Workout of the Week #25

Welcome to workout of the week number 25.

This time we have a 3day full body anatomical adaptation workout with a strength maintenance.

So what is the training goal?

Number one, anatomical adaptation, as Tudor Bompa calls it, or some other people call it structural strength, we go into that in a minute what that means, and we also want to maintain strength levels.

If you remember in workout number 9, I also presented a two-day a week anatomical adaptation workout. So for some sports and athletes it’s just not advisable to drop the strength work, the emphasis on maximum strength or maintaining maximum strength, because if you don’t do it for 2 to 3 weeks you might need another 3 to 5 weeks to get back to the levels where you were, so that’s why we have our focus on anatomical adaptation AKA structural strength, but we still want to set that maintenance stimulus to maintain our strength levels.

Let’s have a look at the training variables.

The training intensity, anatomical adaptation 40 to 70% of the 1 RM, the strength maintenance 87,5 to 92,5% of the 1 RM. The repetitions 12 to 20 for the anatomical adaptation, and 1 to 3 for the strength maintenance. Our exertion levels, medium exertion levels for the anatomical adaptation and hard exertion levels for the strength maintenance. The effort is a repeated effort for the anatomical adaptation and maximum effort for the strength maintenance.

If we look at the exercises, for our anatomical adaptation it’s focused on fundamental movements but because we want to work on that structural strength aspect, these movements will be compound and multi-joint, that’s nothing new, but multi-planar, we have different planes, we have basically, in simple words, forwards backwards, we have the lateral, and we have the rotational plane. And we also use combined movements and bilaterally and unilaterally.

What are combined movements?

We see a couple of them, when we look into the program, but for example you use an RDL with a bent-over row. So you bring the bar in the RDL below your knees, and then you do a bent-over row and then you stand back up and complete the RDL. So these are combined movements, and there are a couple of variations you can do, we look into that. For our strength maintenance we do a squat, a hinge, a push, and a pull, simple. And our exercise order goes from most complex to least complex.

More training variables.

We train 3 days a week, the training frequency is 3 days a week, we use a station training and have some complexes included. Our training split is a full-body split and we have a look into the program right now.

So here we are inside of our 3-day anatomical adaptation program with a strength maintenance emphasis. Let’s have a look so the weekly structure, we train on three days non-consecutive days, the first day will be the strength maintenance, the second workout will be the anatomical adaptation, so will be the third workout.

And if we look into that so the strength maintenance, fairly simple we do complexes we do a front squat complex with a bench row, we do a front foot elevated split squat, so a unilateral squat variation complexed with a bench press and then we do the RDL with a shoulder press. And in this first week we do 3 sets of three at 85% of the 1 RM. When we move to workout number two, the anatomical adaptation, and here that’ll be a bit more challenging, we do our combination of a snatch pull, a muscle snatch and overhead squat. So these are basically three movements, 3 repetitions and then we do this 3 times, which is 9 total repetitions. But then here we have to be a bit careful with the RPE, as I outlined in the video previously about anatomical adaptation you can’t really work very much with an RPE here, because you have combined movements.

What does that mean?

For example, here our snatch pull, muscle snatch and overhead squat, the percentage is based on the muscle snatch, so 65% of the muscle snatch is probably fairly simple to do as a snatch pull and also depending on your training level what should be fairly simple to do for an overhead squat, so that’s why the RPE can’t be a precise number for these combinations. Anyway we do our snatch pull, muscle snatch, and overhead squat with a pull variation, this time we do the typewriter or the chin to hand, we have to use bands band assisted, if needed.

After that, we do a dumbbell Bulgarian split squat with a shoulder press, also here you see what I mean, it’s based on the percentage of the shoulder press and then the same weight is done for the bulgarian split squad to shoulder press. So for the shoulder press it’s probably more challenging than for the Bulgarian Split Squat, if you’re not extremely weak in the split squat and combined with an RDL to bent-over row, what I outlined previously and then we do the dumbbell bench press alternating with the medicine ball step up to rotation. So you hold the medicine ball in front of you, you step up and you rotate to one side.

And then we go to workout number 3. Again we have a combination here of clean pull, muscle clean and front squat. This time no complex, finish these 3 sets off 60% for 9 repetitions and after that we move to the combination of dumbbell squat to shoulder press, also here based on the percentage of the dumbbell shoulder press, so the squatting is fairly easy, the pressing will be a bit more challenging. However you can use a little bit the momentum of the squat when you come up into the press. So that’ll be okay, and we do that in combination with an inverted row or the Australian pullup, and followed by a dumbbell single-legged RDL into a forward lunge and return, and this is combined with a push-up to star hold.

That concludes our three workouts.

If you download this this PDF you can look at the glossary, you can read about myself, you can read about what my athletes or some of my athletes have to say about me, and then last but certainly not least, you can join the membership. In that membership, considering we are at workout of the week number 25, you get another 24 training programs. This is just the first week of the 4-week training program. You get the full 4-week training program.

So let’s move back and finish that presentation.

So what are the next steps?

Number one you download the PDF, number two you join the membership, there you get the full 4 week training program plus 24 other training programs and you like and subscribe to this channel and then you get notified when the next workout comes out. And if you want to see the workout of last week, you can see that here and if you haven’t subscribed you can do that again I see you next week.