Sean Hyson

I tested the rest of my maxes and the results were enlightening. I now have a good idea of what I need to work on and what I already do well. I tested the bench press two days after my squat and clean. Let me preface the following by telling you that I only started benching again with any consistency last summer—it was a lift I had basically abandoned for two years. On top of that, as far as upper body goes, I’m a weak little girl.

There, I admit it.

I put up 225 with no problem. 245, no problem. 260… big problem. The bar got stuck about two inches off my chest, and if it hadn’t been for the cat-like reflexes and precision spotting of one Angry Coach, I would be writing this post today as a dead man. (Figure that one out.)

Here I am maxing out...

I just couldn’t get the damn thing up. My lockout is fine, I’m stable. I’m able to get it off my chest. But in that gray, Twilight Zone area in between my sternum and the mid point, the lift gets lost. Like a plane going into the Bermuda Triangle. I have no “pop” off my chest.

The solution: speed work. If you share this problem, speed work is probably the answer for you, too.

I’m starting with the most basic stuff. I’m doing medicine-ball throws and plyo pushups to develop some explosiveness, and to train my body to better absorb force. My legs can do this, but my chest, shoulders, and arms can’t. Yet.

I licked my wounds and went on to test the deadlift last weekend. 405 came up flying. 430 felt a little slow but it got there ok. 460 barely came off the floor before I had to let it go. I cursed a bit, backed off to 445, and got it. This was 10 pounds less than my one-rep best, but the best I’ve done in a long while. In another 12 weeks, I’m very sure I’ll be looking at something closer to 480, and that’s knocking on the door of 500 pounds. Again, this is all without a belt.

As I’m very proud of this program, I’ll share more of the details with you and you can give it a shot if you like.

It starts with a few weeks of GPP (a gradual break-in period). This is what the first workout, based around the squat, looks like for me.

Clean: 18 total reps, rest as needed

Squat: 18 total reps, rest 80 sec.

Romanian deadlift: 20 total reps, rest 65 sec.

Good morning: 20 total reps, rest 65 sec.

45-Degree back extension: 20 total reps, rest 65 sec.

Hanging leg raises: 20 total reps, rest 30 sec.

If you remember from Prilepin’s chart, which appeared in my last post, the ideal total rep range to use with 50–65% of your one-rep max on a major barbell lift is 18–30 reps. To ease into the program, I start with 50% of my max and aim for the low end of the range, 18 reps. On the squat, I’ll do a few sets to get up to 18 total reps, resting 80 seconds between sets. (Sixty seconds is my ultimate goal, to be reached in a few weeks.) Since 18 divides easily into three sets of six, that’s what I do. Six is also a good number because it’s not too high. I’m sure I’d be capable of doing two sets of nine reps because the weight is so light, but that many reps at once is begging form to break down, and that’s a no-no. Besides, the Prilepin chart recommends three to six sets of three to six reps. Why not do six sets of three? That would satisfy the chart, but here’s where good old-fashioned common sense comes in. Are sets of three with such a light weight really going to do anything for strength? Keep the reps on the higher side for now, provided you can manage them with good form.

The results of Russian programming

Incidentally, the clean is done the same way but with less of a strict rest period. Since the point here is power/speed, making the exercise too “metabolic” defeats the purpose. This isn’t a CrossFit routine. I rest as needed (but probably still around 80 seconds), and go again.

The rest of the exercises follow the total-rep method. It works like this: pick a weight you can do about 10 good reps with. So, a moderately heavy one. Now do as many sets as it takes to get up to 20 total reps. Since these are assistance exercises and the loads are lighter—the movements less complex—rest periods can be shorter.

So this is how the workout looks in Week 1, the prep phase. In Week 2, I increase the total number of reps on the big lifts to 24. If I’m doing sets of six, this easily translates to just one additional set. I also reduce the rest period by 10 seconds so I’m now resting 70 seconds between sets. The assistance work climbs by five to 10 total reps, and I shave a few seconds off the rest time as well.

In Week 3, I repeat the process. I’m now doing 30 total reps for the squat and clean (the far end of the rep spectrum) and resting 60 seconds. The assistance work goes up by another five or 10 reps, assuming I was able to complete the reps in a reasonable number of sets the week before. The rest periods fall to 45 seconds. This is very short, but it builds tremendous conditioning.

While all this is going on, I’m still using THE SAME EXACT WEIGHT on every exercise—50% of my max on the main lifts and whatever I chose for 10 reps on the assistance stuff. Once I’ve completed a week where the rest periods are down to 60 seconds and the reps are on the high end of the chart, I know I’ve built some work capacity and I can start adding weight. From here, the program officially begins, and I go up the chart weekly, from 50% to 55% to 60% and so on. Every three or four weeks there’s a de-load week, but otherwise, the progression is linear.

Confused yet? I’ll explain more next time. The whole thing is actually pretty simple, and the chart does most of the calculations for you.

I enjoyed my first cycle on this program and I learned a lot. Progress isn’t made by just adding weight every week or racing through the gym till you drop from exhaustion. I’m learning how to manipulate every workout variable for sustained gains. A little bit of everything, a little at a time.

True. Dat.