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Investment Bro's 5 Week Strength Program
#1

Investment Bro's 5 Week Strength Program

Over the last couple of years, I've had a lot of guys in the gyms I work out at ask me for my program. I've watched dozens of men and women use my system and make phenomenal gains. I've refined it over the years, and after running it for the last two years straight, and testing it on two dozen individuals, I'm confident this program has everything you need to tremendously increase your strength and build tons of good looking muscle.

Personally, I've used this program to get the following numbers at a bodyweight of 180 pounds. (over the course of 2 years of running it and refining it)

Squat: 255->405lbs
Pause Bench: 185->275lbs
Deadlift: 315->455lbs
OHP: 135->195lbs

That said, I wanted to make my system available here, especially because of all the good Rooshv has done for me. So, let's break this down:

What are you getting?
This five week strength program is not your typical, low rep power-lifting program. You're going to be hitting a lot of quality volume, specifically tailored to your current strength level. You'll be doing the big four (squat, bench, deadlift, and OHP) as your cornerstone movements. Be warned, you're going to be tested. This program is not a stroll in the park.

The program is based in this customizable spreadsheet I have attached to this thread. All of the formulas are visible, and if you have the experience, you can tweak the percentages and see how they effect the overall intensity of the program itself. Download the spreadsheet and see for yourself!

How is this program structured?
This program is a 5 week, repeatable program. The program itself has two blocks.

The 1st and second week are a volume block, with higher volume, and moderate intensity.
The 3rd week serves as a phase shift, where the volume is still fairly high, but the intensity is also heightened.
The 4th and 5th weeks are the peak/intensity block. The volume remains moderate, but decreases as intensity ramps up toward's week 5 and it's scheduled PR attempts.

The first 3 weeks are six workouts a week. These workouts typically take about an hour if you're following the 2 minute rest period rule mentioned in the program. The 4th week has five workouts, and the 5th has four workouts.

The Split:
This program is structured into an upper/lower split. Be warned, this means you will squat and deadlift on the same day. This can be challenging to some, but you will get used to it. The volume and intensity are managed so you can do both.

Okay, I want to try this! What do I do?
First, I would recommend anyone doing this program have at least a solid year of lifting experience, and be able to perform the big four with good form, and not suffer from form breakdown. This is important, because you will be handling volume during this program, and form breakdown exposes you to potential injury.

To use this program, simply enter your 1 rep maxes on the Inputs sheet, and excel will calculate the rest of your workouts for you. You can also choose which accessory movements you want to do by clicking through the drop-down menus. More choices will be added as I evaluate the effectiveness of each exercise.

Choosing Weights for Accessories:
As for choosing weights for your accessory movements, you should pick weights where you have two reps left in the tank at the end of each set. These accessories should be performed with full range of motion and using correct form. Do not be afraid to start on the lighter side of things.

Optional Accessories:
I've also given you leeway with your optional accessory movements. Choose wisely, with any exercises you feel support your goals. I would advise, however to keep these slots for single joint exercises. This program has a lot of high-fatigue, compound exercises, so you want to avoid taxing your recovery.

Using The Calculations Sheet:
I would advise against changing the percantages; but if you're really interested in how you can play with the formulas used for this program, and how you can optimize them with INOL, feel free to DM me and I'll explain. This option should only be used for advanced lifters.

Nutrition, Sleep, and Recovery:
Four things here: Sleep 8 quality hours a day, drink plenty of water, be in at least a slight caloric surplus, and make sure to foam roll/mobilize at the end of your workouts. Check out RomWOD or M|Wod as options. Dr. Kelly Starrett at M|Wod is particularly good for this type of thing. For your rest days, you should be resting!! Fight the urge to train!

Other:
If you have questions, or wish for me to clarify something, don't hesitate to ask! As an NASM CPT in my downtime, I, and dozens of others can attest to the effectiveness of this method for developing overall strength and muscle mass. Thank you for taking the time to read this data sheet, and I hope to hear from you as to your feedback and other data so I can further refine this method into one of the definitive resources for power-building strength training.

The Program: (Excel 2016)

[img]images/attachtypes/xls.gif[/img]  Investment Bro 5 Week Strength.xlsx (Size: 69.59 KB / Downloads: 356)
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#2

Investment Bro's 5 Week Strength Program

I appreciate the time you took to put this together, but when I read things like this, I always wonder: who is this for? Why should someone follow this routine over the other ten million routines out there? What makes this one different? Why does this one get better results compared to the others?

I understand routines can help people who are new or who don't want to take the time to figure out how they should train. But for someone who has been lifting for a year, why should they follow this generic routine?

Maybe I can't understand because my philosophy on strength training is simple: train more and trainer harder.
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#3

Investment Bro's 5 Week Strength Program

Quote: (05-22-2017 03:20 PM)Corollary Wrote:  

I appreciate the time you took to put this together, but when I read things like this, I always wonder: who is this for? Why should someone follow this routine over the other ten million routines out there? What makes this one different? Why does this one get better results compared to the others?

I understand routines can help people who are new or who don't want to take the time to figure out how they should train. But for someone who has been lifting for a year, why should they follow this generic routine?

Maybe I can't understand because my philosophy on strength training is simple: train more and trainer harder.

I actually agree with you; the majority of complicated training is gimmicky. I also agree with your philosophy that training more and training harder is important. This program accomplishes both. The idea is that most people who have been training for a year have been using linear periodization, which leads to stalling and diminishing returns after about a year. After you've tapped out on your newbie gains, you need to get smarter about your periodization so you don't stall.

That's where this program comes in for someone who has been lifting for at least a year. Volume and intensity need to be managed so that greater degrees of volume and intensity can be added over time. If this is being done linearly, you will stall at a certain point, because of fatigue. The progression has to be slowed, and fatigue has to be better managed, while more volume is added to have the same response as before.

That being said; this generic routine is an option. There's hundreds of ways to do it, as mentioned. This provides an enjoyable option for some, and if you can enjoy it, you'll do it consistently, hence making the best results. That's why I give the options for accessories, while being stringent about the base work.

Your simple training strategy is correct; but the how-to's of it can sometimes take years to come to correctly. Even with a sports background, and now being a CPT, it took me years to make sure these principles were correctly implemented in my training.
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#4

Investment Bro's 5 Week Strength Program

Quote: (05-22-2017 03:34 PM)Investment Bro Wrote:  

Your simple training strategy is correct; but the how-to's of it can sometimes take years to come to correctly. Even with a sports background, and now being a CPT, it took me years to make sure these principles were correctly implemented in my training.

This made me realize my background and memory are the problem.

I went through a linear progression program years ago and predictably stalled. I spun my wheels for several months after that until I stumbled into the optimal environment for gaining strength. I learned, mostly through observation, the power of simply working harder. And today I know that my lack of results are simply because of my lack of effort.

People can listen to me talk about training harder, but until you've seen others doing it every single day for months and years, it's difficult to internalize.

So a routine like this could be good for those in environments where they never get to experience that.
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#5

Investment Bro's 5 Week Strength Program

Looks like a solid plan. Thanks. Only question, how should you plan cardio around this plan?
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#6

Investment Bro's 5 Week Strength Program

Quote: (05-22-2017 04:27 PM)Repo Wrote:  

Looks like a solid plan. Thanks. Only question, how should you plan cardio around this plan?

After leg sessions, its a really good way to keep yourself from getting sore.

I keep it fairly low intensity, because the volume, combined with the low rest times can get your heart beating pretty hard.
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#7

Investment Bro's 5 Week Strength Program

I just downloaded the spread sheet and will start on this program after the weekend. Getting my 1RM's in this weekend to plug in. Will be reporting my progress here.

Thanks IB!
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#8

Investment Bro's 5 Week Strength Program

Completed one cycle of this program with great results. Here is my feedback:

Pros:

-The volume is awesome and the rampup on the main lifts as well as the variety over the course of the 5 weeks is great and keeps it interesting and logically progressive.

-The workouts are short and depending on your diligence at the gym you can knock these workouts out within an hour and a half or even less depending on your rest needs (I took longer but I'm slow in the gym)

-The 6 days a week appears like it would be exhaustive but it is not and there is a lot of benefit to be reaped from doing the main lifts 3 times each every week.

-The weights picked from the formula felt perfect. Some minor adjustment may be needed here and there depending on the individual, but I felt like every workout for the main lifts were sufficiently challenging but not overbearing.

-I added 10 lbs to my squat, 10 lbs to my bench, and 40 lbs to my deadlift over the course of 5 weeks. (Deadlift was really a 20 lbs all time PR but I had lost a lot over the last year so when I tested for max prior to this program I pulled 20 lbs below my previous best). So it definitely helps produce results.

-It's quick. 5 weeks is nothing and to get such results in such a short amount of time is awesome.

Cons:

-Monotony of accessory movements. While it is a nice feature that you can pick the upper body, lower body, and core accessories that you want to do for the program, doing the same accessory workout every other day for 5 weeks gets boring.

-Rep scheme for accessory movements could use work especially for specific movements. for the first few workouts of the first week, 10 reps felt sufficient especially since they were movements I don't normally do, but soon after, 10 reps was not sufficient, and even upping weight didn't get me to feel a burn or a pump when doing the accessory lifts. 10x ab rollouts does not create a great stimulus after you've done it a couple times. I started upping it to 15 reps, and/or doing them slower and more concentrated to get a good stimulus. As the weeks go on and the reps lower and the weight goes up, it's hard to see/feel a benefit in doing 6-8 reps of an isolation movement.

-Testing bench press max effort and overhead press max effort in the same workout does not make sense. Yesterday I tested my bench press and put 100% effort in. I gave myself a lot of rest time afterwards then warmed up for OHP max but my triceps were just too shot. I will wait a day then go back to the gym and test OHP. I also think max effort squat and DL same day isn't the best either but it was far more manageable.

-Doing a workout after testing 1RM doesn't make sense to me. On the same day I was told to test Bench and OHP max, I was asked to barbel row, do pullups, DB curls, and an optional upper body accessory. Same with doing core exercises after squat and DL max.

A few notes:

I did not follow the program 100% strict. I took more than 1 rest day a week some weeks (which is why it took more like 6 weeks than 5 weeks to complete), I did not always get 8+ hours of sleep, and there was a day or two where I did not do the accessory lifts. I also did not do any accessories on the PR days.

In general I liked this program a lot and will be de-loading next week and plugging in my new numbers and doing it again for another 5 weeks.

Thanks IB!!! Repped +1
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