The Four Seasons Of Lifting – Part 2

Among the four seasons of lifting, the first two seasons (autumn and winter) are meant to increase muscle mass and strength as much as possible. Of course, your nutrition and supplement strategy should reflect this (this will be covered in part III). In this second part we will cover the other half of the year, the two other seasons.  The goal in this two seasons is to get lean and athletic while maintaining or even increasing muscle mass by doing metabolic conditioning (if fat loss is your priority) or Olympic lifting (if performance is your priority) in the spring. I don’t necessarily do this during the actual seasons; you understand the concept you can do the “seasons” at any time during the year.

Spring Seasons Are For Metabolic Conditioning Or Olympic Lifting

Note that in the original system, the bridge between powerlifting and track & field is done with weightlifting (Olympic lifting phase). However, not everybody knows how to perform these lifts or is even interested in learning them. Another option is to gear your training towards metabolic conditioning/energy systems work.  This can be done by either planning specific energy systems work in the form of specific activities (sprinting, hill sprints, prowler pushing, rowing ergometer, resistance bike) or via the use of medley sessions, where you use various loaded carries and activities as a circuit. You could also do Crossfit during those seasons. Crossfit programming is of random, so I won’t provide a template for that one.

APPROACH 1 – Metabolic Conditioning Emphasis

For this phase, my favourite frequency is 5 days per week. If you can handle 6 days per week, great, but not everyone can. It can also be done 4 days per week for those with lower recovery capacities (older, demanding job, high stress, etc.).

I will explain the basic schedule over 5 days per week and explain how you would adapt it for a 4 or 6 day per week schedule.

Monday: Anaerobic power

Tuesday: Upper body

Wednesday: Aerobic power

Thursday: OFF

Friday: Lower body

Saturday: Anaerobic capacity

Sunday: OFF

NOTE: When we talk about energy systems, “power” refers to the highest rate of performance you can reach for that given energy system and “capacity” refers more to maintaining a fairly high percentage of “power” for an extended time. For example, sprinting 100m is anaerobic “power” while sprinting 400-600m is anaerobic “capacity”.

Anaerobic power workout

We want to use bouts of 10 to 30 seconds of all-out efforts followed by complete recovery (so about 3 minute of rest between sets, 2 for those in great shape).

You have several options at your disposal.

Option 1 – Single modality

3-5 sets of 10-15 seconds of all-out effort with 2 minutes rest

3-5 sets of 20-30 seconds of all-out effort with 2-3 minutes rest

Exercises you can use: sprints, hill sprints, prowler sprint, Airdyne/Assault bike, rowing ergometer, KB swing, DB/barbell thrusters

Option 2 – Dual modality

Combo of one lifting exercise with one Metcon or loaded carries exercise

For example:

A1) Front squat (10-15 seconds of effort, so 3-6 reps)

30-sec rest

A2) Prowler sprint for 20-30 seconds

3 minutes of rest

You can either do 4-5 sets of 2 different pairings or 8-10 sets of a single pairing. While it is optimal to use two exercises hitting similar muscle groups, you can also combine an upper body lift with a lower-body Metcon, and vice versa (e.g. Bench press/Assault bike; Back squat/Battle ropes)

For lifting exercises, any compound movement can be used.

For Metcon exercises you can select from the following: sprint, hill sprint, rowing ergometer, prowler, sled, farmer’s walk, wheelbarrow walking, Zercher carries, sandbag carries.

Option 3 – Triple modality

Combo of one power, one strength and one Metcon exercise.

For example:

A1. 10 vertical jumps

15 sec rest

A2. Back squat

30-sec rest

A3. Assault bike 30 seconds all-out

3 minutes rest

You can either do 3-4 sets of two different triplets or 6-8 of only one triplet.

For the first movement, any type of jumps or throws will do, and for the other two movements, the selection is the same as for the Dual Modality.

We do not go above triplets because we want to stay in the anaerobic power zone (less than 60 seconds of work).

Upper body workout

Antagonists pairing chest/back, heavy

Antagonists pairing chest/back

Antagonists pairing deltoids/rear delts & rhomboids

Antagonist pairing biceps/triceps

Abdominal work

Aerobic power workout

There are tons of systems designed to improve aerobic power. For an endurance athlete, “aerobic power” is the equivalent of “strength” for us, so they have just as many approaches for aerobic power as we do for strength development!

I like to keep it simple and go with one of four options:

Option 1 – Traditional HIIT

High-Intensity Intervals refer to alternating between bouts of moderate-intensity (around 70% of your max effort) and all-out effort. You have different types of intervals:

Endurance-based: moderate-intensity period is 2-3 times longer than high-intensity period (e.g. 45-sec moderate intensity / 15 seconds all-out)

Balanced: moderate and high-intensity periods are about the same length (e.g. 30 sec moderate/30 sec all-out)

Power intervals: the high-intensity period is longer than the moderate-intensity one (e.g. 20 sec all-out/10 sec rest or 30-sec all-out/15 sec rest). Where we are concerned, I do not suggest going longer than 30 seconds of intense effort.

I suggest something like this:

12 minutes of endurance-based intervals: 12 x 45 sec moderate/15 sec all-out

3 minutes rest

8 minutes of balanced intervals: 8 x 30 sec moderate/30 sec intense

3 minutes rest

3-4 minutes of power intervals: 4 x 30 sec intense/15 sec moderate

3 minutes of rest

15 minutes steady state low-moderate intensity

Option 2 – Cardio + Metcon combo

Here you alternate periods of steady-state cardio at a moderate intensity (around 70%) with short, intense periods of Metcon exercise (Assault/Airdyne bike, rowing ergometer, hill sprint, KB swing, prowler sprint).

I generally keep simple: 5 minutes of steady-state cardio/30 seconds of the Metcon exercise and this is done for 6-8 intervals (around 30-40 minutes).

You can change the Metcon exercise during the workout, you don’t have to use the same one for all the intervals.

Option 3 – Cardio + Loaded carry

Same as above but you do loaded carries instead of the Metcon exercise. Wheelbarrow walking, tire flipping, sandbag carries, farmer’s walk, etc. are all great choices.

Option 4 – Strongman medleys

As a guy who prefers to lift than run, this is my favourite option. It’s not necessarily better, but it fits my own psychological profile better.

I pick four “strongman exercises” (farmer’s walk, prowler pushing, tire flip, sledgehammer striking for example) and do them for 30 minutes trying to rest as little as humanly possible. To do this, you should never push yourself to the limit on any exercise. Do some work on one, when fatigue builds up to do another one. You can rest, but very briefly. The goal is to eventually go 30 minutes non-stop.

Lower body workout

Squat variation / heavy

Assistance exercise (can be a squat or a hip hinge)

Single leg exercise

Hip extension exercise (reverse hyper, back extension, cable pull through, etc.)

Abdominal work

Anaerobic capacity workout

Here we are looking to sustain a fairly intense activity for 2 to 3 minutes of effort.

To do this we can use one of four options. Note that all the options work, but the one that will work best for you depends on your psychological profile, so pick the option that is the most appealing to you.  Anaerobic capacity workouts are painful and uncomfortable. You are more likely to train hard on it if you don’t despise the session!

Option 1 – Single modality

This is the most straight-forward and simple option: pick an activity (running, prowler pushing, airdyne/assault bike, rowing ergometer) and do it for bouts of 2-3 minutes at the highest intensity you can sustain for that duration. You then rest 2-3 minutes before your next bout. You do 4-8 bouts depending on your conditioning level.

Option 2 – Dual modality

This is similar to the dual-modality approach to anaerobic power training, with two differences: a) the duration of the two movements (lifting and Metcon exercise) is longer and b) the rest period between the two modalities is either decreased or taken out completely.

For example:

A1) Front squat (we want about 30 seconds of effort) 8-12 reps

10-15 sec rest

A2) Prowler pushing 90 seconds

2-3 minutes rest

You can either do 3-4 sets of two different pairings or 5-6 sets of one pairing.

Option 3 – Triple modality

Here you combine one dynamic exercise (jump/throw), a lift and a Metcon movement. Once again, the rest intervals are reduced.

It looks like this:

A1) Box jump x 20

10-15 sec rest

A2) Back squat x 8-12 reps

10-15 sec rest

A3) Assault/Airdyne bike x 60 seconds

2-3 minutes rest

You can once again do either 3-4 sets of two different triplets or 5-6 sets of a single one.

Option 4 – Strongman Medley

This one is also simple: pick three “strongman” exercises (prowler, farmer’s walk, tire flip, sledgehammer striking,  sandbag carry, overhead walk, wheelbarrow walking, sled drag, etc.) and do each of the 3 for 45-60 seconds and take as little rest as possible between the three. Rest for 3 minutes between sets.

You perform 4-5 sets of this medley.

Some general notes:

* Once again “heavy” in this context refers to sets of around 6 repetitions

* As you saw for each type of energy system sessions, you have several options. You do not have to stick to the same option for the whole phase. One week you could use the single modality and the next one triple modality. It doesn’t matter since you are not training to peak for a specific event. All that matters is the duration and intensity of effort.

* You also don’t have to stick to the same exercises during the energy system sessions. Once again, it’s about duration and intensity, you don’t have the burden to try to increase performance in a single pattern.

* For the lifting workouts, I suggest around 4 work sets per exercise.

* If you can only manage 4 sessions per week, you should use two energy system and two lifting sessions per week. Keep the anaerobic session on all the weeks and the second energy system session alternates between anaerobic power and aerobic power.

For example:

Week 1

Day 1: Anaerobic power

Day 2: Upper body

Day 3: OFF

Day 4: Anaerobic capacity

Day 5: OFF

Day 6: Lower body

Day 7: OFF

Week 2

Day 1: Aerobic power

Day 2: Upper body

Day 3: OFF

Day 4: Anaerobic capacity

Day 5: OFF

Day 6: Lower body

Day 7: OFF

* If you can train 6 days per week you would add a third lifting session. Since the metabolic conditioning workouts are lower body dominant, the extra lifting workout is for the upper body.

For example:

Monday: Anaerobic power

Tuesday: Upper body

Wednesday: Aerobic power

Thursday: Lower body

Friday: Upper body

Saturday: Anaerobic capacity

Sunday: OFF

APPROACH 2 – Olympic Lifting Emphasis

Training with the simpler variations of the Olympic lifts is a great bridge between strength training and athletic training. It teaches you to apply the strength you gained towards rapid actions and it also helps improve dynamic mobility. If your goal is overall athleticism, then going with the Olympic lifting option might be for you.

Understand that this is not a program to teach you how to do the Olympic lifts. To learn the basics you can go to my video series on…

The clean:

Olympic Lifting Series – The catch drill and why it’s important

Olympic Lifting Series – Working toward the hang clean

Olympic Lifting Series – Working toward the clean from the floor

The snatch:

Olympic Lifting Series – Working toward the hang snatch

Olympic Lifting Series – Working toward the snatch from the floor

The split jerk:

Olympic Lifting Series – Split jerk teaching progression

To use a phase devoted to Olympic lifting, you must be capable of at least doing the variations of the Olympic lifts. If you aren’t, then it is likely better to simply do some Olympic lifting practice as part of your regular workouts until you have mastered them.

My recommended frequency is 5 days per week. I will explain the basic schedule first then how to adjust it to 3, 4 or 6 days per week.

Note that this phase is heavily oriented toward Olympic lifting but still includes basic strength work and some hypertrophy work to avoid losing what you have developed in the previous phases.

Day 1: Snatch & lower body

Day 2: Jerk & upper body

Day 3: OFF

Day 4: Snatch assistance & lower body

Day 5: Jerk assistance & upper body

Day 6: Snatch and Clean & jerk

Day 7: OFF

Snatch & Lower body workout

Jump variation

Glute isolation exercise (activation)

Snatch (or power snatch depending on skill level) from floor / technique emphasis

Back squat / heavy

Hip hinge variation (RDL, goodmorning, KB swing, snatch-grip RDL, etc.)

Unilateral lower body exercise

Jerk & Upper body workout

Medicine ball throws

Bottoms up KB press (activation)

Jerk (split or power depending on skill level) / technique emphasis

Bench press / heavy

Row variation

Triceps/Biceps superset

Deltoid superset

Snatch assistance & Lower body workout

Jump variation

Glute isolation exercise (activation)

Power snatch from hang or blocks / heavy (but technically solid)

Snatch-grip high pull from hang or blocks / heavy

Snatch-grip deadlift variation (from floor, deficit, off of 2-4” blocks)

Front squat

Jerk assistance & Upper body workout

Medicine ball throws

Bottoms up KB press (activation)

Push press/heavy

Military press/heavy

Dumbbell deltoid exercise (incline or seated DB press variation)

Row variation

Triceps/Biceps superset

Snatch and Clean & Jerk workout

Snatch or power snatch depending on skill level / ramp to 1, 2 or 3RM

Clean & jerk, power or full lift depending on skill level /ramp to 1, 2 or 3RM

Back squat / ramp to 1, 2 or 3RM

Some general notes:

* “technique emphasis” refers to strength-skill work: doing a high number of sets (7-10) of 2-3 reps with a weight that you can do solidly at all times (70-80%).

* “Heavy” in this context means sets of around 3 repetitions for 4-6 work sets.

* Exercises where there is no mention of “technique” or “heavy” are done for bodybuilding schemes of 6-8 reps for compound movements and 10-15 for isolation work. 3-4 work sets are done.

* For the ramp (day 5), I suggest three weeks where you ramp to a 3RM, deload one week where you only do 3 triples with 85% of your 3RM. Then, three weeks where you ramp to a 2RM followed by a deload week where you do 3 x 2 with 85% of your 2RM, and finally, 2 weeks where you ramp to your 1RM followed by a one-week deload where you do 3 x 1 at 85% of your 1RM before testing your max on the fourth week.

* If you can only train 4 days a week I suggest rolling through the 5 workouts but over a longer period of time. For example:

Week 1

Day 1: Snatch & lower body

Day 2: Jerk & upper body

Day 3: OFF

Day 4: Snatch assistance & lower body

Day 5: OFF

Day 6: Jerk assistance & upper body

Day 7: OFF

Week 2

Day 1: Snatch and Clean & jerk

Day 2: Snatch & lower body

Day 3: OFF

Day 4: Jerk & upper body

Day 5: OFF

Day 6: Snatch assistance & lower body

Day 7: OFF

Etc.

* If you can train the sixth day I suggest only doing minor stuff like mobility work, loaded stretching or isolation exercises to avoid additional CNS stress.

Summer season is for track & field

You are not likely to compete in either track (sprints) or field (throws) events anytime soon, but training more like a track and field athlete represents a nice change of pace that will help you prepare for the upcoming heavy lifting. I also believe that a focus on speed and power is a great anti-aging strategy: speed and agility are the first things you lose as you age, so training for them specifically will help delay this. Besides, being better at showcasing explosiveness will really help you perform better on your strength work by improving both fast-twitch fibres recruitment and firing rate.

Again, I suggest 5 workouts per week.

Day 1: Throws

Day 2: Lower body

Day 3: OFF

Day 4: Jumps and sprints

Day 5: Upper body

Day 6: Either metabolic conditioning (anaerobic capacity) or Olympic lifting

Throws workout

Low intensity jumps for activation

Light DB clean and press (activation)

Light DB bench press (activation)

Complex bench press variation and medicine ball throw from the chest

Complex push press and medicine ball throw overhead

Complex DB pullover and medicine ball soccer throw

The complexes are done as follow:

A1. Strength exercise

4-6 reps

30 seconds rest

A2. Throwing exercise

6-8 reps

120 seconds rest

I like to use a 16-20lbs ball for men and 10-14lbs ball for women.

Lower body workout

Jumps (activation)

Glutes isolation exercise

Squat variation / heavy

Deadlift variation / heavy

Unilateral lower body exercise

Hip extension exercise (reverse hyper, cable pull-through, back extension)

Knee flexion exercise (leg curl variation)

Jumps & sprints workout

Jumps (activation)

Glutes isolation exercise

Hamstrings stretching exercise

Higher intensity jumps (depth jumps or loaded jump squats)

Broad jumps with a reset on every jump

Form running (200m at 70%)*

Takeoff drills (10-20m sprints)*

Acceleration work (30-40m sprints)*

Top speed work (50-80m sprints)*

Speed-resistance work (100-120m)*

* Note: for the sprinting work you always do form running (3-4 sets) and the takeoff drill (3-4 sets). But you only do one of the three other drills.

Weeks 1-4: Acceleration work (4-6 sets)

Weeks 5-8: Top speed work (3-5 sets)

Weeks 9-12: Speed-resistance work (3-4 sets)

Note that when doing sprints, you take ample rest between sets, up to 5 minutes with dynamic mobility work and footing drills in between.

Upper body workout

Low intensity jumps for activation

Light DB clean and press (activation)

Light DB bench press (activation)

Bench press variation / heavy

Row variation

Vertical pull variation

Deltoid superset

Biceps/Triceps superset

Metabolic conditioning or Olympic lifting workout

If you are selecting the metabolic conditioning option, refer to the “Anaerobic capacity” workouts provided earlier in this article.

If you are choosing the Olympic lifting option, you should do:

A snatch variation (from floor, hang or blocks, power or full) / technique emphasis

A clean & jerk variation (from floor, hang or blocks, power or full) / technique emphasis

Some general notes:

* “Heavy” in this context means sets of 4-6 reps for 3-5 work sets.

* The assistance work is normally done for 3-4 work sets of 6-8 reps.

* “Technique emphasis” refers to strength-skill work: doing a high number of sets (7-10) of 2-3 reps with a weight that you can do solidly at all times (70-80%).

* If you can’t train 5 day a week, I suggest simply skipping day 5 (metabolic conditioning/Olympic lifting).

* If you want to add a sixth training day, I would recommend only adding low impact stuff like isolation work for your arms, abs or rotator cuff. Some dynamic mobility or loaded stretching can also work. Do not stress your nervous system further.

Conclusion

This, of course, is only a template, but it is easy to follow and will give you room to design your own workouts. In part III, I will explain how to plan your diet and supplements strategy to reap the most out of each of these phases.

Note that the guidelines provided can be used to design individual programs, you don’t have to use all four seasons!

If you would like me to evaluate a plan you come up with, come visit my online forum here: Thibarmy Forum

— CT