Try out my new advanced novice/intermediate program

[yellowmamba]

Hey guys,

I've been running a new program that has seen me improve my HBBS ATG squat from 140kg to 170kg in 7 weeks (5kg a week, equivalent to the advanced novice SS program, extra week was due to illness). The benefits are that workouts are very short, self-contained and required absolutely zero emotion. Just squat, and the gains will come. In fact, the gains have come so easily and consistently that I now routinely listen to classical music while I lift. Pure meditation and focus on form, almost no need to grind and muscle out a rep.

The program:
8 sets of 2 on Mon
4 sets of 3, 4 sets of 2 on Wed
8 sets of 3 on Fri
Rest up to 2mins b/w sets on Monday, 2mins 15 on Wednesday and 2mins 30 on Friday
Add 5kg to bar the following Monday.
If you have a shitty night of sleep/fall ill/pussy out during the week, make sure you perform at least one extra set of 3 on the scheduled workout day. Only take thr two days break before the addition of extra weight.

That's it. A workout should take anywhere from 20 minutes to 24 minutes. Warmup is very quick and simple. Just do singles up until you get close to your working set. I once busted out a Friday workout in 26 minutes including warmup.

Give it a go guys, particularly if you are contemplating the switch to intermediate training. This will double the gains you get from the Texas method and allows you to squat heavy every workout with little accumulated fatigue.

Lemme know how it goes.
From the
Yellow MAMBA

[hugenscrawny]

What were the weights you were using?

[ColoWayno]

Just sets of anything? 12 oz Curlz?

[Calvo]

What were the weights you were using?

And how did it feel? Are we talking heavy as fuck? Felt like a warmup? Kinda heavy but not really?

[Kenny Crox]

Rest up to 2mins b/w sets on Monday, 2mins 15 on Wednesday and 2mins 30 on Friday.

Time As An Overloading Method

Time can be uses as a means of providing more stress to the muscles.

However, for strength training rest periods below three (3) minutes limit your force production (strength, power, speed).

ATP, Adonosine Triphoshpate

Research show that force production during training is tied to ATP. Intense movements quickly deplete ATP.

Once it is depleted, it takes three (3) minutes or longer for the muscles to retore it,

Think of ATP as gas, you can only drive so far before you have to gas up.

If you don't gas up when you should, you run out of gas.

That is exactly what occurs when ATP has not been fully restored. You can go as far...lift as much and/or perform as many reps in a set.

Thus, once you stop making progress in your program (increasing the load and/or reps), taking more time between sets is going to allow you to take it further.

If you have a shitty night of sleep/fall ill/pussy out during the week, make sure you perform at least one extra set of 3 on the scheduled workout day. Only take thr two days break before the addition of extra weight.

Extra Sets

Performing extra work (an extra set) on a day when you physically depleted isn't a good idea.

With that logic, you should perform extra work on a day when you have pneumonia.

How much sense does that make?

Depleted State

An individual in a depleted state, no matter the reason, it going to perform well.

Also, when the body is already in a state of trama, tramatizing the body more insures that recovery is going to take longer.

Two Day Rest

You did scheudule in two days rest. However, the logic is in training hard on days when you are physcally depleted.

In other words, cut back on days when you are physically depleted and allow for recovery so you can really put it on your stronger days.

The objective is to stimulate muscle growth, not annihilate it.

A workout should take anywhere from 20 minutes to 24 minutes. Warmup is very quick and simple. Just do singles up until you get close to your working set. I once busted out a Friday workout in 26 minutes including warmup.

Keeping a program brief makes sense. The Bulgarians have proven this to be an effective method.

You program has some merits to it. However, pushing it on days when you depleted isn't a good idea.

And some tweeking along the way will keep it going.

Kenny Croxdale

[John Hanley]

In fact, the gains have come so easily and consistently that I now routinely listen to classical music while I lift. Pure meditation and focus on form, almost no need to grind and muscle out a rep.

Classical music is the primary factor for your gains...not the programming. I have had particularly impressive gains listening to Arvo Part's Tabula Rasa. Try it. In fact, Part wrote the piece with lifting in mind. From an interview with him: "There is a place beyond adrenalin, and ammonia caps and rage, and it is a place of absolute focus & detachment...it is a place in which you are no longer performing the lifts; you are the lifts."

[Shion]

Using a 2RM? Or 10% off the 2RM?

[hamburgerfan]

Do you really think you can do 8 sets of your 2rm, with 2 minutes rest between sets, lifting with zero emotion, and turn it into 8 triples in a week?


Looks like Hepburn.

[Shion]

Yeah, that was retarded on my part.

[yellowmamba]

This program worked for about 6 weeks before it got stale. Now I'm doing 6 sets of 3 Advanced Novice again until I stall, upon which I will redo this Hepburn-style program. I'm hoping this switching of programs will let me delay the time period before I have to do the Texas method.

My squat has gone "down" a bit (currently 6 sets of 3 @182.5kg), because I start every workout by doing 15 clean and jerk singles, then upper body (usually pressing), followed by 6x3 HBBS ATG squats or 3x3 Front Squats (light day). Doing 15 clean and jerk singles @ 120kg really fucking takes it out of you. I have no Oly coach, and no real Oly program. If I get 12 "satisfactory" singles, characteristed by catching the bar in the third pull high enough that I can ride a bounce, then I increase the weight by 2.5kg. Progress in Oly lifts is roughly 5kg a week as well.

Also no deadlifting is allowed unless you are on steroids. It will literally fry your CNS and fuck up a whole week's work of progress on every lift. Your lower back gets enough work through cleans and squatting anyway.