Last month we finished up our final phase of the traumatic/non-traumatic (T/NT) training routine. We stayed on variations of that program for a while because it kept producing good results, but now we want a bit more volume and good, solid Positions-of-Flexion training. Although we were following most of the POF principles, we had split the positions (midrange, stretch and contraction) for most of our exercises over two workout sessions. Now, however, we’re really craving that extra pump you can get by hitting all the angles in one session.
It’s just the beginning of winter’not really a big deal in California, but it will be too cold to head for the beaches’so we’re still not quite ready to start our cutting phase. Our main objective is. Although we were only training three days a week, they were pretty intense sessions and we followed that basic schedule for 12 weeks, so a one-week break from training should allow for a enough of a recharge to help get through our newest routine, a four-day program.
While we do want some more volume in our routine, we still have to watch out for overtraining. Therefore, we’ll train with a four-day split with a bit of a twist:
Monday: Delts, back, biceps
Tuesday: Quads, hamstrings, calves, abs
Wednesday: Chest, triceps, forearms
Thursday: Off
Friday: Full body
Weekends: Off
On the first three training sessions, we use a full-blown POF routine. We begin with the midrange movements in a pyramid fashion, and then move on to the stretch and finish off with a contraction movement. As an example, this is what our POF routine currently looks like for lower/mid chest:
Midrange:
Bench presses 3 x 9, 7, 4
Stretch:
Dumbbell flyes 1 x 9-12
Contracted:
Cable crossovers 1 x 9-12
We continue with upper chest immediately after this and we follow the same approach, only we do two sets of incline presses and then move straight to incline cable crossovers. You’ll notice that we don’t do a separate stretch movement for inclines. That’s because we try to maximize the cables in both positions to get the full stretch and contraction, but it’s also due to shoulder problems incline flyes tend to aggravate.
We follow the full-POF approach for each bodypart over the first three days, rest on Thursday and then do a full-body routine on Friday. On Friday’s workout, we hit every bodypart with one or two sets, usually just a midrange movement followed by an isolation movement. For example, our Friday delt routine looks like this:
Dumbbell presses 1 x 9-12
Dumbbell lateral raises 1 x 9-12
This split allows us to hit all the muscle groups from every angle during the first three days, and then we get a nice high-intensity blast for each bodypart in one session to get us through the weekend. Plus, we still get a day off during the week that allows time for family, friends and other activities.
When you first think of Friday’s full-body routine, it may sound a bit ominous. In reality, though, it’s not that bad. With only one set per exercise, this day is actually only slightly longer than the others. It makes for a great all-over pump and really helps get you through the weekend feeling like you’re growing.
For the complete ITRC Program 16, see the February ’01 IRONMAN. For more on POF training go to www.ironmanmagazine.com
This special report was submitted by Jonathan Lawson
From the IRONMAN Training & Research Team
www.ironmanmagazine.com
The ITRC Training Newsletter is not intended as training advice for everyone. You must consult your physician before beginning any diet or training program. You may forward this email to as many friends as you want, but do not photocopy or reprint this report in any format without the written permission of the copyright holder.
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