In order to understand the programs and principles, some basic terminology needs to be understood. You can read more in depth for hours online or in books about these topics, but in order to follow the programs the following understanding of the terms is all that is needed.
General Movement: For the purpose of this application, the General Movement pattern is simply Squat, Bench, and Deadlift. This does not mean a specific movement pattern, just overall a ‘squat’, ‘bench’, or ‘deadlift’ type movement. Specific Movement: This is where the specific exercise is described. If the General Movement is a Squat, the specific movement may be a ‘Competition Raw Squat’ or ‘3 Second Pause High Bar Squat’.
Priority: For the application of these programs, there are three priorities. Priority #1, Priority #2, and Priority #3. The lower the priority (the higher the number), the lesser the degree of specificity. Generally, a Priority #2 Specific Movement will have one degree of variance from the Competition Specific Movement and a Priority #3 will have two or more degrees of variance. For example, if a Raw Bench Press is the Competition Specific Movement, a Priority #2 Specific Movement may be Close Grip Bench Press and Priority #3 Specific Movement may be Close Grip Incline Bench.
Wildcard: What some describe as ‘assistance’ or ‘accessory’ work I call Wildcard movements. These are exercises that have a high degree of variance to the competition movement like pulldowns, direct tricep or bicep work, abs, etc. I call
them Wildcard because they are generally selected during the training session, require less specific programming, and occur at the end of a session.
Volume: Traditionally, volume is calculated as the Weight X Reps for each set. The more reps and the more sets you perform at a given weight leads to more volume. Volume is one major measure of the character of a program. I believe in starting off a training cycle with high volume and tapering as a competition approaches. Intensity: This refers to how close the difficulty is to failure. Nearing failure is a high intensity rep, an easy rep is low intensity. Intensity can also be measured as a percentage of a one rep max. Higher percentage = higher intensity. Generally speaking, 90% or above is high intensity for powerlifting. 80% - 90% is moderate intensity. Below 80% is low intensity. I believe in starting off a training cycle at the lower end of moderate intensity and nearing competition at a higher intensity. Tank Reps: This is how many more reps you could have performed before you reach failure. If you performed 3 reps, and could have done 2 and only 2 more, there were 2 tank reps. If you are uncertain if you could have maybe done 2 more, maybe 3 more, it is appropriate to use 2.5, or half rep denominations. This is a critical component to the programs and you must be realistic in determining tank reps. Percentage: There is a very direct relationship between Reps, Tank Reps, and Intensity (%). For the ease of understanding programming in this book, both Tank Reps and % are given for each exercise – however they mean the exact same thing. According to the Rep/% chart, a given number of reps directly correlate to an exact percentage of the one rep max (1RM). To get the equivalent of these reps according to the program loading, Prescribed Reps + Tank Reps = Chart Reps. If the program calls for X 3 + 2, this means you perform 3 reps with 2 left in the tank (5 total reps).
If you are not comfortable with using tank reps, you can simply use the equivalent percentage of the 5 reps = 85.6% for simplicity.
Protocol: Protocols are defined as ‘Weight @ Sets X (Reps + Tank Reps)’. So if the lifter performed 225 pounds for 3 sets and 5 reps with 2 reps left in the tank, it is shown as: 225 @ 3 X (5 + 2).
Mesocycle: This describes the annual training plan. The mesocycle is often the most overlooked part of training. People generally don’t think much ahead of their current training cycle. But understanding the big picture is crucial for long term health and consistent improvement. There will be several phases or Macrocycles in the Mesocycle; often an Off-Season phase, In-Season phase, Competition phase, and possibly more.
Macrocycle: This is the specific training program at hand. For these purposes it is the 12 week training program currently being performed. There could be numerous 12 week programs in one Mesocycle. The Macrocycle consist of multiple Microcycles.
Microcycle: This is an extremely specific timeframe. It can be as specific as a certain training session but more often a 3-4 week block that accomplishes a certain objective. It usually takes 3-4 weeks to achieve a certain training effect so there
could be a 3-4 week hypertrophy block, 3-4 week
accommodation/adjustment/transition block, and a 3-4 week peaking block.
Exercise Selection: Understanding the General Movement vs. Specific Movements and Priorities #1 - #3 is crucial to optimizing your results from this program. Below is a table summarizing exercise options. These are not listed in any specific order nor is the list fully comprehensive. Furthermore, the optimal exercise selection for
me will not be the same as the next person, or the person after them. It is up to you to analyze your training and weak points and be creative in selecting the best exercises that suit your needs.
The beauty of how these definitions are laid out and how they are simply manipulated in a training program to fit my protocols and variations is that they are equally transferrable to you. They allow you to create a highly customized training template for yourself carrying over my same training principles.
Most of these training programs have a higher frequency and volume than the Western strength athlete is used to. It is crucial to put the ego aside and not miss lifts. Training PR’s may not come on a weekly basis but it needs to be understood the PR’s that matter occur on the platform – and that is the goal of these templates. Training hard and properly resting before competition is the key to success.
REPS PERCENT 10 74.4% 9.5 75.5% 9 76.5% 8.5 77.6% 8 78.6% 7.5 79.7% 7 80.7% 6.5 81.9% 6 83.1% 5.5 84.4% 5 85.6% 4.5 86.9% 4 88.1% 3.5 89.4% 3 90.6% 2.5 92.5% 2 94.3% 1.5 97.2% 1 100.0%