I was doing a google search and by chance happened to come across a thread from the old Elitetrack messageboard that was accidently deleted when the new messageboard was updated. This thread was stored among google’s cached web pages so I figured I’d repost it since I thought it had a lot of info.
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Strength Routines
I’ve recently had a great correspondence email with a member of this list that I think would be of value to this list. With his permission, I’m going to post it here so that we can all add suggestions and learn from it.
Basically, he wrote asking for opinions on weight training routines. First he sent me this routine to look over……
Week One
Day 1 (max effort squat day)
Pin Pulls: warm up doing sets of three reps until you feel that you can no longer perform three reps. At this point drop the reps to one and continuing working up to a one rep max
High Pulls: 3 sets of 6 reps
Glute Ham Raises: 4 sets of 6 reps
Incline Sit Ups: 4 sets of 8 {pause at midpoint for 2 sec. then come back up}
Hanging Leg Raises: 4 sets to failure
Day 2 (max effort bench day)
Close Grip Board Press: warm up doing sets of three reps until you feel that you can no longer perform three reps. At this point drop the reps to one and continuing working up to a one rep max
Decline Barbell Tricep Extensions: 4 sets of 5 reps
One Arm Reverse Pushdowns: 3 sets of 10reps
Dumbbell Upright Rows: 3 sets of 8 reps
Rear Delt Dumbbell Raises: 4 sets of 10reps
Glute Ham Raises: 2 sets of 15 reps
Day 3 (dynamic effort squat day)
Box Squats: 10 sets of 2 reps with 50% of 1RM (45 to 60 sec rest between sets)
Arch Back Good Mornings: 4 sets of 3 reps
Glute Ham Raises: 4 sets of 6 reps
Rainbows: 4 sets of 10 reps each side
Pull Down Abs: 5 sets of 10 reps
Day 4 (dynamic effort bench day)
Bench Press: 10 sets of 3 reps with 60% of 1RM; use 3 different grips; (45 to 60 sec rest between sets)
Skull Crushers on Swiss ball: 4 sets of 10 reps
Dumbbell Side Raises: 3 sets of 12 reps
Front Plate Raises: 3 sets of 10 reps
Glute Ham Raises: 2 sets of 15 reps
Week 2
Day 1 (max effort squat day)
Pin Pulls: warm up doing sets of three reps until you feel that you can no longer perform three reps. At this point drop the reps to one and continuing working up to a one rep max
High Pulls: 3 sets of 6 reps
Glute Ham Raises: 4 sets of 6 reps
Incline Sit Ups: 4 sets of 8 {pause at midpoint for 2 sec. then come back up}
Hanging Leg Raises: 4 sets to failure
Day 2 (max effort bench day)
Close Grip Board Press: warm up doing sets of three reps until you feel that you can no longer perform three reps. At this point drop the reps to one and continuing working up to a one rep max
Decline Barbell Tricep Extensions: 4 sets of 5 reps
One Arm Reverse Pushdowns: 3 sets of 10 reps
Dumbbell Upright Rows: 3 sets of 8 reps
Rear Delt Dumbbell Raises: 4 sets of 10 reps
Glute Ham Raises: 2 sets of 15 reps
Day 3 (dynamic effort squat day)
Box Squats: 10 sets of 2 reps with 50% of 1RM (45 to 60 sec rest between sets)
Arch Back Good Mornings: 4 sets of 3 reps
Glute Ham Raises: 4 sets of 6 reps
Rainbows: 4 sets of 10 reps each side
Pull Down Abs: 5 sets of 10 reps
Day 4 (dynamic effort bench day)
Bench Press: 10 sets of 3 reps with 60% of 1RM; use 3 different grips; (45 to 60 sec rest between sets)
Skull Crushers on Swiss ball: 4 sets of 10 reps
Dumbbell Side Raises: 3 sets of 12 reps
Front Plate Raises: 3 sets of 10 reps
Glute Ham Raises: 2 sets of 15 reps
Week 3
Day 1 (max effort squat day)
High Box Squat: warm up doing sets of three reps until you feel that you can no longer perform three reps. At this point drop the reps to one and continuing working up to a one rep max
High Pulls: 3 sets of 6 reps
G
lute Ham Raises: 4 sets of 6 reps
Incline Sit Ups: 4 sets of 8 {pause at midpoint for 2 sec. then come back up}
Hanging Leg Raises: 4 sets to failure
Day 2 (max effort bench day)
Close Grip Board Press: warm up doing sets of three reps until you feel that you can no longer perform three reps. At this point drop the reps to one and continuing working up to a one rep max
Decline Barbell Tricep Extensions: 4 sets of 5 reps
One Arm Reverse Pushdowns: 3 sets of 10reps
Dumbbell Upright Rows: 3 sets of 8 reps
Rear Delt Dumbbell Raises: 4 sets of 10 reps
Glute Ham Raises: 2 sets of 15 reps
Day 3 (dynamic effort squat day)
Box Squats: 10 sets of 2 reps with 50% of 1RM (45 to 60 sec rest between sets)
Arch Back Good Mornings: 4 sets of 3 reps
Glute Ham Raises: 4 sets of 6 reps
Rainbows: 4 sets of 10 reps each side
Pull Down Abs: 5 sets of 10 reps
Day 4 (dynamic effort bench day)
Bench Press: 10 sets of 3 reps with 60% of 1RM; use 3 different grips; (45 to 60 sec rest between sets)
Skull Crushers on Swiss ball: 4 sets of 10 reps
Dumbbell Side Raises: 3 sets of 12 reps
Front Plate Raises: 3 sets of 10 reps
Glute Ham Raises: 2 sets of 15 reps
Week 4
Day 1 (max effort squat day)
High Box Squat: warm up doing sets of three reps until you feel that you can no longer perform three reps. At this point drop the reps to one and continuing working up to a one rep max
Pull Down Abs: 5 sets of 10 reps
Glute Ham Raises: 4 sets of 6 reps
Pull Downs: 3 sets of 10 reps
Cable Side Bends: 4 sets of 10 reps each side
Day 2 (max effort bench day)
Close Grip Incline Press: warm up doing sets of three reps until you feel that you can no longer perform three reps. At this point drop the reps to one and continuing working up to a one rep max
¼ Dips: 5 sets 5 reps
Rope Push Downs: 3 sets 10 reps
One Arm Dumbbell Press: 3 sets 12 reps
Glute Ham Raises: 2 sets 15 reps
Day 3 (dynamic effort squat day)
Box Squats: 10 sets of 2 reps with 60 % of 1RM; (45 to 60 sec rest between sets)
* after your sets of box squats work up to a heavy double. This isn???t a max attempt ??? don???t miss attempts!
Glute Ham Raises: 4 sets 6 reps
Pull Down Abs: 5 sets 10 reps
Rainbows: 3 sets 10 reps each side
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His next email came with some background
okay right now my current PBs in the weightroom are:
Squat – 320 lbs
Bench – 165 lbs
I havent done any OL programs but was taught the technique for all of the lifts a few months ago by an OL coach.
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history:
i did a hypertrophy cycle of 12 weeks to gain mass over the summer and saw some good gains. i increased my squat to 273 from 150 and my bench to 153 from like 140.
i then completed a maximum strength output cycle which lasted for 80 sessions and increased my squat to 320 and my bench to 165.
I am going to start a maximum power output phase and would like to get my numbers up to 350-400 (squat) and 175-185 (bench). This phase will last anywhere from 10-15 weeks.
Right now i am deciding on which program to use I am thinking about the one i sent you earlier.
The other program i am thinking about is through the resources @ Pavel’s site.
RUSSIAN SUPER CYCLE
https://www.dragondoor.com/cgi-bin/articles.pl?rm=mode2&articleid=80 —-I wont use the first intro cycle though!
HOW IT WAS COMPLETED AND GUIDELINES
https://www.dragondoor.com/cgi-bin/articles.pl?rm=mode2&articleid=81
my overall goal is to go from 11.7 in the 100m to 11 flat
and to go from 12.90m in the TJ to 13.75m
Thanks a lot
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My Reply
I’m very familiar with the program you sent me….it’s the basic West Side Barbell workout routine. As a strength nut, former strength and conditioning coach and current competitive Olympic weightlifter, I really admire what they do at West Side. I eve
n went down to their facility to observe when I was coaching at Ohio University. I think Dave Tate and Louie Simmons are both very intelligent guys who know how to get people strong (steroids aside). I’m also very familiar with Pavel and have read all his books and even done some of his routines. Having said that, I think that the programs you sent me (the one from WSB and the one from Pavel / Smolov) are not the best programs to make you a better athlete. Both of those programs are geared toward making you stronger in a specific movement. In the case of the WSB workout, it’s geared toward making you a better squater, dead lifter, and bencher. In the case of the Pavel / Smolov workout, it’s geared specifically toward making you a better squatter. While it’s always great to be stronger, these programs are more for power lifters and less for track athletes. There are two big reasons why these workouts wouldn’t be the best for a track athlete: 1) the Smolov one has too much volume for a track athlete and 2) they don’t really fit into the typical periodization scheme that is so beneficial to track athletes over the course of a season.
I think the WSB routine can be modified to meet your needs but I think the other routine might be too much work in the weight room for you to ever get anything productive done out on the track. Also, I think you should definitely include some Olympic lifting in to your routine. The dynamic effort speed squats are ok but are really no comparison to the pulls or jerks in Olympic lifting movements for power development. I think you could pretty much keep the WSB routine if you really wanted to but at the very least insert one Olympic lifting movement on the Dynamic days. You would probably also want to insert some single limb movements (i.e- step-ups, lunges, etc.) since the force required to run and jump is generated while only one leg is on the ground and not two.
My concluding thoughts in a nutshell…..if you’re primary goal is to get a super strong squat or bench than those programs will certainly fit the bill. If however, your goal is to be the best track athlete you can be you’ll either need to modify them or completely reconsider using them.
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His Reply
I will include the lunges and step ups in my program but i am not sure of rep/set schemes? any ideas?
I dont mind if u post this because it will rise others opinions as the board is starting to show life again.
i am definitely going to use the WSB program because my (online) coach wants to get my numbers up before i start the OL program continuous with the season.
when doing this program should i be doing full squats or half quats on the max effort leg day?
thanks
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You seem like you are really adamant about sticking with the WSB routine. It’s good for strength development but keep in mind what I said in the previous email. There’s nothing really wrong with it, it’s just not a ‘track’ strength routine.
If you are going to stick with the WSB routine, I’d substitute in the step-ups or lunges for the arch-back good mornings. The guys at WSB do the arch-back good mornings because as powerlifters, they need extreme low back strength for the particular way that they squat. Powerlifters typically squat with a really wide stance, a low bar position, great hip flexion, and medium knee flexion. They squat like this because it puts them in an advantageous position for leverage to move the weight. This technique is used for the sole purpose of moving as much weight as possible. It’s use for an athlete is quite limited. Squatting like that puts a lot of emphasis on the butt and lower back. The work of the quads is actually quite small compared to ‘regular’ squats. As a track athlete, you should probably be doing ‘regular’ squats or high bar squats. This technique better strengthens all of the muscles used in running and jumping (rather than focusing on the lower back) . As s
uch, you won’t need the extreme lumbar strength and won’t need to do exercises which develop lumbar strength (i.e- arch back good mornings).
On your max effort days, I’d do full squats and maybe save half squats for your dynamic days. If you did do the half squats on the dynamic days you would want to base the percentages off of your half squat 1RM rather than the full squat 1RM.
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He wrote back…..
by the way:
how fast should i be going on the decent of the dynamic squats?
any rep schemes for the step ups and lunges?
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I wrote back….
At the very least I’d suggest you control the weight down on the eccentric phase rather than just letting the weight overcome you. You might even want to consider throwing in an occassional day where you go down on a 3-4 count. This would help to develop the eccentric strength that is so key to running and jumping.
As far as rep schemes, I’d do 3-8 reps / leg. In fact, you could probably just substitute in the lunges or step-ups for the arch back good mornings using the same rep scheme except that you’d do it for each leg. For example, when the program calls for 4 x 3, you could just do 4 x 3 + 3 (3 each leg).
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