Optimal strength training for runners

Windmills get the blood flowing in the arms and shoulders. They are really good to help aid in recovery. Wow, I thought that was common knowledge, but maybe not. Something I've known for a long time. Also standing on one leg and rotating the other leg accomplishes the same task.

Oh, just watched your link Lee, thats a different kind of windmill than what I know as windmills.

NickW said:

Windmills get the blood flowing in the arms and shoulders. They are really good to help aid in recovery. Wow, I thought that was common knowledge, but maybe not. Something I've known for a long time. Also standing on one leg and rotating the other leg accomplishes the same task.

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Yah, I also didn't know that it was common knowledge that squats are the king of lifts, or that there were many standard ways of organizing sets and reps, and not just my WMR (warm up, max, reduce) method. Basically, I read a few of my older brother's Muscle and Fitness mags when I was in college, or just out of college, got a few pointers from him and his friend (our backyard neighbor) and since then I've been mostly on my own. I've learned so much on this thread! I would think your experience in the Army provided you with a lot more supervised/collective strength training knowledge.

NickW said:

Oh, just watched your link Lee, thats a different kind of windmill than what I know as windmills.

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Yah, strange that they would call those windmills, right? I like the idea of doing those toe/floor-touching windmills with a dumbbell held up high though. Might be similar to the overhead squat for working (what I understand to be) the obliques.

Ya Lee it looks like there are several variations and just plain different exercises with same name. I agree that I wish there was some way for exercises to all get labeled and everyone used those terms. Would lessen the confusion at times. Ya I think my military experience taught me some, but so did my boxing, wrestling, and mma experience before I went into the Army. The Army did teach me one thing nothing else did, and that was the fact that my body is capable of so much more than I had ever believed. I think people that do ultras understand this very well. Barefooters understand this to a degree, in the sense that they know their feet can handle much more than most give them credit for. Growing up in a westernized country I think we get dumbed down and sheltered and don't know this.

OK, yesterday I didn't feel like doing my deadlifts. And really didn't feel like doing deadlifts, overhead presses, and pulldowns all together. I don't know if it was the morning's run, or accumulating sleep deprivation, but I ended up just doing the pulldowns. This indicated a few things to me:

1.) The three big lifts per workout idea is not always going to work out. It's a great full-body pump, but many days I won't have the time or energy for it.
2.) I need an alternative routine with flexibility built-in, so that I can account for schedule interruptions as well as varying levels of time and energy.

In an effort to eliminate the need to constantly come up with different plans, I first need to strip things down to the basics. First, after reading some of the meathead sites, I found out that most lifts can be reduced to one of two forces, Push or Pull, in one of three directions, Up, Down, and Out/In, resulting in six basic lifting movements:

Push Up = Overhead Press;
Push Down = Squat;
Push Out = Bench Press;

Pull Up = Deadlift;
Pull Down = Pullups or Pulldowns; and
Pull In = Rows.

For a complete weekly workout routine then, I need to get in each of these six movements at least once per week. This can be done in various combinations.

The first organizing logic to consider is the fact that the two lower body lifts, squats and deadlifts, use the most total muscle mass, thus requiring the most energy, and so should be scheduled on separate days. I'm also trying to run everyday, so I don't want to overtax the legs with two big lower body lifts on the same day.

The four remaining lifts, all upper body, aren't so easy to organize, as there are several logics to consider.

If I'm doing three big lifts in a single workout, I like to combine one of the lower body lifts with a pairing of Up/Down or In/Out upper body lifts, as agonistic/antagonistic couplets. But you could also pair the two upper body Pushes and the two Pulls together, or do an upper body Push and Pull in the same workout with different directions Up/Out and Down/In or Up/In and Down/Out.

With three of the big lifts in a single workout, all six of the main lifts will be completed in two workouts. If I'm working out three times a week, I can repeat the first workout on the third day, which leads to a two-week cycle--1/2/1 | 2/1/2--or fill in the third day with some big assistance lifts. The first option, I found out, can lead to scheduling problems if you miss a workout. So I like the second option.

For the lower body, I think the Power Clean is a good, more explosive complement to the Deadlift and Squat. For upper body pushes, I like the Dips as my third lift, and for upper body pulls I'm leaning towards the high pull, although the landmine arc, which isn't really a push or a pull, is also one of my favorite upper body exercises, since it works the obliques in a way none of the main lifts do.

With all this mind, a good three-lifts-per-workout/three-times-per-week routine would look like this:



I really like the simplicity and conceptual elegance of this routine. It's also pretty comprehensive, as it includes upper body Pushes and Pulls in all three directions. However, it completely ignores many useful assistance exercises, and is relatively inflexible.

So, in order to design a more complex and flexible routine, with the option of including assistance exercises, I think I need to have a routine with three-day, four-day, five-day, and six-day versions. This would be based on a three-day routine in which each workout included two instead of three of the big lifts.

The first logic, once again, would be to separate Deadlifts and Squats. Next, it would make sense to put the bench press and rows together, since they use the most muscle mass, and thus energy, after the deadlifts and squats. If, say, deadlifts or squats use 70-80% of the body's muscle mass, then the bench press and bentover row probably use 30-40%, so bench + row = deadlift or squat, in terms of energy output.

An alternative way of viewing the same three-day routine would be to put each of the big three powerlifts--Deadlift, Bench Press, Squat--in its own workout, and then add one more of the six big lifts to each workout.

In either case, after establishing the bench press and row as a single workout pairing, one of the other two upper body workouts needs to be paired with the Deadlift or Squat. It doesn't really matter, but I like to put the Overhead Press with the Deadlift & Power Clean, since together they describe the "Clean Press" lift. The Pulldowns then go with the Squats, giving me three workout days per week with two main lifts in each workout.

For a four-day routine, it makes sense to first decouple the Bench Press and the Row, since they consume more energy than the other two upper body lifts, the Pulldowns and Overhead presses. Of these, the next lift to put into its own workout would be the Pulldowns, since they take longer than the Overhead presses. This results in a five-day routine. At this point I would probably also shift the Overhead Presses out of the Deadlifts workout, since both have a lot of assistance exercises I'd want to hit, and put them together with either the Pulldowns, as an antagonistic complement, or with the Squats, since I use the rack for both lifts. Then finally, I put the overhead presses into their own workout, which results in a six-day workout, each workout containing just one of the main lifts and its assistance exercises.



Conceivably, I could alternate one week of doing just the basic, big lifts at full intensity, with a week of doing lesser sets/reps/maxes of the big lifts and more of the assistance exercises. This can all be compressed into a kind of flow chart, with expanding options for 4-, 5-, and 6-day weekly routines listed on the second page:



Finally, as one more alternative, I could give each of the big lifts their own day, and then organize two more upper body days with respect to force type, push or pull:



So perhaps the best method is no method, but by having outlined these three different approaches, which are simply my favorite exercises organized by tried-and-true training protocols, I should be able to alternate enough to keep things fresh, and also be able to improvise a bit better now that I can visualize the various logics and options available.

Woohoo, added 20 lbs to my deadlift max yesterday afternoon, got it up to 325. That felt like my true 1RM. I was just able to do it without sacrificing form, i.e., without risking injury. After warming up, it was 1/1 at 325, then 2/2/2 at 305, then 5 at 265. I was going to go for a sweet burn with a few more higher rep'd sets at 265 or 225, when my wife came home and that ended that. Oh well. She actually started asking me about what I do and why, which is a first, so I tried to explain the basic logics and protocols of ST. She's taking Anatomy and Physiology II right now, so it was easy for her to understand. I'm dreaming of the day I can lift and run with my family.

Running home yesterday afternoon, I kinda felt at peace with my ST, the same way I feel about my running. I guess I've read enough and thought through all the different logics sufficiently that I may be able to throw it all out the window and really just lift by feel, without any specific program or routine. This happened with my running last fall.

As long as I hit both forces--push and pull--and their three main directions--floor, horizontal, vertical--meaning as long as I do the six basic lifts--deadlift, squat, bench, row, press, and pulldown/pullup--in whatever combination or scheduling that suits me or the time and energy available, I'm good. Same as my running, where basically I'm just trying to get in 25-30 miles a week, whether it be a lot of short runs, a few longer ones, at aerobic, tempo, or anaerobic paces.

Today I'm thinking about trying front squats for the first time, and then get in the one main lift I haven't hit yet this week, the overhead press.

A few days ago I read the first page of this thread again. It was interesting to see where we started a year and a half ago. I also re-read the Magness and Canute links Abide posted, and ordered Rippetoe's book. I was impressed by the simple beauty of his introductory paragraphs:

While that Rippetoe's text is somewhat sensible, his logic is bit off. When someone gets hooked on lifting, then of course he gets happier when he gets stronger, but that doesn't mean that strength would be so special to everyone... Strength is merely important to strength enthusiasts.

flammee said:

While that Rippetoe's text is somewhat sensible, his logic is bit off. When someone gets hooked on lifting, then of course he gets happier when he gets stronger, but that doesn't mean that strength would be so special to everyone... Strength is merely important to strength enthusiasts.

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He's saying no, it's important to everyone, whether they realize it or not, whether they approach it with enthusiasm or dreary obligation, and he's claiming experience in seeing people become happier when they transform their weak and injury-prone bodies and achieve basic strength. I don't think he's talking about bodybuilding or powerlifting. Functional strength is basic to good health, like good nutrition, good sleep, some stamina or endurance, etc. When you become reasonably strong, you don't get back aches, your gait is solid and smooth, you have good balance, you boost your immune system, and you slow down the effects of aging by maintaining bone density and muscle mass. Unfortunately, the guys who have made a science out of strength training tend to be the guys who go for big power and hypertrophy, and so this remains the popular conception. But really, you just need to do the six basic lifts once a week to achieve basic strength and its benefits.

Here's a link about how strength training applies specifically to runners:

http://www.scienceofrunning.com/2010/05/more-on-strength-training-for-runners.html#more

Nobody would mistake Steve Magness for a "strength enthusiast" if this means powerlifter/bodybuilder.

Abide said:

Wow thats impressive, nice lift. I would love it too if I could get the family lifting too. I'll reply a bit longer when I get home next week I have some comments about your thoughts.

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Thanks, sounds good--I always appreciate your feedback.

Now I'm thinking it would be nice to get up to 405 by the end of the year--a nice Olympic-plates standard. It's amazing how good my gait feels now, even at slow paces. But I feel a little ambivalent about getting so caught up in 1RMs. I've never had goals in ST before. And 350 or ExRx's 'intermediate' level is probably good enough. After that, my time might be best spent focusing more on the plyo, mobility, agility stuff.

For what it's worth here's a few more charts that I whipped up, expanding on the others. I think I'll just tape them all up on the garage wall to help me improvise a weekly routine as I go through the week, identifying quickly the various logics so that I can adjust to the day's time and energy allotments.





Here's some discussion of the push/pull concept: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=145567511
Funny to visit another forum culture.

Even though Abide has used the terms 'pull' a lot on this thread, I had never before heard lifts categorized this way, but it makes so much sense now. You can either push or pull, in one of three directions. So, logically, there's only six (2x3) basic lifts you can do. Every routine is pretty much just a variation and recombination of these two force vectors and three directions. So, for example, a 'back' workout is really just a pull workout, using two or three pull directions, a "chest & shoulders" day is really a push day in two directions, a "Legs" day is really a push and pull day, pulling up from the floor and pushing down on it.

Combing through some of the meathead sites, I found out this is common knowledge, but it was kind of an "aha" moment for me, just as when I learned that all running programs can be reduced to, basically, scheduling some combination or ratio of the three basic run types: aerobic, tempo, and anaerobic running. It's always nice to break things down into the essentials. Gives me conceptual clarity.

OK, reading Rippetoe's book a bit, and he's reinforcing the concept of sticking with the main lifts, and only doing assistance exercises if time permits and if they help, and do not take away from, the main lifts. He also emphasizes the overhead press over the bench press, likes squats for pretty much every workout, and considers the power clean the best overall lift for power. With that in mind, I've whipped up a new flow chart. It starts with three full workouts, and then progressively allows for time constraints and scheduling interruptions to occur, leading to an increasingly reduced routine, until only Rippetoe's five basic lifts remain.

So for example, if I'm short on time Monday, the Bench/Dips and Arms portion gets moved to Tuesday. If I'm short on time Wednesday, the Press and Power Clean get moved to Thursday. If I can't get in a workout Tuesday, then the Bench and Arms are moved to Wednesday, together with the Deadlift, and the Press and Power Clean get moved to Thursday. And so on.

The assistance exercises haven't changed:


I can also have a flow chart for my running, in an attempt to make sure I get in 30 mpw:

It's based on the idea of running 5K every weekday, and then a long run on the weekend, usually Saturday. Then for every day I don't get in a 5K, I can beef up the run on either Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday, or all three, depending on how many 5Ks I miss.

Woohoo, 265 squat! That really was my limit though, as my left knee almost buckled outwards. Then did 245 /2/2/2, 225 3/4/3 and 175 6/6/. I think it's only at 175 that my form feels really solid, although I'm making sure not to put my back into it at heavier weights. Then some overhead squats at 75. Man those overhead squats are a killer. Definitely an essential exercise for me. Didn't have time for my Bench and Dips, so, according to my flow chart, I have to get them in today. Slept like a baby last night.

Feeling sore this morning, my upper back just as much as my legs. Nonetheless, for the last few days my running pace has picked up, so I think the heavy lift theory is working; it's going to make me a faster and stronger runner. Time will tell. For the moment, just seeing steady improvement on the big lifts is enough. I really like how they recruit so much muscle mass and neuromuscular coordination and concentration. I'm going to try to find time to read some more of Rippetoe's book later today.

Interesting read
https://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/get_your_press_up

Haven't checked in for a few days. In the meantime, I’ve read a good deal and skimmed through the rest of Mark Rippetoe’s book “Starting Strength,” and refined my flow chart a bit more, and added in rep/sets on the basic three-day program.

I wrote up the following to help me think through the logic and make sure I've really understood the basic concepts. I'll respond to Abide and Sid's recent posts below or add stuff now as I proofread what I pasted in here . . .

Rippetoe's whole philosophy is that since the body was designed to work as a unit, it should be trained as a unit, with barbells, for athletic strength, balance, and coordination, and not broken up into a bunch of unrelated parts, as in (1) bodybuilding and its focus on hypertrophy via numerous assistance exercises at high reps, or (2) health club/Nautilus isolation machines. He also distinguishes between powerlifting, with its narrow focus on being strong on just a few lifts, with little real power involved, and athletic strength, which is more like Olympic weightlifting and requires a lot more power and technique. He then designs a novice program based on what he considers the four strength movements most necessary for athletic performance: the Squat, Overhead Press (or just ‘Press’), Deadlift, and the Supine Press (or just ‘Bench’). That’s basically two lower-body and two upper-body movements, although Rippetoe stresses that the lower-body movements use a good deal of the upper body’s muscle mass as well. Further, in Rippetoe’s program, as in Strong Lifts and perhaps a few others, you do squats to begin every workout. Finally, there are just two workouts.

Squat.................. Squat
Press ...................Bench Press
Deadlift ...............Deadlift

Each workout has two lower-body lifts with one upper-body lift in between. So if you do three workouts per week, you end up with a two-week cycle.

He also adds in a fifth lift, the Power Clean, after a few weeks have passed.

Squat ....................Squat
Press .....................Bench Press
Deadlift .................Power Clean

Rippetoe also stipulates that one should only do assistance exercises if they actually assist, and do not detract, from these five main lifts: Squat, Press, Deadlift, Bench, and Power Clean. As long as one is making good progress on the main lifts, assistances lifts will more than likely take away time and energy from the main lifts without adding anything. However, once the improvement on the main lifts slows down, which I take to mean once one has reached roughly intermediate level, then one can add in the assistance lifts.

The first ancillary exercise that Rippetoe mentions, after variations of the main ones, and the first one he adds to the strict novice program of five main lifts, is the chin-up/pull-down. I’m putting it in right away because it attacks a force/direction pairing—pull/down—that none of Rippetoe’s five main lifts do. Rippetoe focuses on lifts that have direct benefit to athletic performance, but I’m a bit smitten by the concept of hitting all six force/direction pairings—push/up, push/down, push/out, pull/up, pull/down, pull/in—in a weekly routine. So, although few sports outside of gymnastics ask the athlete to pull themselves up to something, it seems like a useful strength skill to develop for general fitness, especially in a program that maintains a somewhat naturalistic stance, like mine, since brachiating played a big part in our evolutionary history.

Anyway, the goal is to be able to do 10 reps of chin-ups. This goal is a long way off, so it will be one of the main exercises in a three-exercise workout. I’ll include all the grip variations—neutral, supine, prone--in hopes that this speeds up progress. So “Chin-up” will be pluralized to indicate all the grip variations.

Rippetoe suggests adding the Chin-ups to the second workout and alternating Deadlifts and Power Cleans in the first:

Squat.............................. Squat
Press ...............................Bench Press
Deadlift/Power Clean ....Chin-ups

Combining Rippetoe’s program with my experience thus far, especially my recent experimentation with a more minimalistic, “Big Lifts’ program similar to Rippetoe’s, as well as my recent thinking on force (push/pull) and direction (up, down, in/out) pairings, I’ve come up with the following, provisional modifications.

First, I don’t like the idea of a two-week cycle. I tried it briefly and it gets complicated if scheduling problems arise. I like to keep it simple and focused with a one-week cycle, with some kind of flow chart or back-up plan that ensures that I get in all the big lifts once a week no matter what. This is a high priority for me, because I know consistency is key to progress, and yet interruptions, contingencies, and varying levels of time and energy are part of life, and must be accounted for. A complicated training cycle, or one with varying set and rep combos, as in Dan John's Even Easier Strength program, simply isn't going to work for me.

Second, Rippetoe’s first big lift, the Squat, is to be done three times a week! Although I’ve only recently begun to take squats seriously, I don’t think I’m novice enough for that kind of focus. Plus I think it would interfere with my running too much. Four days after my max squat on Monday, and I'm finally rid of the soreness. So I’m going to do them either once or twice a week. If I do them twice a week, one of those workouts will be done without a max lift or assistance exercise. I also think doing two big lower-body exercises in one workout is too much for me; I like to keep the squats and deadlifts separate.

With these two points in mind, the first modification to Rippetoe’s schedule would be something like:

Squat ..........Deadlift ..............Squat
Press ...........Bench Press .......Chin-ups
.....................Power Clean

But somehow, the Deadlift, Power Clean, and Press just seem to go together, and the Bench just seems to want to go before Presses, to start off the week:

Squat ...................Deadlift ..............Squat
Bench Press .........Press ..................Chin-ups
..............................Power Clean

Third, even though I’m not at intermediate level with the squat, I’m adding in overhead squats as part of my Squat, indicated by the plural “Squats,” because it works the stabilizer or postural muscles of the trunk like no other exercise, and will help to condition me if I ever get around to working on Olympic lifts. Although the Overhead Squat is technically an assistance exercise, I consider it essential.

Squat ....................Deadlift ...............Squat
Overhead Squat ....Press ...................Chin-ups
Bench Press ...........Power Clean

>>>

Squats ................Deadlift ....................Squat
Bench ..................Press ........................Chin-ups
..............................Power Clean

Rippetoe’s second main lift, the Overhead Press, or Press, is close to the novice level for me, because I’ve been laying off it for a while due to my left shoulder problem. I’ve recently discovered that massaging and stretching my shoulder and upper back, and doing windmills, helps a lot so I’m recommitting to the Overhead Press and will make it one of the exercises I really focus on, in the hopes that by strengthening the shoulder, my problem may eventually go away for good. In fact, I suspect the problem originates not in the presses, but in the bench presses, and having an overdeveloped anterior deltoid (Sid's posted article by Rippetoe on the Press confirms this possibility!). The press, along with other exercises, will hopefully balance this out with more development of the posterior deltoid. Still, given my history of problems, I’m going pretty light with it to start with, just 75-95 pounds, and will use Dumbbell Presses, and perhaps Shoulder Raises, Swings, and Shrugs as well, as assistance exercises to increase the overall volume until I can get the weight up. It would be really cool if eventually I could press my BW.

Squats .............Deadlift ................Squat
Bench ..............Press ....................Chin-ups
..........................DB Press
..........................Power Clean

The fourth modification to Rippetoe’s novice program is to add in Good Mornings, Rows, and Loaded Carries to his third main lift—the Deadlift—since my deadlift strength is close to intermediate already, and progress is slowing down. The Good Mornings work the hamstrings better than any other exercise, which will help my running, and Rows work the back as an assistance to the Deadlift, potentially accelerating my Deadlift progress. Also, Rows work the one other force/direction pairing missing from Rippetoe’s main lifts—pull/in. And after years of neglect, I like the idea of having a stronger back, especially as I begin to age more rapidly, and Rows are certainly excellent for back development. I’ll probably stick to my routine of doing two or three different kinds of rows, rather than sticking to just one: Bentover T-bar Row, Seated Cable Row, and Dumbbell or Kroc Row. Once again, I’ll pluralize the Row as “Rows” to indicate these variations. I’m also keeping the Landmine Arc, where I move a weighted bar inserted into the landmine platform up from one side, over the middle, and down the other side, while standing, which describes an arc across my coronal/frontal plane, because no other exercise works the obliques, lats, and shoulders this way. Finally, I’d like to keep doing the Loaded Carry at the end of the workout, time permitting, in order to develop my grip strength. (It's interesting that Dan John considers Loaded Carries an essential exercise, whereas Rippetoe doesn't even mention them as an ancillary exercise.)

But now that’s too many exercises for the deadlift day, so I’ll put the rows and the landmines together with the chin-ups, resulting in more of a traditional ‘back’ day:

Squats ....................Deadlift ..........................Squat
Bench .....................Good mornings ..............Chin-ups
.................................Press ..............................Rows
.................................DB Press .........................Landmine Arc
.................................Power Clean
.................................Loaded Carry

Rippetoe’s fourth main lift, the bench or supine press, doesn’t really need any assistance; I’m already at intermediate level and don’t have any real desire for a bigger chest. Nonetheless, I’m adding in Dips because, although they work the pecs too, they work the triceps and upper back and stabilizers more than the Bench Press. I also like the way Dips stretch the pecs and triceps for a full ROM after doing the bench. The second assistance exercise I’m also going to do is a triceps exercise, either Lying or Seated Triceps Extensions, the French Press, or Rope Pushdowns, since strong triceps should help me with just about all the main lifts, and, although I've never been big on cosmetic exercises, it just seems wrong to leave off all arm exercises altogether.

Squats ..........................Deadlift .......................Squat
Bench ............................Good mornings ...........Chin-ups
Dips ..............................Press .............................Rows
Triceps Extensions ......DB Press ......................Landmine Arc
......................................Power Clean
......................................Loaded Carry

That leaves Rippetoe’s Power Clean. I’m really at novice level here. While I’ve done these before, I wasn’t doing them with the proper technique, so I’m going to start from scratch and take it slow before adding much weight. Rippetoe provides an excellent breakdown of the Power Clean’s phases and attendant form cues. The only question is if I should bundle the Power Clean in with my Deadlift and Overhead Press day, or put them in the third workout, either removing the second squat session there, or putting them together with a reduced squat workout. My sense is that it would be best just to focus on the Power Cleans as my third big lower-body lift. That way each workout is anchored by one lower-body lift, but the lighter weight Power Cleans would immediately precede my long run on the weekend, so I'd have some time to recover from the heavier squat and deadlift days earlier in the week.

I guess I just have a hard time buying into Rippetoe and other minimalists’ heavy focus on squats, "the king of lifts" and really like the idea of getting good at an explosive, more plyometric movement involving weights like the Power Clean. As Rippetoe states, the “power clean, by training the athlete’s ability to move a heavy weight quickly, is the glue that cements the strength training program to sports performance.” It could also be my gateway to trying some of the Olympic lifts sometime in the future. Once I get more proficient and can do 175-225 pounds with good technique, I may add in some kind of light squats, or maybe front squats, on the Power Clean day, or maybe start working on the Power Snatch as well.

Squats ......................Deadlift ..........................(Squat) Power Clean (Power Snatch)
Bench .......................Good mornings .............Chin-ups
Dips ..........................Press .............................Rows
Triceps Ext ..............DB Press .......................Landmine Arc
..................................Loaded Carry

Finally, it seems kind of strange not to have any curls in there. I’ll probably put them in the first workout, although logically, they fit better with the chin-ups. Rippetoe says to get a full biceps contraction, you need to use a full supine grip with a barbell, but that’s always bugged my wrists and elbows, so I’ll keep doing them with an EZ bar. This results in the following three-workout weekly routine, the main lifts are in bold face:

Squat ..................................Deadlift .............................(Squat) Power Clean
Bench .................................Good mornings ................Chin-ups
Dips .....................................Press .............................Rows
Triceps Extension ................DB Press ..............................Landmine Arc
Biceps Curl ...........................Loaded Carry

Or, merging DB presses with the Press, indicated again by a plural, and putting all the main lifts first:

Squats ................Deadlift .................Power Clean
Bench ..................Presses ....................Chin-ups
Dips .........................Good mornings .........Rows
Triceps/Biceps ........Loaded Carry .............Landmine Arc

Excluding the Power Clean, which involves the same force/direction pairing as the Deadlift, all six force/direction pairings are now evenly distributed across three weekly workouts:

Push↓ .......Pull↑ ..........(Pull↑)
Push→ .....Push↑ .........Pull↓
......................................Pull←

This schedule lends itself to a good flow chart:



If I’m short on time Monday, it makes sense to break up two of the biggest lifts, the Squat and the Bench, and put the latter on Tuesday, without it interfering with the Deadlift and Press too much on Wednesday. Likewise, it’s easy to shift the Rows and Chin-ups to the weekend if I’m short on time Friday, since Rows and Chin-ups don’t require as much concentration as any of the other big lifts and so are easy to do with kids around. Or I can just drop them altogether, as they are more ancillary or assistance-type lifts.

As for sets and reps, Rippetoe recommends, after warm-up sets, three sets of five reps for all but the Deadlift, for which he recommends just one set of five reps, and the Power Clean, for which he recommends five sets of three reps. I’ve never done strict work sets like this before. I’ve always just warmed up to my max lift and then dropped weight by feel, that is, according to that day’s time and energy allotment. But I like the idea of trying a more disciplined number of reps, based on a determinate percentage (85% ?) of my 1PM. Along with the 1RM, it seems like a good way to measure progress. But I would also like to try some more endurance-type sets, something I’ve never tried before. So, in my modified scheme, I’ll include a one-rep max for all the big lifts, followed by three sets of five-rep work sets for most exercises, and then a set of fifteen reps to finish off the big lifts. So I’ll be hitting all three strength components: force, stamina, and endurance. This is similar to combining the three run types: sprints/hills, tempo, and aerobic, except the latter are spread out over a week of running.

All this is diagrammed on the latest flow chart, along with some of the related assistance exercises for each lift, if there’s time left over or I’m feeling particularly energetic.

In April I’ve been focusing a lot more on ST than on running or conditioning or flexibility. I guess through my experience of overcoming my running injuries through strength training, and now beginning to see my running form and speed improve with more attention to the heavy, lower-body lifts, I’ve become convinced that strength is primary, the base upon which to build the other fitness components. This is Rippetoe’s argument, and it’s also been Zapmamak’s experience while training for her ultras.

Abide said:

Its interesting the difference a 90% lift is compared to a max huh. Thats why i tend to like pulls better than squats the hard work comes first or else its not moving.

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Yeah, I've always favored deadlifts over squats, but so many people seem to hammer home how important squats are, even calling them the king of lifts. But I guess I've decided once a week is enough, and if I do them twice a week, the second time will either be lighter or else a variation, like the front squat.

For percentages, I'm thinking of starting with 85% of 1RM as my five-rep 'work set' weight. Any thoughts?

Abide said:

I have only read some pieces of his books, they seem to be a lot of technical information that bores me. But let m eknow how you like it I am curious if its worth it?

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Two years ago, I had never intellectualized running or lifting. First I read up on running, and since this thread began, I’ve been reading up on lifting more, especially over the last month or two. So for me, although I agree it’s a bit boring, it’s been useful to read Rippetoe’s explanations of technique and, more interestingly, the logic behind each technique. I understand better which exercises give the most benefit, and so it’s easier for me to program a weekly routine, given certain goals, and also know where to cut if time and energy are running short. Most of the technique stuff I’ve skimmed, but some of the stuff on Squats and all of the stuff on Power Cleans were quite useful. Seems to me anyone who doesn’t already have a decent grasp of the principles behind strength training, or the techniques involved, should read this book. But it sounds to me like you're already pretty well versed, so it's a question of whether it's worth buying a book you'll probably just skim.

Abide said:

I like your charts they flow well. I think you will notice too when you are repeating fewer lifts you will be able to shorten your time in the garage.

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Yah, the goal is to keep it to 45-60 minutes, three times a week, or 20-30 minutes six times a week if the workouts get split up, as per my flow chart. This week in fact, things have been pretty split up, but thinking through all this stuff and going through lots of little tweaks to the flow chart and programming has really given me a conceptual clarity, and it's resulting in better workouts and getting stronger without really spending any more time at it. The big lifts are kind of like doing tempo runs or hills/intervals work. They're just inherently more efficient, but you also have to make sure to get in sufficient recovery time in order for the adaptations to take hold, and to avoid overtraining and fatigue.

Abide said:

What's his rationalization for the press vs. bench? I think flat bench, incline bench and press are all pretty complimentary, but wouldn't rate any better than the other I guess.

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Rippetoe likes dips better than the decline press because more muscles and coordination are involved, and dips are also safer. He thinks the incline press is largely redundant if you’re doing both the bench and overhead presses, and considers the latter two superior, for a number of reasons. That's one of the strengths of Rippetoe's book; he thoroughly explains the rationale behind his preferences. Whether he's right or wrong I can't say, but it all pretty much agrees with my limited experience and somatic sense of things.

Abide said:

I finally got my weight equipment in late last week. I still need to put the squat rack together tonight, but I am looking forward to being able to squat and bench again. I think I might be happy with the heavier kettlebell and use it for kroc rows. It seems to be a little better than dumbells since you can get the weight a bit closer to your body towards the top. I also bought some bumper plates so I could do power cleans more regularly.

Still haven't had much energy to lift this week. Poor sleep and traveling are not much fun.

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Reading Rippetoe, I almost regret my set of rubber hex dumbbells. I like the idea of having a real minimalist gym with just a squat rack, bench, barbells, and plates. OK, maybe a few other things, like an EZ bar, and I'm too weak to get in all my chin-up work honestly, so I need a cable station for the time being. Still, minimalism is a recurrent aesthetic theme for me, like the 'power trio' in rock, or 'construction grammar' in linguistics, and I think it may also be functionally correct for strength training, and we already know it works in barefoot running.

It's funny Rippetoe doesn't emphasize rows more, but I guess he's right, they are assistance exercises compared to the deadlift. Still, they attack the back at a different angle that probably has athletic relevance in fighting sports, like wrestling or judo, I dunno. I just want a strong back, so why leave rows out?

Good luck on getting back at it. I'm really excited now to improve my power cleans. Before I was using my arms way too much, which is why they would sometimes irritate my shoulder I think. But Rippetoe describes them as basically a weighted jump, and the arms shouldn't doing any pulling at all. After I get the power clean down, I'll probably go for the power snatch. The only problem is my garage ceiling is too low, so I may have to do them outside and scare the neighbors.

Abide said:

405 would be great. I'm gonna start on it now.

I definitely like the push/pull/plane concept you are using but overall I tend to use Dan John's 5 basic movements to help organize it in my head. Conceptually its the same but it splits it out in a little more detail.

I think I will add in a workout and switch back and forth for 40 days to keep it a little more interesting

http://danjohn.net/2011/06/the-four-steps/

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Keep me/us posted on your progress through this program. It doesn't suit my temperament (at the moment) but it's always good to compare notes. Maybe we could start a lifting reporting thread? Or just report in more regularly on this thread?

First one to 405 buys the other one a beer or a belt or some chalk . . .