Lifting 4 days/week

[iron-man]

I am an intermediate lifter and I have the time, motivation, and training volume to do 4 days a week. I just wanted some feedback on the program I have set up. This is the schedule:

Monday (Heavy Weight)
Back Squat: 1x1RM, 2RM or 3RM
Press/Bench Press: 1x1RM, 2RM or 3RM
Deadlift: 1x1RM, 2RM or 3RM

Tuesday (Medium Weight)
Back Squat: 3x5 reps
Press/Bench Press: 3x5 reps
Dips: 3x5 reps
Pull-ups: 3x5 reps

Wednesday off

Thursday (Heavy Weight)
Back Squat: 1x5 reps
Press/Bench Press: 1x5 reps
Power clean: 5 singles

Friday (Light weight)
Front Squat 3x3
Press/Bench press 3x3
Power Clean 3x3

Sat & Sun off


Feedback and suggestions please.

[zepled37]

I am an intermediate lifter and I have the time, motivation, and training volume to do 4 days a week. I just wanted some feedback on the program I have set up. This is the schedule:

Monday (Heavy Weight)
Back Squat: 1x1RM, 2RM or 3RM
Press/Bench Press: 1x1RM, 2RM or 3RM
Deadlift: 1x1RM, 2RM or 3RM

Tuesday (Medium Weight)
Back Squat: 3x5 reps
Press/Bench Press: 3x5 reps
Dips: 3x5 reps
Pull-ups: 3x5 reps

Wednesday off

Thursday (Heavy Weight)
Back Squat: 1x5 reps
Press/Bench Press: 1x5 reps
Power clean: 5 singles

Friday (Light weight)
Front Squat 3x3
Press/Bench press 3x3
Power Clean 3x3

Sat & Sun off


Feedback and suggestions please.

I don't have the recovery ability to try something like this, but I have a few ideas or thoughts on the program...

1. Not sure you want to squat 4 days per week even with front squats, maybe GHR's or deadlift variants or even lunges or step ups for a break on the light day? Maybe limit squats to 3 days.

2. I assume the weeks you are bench pressing heavy, it will be a medium and light press week though it's not quite clear the way you wrote it.

3. Again, maybe some more variation in the pressing movements with incline bench press or push presses or the like on one of the days?

4. Power snatch on light day instead of another day of power cleans?

5. Maybe alternate regular deadlifts with rack pulls, halting deadlifts or another deadlift variant on Monday's?

6. I assume you have stalled while training 3 days per week and tried to tweak the 3 day per week programming? If not, what's the reason to go to 4 days?

I guess in summary, I'm thinking you might want a little more exercise variation if you are going to 4 days per week. Of course, you will have to closely monitor your recovery to see how you are handling the volume and intensity of this program and make adjustments as needed.

[Mr.City]

Seems like a textbook example of a 4 day routine. Although, why a 1-3RM on the deadlifts?

[zepled37]

Seems like a textbook example of a 4 day routine. Although, why a 1-3RM on the deadlifts?

Hi Mr. City...not my thread, but I love programming discussions...what concerns do you have about the 1-3RM?

I agree it seems to me to be a good layout, but if it were me (and it's not I know...) I'd want a bit more exercise variation. I think I'd get burnt out, but I probably couldn't do 4 days per week anyway.

[Mr.City]

Hi Mr. City...not my thread, but I love programming discussions...what concerns do you have about the 1-3RM?

I agree it seems to me to be a good layout, but if it were me (and it's not I know...) I'd want a bit more exercise variation. I think I'd get burnt out, but I probably couldn't do 4 days per week anyway.

Not concerned really, but I've always been used to doing a 5RM for deadlifts. I've been doing 5RMs for deadlifts for a while and hadn't thought to do them any other way.

[Smiler Grogan]

Squatting and bench pressing back-to-back days twice a week would have me totally fucked up in short order. I don't know about y'all, but I could never recover from all that no matter how much I ate or slept.

[strengthstarter]

I am an intermediate lifter and I have the time, motivation, and training volume to do 4 days a week. I just wanted some feedback on the program I have set up. This is the schedule:

I am still a Novice, but does this routine have enough time for recovery? It also isn't clear how you are alternating press/bench press, since there are four workouts if you just go straight back and forth your heavy days will be only one or the other.

For what it is worth, the way four-day programming seems to be set up for CF Football is they group Monday-Tuesday and Thursday-Friday lifts and sorta treat them as one day in terms of exercise selection.

What about basing it off the Texas method. Basically, have a set of exercises for each of the four days and then cycle through the modes (volume/recovery/intensity).

Something like:

Mo: Volume / Back Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift
Tu: Recovery / GHR, Press, Pull Ups
We:
Th: Intensity / Back Squat, Bench Press, Power Clean
Fr: Volume / Front Squat, Press, Chin Ups
Sa:
Su:
-------------------------------------------------
Mo: Recovery / Back Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift
Tu: Intensity / Front Squat, Press, Pull Ups
We:
Th: Volume / Back Squat, Bench Press, Power Clean
Fr: Recovery / GHR, Press, Chin Ups
Sa:
Su:
-------------------------------------------------
Mo: Intensity / Back Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift
Tu: Volume / Front Squat, Press, Pull Ups
We:
Th: Recovery / Back Squat, Bench Press, Power Clean
Fr: Intensity / GHR?, Press, Chin Ups
Sa:
Su:
-------------------------------------------------

Just a thought.

[zepled37]

Squatting and bench pressing back-to-back days twice a week would have me totally fucked up in short order. I don't know about y'all, but I could never recover from all that no matter how much I ate or slept.

I'm pretty sure was not to do all bench presses back to back. I think the intent was to do bench on monday, press on tuesday, etc., then flip the following week with press on monday, bench on tuesday, etc.

I agree though, very tough to recover from, but probably some can do it, but with full body workouts, 3 days a week is probably good for most.

[zepled37]

What about basing it off the Texas method. Basically, have a set of exercises for each of the four days and then cycle through the modes (volume/recovery/intensity).

Something like:

Mo: Volume / Back Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift
Tu: Recovery / GHR, Press, Pull Ups
We:
Th: Intensity / Back Squat, Bench Press, Power Clean
Fr: Volume / Front Squat, Press, Chin Ups
Sa:
Su:
-------------------------------------------------
Mo: Recovery / Back Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift
Tu: Intensity / Front Squat, Press, Pull Ups
We:
Th: Volume / Back Squat, Bench Press, Power Clean
Fr: Recovery / GHR, Press, Chin Ups
Sa:
Su:
-------------------------------------------------
Mo: Intensity / Back Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift
Tu: Volume / Front Squat, Press, Pull Ups
We:
Th: Recovery / Back Squat, Bench Press, Power Clean
Fr: Intensity / GHR?, Press, Chin Ups
Sa:
Su:
-------------------------------------------------

Just a thought.

This seems a bit odd to me, not sure how it would work, but I like the posters original program better than this. I'm thinking once you need 4 days of workout volume to progress, probably better to use the Starr model than Texas Method organization. If you want to stick to Texas Method with 4 workouts, I'd break the volume workout into 2 sessions done on the same day or maybe back to back days, but that might be tougher.

[matclone]

When I was a little younger, my coach had me on a somewhat similar program (and he basically followed the same), with the following exceptions: we did back squats on M, W, F and front squats on Sa. Reps were generally kept low. We would progress linearly on an 8-week cycle, and back off a little to start to a new cycle, with the end being a little higher than the one before. Recovery was not a problem.

Iron Man, it looks like you're following the Starr scheme. The only thing i would question is your plan to follow a heavy day with a medium day (the next day) but maybe the chart in PPST contemplates this-- I don't have it with me at the moment.