4 Day Split Programming

[tweakxc03]

Age: 34
Height: 6'4
Weight: 225
Body Fat: 17-20%ish


Hey Brent -

About a year and a half ago I spent like 9 months dealing with adductor tendonitis. I was able to continue deadlifting during that time but couldn't squat. It took me forever to heal up, but I have been 100% pain free now for about 9 months. I worked my squat basically back from zero up to where it is now.

Pre-injury Numbers:
Bodyweight: 225-227
Squat: 5x5 350, 1rm 410
Deadlift: 445
RDL: 3x5 315
Bench: 5x5 255

Current Numbers:
Bodyweight: 223-225
Squat 5x5 285, 1rm 360
Deadlift: 1rm 485, 430 1x5
RDL: 3x5 330lbs
Bench: 5x5 235

I spent a few months working with the folks at Barbell Medicine. Their programming was great, but I just couldn't keep up with the volume and nutrition required to adapt. My Deadlift shot up quite a bit, but my bodyweight, bench and squat both remained totally stagnant. Admittedly, nutrition compliance is always an issue for me. Crazy high stress job kills my appetite, and I've never been a big eater to begin with, so I'm trying to fix that first and foremost.

My question is this -

Should I just stick with a 4 day split of volume and intensity for the squat? It seems to me my squat is crazy low compared to my RDL.

I also don't understand why the squat hasn't bounced back to previous levels now that I'm healthy.

[Brent Carter]

If you took 9months off from squatting you can expect a significant amount of detaining to occur. Even if you are still deadlifting.

I wouldn't bother comparing squat to RDL numbers since RDL is a pull and the SQ is not.

I would stick with the program that has the least amount of complexity AND allows for the most frequent setting of PR's. As you are an intermediate this would mean every week. You should be setting some type of PR every week in your squat.

[tweakxc03]

Thanks Brent - After reconsidering things, I'm going back to a 3 day LP, breaking things up based on advancement. So far it's been working really well... just some questions on the transition:

My Pull movements are set up as sort of an HLM type setup, since they are more of an intermediate level of progression. Currently it's
Day 1: Deadlift 1x5 @ 194kg -> I probably have 1-2 more weeks of 2kg a week before I need to drop down to 2x3.
Day 2: BB Row -> 3x5 @ 105kg -> chugging along at 1-2kg per week
Day 3: RDL 3x5 @ 165kg -> these are with straps and a belt. Last week I did ascending sets of 155, 160, 165. The top set was tough but not brutal. I think I can keep progressing this along at 2kgs a week for a while.

Questions:
Should I keep the RDLs at 3x5, or will that be too stressful for a "medium" day and do either ascending sets or a top set + 2 backoffs?
If I were to do pullups or chins, would I do those on Deadlift day?


Thanks

[Brent Carter]

Unlikely that RDL's will be too stressful for a "medium" day considering they will be relatively lighter than DL's at any point in time.

Pull ups or chins can be done on DL day for sure or could be done on the first and last workout of the weekly schedule.