2 set one rep. do the 3 wks and than repeat. if weights seem to heavy to get the work in drop the percents. make sure to not miss reps by using to heavy of a weight.

deadlift against bands raw. sometimes off 2inch boxes sometimes off the floor. i use 50-55% of my suited max for 3 sets of 2-3 reps

abs weighted


monday
full suited deadlift. 4-5 sets 3 reps mainly using 75-85% of my max weight.

rack deadlift below the knees. alternat conventional and sumo stance every other wk. 3 sets of 3 reps

raw bands and chains box squats.(i use a single ply pair of briefs to help with some hip support) 50-60% of my briefs only squat 3 sets of 3 reps. bands and chains tensions vary. i use either the green bands with 180lbs of chains or blue bands with 60-120lbs of chains

tuesday

shirt bench. i use the shirt for 2 wks in a row , than i do a raw wk . and repeat. 4- 5sets of 2- 3 reps.

board presses 2 -3 sets of 5 reps

close grip. one set of 5- 10 reps

lat/back work


thursday
raw press against bands or raw press with reverse bands/ 4- 5 sets 3 reps

rack lockouts. 2- 3 sets of 5 reps

tri pushdowns, 2 sets of 10- 15 reps

rotator cuff work, front lateral and reverse delts. i pick 3-4exercise and do 2 sets using 10-15 reps

if i feel frisky, i may screw around and throw in 1-2 sets of curls. i usually do "21's" or sets of 15 reps

with the press and squat i do 3 wk waves. deadlift i do 5 wk waves.

[john1181]

"raw press against bands or raw press with reverse bands" against bands...reverse bands..what is that? alli know is bench press...please help explain...i just got into the powerlifting scene...i know nothing..all i do is dead lifts, bech press, squat, leg curls, clean and jerk, tricep pulldowns, pull ups with weight and bar curls...o and abbs....i work out every other day...i do 8 sets of 4 at 80% and 2 sets of 2 at 90% on every excersise....i wish i could come up with a good begginer program that would shoot up my power a little

[Madmax209]

Doc, why do you train SQ/DL on Sat + Mon and B on Tu + Thu??

[Doc.Sust]

Doc, why do you train SQ/DL on Sat + Mon and B on Tu + Thu??

i dont like it either, the bench press day and squat day are written in stone because of my training partners schedule so i have to adapt and make the best of it.

[Doc.Sust]

"raw press against bands or raw press with reverse bands" against bands...reverse bands..what is that? alli know is bench press...please help explain...i just got into the powerlifting scene...i know nothing..all i do is dead lifts, bech press, squat, leg curls, clean and jerk, tricep pulldowns, pull ups with weight and bar curls...o and abbs....i work out every other day...i do 8 sets of 4 at 80% and 2 sets of 2 at 90% on every excersise....i wish i could come up with a good begginer program that would shoot up my power a little

checkout www.elitefts.com and look at the exercise index

[Doc.Sust]

as always in powerlifting , i have changed up what i am doing to work on my weak points and weaker lifts(specifically my deadlift)

saturday squat day. i alternate wk to wk, one wk box squats than one wk free squats. i found you need a bit of both to keep making gains, too much of one or the other isnt a good thing.

a deadlift variaton, heavy, low reps low sets (suited, briefs only, reverse band deads, against bands etc)
ukranian deadlifts
abs

monday

light speed pulls low to medium reps, multiple sets. against bands or regular pulls off of a 2,3, or 4 inch blocks(deffecit deads, i am standing on the blocks)

rack deads. alternate conventional and sumo for different height wk to wk

hamstring works and abs

tuesday
press day/tricep work

wednesday
conventional deads from the floor/ medium weight medium rep range( i will skip them if i am to beat from the other 2 deadlift days)

back/lat work and a lot of it

friday
optional 2nd bench day focusing more on triceps( ie rack lockouts, reverse bands, close grip, high board presses as well as some light raw regular bench if i feel i need the work)

to be honest i havent been doing the optional bench day, i am focusing more attention to the deadlift and doing a lot of dead movements 2-3 times a wk. so i have been cutting back on the extra press day for CNS recovery purposes.

current program is only temporary. when i train for a meet i will go back to something close to how was training in the post above dated 7/12/08

[Doc.Sust]

to al who are new, this is my old template, i always change and evolve, no one ever keeps the same thing going. you need to change to get stronger, if you are interested, i am keeping a log of what i do now every workout in this forum for now, so please check it out to see the changes

[Slartbox]

Nice thread doc im new to this forum but been powerlifting a long time deadlift is my fave

[dj erk15]

Good read, thanks bro.

[solesrch]

Just what I have been looking for. Thanks. Been doing the "standard" stuff for a while now.