It's been a LONG time since I have gone back and done the program that we put our Strength Based athletes through. Over the past years, due to a lot of shifts in the business and coaching, I have been redesigning my own workouts to be done quickly and usually just focusing on one body part with a lot of rehab mixed in. I can't say I've been "Injured", but running a business, working with schools, and running a farm really takes a beating and I needed to make sure I wasn't messing with the knees, back, or joints too much. I can always miss a workout if my knee is acting up, but I can't miss a day of cleaning goat shit out of a barn or transporting hay to the animals.
This Fall, I finally have a good schedule locked down where I can handle business work in the home office between 4:30-6am, followed by taking care of the animals before heading to work, then home to hit a good hour in the gym. This is the most consistent schedule I have had since starting my coaching career in 2012 and it's starting to really pay off in the gym.
During the next 13 weeks, the goal is to
1: See how this program works for adults
2: Demonstrate that the program is easily adaptable based on Goals, Ability, Injury, Equipment, etc.
3: Dig deep and see what changes could be made to make the program better
Now into Week 1
Getting back into this after taking a few months off from lifting anything heavy was a bit concerning at first. I designed this program to be used with High School athletes who had a basic to advanced level of fitness in the weight room, but after having some big scheduling shifts to my week (starting back in June and just getting back in October) I wasn't really getting the workouts in that I used to. Turns out this week was perfect for this. Strength level wasn't too low, and conditioning levels were higher than expected.
Tip: Unless you are coming off a pretty heavy based training program, don't start pushing for HEAVY weights until later. I'm not saying to go light, but if you haven't hit a heavy rep in a long time you need to avoid being a dumbass and go for a 3rep lift you can handle (not a 3 rep lift you could handle back in your prime).
Below is week 1. Anything with a * will feature a quick tip, alteration based off my training, or a change that could/should be made.
Week 1
Day 1
1: Deadlift 5x3
*Perfect for week 1. Nice adjustment to getting back into heavier weights.
2: Heavy Rows 10-8-6-3-3-3
3: High Pulls 5x3
*Went with Kettlebells on this one due to time restraint and some shoulder issues. Home gym kettlebells go over 200lbs at the Farm Gym, I'll probably substitute a lot of barbells for kettlebells based on the speed (no plate changes) and insane weights of our kettlebells.
4: DB Push Press 3x10
5: Superset 3x15
A: Forward Raise
B: Lateral Raise
6: Superset 3x10
A: Shrug
B: Reverse Fly
*Skipped the shrugs due to an ongoing Shoulder/Neck issue
7: 5 Rounds of HEAVY farmers holds – 30 seconds on 30 seconds off
*Skipped these for same reason above. Shoulder/Neck are getting better based on training and new pillow. If you are experiencing any neck issues, I highly recommend the pillow featured below.
Amazon Link for Pillow:
Day 2
1: Squat 5x3
*Used a belt squat on this one, typically would use a Safety Squat bar or Cambered bar - Straight bar is 100% fine, I just aim to protect the shoulders more.
2: Front Squat 10-8-6-3-3-3-
3: Bench 5x3
4: Incline Bench 10-8-6-3-3-3-
*Went with Dumbbells due to time restraints
5: Superset 3x15
A: DB Lunge
B: DB Fly
*Substituted Lunges for weighted step ups, minor knee issue and way too much goat barn cleanup this weekend to mess around.
6: Superset 3x10
A: Push-up
B: DB SLDL
7: 5 Rounds of Light DB punches (Medium Pace) 30 seconds on 30 off
Day 3
1: Sumo Deadlift 5x3
*First set of Sumo DL's in a while. Hamstrings tight from day 2 workout, but the Sumo's seemed to loosen them up.
2: DB Speed Rows 3x20
*Forgot how much I hate high reps, going for speed really loosened up the back/shoulders.
3: Hang Pull 5x3
4: Reverse Fly 3x20
5: Max Rep Pull Ups – 5 sets
*Tried our new rotating pull-ups for these. Was given this product to review and it's amazing. Can easily attach to a cable machine or barbell. Highly recommended checking these out:
6: Strip Set Farmers Hold – 3 different weights per set – 3 sets
*Neck and traps are feeling way better since getting the new pillow (such an unexpected change) but I decided to skip these. Will get back into them next week or the week after.
7: 100 weighted sit-ups
*Used our GHD, 100 GHD sit-ups on week 1 might have been slightly overboard, 100 standard is perfectly fine and potentially even too little for week 1 (but perfect on time, 150-200 could push this workout well past an hour)
8: 100 Push-Ups
9: 200 DB Calf Raises
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