HEAVY AF VOL 9 Drop
Hello, all my strong friends!
I have a HAF program ready to rock from April to June. JUNE!!! We are so close! Summer is right around the corner. My PM crew will be leaving the gym in daylight, we’ll get some outdoor KB carry’s going, I can’t wait for all the groans and moans when I tell you all to run to the park and back. CRAZY! Some of you have never done a park run!
Chicago thrives in the summer, and so does TGC. BUZZIN’
In this email, expect a thorough breakdown of my intentions with the program, an overview of our movements and training splits, maybe a laugh or two, and finally a section at the end where I discuss areas of improvement and shiz I think you might be interested to read about.
THE PLAN
Firstly, some notable ideas:
THE FOCUS
As new programming approaches, I often get asked questions like, “What is the focus going to be in the next cycle?” Which is a valid question. This is my answer:
The question is valid because often in strength and conditioning, it is advantageous for coaches to bias specific outcomes through different parts of the calendar.
For example, separating out: endurance, strength, power or maintenance outcomes, through subsequent programs. This sort of thing works well in athletics or certain sports to prepare athletes for specific demands of competition as they move from off-season, preseason, and in-season work. Or as in my last email, I talked about altering your routine, changing from general training to specific training as competitions like Hyrox or endurance races approach.
In HAF, however, we aren’t necessarily training toward a specific event. We don’t have an on or off-season. So the “focus” doesn’t need to change periodically or become more specific over time.
You’re all operating differently, have different levels of experience, and have different goals. Some of you want to build as much eyebrow-raising strength as possible, some of you are going for bikini goals, some of you want both, and some of you are just out here vibing.
We do it all. We can train multiple qualities simultaneously very effectively. Therefore, the focus of HAF will always be the same: a combination of power, strength, and hypertrophy. Gains on gains, on gains. Why train one when you can train them all?
Cool? Cool.
Ok, let's talk training splits:
MONDAY
A] BB FRONT SQUAT TO BACK SQUAT
B] SINGLE LEG LANDMINE RDL
YEP, you read that right, front squat INTO back squat.
I can’t wait for the whiney “But AAAASHH I did front squats in the last cycle”… guess what? IDGAF.
Trust me!! This is going to be fun and a nice switch-up.
Between our two different squat variations, you should be able to front squat 70-80% of your back squat. For example, if you can back squat 225lbs, you would expect to be able to front squat 160-180lbs.
The closer the numbers for each squat, generally the better your overall squat technique; independent of where we hold the weight, we want our squat pattern to look as similar as possible if it’s front or back loaded. This is a great representation of how good your squat technique is overall, and pairing both up subsequently is a great way to improve it.
For this cycle, we will be working up to a heavy front squat, then rather than performing drop sets, we will keep the weight the same and perform a slightly higher volume of reps using the same weight for back squats. FUN!
The secondary movement on Mondays is a Single Leg Landmine RDL. As I was writing this, I did think that I should switch out the Landmines. Coach Brooke would appreciate a change for her set up with the morning crew, and you athletes might like some new equipment. BUT, the Landmine RDL is FAR superior to literally any other hinge pattern we could perform. IT'S SUCH A GOOD GLUTE EXERCISE. So, sorry, B, we are still rolling with landmines. Your butts will thank me.
The Landmine RDL is a great exercise because it's very loadable, given we can stack plates on the bar. It is also very stable. The nature of the Landmine provides support through the anchored base. This is important when trying to achieve hypertrophy because it allows us to take our muscle tissue as close to failure as possible without compromising our form.
Just like the landmine meadows rows, make sure to use wrist straps, and we can ensure we are loading the movement as much as possible. As a point of reference, you should be single-leg RDL-ing more than you pulled on the meadows row.
Additionally, on Mondays, we’ll have some more box jumps, upper body pumps, and transverse core to finish out the start of your week.
WEDNESDAY
A] PLATE ELEVATED BB BENT OVER ROW
B] SLED PUSH
Oh, you want a big back this summer? I got you. Our primary lift on Wednesdays is a new one. We’ll be performing an Elevated BB Bent Over Row.
Performed from a hinge position, you’ll be bent over with the barbell (duh), focussing on movement through your scapulae (shoulder blades) to lower the bar away from you (protraction) and then pull toward you (retraction), tapping the bar to your abdomen. It's important here to allow the scapulae to move with the motion of the pull to ensure that we are recruiting/utilizing the right muscles for the job.
A common mistake when performing rows is using only the arms to move the barbell, no movement through the scapulae, and therefore no stretch and shortening of your big back muscles.
You’ll be standing on top of our 55 lb plates to allow more space for ROM in the movement. Big stretch, controlled pull.
Your secondary movement on Wednesdays will be a HEAVY sled push. We haven't done this in a while, and it’ll be fun to load this movement.
The main benefit, in my opinion, for sled work isn’t necessarily strength but increased work capacity. The term "work capacity" refers to your body's ability to tolerate, recover from, and adapt to a given amount of stress.
It is generally accepted that the more stress we can impose on our systems - while optimally recovering from that stress - the more gains we will ultimately be able to make in the long run.
Muscle, strength, power, conditioning, general fitness, or whatever you are seeking - all of these things are a product of repeated applications of stress. We want repeated bouts through the stress-recovery-adaptation cycle.
Looking for this outcome with sled work is great because sled pushes are generally low impact, there’s no eccentric loading in the motion, and we are operating through a very stable and controlled movement. - So what I'm saying is pushing a heavy sled will help your ability to work hard in all our other heavy lifts.
You’ll be pushing sleds for 4 weeks. Then, we’ll switch to a KB forward walking lunge. This will also be a movement covering distance but with demands for balance and stability, providing a new and very different stimulus for this lower body effort to finish the second half of the program.
Finally, on Wednesdays, you’ll have some upper body power, an overhead press, and some frontal core work to complete your hump day.
FRIDAY
A] BB SUMO OR CONVENTIONAL DEADLIFT REST PAUSE
B] DB BULGARIAN SPLIT SQUATS
The primary exercise on Fridays will be a choice of sumo or conventional deadlift with a twist.
As per, I would recommend switching up your deadlift variation to bias some different muscles, switch up your stimulus, and challenge yourself in a different way. Through this cycle, we will be performing rest pause sets.
Rest-pause sets are a training method where you perform a very challenging set to near failure, take a short rest, and then continue, aiming to extend the demands of the set. This strategy in training increases workout density and is a way of pushing yourself past your typical working threshold.
As normal, we will perform a top set to help determine your drop-sets. Drop sets will be performed as rest pause sets.
For example, in week 1, you will perform a top set at 6 reps, drop down to 77% of your weight, and then perform 6+2+2+2 reps. (6 reps, rest 10-20 seconds, two reps, rest 10-20 seconds, two reps, rest 10-20 seconds, last two reps) This will be for all 3 drop sets.
In this example, you’d be taking a weight through 12 total reps that you otherwise wouldn't have been able to do without utilizing short rest periods to extend your effort. Sounds kinda complicated, but once you do it, it’ll make sense.
The secondary movement on Fridays will be a Bulgarian split squat. This should be a HEAVY movement, so let's use wrist straps, making the movement more loadable. Athletes can choose if you hold one big ol’ weight or two big weights on either hand - whichever feels more stable.
Along with the BGSS’s to wrap up your Friday, you’ll be performing a horizontal push exercise and a sagittal core exercise.
You might notice… no pull-ups or chin-ups. Through this cycle, our vertical pull will be performed as accessory work. I wanted the opportunity to perform sagittal core exercises from the pull-up bars - things like toes-to-bar or hanging knee lifts - as something new to challenge you. Though I’d love some AMRAP pull/chin-up sets before you leave on Fridays!
SATURDAY
A] BB HANG SQUAT CLEAN COMPLEX
B] ZERCHER DEAD PIN SQUATS
Saturday's main lift, as usual, will utilize constrained max outs to perform a barbell complex: BB Hang Squat Clean + 2 Front Squats. This will be followed by an EMOM with just the BB Hang Squat Clean.
Adding two additional front squats to the hang clean is a way of reducing the load potential of the movement. By reducing the load, we allow technique to be the focus in the clean. This also means that for your EMOM sets, you’ll have a long period to practice techniques with sub-maximal weight.
Generally, Olympic weightlifting is a technique-based practice. A good general rule is: if the load impacts movement mechanics, it's too heavy. I would describe Olympic weightlifting as an inefficient way to build strength. Therefore, we should use other methods to build strength, like front squats and heavy barbell rows, to then demonstrate that strength in the Olympic lift with great technique.
The secondary lift on Saturday will be BB Zercher Pin Squats. Zercher squats are an anterior-loaded squat variation. They serve to encourage an upright torso, reinforce good squat mechanics, greater core engagement and upper back activation. We’ll perform these to the safety arms, rest the bar at a complete stop, then fight inertia to drive up.
Accessory work on Saturdays will be a DB row and some upper body pumps.
Feel ready and informed? Gooooood good.
SOME KEY POINTS TO IMPROVE YOUR FITNESS JOURNEY:
OKKKKK… here are some topics I think will be helpful:
TRAINING DIET
Ok, I’m not a dietitian or nutritionist. But I did take a couple of nutrition courses in grad school, have helped many a personal training client change their diet for the better, and know my way around a breakfast taco. So, here’s some general advice when it comes to nutrition & strength training, and making gains.
This is probably the main and the best “fix” you can make: Most people undereat protein. You have to be getting at least 0.8-1.2 grams of high-quality protein per pound of body weight, especially if you strength-train. For my OG HAF email readers, you’ll remember me saying this before.
Research comes out that says less or more all the time. But regardless, you cannot go wrong eating a lot of protein. These are the facts:
Your body needs protein to build muscle.
Protein is very satiating, meaning that it is satisfying, and when you eat a lot, it is harder to overeat on other foods.
Protein is the most difficult of all of the nutrients to convert to fat if eaten in excess.
Finally, it is most effective to prioritise complete protein sources, like meat, poultry, eggs, fish, dairy or whey powder because they contain all of the necessary amino acids (EAA’s) and are more “bio-available” (to steal a word from the supplement companies) than incomplete proteins like beans, nuts and vegetables and whole grains.
In my experience, if individuals start to focus on their daily protein intake, their meals start to look different. They accumulate more satiating, balanced meals through the week, which prevent overeating and snacking. This generally leads to more positive body composition and strength training outcomes.
In addition to this, here are some general tips or rules to follow to benefit your diet:
Limit take out/delivery food
Limit sweets and chips
Cook your own food
Eat REAL sources of protein, fat, and carbs
Steak, butter, eggs, olive oil, and nuts are not your enemy
Avoid any food at eye level in the supermarket
Eat fruit
Anything eaten in excess will make you fat
Read labels for seed oils and chemicals-don’t eat foods that have them
Educate yourself on nutrition
Eat when you are hungry
If you are not hungry, don’t eat
I don’t have an amazing diet. I eat out a few days a week, binge drink on special occasions will eat anything covered in chocolate, and will never say no to my client Doreen’s Banana bread. But I would say 80% of the time, I follow these rules. Life’s too short to pass on the occasional sweet treat. But a long, healthy life will come with some good dietary habits.
Hopefully, this is helpful for some of you! Let's continue to crush and be the Best Gym in Chicago.
Love ya’ll, peace out.
Coach Ashley Stephen
Director of Training
The Garage Chicago Gym
