Last week I mentioned that I’d taken a week off completely from training and was making a few changes to my program. I very rarely make big changes to my training template because I’m a big believer in the adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” That being said, I’ll make small tweaks every eight or so weeks and prioritize different things: different exercises, different rep ranges, etc.
So here’s my template for now.
Day 1
Sliding leg curl progression (either sliding leg curls or bodycurls)
Low handle trap bar deadlift
Split squat iso hold finisher (weighted)
I really like doing a sliding leg curl variation prior to deadlifting for a few reasons. I find it’s a good warm-up for deadlifts, and for reasons I can’t explain, my deadlifts just always feel way better after doing sliding leg curls, and my knees also feel better. When I first started using this strategy I’d keep the sliding leg curls very easy, but I’ve started pushing them and doing more advanced progressions and have found that my deadlift numbers don’t suffer at all, which is interesting. I also like doing the sliding leg curls first because after deadlifts I’m smoked and don’t feel like doing much else. I’ll just do an iso hold as a finisher (these are brutal, too) and call it good.
Day 2
Overhead Press
Rows
Landmine Lateral Raises
Face Pulls (sometimes)
Core
Right now I’m trying to improve my overhead press, which is why I’m putting it early in the week. In my previous phase I had it in the second upper body day with the bench press being early in the week.
Day 3
RDL (either split stance, bilateral, or single leg)
Single leg hip thrusts
Rows and/or chin-ups
Heavy reverse sled drags
Day 4
Low incline bench press
Chin-ups
Landmine Lateral Raises
Core
Split Squat Iso Holds (bodyweight). I’ll do these between sets of upper body
Day 5
This is a free day. I’ll either skip this workout or do whatever I feel like doing that day.
This is the basic gist of what I’m doing for now. Sometimes I’ll add or subtract something depending on how I’m feeling (for example, I may add sleds at the end of some workouts or skip an exercise if I’m feeling particularly smoked), but for those of you that have expressed interest in how I train, this gives a pretty good idea. I don’t like to do a lot of different exercises in one workout and find I do much better picking 2-4 and getting after it. It doesn’t look like much on paper, but I can assure you it ain’t easy.
If you have questions just fire below and I’ll see what I can do.
Also, don’t forget that Dean Somerset’s Post Rehab Essentials 2.0 is on a big sale through the end of this week, so if you’re interested, now is the time to take a look. It’s been getting a lot of great feedback so far.
If you read my blog regularly then you know that I write a lot about training around injuries and finding ways to ways to make your training easier on the joints.
That’s one of my biggest passions, and something I spend a lot of my time with.
So when Dean Somerset sent me his new Post Rehab Essentials 2.0 product, I was very interested because that’s the stuff I love learning about.
Dean did not disappoint. Post Rehab Essentials 2.0 is very good. Like the title suggests, it covers how to come back from injuries in a way that makes you feel better and gets you back to performing at a high level.
That’s the real selling point in my mind. A lot of rehab programs are honestly pretty wussy. They’re fine for sedentary folks that don’t demand much from their bodies, but for those of us that still want to perform at a high level, they’re sorely (pun intended) lacking. Dean’s rehab protocols are fine for those folks, but they’re also geared towards the athlete and/or exercise enthusiast, which I like.
This is a follow-up to a prior product (hence the 2.0 in the title) and while I liked the first product, I think this one is significantly better, both in terms of the information presented, and the actual video quality (this is HD). It’s very comprehensive and covers all the major injuries you’ll deal with, plus a lot more.
I get sent a lot of programs to review and rarely do because I’m not very easily impressed, but I definitely recommend you check this out. I think it’s best for personal trainers and strength coaches that work with folks that are banged up, or for more advanced exercise enthusiasts looking for ideas as to how to deal with their bumps and bruises. I probably wouldn’t recommend for complete exercise novices.
You can read more about the product HERE and see exactly which topics it covers to see if it’s something you’re interested in. It’s on sale this week for under 100 bucks, so it’s a great time to check it out.
Have a good week. I hope to be back tomorrow or the next day with a new blog post but it’s been crazy busy at the gym so please bear with me!
Remember also that today is the last day to get Eric Cressey’s Show and Go program at half price, so if you’re interested in that I’d jump on it quickly before the price goes back up.
Also, in that blog post I mentioned that I’m taking suggestions for blog post ideas. Some people left ideas in the comments, and I will be addressing them in future blogs, but if you have ideas, let me know.
Same goes for videos. I’m been consistently uploading new videos to my You Tube page (please subscribe!), but if there’s something special you’d like to see, let me know and I’ll see what I can do.
Hey everyone! Sorry I’ve been a blogging bum recently. I’ve been really busy at the gym and, well, you know how that goes…
Things are going well though. I’m ok with busy, as long it’s “good” busy.
Last week I was also a little under the weather and actually took a week off from training, which I hate doing, but I know that sometimes it’s necessary. It’s funny, I always seem to come back from a week off stronger, but I still resist taking weeks off.
As usual, I came back stronger, and this has been a great week of training so far. I’m going to be making some minor changes to my program, so if there’s interest I may share those here.
Anyway, the point of today’s post is to alert you to a couple of great resources that I think you’ll like.
Between my own consistent content and my weekly Good Reads, I’ve made it a point to have my blog be a place of learning. Most of this stuff is free, but every once in a while there are paid products that I think are worth bringing to your attention.
I’m often asked for program recommendations and asked when I’m going to write my own training program/book. I would definitely love to do that at some point, but until I have my own program, Show and Go is one of the few that I recommend.
Here is a short interview I did with Eric when it first came out to give you some background about the program.
It’s normally a bit pricey at $147 (though I think it’s well worth the money for what you’re getting), but when I saw that it’s basically half off (77 bucks) this week, I figured I’d mention it here because that’s a total steal.
If you’re looking for a very comprehensive training program, I’d definitely give it a look while the gettin’s good. You can find more about it HERE.
I had a coach come visit me at the gym the other day and somehow the conversation turned to StrengthCoach.com. I’m actually the assistant editor for the site and have been for a few years, but I realize that I rarely mention it here on my blog so not a lot of people know that.
In my (obviously biased) opinion, I think it’s a fantastic resource for coaches and personal trainers, and I try to make a point to mention it here every year or so for my new readers that may not know about it.
We’ve lined up some great content for the summer, which includes programs from a bunch of great strength coaches from a myriad of different sports sharing exactly what they do with their athletes/teams. To me, that’s the real of the site, along with the forum. It’s real coaches talking about what they do, not just some theory.
Strengthcoach.com has a introductory trial that’s dirt cheap (a few bucks) so it’s risk-free. Definitely give it a look. You can check it out HERE.
As a 27 year old coach, I realize that money doesn’t grow on trees, so I’m big on value and bang for your buck. Both of these resources provide that in spades, so I feel good standing behind them.
Hope you’re having a good week, and again, I apologize for my blogging bummery. If you have any questions/topics you’d like me to cover, respond below or shoot me a message and I’ll see if I can do some Q+A style blogs.
That’s it for today. Before you go, please remember to sign up for my free newsletter in the upper right, and let’s on connect on Twitter, Facebook, and You Tube.
