Quote: (12-12-2015 05:16 PM)RexImperator Wrote:
Quote:H1N1 Wrote:
I suspect you could drop a lot of mass whilst increasing your strength if you trained appropriately.
Curious about this statement as I've never gotten that to work. What does "train appropriately" mean in this case?
I'm not sure I have a general answer for that, as 'appropriately' is likely to be quite specific to you, and we may have different ideas of what constitutes a strength increase - for example, if you lost 40lbs of scale weight and lost 15lbs of your bench, I would say you had increased your strength significantly.
That said, I have increased my strength by every measure during this cut I've been on by increasing my training frequency, and not exceeding 5 reps. To give you an idea of how I've been training the past two months or so:
Day 1:
A1. Weighted chins - 2x5xbw (very strict reps), 1xbw+30% of potential additional weight, 4-6 (sets) x 3 reps x 60% potential additional weight
A2. Handstand pushups from 5" below parallel. 5-6x3
B1. Straight bar dips 2x5xbw, 5x3@85% total potential added weight
B2. Sandbag rows (grab canvas like grabbing clothing) 4-6 x 8
C1. Ab wheel from knees 3x15 (hold for a few seconds at full extension)
C2. 25lb plate flips 3x5
Conditioning: 80lb DB 100 swings + 100 burpees for best time
Day 2:
A1. Squat partials - BW on bar x10, then I just add whole plates each side for sets of 3 until I hit my target weight, and hit that for 3-5 sets of 3 (I aim for 3 sets of 3, and add weight again when I can do 5 sets of 3 (and usually rep out the last set a bit to make sure I've got the weight happily, as I train alone on a scaffold set up somewhere remote, I don't have the luxury of being rescued if I get it wrong))
A2. DB snatches - usually work up in sets of 3-5 to a heavy triple, and do a couple of sets at that weight.
B1. Pistols - just linear sets of 3-5 trying to add weight without compromising depth
B2. Weighted Jefferson curls or strict stiff-leg deficit deads
C1. As many reps in 3 sets of sandbag shouldering as possible (I aim for over 30 reps total)
C2. 3x backbridge hold as long as possible (I don't take any other rest between my SB shouldering sets, so I have a good incentive to make these count)
Conditioning: 500 snatches with 33lb DB as quickly as possible
Day 3:
A1. Weighted chins - work up to 7-8 x 1 @90% of total potential added weight.
A2. Very slow HSPU negatives to full depths, focusing on control and body tension.
B1. Straight bar dips 2x5xbw, 5x3-5@70% total potential added weight
B2. SB rows (grab canvas like grabbing clothing) 4-6 x 8
C1. Ab wheel from knees 3x15 (hold for a few seconds at full extension)
C2. Plate curls 3x3
No conditioning usually after this one
Day 4:
A1. Cleans - work up to 3x3
A2. HS wall holds for 50% of max time
B1. One arm deadlifts
B2. BW pistols - slightly higher reps, and I just try to hold bottom position for 10 seconds or so each rep, and maybe hold one more random point on the way up or down.
Conditioning:
5 rounds (no rest between rounds): 6 SB shoulders (each rep is a bit of a wrestle to get it to shoulder height), 2 mins shadowboxing
The other 3 days I do a lot of shadowboxing, finger and wrist work, pushups (one arm and normal), situps, bridges (neck and back) and mobility/stretching. I start each of the 4 weights sessions with 10-15 minutes continuous skipping and shadowboxing.
If I'd built a huge amount of mass/prioritised aesthetics over performance/was training for a particular competition, then obviously I might train differently. Since at this point in my training I only care about being fit and strong, and am prepared to accept whatever mass I can hold by eating two large meals a day most days, the above has worked for my goals. If your goals are different, then 'appropriately' might mean something different for you.
I would not claim that the above was the best program for anyone's goals but my own (perhaps not even then).