Articles.elitefts.com-Concurrent Strategies in Strength Training Part 2

8/12/2019 Articles.elitefts.com-Concurrent Strategies in Strength Training Part 2

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Set Reps

Set 1 15 reps

Set 2 15 reps

Set 3 10 reps

Set 4 10 reps

Set 5 5 reps

Set 6 5 reps

Set Reps

Set 1 10 reps

Set 2 10 reps

Set 3 10 reps

Set 4 3 reps

Set 5 3 reps

Set 6 3 reps

Concurrent Strategies in Strength Training, Part 2

This is part two of a three-part series.

Waves are very similar to pyramids.

Heres an example of the wide wave loading protocol:

Set Reps

Set 1 15 reps

Set 2 10 reps

Set 3 5 reps

Set 4 15 reps

Set 5 10 reps

Set 6 5 reps

Stages or plateau loading are a combination of pyramids and straight sets. Here are a couple of examples:

For more examples regarding loading protocols, I highly recommend reading Christian Thibaudeaus, Black Boo

of Training SecretsEnhanced Edition. Most of these graphs are taken f rom there. Another interest ing book to

consider is Joe Kenns, Coachs Strength Training Playbook, which is another awesome read.
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My opinion regarding waves, pyramids, and stages is t hat they are very useful when the load stays within 10

percent of 1RM. In other words, narrow variants are ok. But I think wide variants (t hose explained) are most ly

crap (although a gross amount of liters s till use it so I guess they havent read Zatsiorskys book f rom 95 or

Poliquins s tuf f ). It is ok if you ut ilize reps and loads f rom two near repetition zones (ME/SE, SE/RE), but if yo

try to ut ilize whole repetition continuums, I guess you are conf using your body (whatever that would be). Also

you dont have appropriate volume within each zone to drain potential adaptat ional eff ects compared to

narrow variants. I again highly suggest looking at Black Bookf or great ideas on how to organize narrow

variants f or dif f erent levels of athletes. To conclude, rep schemes (utilizing whole repetition continuums) on a

given exercise as a f orm of concurrent t raining is a bad choice. Avoid it.

Daily undulating periodization (DUP)

The idea of daily undulating periodization (o r what is also called non-linear periodizat ion in some circles) is to

basically devote a whole training session toward a given goal (maximal strength, muscular hypertrophy,

muscular endurance). Suppose you have two dif f erent t raining sessionstraining A and training B.

Training A Training B

1. Squat2. Bench press

3. Romanian deadlif t

4. Pull-ups

1. Front squat2. Inclined bench press

3. Lunges

4. Horizontal rowing

Now, you identify dif f erent t raining goals that you want t o concurrently (parallel) achieve at the same time.

Suppose they are maximal st rength, muscular hypertrophy, and muscular endurance. To achieve them, you pla

to use ME, SE, and RE methods and loading protocols. Now, you can mix and match and get this kind of

training organization:

Sess ion 1 Session 2 Session 3 Sess ion 4 Sess ion 5 Session 6

Training A B A B A B

Protocol ME SE RE ME SE RE

Reps/Sets 5 X 13 4 X 68 3 X 1012 5 X 13 4 X 68 3 X 1012

You have six combinations o f training sessions combining training A and B and the three dif f erent loading

protocols ME, SE, and RE. If you do three training sessions per week, you have two weeks to pass t he full

circle.

This kind of planning allows f or week long loading waves (or undulations ) that may provide variety and some

kind of integrated unloading. There are a couple of studies (which Im too lazy to f ind) that show bett er goalachievement with DUP than with linear (or t raditional) periodizat ion. I dont want to open a huge can of worms

discussing the study design and subjects, but I guess this kind of concurrent training organization has its plac

under the sun f or a given individual aiming to achieve specif ic goals under a specific situation.

Coach Alwyn Cosgrove believes in DUP. I trust Alwyn Cosgro ve. So, I guess I f ind DUP a good tool in your

toolbox. Use it when you f ind it appropriate. To be honest, I havent used it yet , not on me, nor on the people

coach. However, that doesnt necessarily mean that I will not use it one day. Now, lets discuss priority lif t

strategies.

Priority lifts


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I openly admit it. This is my f avorite approach to concurrent st rength training. I dont know if anyone called it

priority lif ts before me or if anyone knows what the hell Im talking about here, but Ive called it that somehow.

Because we are going to dif f er between dif f erent exercise categories and give them priorities, I hope that

calling this method priority lif ts was a smart idea. If you think it is not, f eel free to contact me and curse me.

According to its importance, each exercise can be classif ied into a separate group. Depending on the author,

there could be diff erent classif ications o f the exercises. For example, Joe Kenn, in his book, The Coachs

Strength Training Playbook, uses the f ollowing classif ication of exercises:

Foundation exercises

Supplemental exercises

Major assistance exercises

Secondary assistance exercises

One classif ication of exercises that I will use here is the classif ication that Christ ian Thibaudeau presented in

his series o f articles ent itled, How to Design a Damn Good Program published at T-Nation.com. If you haven

read this series o f articles (and actually everything this guy has ever wrote), you are missing a lot because

there is more practical information in those couple of pages than in 500 plus pages in a strength training

textbook. It is an awesome article and one of my favorites.

Exercise classif ication by Christian T hibaudeau

Primaryexercises

This category includes a s mall number of multi-joint, multi-muscle, f ree weight, and pref erablymulti-plane movements . These movements allow you to use the mos t weight f or each musclegroup and place the highest demand on the body and nervous system.

Secondaryexercises

This is similar to the above except that t he exercises in this category place a slightly lowerdemand on t he body and central nervous system.

Auxiliary

exercises

This very broad catego ry includes the isolation movements and mos t machine exercises. These

exercises allow the use of considerably less weight than exercises in the f irst two categoriesand so place far less demand on the nervous system.

Remedialexercises

This category contains movements, mostly isolation, whose purpose is to correct problemssuch as muscle imbalances or very specif ic weak points. Rotator cuff work, balance, andproprioception drills also f all into t his category.

Basically, Joe Kenn and Chris Thibaudeau use the same classif ication with some minor dif f erences between

groups. Mos t coaches usually reduce exercise classif ication to core and ass istance exercises, which is more

practical and easier to use. Again, everything depends on the goal of training and the context and so does the

exercise classif ication that you use. If exercises are tools, their classif ications can be dif f erent types and

organizations of the too lbox. Be f lexible with classifications. They are not set in stone.

According to your sport and go al, dif f erent exercises may be considered under a given group. For example,

Olympic lif ters may use the f ollowing classif ications:

Olympic lif ter

Primary exercises Clean and jerk, snatch, squat, deadlif t, press, push press

Secondary exercises Hang clean, hang snatch, high pulls, f ront squat

Auxiliary exercises Romanian deadlif ts, lunges, step-ups, bench press, chins, rows, shrugs


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Remedial exercises Rotator cuf f , adductors/abductors, calves

This could be an example of exercise classif ication for a powerlif ter:

Powerlif ter

Primaryexercises

Squat, bench press, deadlif t

Secondaryexercises

Front squat, box squat, sumo deadlif t, good morning; Romanian deadlif t, wide/narrow gripbench press, military press, f loor press, chains, bands, incline/decline bench press

Auxiliaryexercises

Pull-through, glute ham raise, lunges, step-ups, rows, chins, Bulgarians, reverse hypers,dumbbell variations and isolational stuf f (delts, t riceps, biceps, calves)

Remedialexercises

Rotato r cuff , shoulder stability work, TKE

For an average athlete looking for s trength t raining, the following classif ication could be used:

Athlete

Primary exercises Clean, squat, deadlif t, bench press

Secondaryexercises

Front squat, Romanian deadlif ts , lunges, military press, chins, rows, dumbbellvariations

Auxilary exercises Dips, delts, calves, biceps, t riceps, grip

Remedial exercises Shoulder, ankle, and knee pre-habilitation, neck

Please note t hat diff erent classifications may be used depending on the weak and st rong points o f the

athlete, his level of development, training period, emphasis and other stuf f . Those classif ications are used to

help the coach organize the t raining system and priorit ize things according to the demands of the sport and

pos ition. With average athletes, the primary exercise would be those that give the mos t bang f or t he buck and

have the greatest transf er to t he f ield while other exercises will aim to assist that transf er and provide whole

body development and injury prevention.

Because exercise categories can (or should?) have their own planning (dif f erent loading, progression, and

periodization plans for dif f erent exercise categories and their usage/rotat ion in the training system),

concurrent training can be easily achieved. For example, a powerlif ter would build explosive strength with DE

box s quats, chains and bands, bench presses, and speed deadlif ts . He would build maximal st rength with ME

squats , presses, and deadlif ts and their special variations (secondary exercises), and he would build muscula

hypertrophy with SE and RE single-leg exercises and dumbbell variations of presses, some chins, and rows.

With an average athlete, explosive st rength would be developed with Olympic lif t variations, plyometrics, and

explosive jumps, and maximal strength would be developed with ME/SE squats, benches, and deadlif ts.

Muscular hypetrophy would be developed with SE/RE single leg stuf f , dumbbell variations , isolation stuf f ,

chins, and rows.

In other words, primary exercises may use the ME loading protocol. Secondary exercises may use the SE

loading protocol, and auxiliary and remedial exercises may use the RE loading protocol to achieve concurrent

training approach.


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Concurrent training with priority lif ts

Exercise group Training goal Loading protocol

Primary exercises Explosive strength, maximal strength DE, ME

Secondary exercises Maximal strength, muscular hypertrophy ME, SE

Auxiliary exercises Muscular hypert rophy, muscular endurance SE, RE

Remedial exercises Muscular endurance, anatomic adaptation, pre-habilitation RE

However, if someone wants to nitpick (and that would be me), this can be considered concurrent t raining as a

whole (because all loading proto cols are present). It may not be considered concurrent t raining depending on

which movement pattern or muscle groups we are talking about . For example, in the athletes situat ion

mentioned earlier, the legs would receive explosive strength work, maximal strength work, and muscular

hypertrophy work. The s ituation is similar for t he upper body push muscles, but the upper body pull muscle

(used f or chins and rows) will receive only muscular hypertro phy work. Ring a bell or not?

To be considered totally concurrent, all movement patterns must receive the same treatment (ME, SE, and RE

work; not necessary f or DE) in a training program or it would be only partially concurrent. For t his reason,

mos t, if not all, concurrent powerlif ting, Olympic lif ting, and athletic t raining programs are partially concurrent

because only the legs and push muscle groups receive concurrent t reatment (with the exception o f upper bod

pull muscles). Is this a bad thing? Certainly not ! Im just pointing it out , and because mos t sports revolve aroun

legs and push muscles, this is a f ine situation f or me.

However, in bodybuilding, this would under develop certain muscle groups. Thats for sure. And because goals

in athletic training, Olympic lif ting, and powerlif ting are not bodybuilding in nature and because I dont talk abou

bodybuilding here (although some ideas can be certainly used with minor modif ications), there shouldnt be

much concern about it anyway. Certainly, it would be very usable to classif y exercises f or every movement

pattern (or muscle group) in addition to the sport classif ication already explained.

This way we could dif f er between:

Sport -based or athletic-oriented classif ication of exercises (according to the greatest t ransfer to the

f ield or event or the mos t used muscle groups/movement patterns in sport)

Movement pattern or muscle group (bodybuilding) based classif ication of exercises

Because Ive already given hypothetical examples of the exercise classif ications f or Olympic lif ting,

powerlif ting, and average athletic t raining, here is a modif ied exercise classif ication based on movement

patterns taken f rom the already mentioned awesome article by Christian Thibaudeau, How to Design a Damn

Good Program.

Knee dominant pattern (or quads)

Category Sample exercises

Primary Olympic back squat (hip width stance, upright torso), power squat (wide stance, moderate torsolean), front squat

Secondary Lunge variations, split squat variations, leg press, barbell hack squat, dumbbell squat

Auxiliary Machine hack squat , step-up variat ions, leg extension variat ions, sissy squat

Remedial Terminal knee extension (with band), band leg extension


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Hip dominant pat tern (or hams/glutes)


Primary Deadlif t, Romanian deadlif t, stiff -leg deadlif t, sumo deadlif t, snatch grip deadlif t

Secondary Good morning variations, glute ham raises, leg press (f eet high on pad), single leg Romaniandeadlif t

Auxiliary Reverse hyper, pull- through, leg curl variat ions, cable hip extension, hyperextension

Remedial X-band walks, Cook lift , Swiss ball leg curl, band leg curl

Upper body horizontal push (or pecs)


Primary Bench press

Secondary Incline bench press, dumbbell bench press, dumbbell incline press, neck press, plate loaded

push-ups

Auxiliary Cable cross -over, f lyes variat ions, pec deck machine, chest press machine

Remedial Swiss ball push-ups, wobble board push-ups

Upper body vertical pull (or back width, lats, and teres major)


Primary Pull-ups , chin-ups

Secondary Parallel pull-ups, mixed grip pull-ups, t owel pull-ups

Auxiliary Lat pull-down variat ions, straight arm lat pull-down, pull-over

Remedial External/internal shoulder rotation, scap push-up

Upper body vertical push (o r shoulders/ delts)


Primary Military press, push press

Secondary Press behind the neck, log press, seated press, dumbbell press variations, Bradfo rd press

Auxiliary Machine shoulder press, lateral raise variat ions, f ront raise variat ions, lateral raise machine

Remedial Cuban press, external shoulder rotation

Upper body horizontal pull (or back thicknessrear delts, t raps, rhomboids)


Primary Barbell rowing, log row, chest supported rowing, seated rowing


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Secondary One-arm dumbbell row, corner row, fatman pull-ups, dumbbell chest supported rowing

Auxiliary High pulley cross- rowing, low pulley cross -row, bent over rear delt raise, machine rear delt ,chest- supported incline rear delt raise

Remedial Chest- supported incline dumbbell shrugs, seated cable shrugs (scapular retraction), traps threeraise, YTWL, Cuban row

Elbow f lexion (or biceps)

Category Sample Exercises

Primary Standing barbell curl, Scott bench barbell curl

Secondary Hammer curl, seated dumbbell curl variations, Scott bench dumbbell curl, reverse barbell curl(standing or Scott bench), Zottman curl

Auxiliary Machine curl, cable curl variat ions, concentrat ion curl

Remedial Upper arm supination with sledgehammer or Thor s hammer

Elbow extension (or t riceps)


Primary Close grip bench press, close-grip decline press, triceps dips

Secondary Close-grip incline press, reverse-grip bench press, JM press, decline barbell triceps extension,decline dumbbell triceps extension, f lat barbell triceps extens ion, f lat dumbbell triceps extens ion

Auxiliary Overhead dumbbell triceps extension, overhead bar triceps extension, cable t riceps extensionvariations, t riceps extension machines

Remedial Close grip push-up on Swiss ball, close grip push-up on wobble board

Total body (Olympic Lif ts)


Primary Clean and jerk, snatch

Secondary Hang clean, hang snatch, push press, pulls, shrugs

Auxiliary Jump squats, depth jumps, split squat jumps, s tep-up jumps

Remedial Dumbbell clean and snatch variations

Using this movement pat tern-based exercise classif ication, dif f erent goals can be achieved via diff erent

distributions of loading protocols. I will give an example using Chris Thibaudeaus classif ication of loading

protocols.

Distribution of loading protocols according to the goal selected

Relative strength Absolute strength Muscular hypertrophy

Primary Strength Strength Functional hypertrophy


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A. Total body Secondary Hang clean DE/SE technique

B. Hip dominant Primary Deadlif t ME

C1. Horizontal push Secondary Dumbbell bench press SE

C2. Horizontal pull Secondary Seated rowing SE

D. Knee dominant Auxiliary Lunges RE

E1. Vertical push Auxiliary Dumbbell l-rises RE

E2. Vertical pull Auxiliary Pull-over RE

Here is the lower/upper split:

Training A: Lower body squat

Movement pattern Category Example Loading protocol

A. Total body Primary Clean DE/ME

B. Knee dominant Primary Squat ME

C. Hip dominant Secondary Romanian deadlif t SE

D. Knee dominant Auxiliary Lunges RE

E. Abs and pre-habilitation stuf f RE

Training B: Upper body horizontal


A1. Horizontal push Primary Bench pres s ME

A2. Horizontal pull Primary Barbell row ME

B1. Vertical push Secondary Dumbbell press SE

B2. Vertical pull Secondary Pull-ups SE

C1. Horizontal push Auxiliary Push-ups RE

C2. Horizontal pull Auxiliary Cuban row RE

Training C: Lower body deadlif t


A. Total body Secondary Hang clean DE/SE technique

B. Hip dominant Primary Deadlif t ME

C. Knee dominant Secondary Front squat SE

D. Hip dominant Auxiliary Single leg Romanian deadlif t RE


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E. Abs and pre-habilitation stuf f RE

Training D: Upper body vertical


A1. Vert ical push Primary Military press ME

A2. Vert ical pull Primary Chin-ups ME

B1. Horizontal push Secondary Dumbbell bench press SE

B2. Horizontal pull Secondary Seated rowing SE

C1. Vertical push Auxiliary L-rises RE

C2. Vertical pull Auxiliary Pull-over RE

Once we arranged the t raining sessions, we can plan progressions f or loading protocols.

Weekly progressions f or loading proto cols

Loading protocol Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 unload

ME 5 X 3 3, 2, 1, 3, 2, 1 6 X 1 4 X 1, 10% weight

SE 4 X 6 5 X 5 5 X 5 3 X 5, 10% weight

RE 3 X 12 3 X 10 3 X 8 2 X 10

Olympic lif t s ME: 5 X 1SE: 4 X 2

RE: 3 X 5

ME: 5 X 1SE: 4 X 2

RE: 3 X 5

ME: 5 X1SE: 4 X 2

RE: 3 X 5

ME: 5 X 1SE: 4 X 2

RE: 3 X 5

Stay tuned fo r part three!!

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