ESC Block 7 March 2016

Dates: Week of March 7 Week of March 28th
Duration: 4 Weeks
(4 week Strength Peak)
The purpose of this phase is to build on the work capacity we
have built up for the first 2 months of the year. We will
continue with a 4 day per week structure, but will shift away
from a Heavy-Light approach into Volume-Intensity
approach. While each lift will now be trained heavy twice
per week, the overall training volume is down and some
recovery should take place during week 1, provided you
dont start out too heavy.
For those of you that will be competing in the Starting
Strength Classic, then you should obviously be prioritizing
the Press instead of the Bench Press. However, if you want
to prioritize the Bench Press in this cycle, you may do so.
The structure of this 5-week phase is virtually the same
throughout. Pay attention to the minor details of the
sets/reps/% on the primary barbell lifts. This is what
changes week to week. There is also some minor
fluctuation in the assistance work, but this isnt critical if you
want to sub in your own favorites.
Weeks 1 - 4
Monday Intensity Press, Volume Bench
Press 2 x 3+
Bench Press 3 x 5
Close Grip Bench press 2 x 5-8
Tuesday Intensity Squat, Deadlift
Back Squat 2 x 3
Deadlift 1 x 3
Rack Pull 1 x 5-8 alternated with Deficit Deadlift 1 x 5
Row Variant BB Row, DB Row, T-Bar Row, Machine
Row, etc 3-5 x 8-12
Wednesday Very Light Recovery Cardio
Thursday Volume Press

Press 5 x 5
Dips 3 x 6-8 or Inclined DB Press 3 x 6-8
Tricep Extensions (LTE, Cable Pressdowns, Overhead
extensions etc) 3 sets of 10-15 reps
Friday Volume Squat
Squat 5 x 5
Chins or Pull Ups 25-50 total reps broken up into as
many sets as it takes
or Pulldowns 5 x 8-12
Biceps (optional) 3 x 10-12
Saturday Very Light Recovery Cardio
Sunday Off, Complete Rest
Training Notes Pay Attention!!!

Intensity Work. For this phase, the goal of each intensity
day for the Squat and Press is TWO heavy triples. For the
Press I put 2x3+ which means that on the SECOND set only
you can rep out and see if you can squeeze out a few
additional reps. I would not advise doing this on the Squat
because it might smoke your ass for the deadlifts.
You will start your week 1 triples with the SAME weight you
left off your 4x4-6 weights for the previous phase.
So..if you ended the last phase at 4x4x300, then week 1
of this phase will be 2x3x300. If you ended last week fairly
easy, then perhaps you can add a small amount of
weight.2x3x305 for example. BUT do not make a huge
jump. This is supposed to be a little bit of a deload.
This should be perceived as somewhat easy or at least very
manageable. Then going forth for the next 3 weeks you will
simply add a little bit of weight to those two sets of triples.
In the above example itd be 2x3x300, 2x3x305, 2x3x310,

2x3x315, etc. Go by feelbut squats should be no more
than 5-10 lbs per week and Presses should be 2-5 lbs per
week. Take a nice long rest in between attempts. Dont rush
it and have a set of 1 or 2 on the second set. This will burn
you out before we get heavier next month.
If you ended last month all screwed up and got too heavy,
then simply use your judgement and common sense and
start with a weight you KNOW you can get for 2x3. If that
means dropping the weight a little bit, then do it. If you start
this cycle off with 2 singles or doubles, you are screwed.
Volume Work. From where you ended the last cycle (4 x 46) I want you to drop the weight about 10% for your 5x5
work and start there. Again, do NOT kill yourself on week 1.
You should be able to manage all 5x5 with clean form and
maybe about 5 mins rest, although I will leave that up to
you. If you need to drop the weight a bit on sets 4 and 5 to
complete your sets of 5, then do so. But I dont want to see
this: 5 x 5,5,4,3,2. Its too heavy or you arent resting long
enough.
Project out into week 4 and make sure the weight you will
end with will also be manageable for 5x5.perhaps with a
little bit of added rest time.
Dont be a slave to the 10% recommendation..use your
judgement and select a weight that makes sense.it
obviously shouldnt be a walk in the park, but lets not kill
ourselves with volume. If the first week or two feels pretty
easy then practice good bar speed on each rep.
Deadlifts. Where you left off your 4-6 rep work with the
deadlift is where you will start with your triple. So if you
pulled 400x5 at the end of last week, then on week one you
will pull 400-405x3. Add a little each week and culminate in
week 4 with a good solid triple hopefully a PR.
If you feel significant fatigue from squatting heavy before
deads, then maybe you have to adjust that number down a
bit. BUT for those of you who are going to compete in the
Starting Strength Meet you need to acclimate to deadlifting
after heavy squats. Even if you arent, this is still the
preferred arrangement for this cycle.
Well switch the supplemental deadlift work this cycle to a
weekly alternation between Rack Pulls / Block Pulls and

Deficit Deadlifts. Dont try to Rack Pull every week youll
burn out.
Rack Pulls/block pulls: Elevate the barbell on the pins or on
a set of blocks to where the barbell is even with your patella
tendon or maybe just a few inches below that. Pull ONE hard
set in the 5-8 rep range. Minimal use of the quads this is
all hamstrings and especially erectors. KEEP GOOD FORM.
Use straps and a double overhand grip if possible. You may
have to test the weight out a bit on this. For most of you it
will be about the same weight you deadlifted your triple with
or even a little above that. If you have weak erectors then it
is possible you are going to Rack Pull with less weight than
you deadlifted with. Use your judgement but make sure
weight is manageable for 5-8 reps.
Deficit Deadlifts will be done standing elevated on a block or
stack of mats anywhere from 1-3 inches above the ground.
Dont use a huge deficit. These are done with the same
mechanics of the deadlift with VERY STRICT form. Get your
ass down and make your quads work to bring the bar off the
floor from a deficit. Dont turn these into a Stiff Leg
Deadlift.its easy to let the ass shoot up and make these
into ugly stiff legs.dont do that. Use straps and a double
overhand grip. You will be using less weight than your
normal deadlifts maybe about 10-20% as a good starting
point.
IF you cannot get into a good pulling position while standing
on a 1-3 inch platform, then dont do this exercise. Keep
using the SLDLs from the last cycle.
Bench Press these will have to come down in weight a little
bit since you will now be doing them after heavy presses.
Start with maybe a 5-10% offload and adjust from there. 3
sets with long rest periods. Try to get all your reps in.
Increase weight very conservatively from one week to the
next.
Following your 3 sets of Bench, take some weight off the bar
and bang out 2 sets of close grips for 5-8 reps. Make sure
you have a spotter.
On your Press volume day use either weighted dips or
incline DB press. My preference is dips for tricep strength,
but if you cant dip then do the incline DB press. You can
also rotate week to week if you want a little variety.
Finish with a little bit of higher rep tricep work doing

whatever type of extension movement you prefer. If you
have old creaky elbows that are agitated by this work, then
keep it really light and keep volume low or skip altogether.
Back Work. After Deadlifting I find it convenient to just
strip a bunch of weight off the bar and go right into some
higher rep barbell rows, but do whatever variant you feel
works best. If you are totally smoked from squats/deads,
then this is not mandatory work.
Following Volume Squats, you wont have much energy so
just knock out a little bit more lat work in the form of chins or
lat pulldowns and of course the bicep work is optional.
Cardio Work
Cardio has been kept at 2 times per week for this phase. It
is not 100% mandatory but a good idea to keep up with in
order to keep up your work capacity and facilitate recovery.
Keeping in shape will help your between set and between
workout recovery. For this phase do your cardio for 20-40
minutes steady state. Incline Treadmill walking, stationary
cycling, ellipticals, and light sled dragging are good options.
Going for a brisk power walk outdoors will also suffice. Dont
go overboard on cardio just keep circulation going between
workouts.
Diet
Everybody needs to pay attention to their protein, fat, and
carb intake. Raise your fat intake on your off days and
increase your carb intake on the days you train and the days
prior to training especially volume days.
Just for reference..Im currently training hard and heavy
right now trying to put on size and this is how Im eating
daily:
Protein Shake, Oatmeal, Toast w/ Peanut butter
Chicken & Rice (pre-workout)
Protein Shake + Gatorade (post workout)
Chicken & Rice (about an hour after the shake
Ground Beef & Potatoes
Cottage Cheese (2 cups at bedtime)
I can do this while owning a business that puts me at work at

5am everyday, raising 3 kids, and coaching 2 of their
baseball teams. It can be done, it just takes discipline and a
lot of preparation.
If your shit is out of order, get it fixed. At least FOUR quality
meals per day. Let me know if you need help with this
aspect.

ESC Block 7 March 2016

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

ESC Block 7 March 2016

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

ESC Block 7 March 2016

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Dates: Week of March 7 Week of March 28th

Thursday Volume Press

Training Notes Pay Attention!!!

In the above example itd be 2x3x300, 2x3x305, 2x3x310,

weekly alternation between Rack Pulls / Block Pulls and

Finish with a little bit of higher rep tricep work doing

I can do this while owning a business that puts me at work at

You might also like