BASE BUILDING SPLITS (PART 3)

BASE BUILDING SPLITS (PART 3)

THE MINIMALIST - 5-6 DAYS A WEEK 

This split is not something I have undertaken but can see myself doing if I am going to limit myself to JUST doing a single main lift. By that I mean, ZERO assistance work at all.

Essentially, this split has you doing upper body one day, and then lower body the next.

Day 1 - Squat BBM 

Day 2 - Bench BBM 

Day 3 - Front Squat BBM 

Day 4 - Incline BBM 

Day 5 - Deadlift BBM 

Day 6 - Overhead BBM 

Day 7 - Off

The shortcoming here would be that the back would not get the kind of direct work I feel it needs. This would only be a split I would advise a very advanced lifter use when he may be passed using a lot of assistance work, or really needs to just hammer home the basic work for an extended period.

This would be the kind of phase one might move into after he had been training in a mass phase for a few months, and needs to get back to just hammering the movements and the movements only. It does present a solid option for those pressed for time each day as well.

STRONGMAN SPLIT - TRAINING FOR STRONGMAN 

Though I’ve never competed in strongman, I’ve talked with and bounced around ideas with both amateur and professional strongman for many years now. And while I am no expert in strongman training, I’ve learned enough from guys that do compete in it, to offer up some ideas about how one would use the base building methods in order to implement them into a strongman scheme.

Because strongman competitions can have a wide variety of events you may have to perform, it is important for you to narrow down your barbell movements to ones that are going to give you as much carryover as possible.

You want your training to be as efficient and economic. The fact remains, you’re just NOT going to be able to become a badass on every single thing at the same time. No different than Powerlifting. It is only three lifts, in most training cycles you’re lucky if 2 are responding well. The third movement is often stubborn and resistant to progress.

My base building methods for strongman are to concentrate on the press, the pull, and a squat variation. The overhead press is a staple of strongman, and so is the pull. The squat is more of a leg “builder” for strongman, as generally if there is squatting at a competition it is with some sort of apparatus. The front squat should be the base squat for most of your squat training. Not the back squat.

FOR STRONGMAN BASE BUILDING 

OVERHEAD PRESS - 8x3 @ 80% @ 60 seconds between sets

FRONT SQUATS - 5x5 @ 70% using CAT @ 90 seconds rests between sets.

DEADLIFTS - Strongman Method Cycle

1 WEEK FROM 4” BLOCKS - 3x3 @ 80%

1 WEEK FROM THE FLOOR - Phase I, II, III (choose one) of the BBM

1 WEEK FROM BELOW THE KNEE - to a max triple

1 WEEK NO PULLS WITH 2 SQUAT VARIATIONS (recommended fronts with backs or fronts with an apparatus, maybe even the smith machine. Don’t cringe.)

My suggestion to find the movements that give you the most carryover to everything, and narrow it down to those.

My own personal suggestion is as follows...

DAY 1 - HEAVY PRESS AND UPPER BACK 

Heavy overhead - log/barbell/Viking whatever - BBM 

Incline - 350 method

Rows - any variation - 5x8-10 

Chins or Pulldowns - 5x8-10 

Barbell Curls - 1x100

DAY 2 - SQUATS AND DEADS 

Front Squats - BBM 

Deadlifts - Strongman Method Cycle 

1 week from 4” blocks - 3x3 @ 80% 

1 week from the floor - Phase I, II, III (choose one) of the BBM 

1 week from below the knee - to a max triple 

1 week no pulls with 2 squat variations Overhead Press - repetition work - 350 methods with any press

DAY 3 - EVENT WORK 

Whatever events you need to work on for the competition, you will do on this day. I personally would pick your best event and get even better at that, and pick your 2 worst events as well. The reason I say pick your best event and get better at that is that this always gives you a strength going into the competition. If you’re behind at some point, you know you can rely on this event to make up for a poor showing in regards to another one.

Pick the two you need the most work on and do those first. 

• Worst event - do work 

• 2nd worst event - do work 

• Best event - get even better