starting strength gym
Results 1 to 6 of 6

Thread: 4-Day TM w/ V/I pattern swapped?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Posts
    536

    Default 4-Day TM w/ V/I pattern swapped?

    • starting strength seminar april 2024
    • starting strength seminar jume 2024
    • starting strength seminar august 2024
    My google-foo might be failing me and maybe I'm also missing it in the books, but I didn't find this exact pattern discussed in either.

    What are thoughts on this type of setup?

    Monday (I)
    Press: 1x5
    Bench: 1x5

    Tuesday (I)
    Squat: 1x5
    Deadlift: 1x5

    Thursday (V)
    Bench: 5x5
    Press: 5x5

    Friday (V)
    Squat: 5x5
    Pull-ups: 3x8

    The main idea would be to hit the Intensity day with one extra day of recovery from the Volume day, and maybe allow for more complete recovery from the volume stressor for better progress overall. Plus a lot of people might be fresher after the weekend to set new Intensity Day PR's.

    Can't be the first one to consider this, so basically it boils down to: What might be the drawbacks compared to the standard 4-Day TM?

    Thanks.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    Killen, Alabama
    Posts
    26

    Default Split variations

    I have been on 4 day split for a while. I have divided it up several different ways. i.e. SQ/BP, PR/DL. if you do this for any length of time, you will have to change it up as well. I have a crazy work schedule where I sometimes split my week of work across the weekend: Fri, Sat, Mon, Tues. Your body doesn't know what day of the week it is. Just do the work you can do when you can. Life is gonna happen and mess up your best intentions anyway. Any split combination you come up with will last a couple of months. After a while, you will get tired of a routine and want to change it anyway. you will go thru several inversions of a 4 day split over the years. At least that's what my tired old body is learning.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Posts
    536

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by michaelmccoig View Post
    I have been on 4 day split for a while. I have divided it up several different ways. i.e. SQ/BP, PR/DL. if you do this for any length of time, you will have to change it up as well. I have a crazy work schedule where I sometimes split my week of work across the weekend: Fri, Sat, Mon, Tues. Your body doesn't know what day of the week it is. Just do the work you can do when you can. Life is gonna happen and mess up your best intentions anyway. Any split combination you come up with will last a couple of months. After a while, you will get tired of a routine and want to change it anyway. you will go thru several inversions of a 4 day split over the years. At least that's what my tired old body is learning.
    I have used some 4 day split variants before also. Aside, I seemed to have the best results w/ a 3 day per week schedule, Squatting and Pressing twice [V/I] w/ Bench [V] and Deadlift [I] once per week. Since I'm old & busy w/ a long commute that fit my schedule and probably recovery abilities better than 4 sessions per week.

    I didn't make it very clear, but the original post was more curiosity, along the lines of asking why the original/standard 4 Day TM was setup w/ the longer rest period after intensity days rather than volume days? Or if anyone had experience doing 4 Day TM w/ V/I days swapped?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2017
    Location
    Bishop, California
    Posts
    62

    Default

    Greetings:

    A lot of people have good luck with blending both volume and intensity into each day:

    Mon:
    Squat 1x3 (I)
    RDL 3x5 (V)

    Tue:
    Press 1x3 (I)
    Bench 4x5 (V)

    Thu:
    Squat 3x5 (V)
    Deadlift 1x3 (I)

    Fri:
    Bench 1x3 (I)
    Press 4x5 (V)

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Kingwood TX
    Posts
    8,914

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by DaveJF View Post
    My google-foo might be failing me and maybe I'm also missing it in the books, but I didn't find this exact pattern discussed in either.

    What are thoughts on this type of setup?

    Monday (I)
    Press: 1x5
    Bench: 1x5

    Tuesday (I)
    Squat: 1x5
    Deadlift: 1x5

    Thursday (V)
    Bench: 5x5
    Press: 5x5

    Friday (V)
    Squat: 5x5
    Pull-ups: 3x8

    The main idea would be to hit the Intensity day with one extra day of recovery from the Volume day, and maybe allow for more complete recovery from the volume stressor for better progress overall. Plus a lot of people might be fresher after the weekend to set new Intensity Day PR's.

    Can't be the first one to consider this, so basically it boils down to: What might be the drawbacks compared to the standard 4-Day TM?

    Thanks.
    Whether you do Volume early in week or later in the week is really a non issue. Your body doesn’t know whether it’s Monday or Thursday. I actually prefer it like this because I like more rest after the volume sessions but really it’s personal preference. Other issue and often overlooked is just general energy levels during the week. More energy early or later in the week??? That’s where I’d put the Intensity Days

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Posts
    536

    Default

    starting strength coach development program
    Thanks Andy!

    Just got to thinking about that the other day b/c the pattern for me has been that energy levels, recovery & body weight have almost always been up after the weekends.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •