General Training Overview - Daily Loading Part 1

[Robert Frederick]

Daily Loading Schemes

Load cases with two, three and four single workouts per week.

With two workouts per week the range of variation is not great.
Boris offers 2 options of training sessions in the week:

Option 1:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Workout	Rest	Rest	Workout	Rest	Rest	Rest

Option 2:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Rest	Workout	Rest	Rest	Workout	Rest	Rest

When planning the training sessions Boris makes use of variability, i.e. alternating small, medium and large loads which is clearly seen in Tables 1 and 2.
                                                                                 
Table 1
Options (1-4):  Preparatory Period Load Variants For 2 Workouts Per Microcycle

	1st Option	2nd Option	3rd Option	4th Option
Monday	Large	Medium	Small	Small
Tuesday	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest
Wednesday	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest
Thursday	Small	Medium	Large	Medium
Friday	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest
Saturday	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest
Sunday	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest

Table 2
Options (5-8):  Preparatory Period Load Variants For 2 Workouts Per Microcycle

	5th Option	6th Option	7th Option	8th Option
Monday	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest
Tuesday	Medium	Large	Medium	Small
Wednesday	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest
Thursday	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest
Friday	Small	Large	Large	Small
Saturday	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest
Sunday	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest

                                                                                               
See Fig.1 Diagram of methods of distributing load for a microcycle with two workouts per week

With three workouts per week load variability can increase beyond that of two workouts per microcycle, but not as great as with 4 workouts per microcycle. But even with three we can achieve diversity and great effect.

Boris offers the two most acceptable options:

Option 1:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Workout	Rest	Workout	Rest	Workout	Rest	Rest

Option 2:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Rest	Workout	Rest	Workout	Rest	Workout	Rest

For example:

Table 3
Options (1-4):  Preparatory Period Load Variants For 3 Workouts Per Microcycle

	1st Option	2nd Option	3rd Option	4th Option
Monday	Small	Medium	Medium	Small
Tuesday	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest
Wednesday	Large	Large	Small	Large
Thursday	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest
Friday	Small	Medium	Large	Medium
Saturday	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest
Sunday	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest

The largest microcycle workload is scheduled in the second microcycle (see Table 3). Such a distribution is possible in the second month of training beginners and the first month of training qualified athletes when they learn and improve their technique in the competitive exercises with lower intensity (50 - 70%), with the number of repetitions from 4 to 6 in a set.

Table 5
Options (5-8):  Preparatory Period Load Variants For 3 Workouts Per Microcycle

	5th Option	6th Option	7th Option	8th Option
Monday	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest
Tuesday	Large	Large	Medium	Large
Wednesday	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest
Thursday	Small	Medium	Small	Small
Friday	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest
Saturday	Medium	Large	Medium	Large
Sunday	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest

In the second embodiment, microcycle load is much higher than the first. Load peaks in the sixth microcycle. In the fifth and seventh microcycles the load is average, and increases again at the eighth (see Table 5 and Figure 2).

See Fig. 2 Diagram of methods of distributing the load for microcycles with three workouts per week

Any plan, even one perfectly planned for a group of athletes written by a highly accomplished coach needs to be adjusted during training sessions. This is explained by the fact that the athletes find themselves with different anatomical and physiological realities, and therefore they will have different reactions to load, different recoverability between them, and miscellaneous technique errors in the execution of competitive exercises. Therefore, the coach should give additional exercises to eliminate the technical errors that occur during training.

Unlike many powerlifting professionals in the USA (Jeff Wright, Rick Weil, Bill Kazmaier, Ted Arcidi, Michael Simpson, John Kuc, etc.), UK, Canada, and Australia, Russia has many followers of the cycling method described above (Surowiecki A., Zavyalov I., Verkhoshansky Y., etc.) while many other countries, utilize cyclic load planning with their athletes lifting maximum weights even in the first (competitive period) weeks. For example in the program by John Kuc:

 
2nd Week Prior to Competition
1st day benching
%RM      Reps      Sets
45.0      10      1
58.3      8      1
73.3      6      1
85      3      1
96.7      1      1
101.7   1      1
103.3   1      1
95.0      3      1

2nd day benching
%RM      Reps      Sets
45.0      10      1
58.3      8      1
73.3      6      1
85      3      1
96.7      1      1
101.7   1      1
95      3      1
 

1 Week Before Competition
Day 1 (Tuesday)
Bench press
%RM      Reps      Sets
45.0      10      1
58.3      8      1
73.3      4      1
85      2      1
96.7      1      1
101.7   1      1

Competition on Saturday.

Your attempts at competition must be within:
93.3 - 95%; 100 - 103.3%; 106.7 - 110%, depending on the progress you have made in the program.

Boris believes that an athlete following such a training plan will not be able to recover and perform successfully in competition. Boris instead plans a reduction in volume and intensity prior to competition (see Table 6).

Table 6
Loading Variance For 3 Workouts Per Microcycle During the Competition Period

	6 Weeks	5 Weeks	4 Weeks	3 Weeks	2 Weeks	1 Week
Monday	Large	Small	Medium	Test	Medium	Small
Tuesday	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest
Wednesday	Small	Medium	Large	Small	Small	Small
Thursday	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest
Friday	Medium	Large	Small	Large	Medium	Rest
Saturday	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest
Sunday	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest	Rest	Comp.

*weeks countdown starts from the beginning of the competition

A large load is scheduled for Monday of the first week after two days of rest. The last large load scheduled is in the fourth week. In the third week, 17 - 20 days before the event is scheduled, a test of performance in all three movements should take place. The test can be scheduled in one day of training (i.e. squats, bench press, and deadlift) or two training days (i.e. the first day: squats and bench press, the second day - deadlift). The test allows the coach to see what condition the athlete comes to competition in and allows the coach to determine the initial weights during the competition and to choose tactical approaches to the bar (i.e. how to select weights for the three competitive approaches).

See Fig. 3 Diagram of the distribution of load during a competition mesocycle

See Fig. 4 Distribution of number of lifts during the competition mesocycle (6 weeks out from competition)

Through a reduction in volume and intensity Boris initiates super-compensation in the athlete, which promotes the achievement of high competition results.

[mudaliar89]

Are there defiinitions of small/medium/large daily loads?

[BuccioniPL]

Are there defiinitions of small/medium/large daily loads?

In general is a combination of volume and intensity.
Just some examples (not necessarely applicable):

60%x5x5 light
70%x5x5 medium
80%x3x5 hard

As you can guess, combinations are pretty much endless.

In each work -out you have to take into account first of all the number of lifts. Secondly the average intensity and the max intensity you reach

[dimitris]

In general is a combination of volume and intensity.
Just some examples (not necessarely applicable):

In each work -out you have to take into account first of all the number of lifts. Secondly the average intensity and the max intensity you reach

I thought it was like the weekly load. less than 20%small, 21-30% medium, 31-40%large. Instead of month, the percentages are based of the weekly Number of Lifts.

[Robert Frederick]

I thought it was like the weekly load. less than 20%small, 21-30% medium, 31-40%large. Instead of month, the percentages are based of the weekly Number of Lifts.

My personal approach would be to work it out as follows:

Take your monthly total number of lifts (NL). Divide that by the number of workouts per month (12). That is your average daily load. Define that to be a medium load. Then take +/- 10% of that to establish the range. Lower than that range is a small load, higher is a larger load. So for example lets say your monthly NL is 600, then your average daily load is 50 = 600/12. So a medium load is 45-55 lifts. Less than 45 is a small load and greater than 55 is a large load.

[FreakGoHome]

My personal approach would be to work it out as follows:

Take your monthly total number of lifts (NL). Divide that by the number of workouts per month (12). That is your average daily load. Define that to be a medium load. Then take +/- 10% of that to establish the range. Lower than that range is a small load, higher is a larger load. So for example lets say your monthly NL is 600, then your average daily load is 50 = 600/12. So a medium load is 45-55 lifts. Less than 45 is a small load and greater than 55 is a large load.

What about loading? x lifts done at 60% is a smaller stress than x lifts at 80%.

Wouldn't a better measure of stress be in terms of tonnage? We can use the same method but this way we also factor in the intensity the lifts are performed at and not just the number of lifts.

[dimitris]

My personal approach would be to work it out as follows:

Take your monthly total number of lifts (NL). Divide that by the number of workouts per month (12). That is your average daily load. Define that to be a medium load. Then take +/- 10% of that to establish the range. Lower than that range is a small load, higher is a larger load. So for example lets say your monthly NL is 600, then your average daily load is 50 = 600/12. So a medium load is 45-55 lifts. Less than 45 is a small load and greater than 55 is a large load.

Let's use the 6 week, 4-days per week from the book (that's what I have handy now):

It has 1244 NL. 1244/16=77.75. That means 70-85 is medium. Now, here what that gives us:

Week 1: light,    light,   light,  light
Week 2: light,    light,   light,  light
Week 3: light,    light,   medium,  light
Week 4: light,    light,   light,  light
Week 5: light,    light,   light,  light
Week 6: light,    light,   light,  light

Let's try the percentages based of the weekly NL:
Week 1: light,          medium,   heavy,    medium
Week 2: light,          medium,   heavy,    medium
Week 3: medium,    medium,   medium,  medium
Week 4: heavy,       medium,   heavy,     medium
Week 5: medium,    medium,   medium,  medium
Week 6: medium,    medium,   medium,  medium


Hmm. The 2nd table makes more sense, but it lacks variation too. Perhaps it's something more simple? Like NL <40 light, 40-60 medium, 60+ heavy?

[dimitris]

hahaha. That's why I avoid calculations before I drink coffee. Gotta go, I'll post it later 

[Robert Frederick]

Let's use the 6 week, 4-days per week from the book (that's what I have handy now):

It has 1244 NL. 1244/16=77.75. That means 70-85 is medium. Now, here what that gives us:

Week 1: light,    light,   light,  light
Week 2: light,    light,   light,  light
Week 3: light,    light,   medium,  light
Week 4: light,    light,   light,  light
Week 5: light,    light,   light,  light
Week 6: light,    light,   light,  light

Let's try the percentages based of the weekly NL:
Week 1: light,          medium,   heavy,    medium
Week 2: light,          medium,   heavy,    medium
Week 3: medium,    medium,   medium,  medium
Week 4: heavy,       medium,   heavy,     medium
Week 5: medium,    medium,   medium,  medium
Week 6: medium,    medium,   medium,  medium


Hmm. The 2nd table makes more sense, but it lacks variation too. Perhaps it's something more simple? Like NL <40 light, 40-60 medium, 60+ heavy?

Try it again with 24 workouts. It is 6 weeks x 4 days. That gives you about 50 lifts per day for medium.

What about loading? x lifts done at 60% is a smaller stress than x lifts at 80%.

Wouldn't a better measure of stress be in terms of tonnage? We can use the same method but this way we also factor in the intensity the lifts are performed at and not just the number of lifts.

One measure of stress isn't really sufficient as you pointed out. That's why the number of lifts is usually paired with the average weight lifted. Since the latter doesn't vary too much you can get a good estimate by just counting the number of lifts.

[dimitris]

Now we ve got this:

Week 1: light,          medium,   heavy,    medium
Week 2: light,          light,        heavy,    medium
Week 3: medium,    heavy,      heavy,      heavy
Week 4: heavy,       light,        medium,     light
Week 5: medium,    light,         light,        medium
Week 6: medium,    medium,   heavy,      medium

[owik]

Why go four heavy days in a row, in week 3-4? Would not that give too much fatigue.

[Robert Frederick]

Why go four heavy days in a row, in week 3-4? Would not that give too much fatigue.

That would be rough. Thankfully the following weeks are on the lighter side.

The +/- 10% figure is also just a starting point for the contrast between days too. The picture would probably look a little different had we picked a different percent.

[dimitris]

Why go four heavy days in a row, in week 3-4? Would not that give too much fatigue.

It's not heavy as big weights. The more correct term is large. We are talking about Number of Lifts. For example, in the 3rd week, 3rd workout you do squat 4x6x65% and in the 4th workout bench 4x6x70%. These two alone, are 36 and 42 NL. Add in them bench and deadlift respectively and you've created 2 large (heavy) days.

[joshuadelapenha]

Sorry to bother but i noticed that the load variance has a test on Monday of the load variance for the competition period during the 3rd week. I noticed that Boris has it on a Wednesday of the first week (4th according to the table) of the competition period.

Any reason for this slight difference.

[Robert Frederick]

Sorry to bother but i noticed that the load variance has a test on Monday of the load variance for the competition period during the 3rd week. I noticed that Boris has it on a Wednesday of the first week (4th according to the table) of the competition period.

Any reason for this slight difference.

Which two examples are you referring to? I see it on Monday three weeks out in table 6 above.