Here we Go! - Program Design

It's now summer (more or less) here in Utah which means that Matt and I want to spend a lot more time outdoors being active. With that, we need to add some more endurance to our past strength program. Matt is working up at Deer Valley as a Mountain Bike Instructor so he's spending a lot of time up at high altitudes biking mixed terrain. So, after a lot of research we decided on a modified version of the Westside Basic Template. Matt Chan, one of the top 5 competitors and his wife Cherie who just qualified for the games this year put together a MetCon/Westside program focused on significant strength gains while still keeping the trainee athletically conditioned. We decided to keep the 2 Max Effort days, and turn the supplemental/Accessory exercises into a MetCon on the 2 Dynamic Days. I took our 4 day split from Jim Wendler's outline of Westside's Basic Template. After more research we found that our plan looked very similar to Joe DeFranco's take on Westside programming, which he calls Westside for Skinny Bastards (Read Part One and Part Two for reference). We always warmup using Catalyst Athletic's Standard Warmup.

Our Equipment setup: 1 Powertec Power Rack, 1 Pendlay Rogue Bar, 1 cheep-o - bar, 2x 45# bumper plates, 2x 25# Bumper plates, 6x 45# Standard Plates, 2x 35# Standard Plates, 2x 25# Standard Plates, 6x10lb Standard Plates, 4x 5lb Standard Plates, 2x 2.5lb Standard Plates, 2x 1.25lb Standard Plates, 2 6 lb barbell collars, 1 RKC 32kg kettlebell, 1 RKC 24kg Kettlebell, 1 RKC 16kg Kettlebell, 1 GoFit 25lb Kettlebell, 1 water rower, 2 jump ropes, 1 x-large stability ball, 1 large foam roller, 1 Ab Roller, 1 MuscleDriver 2 in 1 Plyo Box

Our Version Looks like this:

Monday (Dynamic Bench Press)

Week One - 50% of 1RM
Week Two - 55% of 1RM
Week Three - 60% of 1RM

Perform 8-9 Sets of 3 Reps in perfect form as explosively as possible. Take 60 seconds of rest between sets.

MetCon:

Design a MetCon which incorporates the following accessory muscle groups/exercises:
(Around 15 minutes, always under 20)

Supplemental: Triceps (Low Intensity/High Volume)
Shoulders (Low Stress)
Lats/Upper Back (Row or Vertical Pull)

Tuesday (Max Effort Squat/Deadlift)

Work up to a 3RM using 5 sets in any Squat or Deadlift variation that is more difficult to perform than the conventional squat or deadlift. Take a 5 minute rest between sets. (Try to do 3 sets above 90% of that max)

Supplemental Exercise:
If you did a max effort squat, perform a deadlift variation at 60 - 70% of 1RM
If you did a max effort deadlift perform a squat variation at 3x8

Accessory Groups: 4 sets of 12-15 of each exercise with 90 seconds rest between sets
Hamstrings (High Stress)
Lower Back (High Stress)
Abs (weighted Abs)

Ending Cardio: Running

Wednesday: Off (Can do active recovery)

Thursday (Max Effort Bench Press)

Work up to a 3RM using 5 sets of a Bench Press variation that is more difficult to perform than the conventional Bench Press. Take a 5 minute rest between sets. (Try to do 3 sets above 90% of that max)

Supplemental Exercise: Perform a 3x8 of another Bench Variation (with 90seconds rest between sets)

Accessory Exercises: 4x12-15 with 80 seconds rest between sets
Triceps (High Intensity)
Shoulders (Horizontal Row)
Lats/Upper Back (Vertical Pull)
Grip

Ending Cardio: Rowing

Friday: Off

Saturday (Dynamic Squat/Deadlift)

Choose Squat or Deadlift (alternating weeks)

For Squats: Perform 10-12 sets of 2 reps with perfect form as explosively as possible. Take 60 seconds of rest between sets.

For Deadlifts: Perform 6-10 sets of 1 rep

MetCon:

Design a MetCon which incorporates the following accessory muscle groups/exercises:
(Around 10 minutes, always under 15)

Supplemental Exercise: Unilateral Exercise

Accessory Muscle Groups:
Hamstrings
Hip Extension (Lower Back)
Abs (High Volume)