Adam Driggers 4 week training plan

Here's my latest 4 week plan. It's a pretty big departure from my norm.

Mondays:

Begins January 21, 2009

Plan varies only for meet scheduling.

Week 1:

Raw squat 4 sets of 5 reps in a competition stance.

Week 2:

Working in briefs 6-8 sets of 2 in competition stance. When working up to sets with briefs do 3 working sets of raw squats 6 reps each sets.

Week 3:

Working in briefs and suits, straps down, 6-8 working sets of 2 reps in a competition stance. Raw work is the same as previous week.

Week 4:

Fully geared working up to a heavy single. This is a test for strength gains so the raw work will be cut out.

Each week will be followed with the following specific accessory exercises.

Close stance squats with the SSB, 3 sets of 6-8 reps.

GHR’s, 3 sets of 10-15 reps.

Leg extensions, 3 sets of 10-15 reps

Reverse hyper, 3 sets of 10-15

Calves and Abs.

Tuesday:

Speed Bench

4 week plan

Begins January 20, 2009

Week 1:

Bands with 225 bar weight, 9 sets of 3 reps, 3 wide, 3 medium, 3 close grip. Red and green bands yoked together.

Week 2:

Bands with 255 bar weight, same band tension as the week before. Change tension if the weight is to slow.

Week 3:

Bands with 275 bar weight, red and white iron woody bands.

Speed training is followed by repetition method, 15-20 reps.

Week 1, 3 sets from chest.

Week 2, 3 sets from 2 boards.

Week 3, 3 sets from 4 boards

Week 4:

No bands, 405 3 sets for max reps.

Accessory work:

Bicep curls, 3 sets 10-15 reps

Concentration curls, 3 sets for 10-15 reps

Rear Delts, 3 sets for 10-15 reps

Abs

Thursday:

Deadlift work:

5 week plan

Begins January 22, 2009

Week 1:

Deadlift from floor against bands, (Tension to be determined), work to a single rep raw followed by 3 sets of 3 reps.

Week 2:

Suspended GM’s out of monolift, working to a heavy 3.

Week 3:

Deadlift with bands pulling with you to a heavy single, work raw followed by lighter sets of 3.

Week 4:

Sumo GM’s to a heavy single followed by 3 sets of 3 reps. Raw.

Week 5:

Fully suited from the floor to a heavy single.

Accessory:

Bent over rows 3 sets of 6-8 reps.

Pull downs 3 sets of 10-12.

Shrugs 3 sets of 10

Abs and calves.

Friday

Bench

5 week plan

Begins January 23, 2009

Week 1:

Benching out of bands, working to a heavy single, followed by 3 sets of 3 reps.

Week 2:

Benching against bands, working to a heavy single off 2 boards, followed by 3 sets of 3 reps off 5 boards.

Weeks 3:

Benching from chest with chains, working to a heavy triple, followed by a 3 board press also with chains. 3 sets of 6 reps.

Week 4:

Floor Press working up to a heavy triple for 3 sets. Followed by light shirt work.

Week 5:

Heavy shirt work off low boards. Work up will vary, but ideally to a heavy double or single.

Accessory:

Incline presses for weeks 1, 3, and 5. 3 sets of 6-8 reps

Shoulder presses for weeks 2, and 4. 3 sets of 6-8 reps

Dumbbell presses with bands, 3 sets of 10-12 reps

Triceps press down.

Abs.

We have been doing reverse band DL's.....How do you like those?

Looks good Brother....Please keep us posted.


Thanks
James

I really like the reverse band deadlift. It helps me overload the top without destroying my back, and mimics the suit off the floor so I don't have to get in the thing as often.

I'll post last night's workout later today.

Straight weight (no bands or chains) Squat:
Comp. Stance

315 x 6 for 3 sets
Add Briefs (Titan Boss)
405 x 2
505 x 2
555 x 2 for 5 sets

Close Stance with the SSB

305 x 6 for 3 sets

Reverse hypers

3 sets of 12 (Don't kow the weight, 3 plates and a quater and some change?)

GHR

3 sets of 10 with BW

Leg Ext.

3 sets of 10 with 100 lbs.

Calves with the SSB

Abs, holding each rep for 3 sec.

Dynamic Effort Bench Routine

Band Presses with monster mini bands. I used double bands last week with a mini added to the monster mini, but it would have been to slow today based on last week.

255 x 3 for 3 sets wide
255 x 3 for 3 sets medium
255 x 3 for 3 sets close

2 Board Press (same band tension)

255 x 12 for 2 sets (wide)
255 x 11 for a third set

Biceps

3 sets with 40's for 3 sets

Concentration Curls

3 sets with 30's for 3 sets

Rear Delts on high pulley

Abs with a band hung over the monolift. I pull to both sides and the center.

Heavy back day

Suspended Good Mornings with the Safety Squat Bar:

405 x 3 for 1 set
455 x 3 for 3 sets

Bent Over Rows:

275 x 10 for 3 sets

Pulldowns:

3 sets of 10 with the stack. (I think 225)

Shrugs:

450 for 3 sets of 10

Abs with green band hung over the monolift.

Calves with 225 on the SSB.

whats up adam! glad i get to see your training log here.

Did you get my return text the other day?

Let me know what you think of the the plan?

I had to cut this one short. I felt bad tonight. I'm not sick, but I just didn't feel into it. I was rushed and maybe that had something to do with it.

Benched against bands

Monster Minis Doubled:

315 x 2
365 x 1 off 2 boards
385 off 2 boards (missed)

5 boards:

385 x 5
405 x 3
425 x 3 for 2 sets

Military DB Presses

70 x 12
75 x 10
90 x 8

Had to end it there.

I was in the gym long enough to finish my training but we had several guys shirting up tonight getting ready for Brian Schwab's meet in Feb. Had to give them a hand.

sick layout adam and strong work! WOW! Those numbers are ridiculous haha keep it up man I hope to learn something from your log!

Funny you should say that. This whole plan is a learning process. I built it around the fact that I'd like to get stronger in my gear and raw at the same time. Something I have felt is not an intelligent goal for one to pursue. In the past I have felt that to focus on getting stronger raw, your geared lifting will suffer, and to focus solely on your geared lifting will negatively effect raw max strength. To focus on them both at one time will be difficult: "If you want to cause a man to fail at his goal, give him another one".

The recent discussions on "raw", "classic", and "geared lifting" has caused me to change my view, atleast for the short term. Getting stronger is getting stronger. I feel that if I have a good balance I can get stronger raw while not loosing my comfort level in gear. (Remembering the grove, my stance, my setup, etc) If I can split the time correctly then getting stronger out of the equipment can only make me stronger in it. Finding the correct split is the key. The plan above is my first attempt at that, thus it is a learning experience for me. I don't have any immediate meets planned so I choose now to began my experiment.

What I have learned so far:

My raw lifting is way off. The weight doesn't really feel that heavy, but the rep scheme is killing me. 6 reps with anything over 300 feels like a marathon. The first week the weight was 365 (not in the log above) and I thought I was going to die. It felt like I was sprinting not squatting. I hurt for a week because of the higher reps. I was still sore on Thursday when I pulled. The second week was better, and I feel this week will be even better still. I haven't increased the amount of weight I'm pushing raw yet. Actually, I have decreased it from the first week to prevent overtraining on the weeks that I have raw and geared lifting mixed. That idea might be a mistake, but I wont know until I get further in and test it. I may have left out adequate time in my shirt, but again, I don't think I can know that for sure yet.

Any ideas will be considered, so throw them at me.

Squat:

Raw Work:

325 x 6 for 2 sets
345 x 6
435 x 1

Briefs:

525 x 1

Briefs and Suit straps down:

615 x 2
665 x 3 for 3 sets
665 x 1

Supersets with leg extensions and GHR:

105 x 10 leg ext. with 10 reps of BW on GHR for 3 sets

Reverse Hypers:

3 sets of 10 with 200+/-

Abs and calves supersetted

In my plan I put the raw work after the geared lifting. For convenience I did my raw work before. Big mistake. I was gassed and my suit seemed super tight. Depth was hard to get. I also cut some of the geared work out because I just couldn't do it. I'll do it right next time around.

man i feel you on the rep scheme stuff.. it's doing me some good i think but anything over 5 reps with 315 is just brutal and i have to focus hard to make it a success...

365 for reps is a killer for me.. but if i do it for a single it moves as fast and effortless as 315 does.. but we've adapted our bodies to produce results that way. 1 rep 1 time with 1 chance on the platform

Speed Bench with Monster Mini Band

Wide Grip

255 x 3 for 3 sets

Medium Grip

255 x 3 for 3 sets

Close Grip

255 x 3 for 3 sets

4 Board Press

315 x 5
255 x 10 for 2 sets
255 x 8

Bicep Curls

40 x 10 for 3 sets

Concentration Curls

30 x 10 for 3 sets

Rear Delts

1 set with 105 on the high pulley
2 sets with 25 lb DB's 10 reps each

I should have went 275 on the speed sets, but I didn't feel warm until deep into the training.

Deadlift Work:

Pulled with reverse bands today. I was short on time so no asst. work today, but my pulls went like this:

515 x 3
615 x 1
695 x 1
725 failure

Dropped the weight to work som reps:

515 x 3
565 x 3 for 2 sets

All this was raw work, and was only 40 lbs less than my suited PB.

I'll have some video on our myspace page of that workout later. www.myspace.com/teamsamsonpowerlifting

Heavy Bench Night

Bench with 4 sets of chains:

315 x 3
345 x 3 failed on the 3rd rep

Continued off 3 boards still with chains

275 x 6
315 x 6
335 x 6 failed on the 6th rep

Incline Presses

225 x 8 for 3 sets

DB Presses with band (average)

95 x 10
95 x 6
95 x 6

Tricep Pressdowns

3 sets of 12 with 85

Abs

Suited Squats

Straps Down:

705 x 1

Wrapped and Straps Down:

800 x 1
850 x 1 cut it a bit shorter than I would have liked.

Calves:

3 sets of 12 with 260

Raw Bench Straight Weight

405 x 3
405 x 3
405 x 2 Failure on the second

4 Board Close Grip

315 x 8
315 x 12
315 x 10

Alt. Bicep Curls

40 x 10 for 3 sets

Concentration Curls

30 x 12

Abs

Ran out of time, thats why my arm training was cut short. I coach a 10 and under baseball team so this time of year is rushed a bit. It makes for some shortened sessions, but I enjoy it.

For anyone who doesn't know I run Team Samson Powerlifting. I currently have 11 lifters that train on a regular basis at my place. Mondays and Fridays we have a full crew, Tuesday we have our smallest crowd, and Thursday's crowd is big, 8 people most weeks. I live in Jacksonville, Fl. which is spread out over a large area so we have a few guys that travel a good distance to train. That's why we don't have a full crew all week. But our heavy bench and squat workouts are pretty crowded. They are now, atleast. We use to train bench on Monday, and Squat on Friday, but we were running into a problem on Fridays. Somtimes we would have 11 people show up on Mondays to bench, and as few as 4 show up to squat on Friday. Everyone likes to bench, and everyone likes to go out on the weekends, and few people like to squat. So we had several guys that didn't mind missing a heavy squat workout when it might cramp their Friday night schedule. So I switched things up a bit and put evryone's favorite lift, the bench, on Friday. Now we have a full crew on Fridays. Crazy how that works. So the changed served its purpose but I just don't like it. Mainly because I'm still not use to it. I still come into the gym mentally prepared to squat on Friday. I can't shake it. Secondly I'm not recovered from a heavy squat workout in time for a heavy back workout. Today was the straw that broke the camel's back I think. My ME exercise tonight was wide stance goodmornings. After an all out squat workout on Monday my body was just not ready. The way it was before added an extra 24 hours of recovery time. So 315 felt like it was going to break me. I could hardly make myself work up to a heavy single, and when I did it was way off. I'll have a talk with the guys tomorrow to see if I can switch it back. Maybe now that they know, that I know they can make it when they want to they'll be less likely to miss a heavy Friday night squat session.

The Workout:

Wide Stance GM's
405 x 3
505 x 1
545 x 1

A few weeks ago I stopped at 605, and a few weeks before that I went as heavy as 660.

Dropped down for reps:

405 x 3 for 3 sets

Bent Over Rows:

315 x 8
365 x 6 for 2 sets
365 x 3

Pulldowns:

205 x 12

Shrugs w/DBs

100's for 3 sets of 12

Abs and Calves.

Right now I'm training calves standing with the Safety Squat Bar. 255 Bar weight, high reps (20)

Heavy Bench:

Floor Presses:

315 x 3
335 x 3 for 3 sets

Shoulder Presses with DB's

75 x 10
90 x 8 for 3 sets

Shirted Bench:

405 x 3 off 4 boards (no shirt)
495 x 2 off 3 boards Rage X
605 x 1 off 3 boards Rage X
605 x 1 off 3 boards Phenom
605 x 1 off 2 boards Phenom

The Phenom is not mine. I was breaking it in for Brian Carroll so it's really big on me. The arms especially. I think it's to small for Brian though.

DB bench press with bands: (Average Band)

75 x 10
90 x 8 for 3 sets

Tricep Press Down

3 sets of 15

Abs

Raw Squats:

345 x 3 for 3 sets

Raw Box Squats with chains

275 x 3 for 2 sets
315 x 3 for 2 sets

Close Stance Squats (These are only as deep as I would go to pull)

405 x 4 for 3 sets

GHR

3 sets of 10

Reverse Hypers

3 sets of 10

Calves

Raw Bench Press

315 x 5
365 x 5 for 3 sets

Lat Pull Downs (Reverse Grip)

175 x 12 for 3 sets

EZ Bar Curl (biceps)

75 x 12
95 x 12 for 2 sets

Hammer Curls DB's

25 x 12 for 3 sets

Tricep Press Down

75 x 15 for 3 sets

Rear Delts

75 x 12 for 3 sets

This is my last week of squatting on Mondays. I came in again yesterday sore and hurting. I went to 635 (deadlift) and dropped the weight as soon as my hamstrings kicked in. For a few hours I wash sure I had pulled it(left hamstring), maybe even torn it. I'm sure that's not the case today, but it's hurt. I'll still try to bench today, but I'm not sure how that will work out. I'll pick up next week by benching again on Monday, and squatting on Friday. A few guys in the gym are preparing for meets, so they will continue on their current training schedule, but everyone else will switch back with me on Monday.

Deadlifts:
405 x 1
495 x 1
585 x 1
635 dropped

Was still limping around today, but I wanted to lift so I began warming up. Weight felt great until I needed to push with my legs, and that was it. I'll wait until Monday and do it again when I rearrange the schedule.

405 x 1
455 x 1 3 board

Cut it off there.

My hamstring still hurts, but I was able to get my bench in today. I went shirted off 2 and 3 boards. Used 24" 3XH on the 675. (Thanks Clint)

585 x 1 off 3 board
635 x 1 off 2 board
675 x 1 off 3 board missed
675 x 1 off 2 board

Close Grip 3 board:

315 x 8 for 3 sets