Intermediate Programming for the Upper Body Lifts | Nick Delgadillo

[MarkCuq]

Thanx all members who answer. Very usefull information.

[FluffyKoala]

Hey Nick thanks for the article. I have two questions.

On the upper/lower split where we'd press twice a week, is the volume day 5x5 90% of the weight used for 10x1?

Would this work fine with 100% press emphasis and no benching? For example:

upper 1: strict press 5x5, 1x5 press or press variation

upper 2: 10x1 press, 5x5 press or press variation.

[Nick Delgadillo]

Hey Nick thanks for the article. I have two questions.

On the upper/lower split where we'd press twice a week, is the volume day 5x5 90% of the weight used for 10x1?

Would this work fine with 100% press emphasis and no benching? For example:

upper 1: strict press 5x5, 1x5 press or press variation

upper 2: 10x1 press, 5x5 press or press variation.

Probably not 90% of your singles unless you're female. It'll probably end up somewhere around 75-85% tops. Don't stress the percentages. Set it up at 90% of your last completed set of 5 and go from there.

Why are you not benching? Even if you want to focus on pressing, you should still bench at least once a week. I've got some folks who have messed up shoulders, but I can still have them bench usually on an alternating 5x5 and intensity day once per week. If you've got some serious shoulder trouble and just can't bench, then carry on.

If you are only pressing, I wouldn't have you do an upper/lower split. I'd have you spread the pressing over 3 of the 4 days and then probably all 4 days. Something like this:

Day 1
5x5 Press
5x5 Squat

Day 2
1x5, 1x3, 1x1 Pin Presses rotating every three weeks
Light Pull

Day 3
10x1 Press

Day 4
Heavy Squat
Heavy Pull

You'll need some assistance exercises on days 2 and 3.

[FluffyKoala]

Probably not 90% of your singles unless you're female. It'll probably end up somewhere around 75-85% tops. Don't stress the percentages. Set it up at 90% of your last completed set of 5 and go from there.

Why are you not benching? Even if you want to focus on pressing, you should still bench at least once a week. I've got some folks who have messed up shoulders, but I can still have them bench usually on an alternating 5x5 and intensity day once per week. If you've got some serious shoulder trouble and just can't bench, then carry on.

If you are only pressing, I wouldn't have you do an upper/lower split. I'd have you spread the pressing over 3 of the 4 days and then probably all 4 days. Something like this:

Day 1
5x5 Press
5x5 Squat

Day 2
1x5, 1x3, 1x1 Pin Presses rotating every three weeks
Light Pull

Day 3
10x1 Press

Day 4
Heavy Squat
Heavy Pull

You'll need some assistance exercises on days 2 and 3.

That sounds like fun. I increase day 2 weights every week every week just like the volume and intensity days right?

[Nick Delgadillo]

Yep. If you've never done pin presses, you'll need to spend a few weeks messing them up. Start relatively light and stick to a single set of 5 adding weight each week until you know what you're doing. Once you've got them down set a PR for a set of 5 the first week, triple week 2, and single week 3. Rinse and repeat.

Set the bar at eyebrow height, start with the bar over your shoulder, and keep it there the whole way up by thinking about shrugging it off the pins to the lockout.



7:40 in this video:

[Dillon Spencer]

So I'm currently re-running LP to get my strength back after an illness, but I'm pretty much back to where I was before (actually setting some new PRs) so I'm starting to think ahead to what I'm going to do for intermediate programming when this runs out.

I've never run an HLM program before, so I think I'm going to give that a go. Do you think something like this could fit that scheme? I know Andy sometimes has people add a second pressing slot on Saturday, so I was thinking something like...

Monday: Heavy squat, heavy bench, power clean
Wednesday: Light squat, press, heavy deadlift
Friday: Medium squat, medium bench, medium deadlift
Saturday: Press and maybe some chins or something

I'm wondering if you think this could work, and if so where to do the volume and where to do the singles. Which will suffer less the day after medium bench, and interfere less with Monday's heavy bench?

Thanks!

[Nick Delgadillo]

I'd either do the press singles on Friday along with medium bench. Press first before benching. OR, if you're cool with adding an upper body day on Saturday, do your press singles on Friday and bench + assistance on Saturday. Leave your press volume on Wednesday. Unless you have a huge bench press, you're going to be fine to bench heavy on Monday.

[Dillon Spencer]

Thanks Nick, that's very helpful. My bench is miles from huge, so either the three day or four day options should work just fine. I'm a teacher, so adding that fourth day during the summer is no problem, but I like having the flexibility to condense it into three days whenever it may be necessary. Appreciate you laying out both.

[MashedTaters]

Do you have any geezers (I'm 68) doing your press/bench programming as written?

Thanks.

[Nick Delgadillo]

Do you have any geezers (I'm 68) doing your press/bench programming as written?

Thanks.

One. She does strengthlifting meets and wants to chase a bigger press. Her progress is slower than my less geezer trainees, but her training generally looks like everyone else's.

I start everyone out pretty much the same way regardless of who they are, but tend to make changes to programming and exercise selection much sooner for the older folks depending on the situation. What's your press/bench programming look like now?