After a couple of weeks of program ADD, I’m starting the Jim Wendler’s “Frequency Project”. This is basically 5/3/1 on an accelerated, 6-day a week schedule. So you go through a cycle in 2 weeks instead of three, and the assistance work is minimal. The two main attractions for me are (1) more frequent squatting and pressing. This allows me to get volume by doing the main lifts more frequently, rather than relying on assistance work, and I weights I’m using are still light enough that I think I can get away with it, recovery-wise. And (2), the actual lifting sessions are shorter and more efficient, allowing me to more regularly get in some conditioning at the end of the workout. Wendler says no conditioning on this program, but I will do it anyway (though ‘ll build it up gradually over a couple of weeks, and never more than about 10 minutes of hard conditioning at the end of workouts, with some occasional walking). Again, since I weights I’m at aren’t that big, I think I can get away with it recovery-wise. That being said, on the first two days I didn’t have time for conditioning. My plan is to do hill sprints or stairs of death on lower body days (which I’ll do at school), and on upper body days, a 10-min weighted incline walk on the treadmill. Later in the summer, I’ll switch those to flat sprints, and route-running, and combine type drills as flag football season approaches. Eventually, I’ll move N.O.V..
Monday, June 10:
- Warm up
- Squat: 235×3, 270×3, 305×3
- Power cleans: 155×3, 170×3, 185×3, 205×1, 215×1, 225×1
- Pull-ups and between sets of squats
- Leg raises between sets of power cleans
Notes: I did low bar squats, and it finally felt right this time. I’ll stick with those going forward. 305×3 is the most I’ve ever squatted; pretty cool! I haven’t been doing power cleans, but they felt good, and even the 225×1 felt pretty easy. I tried doing a jerk on my first warm-up set at 135, and even though it went up easy, the sudden locking out didn’t feel so good on my shoulder, so I’ll lay off of those for a while.
Tuesday, June 11:
- Warm up
- Neck curls: 3×20 with 25-lb plate
- Bench press: 145×3, 165×3, 185×3, 195×1, 205×1
- Ring rows between sets
- Front raises: 3×20 with 25-lb plate
- Curls: 3×20 with bar (45-lb)
Notes: singles felt good on bench, but 205 was enough of a grind that I didn’t go any higher. With this more frequent squatting and pressing, I need to be careful to keep everything fast and explosive; no grinding out reps.
Iron Condor 