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Barbell Workout Programming

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austinmichael106

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I am new to this forum, so this is like a "long time listener, first time caller" moment for me.

Recently I finished an 8 week 'program' I created to begin exercising again consistently. I met my goals with this program, but I am looking for some advice moving forward. I have many goals, but I am having difficulty prioritizing which of them I should give my focus. This is what my week has looked like for the past 8 weeks:

M-
Deadlift (1x1) I began at 295lbs and progressed to 405lbs
Power Cleans (2x2) I began at 185lbs and progressed to 245lbs
Pull-ups (ladders) I began at 1,2,3,4 and progressed to (1,2,3,4)x4
T-
Deadlift (3x3) I began around 90% of Monday's lift, but as Monday got heavier, I 'progressed' to around 80%
Power Cleans (3x3) similar to the above
Pull-ups (ladders)
Th-
KB Swings (70lbs 10 reps EMOM) I began at 5 minutes and progressed to 12 minutes

The other days I would do a few goblet squats, kb press, and stretch using RIS techniques.

Getting stronger is really my only workout goal besides becoming better conditioned, so I knew I wanted to focus first and foremost on increasing my deadlift strength and work capacity with kb swings. My main goals are to deadlift 500lbs, power clean 315lbs, and run a 5:00 mile. However, I also have some other goals like lifting 100lbs in the pistol squat, pull-up, and overhead press. So, I guess I have three questions:

1. Am I being overly ambitious? I'm not too far in reality from any of these besides the pistol squat.
2. Is deadlifting and power cleaning 3x3 twice a week sustainable for a decent amount of time? (12-16 weeks) If so, how could I add squat work into this?
3. How many kb swing sessions should I add to my week? Should I add more swings and fewer cleans?

If it helps at all, I am 6'2", 180lbs, and have an athletic background (college football and track).

Thanks,

AM
 
@austinmichael106, welcome to the StrongFirst forum as a participant - glad to you aboard.

It's hard to pursue many different goals at once, even if they all are about getting stronger. You can get better at lots of things when you're new to them or haven't done them in a long time, so your current approach may not be overly ambitious for now, but likely it will be soon enough.

-S-
 
I would make Tuesday your conditioning day and the other two be your strength days so you're always starting your strength/power session fresh. A format I like is to break up a two week block and align a goal's frequency with it's ranked priority.
  1. Goal 1 = 4 times in two weeks
  2. Goal 2 = 2 times in two weeks
  3. Goal 3-? = 1 time in two weeks
A goal might be defined as increase deadlift strength but it could also be defined posterior chain power and different but related movements can sit in that bucket. An example for you might look like: Goal 1 = Posterior Chain Power, Goal 2 = conditioning, Goal 3 = accessory strength.

M = Clean + Pistol
Tu = Run
Th= Deadlift + Pull-Up
M = Clean + Swing
Tu = Run
Th = Deadlift + Press

Even though you have enough rest days between the strength days to train all the planes of movement you might be pressed for time to train them well unless you do circuits but I don't think circuits will help you hit your strength goals.
 
Hello,

@austinmichael106
austinmichael106 said:
. Am I being overly ambitious? I'm not too far in reality from any of these besides the pistol squat.
so, how could I add squat work into this?
Click to expand...
Being ambitious is not "bad in itself", but you have to define clear priorities. Depending of the difficulties of your moves (intensity, volume), 2 or 3 main goals are "enough" (at least for me)

austinmichael106 said:
2. Is deadlifting and power cleaning 3x3 twice a week sustainable for a decent amount of time? (12-16 weeks) If so, how could I add squat work into this?
Click to expand...
On a long term, in seems sustainable if you do not overtrain with other moves

austinmichael106 said:
3. How many kb swing sessions should I add to my week? Should I add more swings and fewer cleans?
Click to expand...
It depends. If you yet run three times a week, may be adding swing will be too much. If you run twice, not fast, why not. EMOM (as you do) / A+A protocol (there is a good thread about that on SF forum), then why not.

The @Bro Mo's template will allow you to achieve your goals, in function of the priorities you described "My main goals are to deadlift 500lbs, power clean 315lbs, and run a 5:00 mile".

Sure @Bro Mo is pretty more experienced than me in weightlifting, but, would a deload week be useful to rest a progress faster then ? It would also give more sustainability to you training frame.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
pet' said:
but, would a deload week be useful to rest a progress faster then ? It would also give more sustainability to you training frame
Click to expand...
My experience is that I can train pretty hard for 3 weeks before needing a recovery week. I think I remember reading in some research material that 3:1 or 4:2 is pretty normal for a training:recovery ratio; however, going for 4 weeks usually makes that fourth week go kind of poorly for me anyway. I don't think the above concept is training all that hard and one could probably stick with it for a while before needing recovery. Those recovery days can easily be the same format but very light load like bar-only cleans or 30% Deadlifts, etc. I usually find life schedules throw recovery weeks at me without having to schedule them. For sustaining without specific recovery, find the sweet spot of load and volume that makes you feel randy after you train - that's the best indicator I've found so far.
 
First up, congrats on where you are at. I think that is a tremendous DL for your weight and height. You have a long way to pull the bar if you are using the traditional stance.

Back when I used a program that was designed for both powerlifting and athletics I would rotate the use of cleans and the deadlift. If you are doing both and also doing swings that's quite a bit at a pretty high intensity from what I see above.

I've had pretty good luck with the "Daily Dose" DL program. That may be something to look at.

I have done as you are doing also and had several goals that I was trying to reach at the same time. I would suggest you take each goal and work on it one at a time. For instance, by working on the DL you'll get stronger and you may see some improvement in other lifts. Then move to the clean and work on it. I would caution on a high volume of cleans as it can tend to be hard on elbows and shoulders.

I also like your 5 min. mile goal. I had a similar goal at one time, 2x BW bench and a 40 min. 10K. Never reached either. I honestly think the problem here is that although there are those who could do this, it's a situation where you have goals at two polar opposite spectrums that make it a difficult one. Lift and continue and to work on your running and see where it takes you. But if your main goal is strength, that is what I would concentrate on.

If lifting every day works for you, let me just throw this out there as an example:

Mon
3x5 Goblet Squat (heavy but easy, no problem getting all 15 reps)
DL (find your Max, use 80 to 95% for three progressive sets each session. i.e. 80 x2, 86x2, 92.5x2 or 80x5, 87.5x4, 95x3) wave the intensity each session.
KB clean and press: work up to 5 ladders of 1,2,3

Tue.
pull-ups BW+ weight that will allow for 1,2,3 x 3
1H swings KB that allows sets of 5 EMOM starting at 12min working up to 20 min.

Wed. 20 min. MAF run

Thurs.
5x5 Goblet Squat
C&P lighter than Mon, work up to 5 ladders of 2,3,5

Fri.
Pull-ups BW + wight that allows 3 ladders of 2,3,5
1H swings for sets of 5 for less time than Tues.

Weekend
20 min MAF run or not on one of those days

The above is an example, but make the goal the goal. Work on one of those goals at a time.
 
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