On to the Next Stage
Now that the Arnold is over it is time to place all focus on Olympic lifting with still some focus on speed for the Bobsled. I want to do all of this and still get stronger in Power lifting, so the question is how to do all of these at the same time, and why? I am going to try and answer both of these questions starting with why.
Why is actually a very good question, but I am going to try and explain. It all started with a middle age crisis all the while loosing my dad, and the only girl that I have ever loved all in the same year. Now it has turned into a quest! Can a 33 year old man really increase his explosion and speed at an age, when most “experts” say is impossible. I’ve heard thousands of times at seminars that athletes start slowing down after 25. Well I think that is crazy! In my first months of training, I have already proven this wrong to myself. Now I start the journey. The essence of the quest is to prove to people of all ages, genders, races, etc that nothing is impossible and it is never too late. Nothing could be more rewarding in life, then to influence people’s lives in such a positive way. That to me is leaving a legacy to use God’s gifts to help others. To scoot through life never having the courage to lay it all out and risk it all, is to not live at all. When I turn 70 years old, the last thing I want to say is should have, could have, etc. I hope this helps explain.
How, this to some is the bigger question. With three sports, the training arrangement and volume are the two key components. First thing that I did is find out what they all have in common like posterior chain, explosion, etc, and then take some of the differences, and make a workout. Here is what I have come up with:
Day 1 (Let’s Say Monday)
A.M. Session
Overload Sprint Work (Pushing or pulling a sled with varying weight, using a weighted vest, or running uphill)
Upper Body Work & Abs
P.M. Session
Dynamic Clean & Jerks (roughly 60-70% sometimes adding bands or chains/1 x 8 w 30-45 sec rest)
Clean Pulls w bands or chains 90-110%/1 x 3-6
Plyometrics
Reverse Hypers
Day 2 Tuesday
G.P.P work and flexibility
Day 3 Wednesday
A.M. Session
Dynamic Box Squats (same volume as normal without the circa max phase), so 50-60%+bands or chains/2 x 8
Lat Work and Reverse Hypers
P.M. Session
Dynamic Snatches (60-70% w or w/out bands or chains/1 x 8)
Snatch Pulls with bands or chains 90-110%/1 x 3-6
RDLs with or without chains or bands
Day 4 Thursday
G.P.P. work and flexibility
Day 5
A.M. Session
Sprint Form work and bounding
P.M. Session
ME (a version of one of the OL lifts)
Ex Clean from Boxes of varying heights, Snatch from box, P. Clean, P. Snatch, w chains, w bands, different size bars, Reverse Band (I have a cool way to do these), etc
Upper Body work and Reverse Hyper (I will do my bench work on this day)
Day 6 Saturday
Just a P.M. Session
ME form of either a Front Squat or Overhead Squat
Ex’ either w chains or bands, cambered bar Front Squat, overhead drop squats, heave squats, starting from the bottom position of each with bar suspended from a pin or chain, Box squat of either, etc.
Plyometrics
Then Front Squat or Overhead Squat (which ever wasn’t the ME exercise) for volume or Lunges
Good-Mornings w varying bars
Abs
Day 7 Sunday
A.M. Session only
Over speed sprint work with bungee cord or running downhill.
While my emphasis is on Olympic lifting, the sprint volume is turned back not the intensity per say, just the number of sessions to allow recovery. The three day of sprint work will get trimmed down to two days the closer I get to the American Open in December, and the intensity will start to drop some as well. With power lifting, as you can see, I will still be working on the Squat and the Bench, but the Deadlift will be cut out for the most part. However with all the pulling and posterior chain work that I will be doing, the deadlift will be there when I need it again.
If Power lifting was my main focus, then I would trim the Olympic Lifts back to only two dynamic sessions one with the Snatch, and the other Clean and Jerk, which would precede a lower body Power lifting session. I hope this clarifies how I will manage the volume of my training, while preparing for three sports. This will be the challenge of my life, but that is what it is all about.
