Some notes on my current training and goals

There are few things in life that I can speak with any great authority on – fewer still if you only include those things that other people might be interested in. Whether or not this article falls in the latter category remains to be seen, but fuck it, this is my blog and I’ll be an attention whore if I want to be.

I am currently training towards the vague goal of competing in an unequipped powerlifting meet or two in 2007, and am specifically looking to get the following gym lifts before then: Bench 160kg, Squat 220kg, deadlift 230kg at a bodyweight of 95 kilo’s or so.

My current approach to training revolves around going heavy on a handful of key lifts that address strength throughout the entire body, with a particular focus on those that I feel help raise the big 3. There’s nothing remotely revolutionary or groundbreaking about this approach, but it is a constant source of amazement how many people eschew these basics in favour of more complex approaches of which they have scant understanding and even less need for.

Preamble over, lets get down to the rough outline of the template I use. Please note that this is subject to change based on how I feel that day.

Day one – heavy squat and deadlift
Nice and easy this – I work up to a heavy single or a few heavy singles on the squat and deadlift or some variation of them. Exactly how heavy depends on how I feel.

Day Two – Heavy bench
bench, board press or similar – work up to a heavy single, double or triple
DB press on incline, flat or decline bench – work up to a heavy set of 5 or 6
weighted chins – a few sets of 5 or thereabouts

Day Three – Squat/Deadlift assistance
Front squat or similar – I tend to do sets of 5’s, then 3’s, and then a back-off set of 8-15
Good mornings or Romanian deadlifts – similar to above
weighted abs – a few hard and heavy sets

Day Four – Bench assistance
Overhead press or incline bench – sets of 5 with a back-off set at the end
tricep lockout work – rack presses or board press – sets of 3-5
rows – use a barbell or dumbbell, work up to a heavy set of 5 or 6

That’s about it. I’ll add some caveats to the above that are worth mentioning:
1) I never train to failure unless I fuck up
2) ‘Heavy’ is subjective – some days are better than others, U2 said so in a song so it must be true. I don’t always attempt pr’s, the above is about getting in some heavy effort for that day. Bulgarian weightlifters have used this concept for years, and if it’s good enough for diminutive Olympians then it’s good enough for me.
3) Deload weeks are imperative to long-term progress. Even while avoiding failure, there’s only so much stress a body can take before it gets the hump with you and stops playing ball. Cliché or not – it’s better to plan an easy week than be forced into one through injury.


On top of these four workouts I add in a few extra-workouts aimed at boosting recovery or maintaining an almost-respectable level of cardiovascular fitness. While the latter may not help me raise my total, it will help me avoid an early grave through heart disease. Which is nice. I may write some more about these in a seperate article, but in the meantime would direct you towards Eric Cressey's excellent 'Cardio Confusion' article, (google it, I can't be arsed to provide the link).

TTFN GF....