Max Strength – ‘How To’ and Sample Week

Ever heard people discuss their “phase” or “stage” of training and wonder what the heck they were talking about?  Like a lot of fitness buzzwords, people like to throw these terms around without much explanation as to the what/how/why.  If you are fuzzy on the purpose of training phases in general, please check out my most recent article on what the phases are, and how to transition through them.

As I discussed previously, progressing through phases of training can provide a structured way to change up your routine and continually challenge yourself, provided it is done with planning and care.  I myself use my own modification of the NASM’s phases for my personal and my client’s programs.  One of my favorite phases to work in is the one I just started last week called Max Strength, and what that entails is what I would like to discuss today.

Why: The purpose of Max Strength training is fairly self-explanatory with the goal being to increase the maximum amount you can lift in a single repetition or very short period of time (__<6 reps).  You do this by performing a relatively LOW number of repetitions, at a high intensity, for a high number of sets.   This increases the density of your ‘fast twitch’ or explosive muscle fibers by placing short time/high resistance strain on the body.

What:  Exactly what do I do to place this kind of strain on the body? The breakdown of structure is as follows.

	Sets	Reps	Timing (Ecc/Iso/Con)	Intensity % of 1RM
Week 1	4-5	6	1/0/1	85%
Week 2	5	6	1/0/1	85-90%
Week 3	5-6	4-6	1/0/1	90%
Week 4	6	4	1/0/1	90-95%
Week 5 *	6-7	3-4	1/0/1	90-95%
Week 6 *	7	1-3	1/0/1	95-100%

*Optional

How: What does this look like in a day to day? Now that you have a basic idea of what Max Strength Training involves, here is a sample using my personal workouts from last week.  If you were interested you could take this week as an example and repeat it across your entire phase, changing reps/sets/ and weight as needed.

Week 1 – Day 1: Legs

	Super-set 1
	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5
Reverse Lunge	6/95#	6/95#	6/95#	6/95#	6/95#
Single Leg Calf Raise on decline	10/+20#	10/+20	10/+20	10/+20	10/+20
	Super-set 2
Stiff Legged Deadlift	6/125#	6/135#	6/135#	6/135#	6/135#
Back elevated Glute Bridge, with band	10/BW	10/BW	10/BW	10/BW	10/BW
	Final – Stand Alone
Sumo DL	6/155#	6/175#	6/155#	6/155#	6/155#

 

Week 1 – Day 2: Vertical Push/Pull (Lats, Shoulders, Legs)

	Circuit 1
	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5
Wide Grip Lat Pull down	6/105#	6/105#	6/105#	6/105#	6/105#
Shoulder Fly/abduction	6/12.5#	6/12.5#	6/12.5#	6/12.5#	6/12.5#
Functional Squat (to 90 deg, band below knees)	10/ BW	10/ BW	10/ BW	10/ BW	10/ BW
	Circuit 2
Neutral Grip Lat Pull down	8/105#	6/110#	6/110#	6/110#	6/110#
Barbell Shoulder Press	8/50# *no 60# available	8/50#	8/50#	8/50#	8/50#
Single Leg RDL	10/BW	10/BW	10/BW	10/BW	10/BW
	Circuit 3
Underhand Grip Lat Pull down	7/105#	6/110#	6/110#	6/110#	6/110#
Post Delt cable pull back	6/40#	6/40#	6/40#	6/40#	6/40#
Monsterwalks, heavy resistance band	8/BW	8/BW	8/BW	8/BW	8/BW

 

Week 1 – Day 3: Horizontal Push-Pull (Chest, Back, and Legs)

	Circuit 1
	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5
Dumbbell Chest Fly	5/2×30#	6/2×25#	6/2×25#	6/2×25#	6/2×25#
Single Arm Dumbbell Row (lawn mowers)	6/50#	6/50#	6/50#	6/50#	6/50#
Back elevated Glute Bridge with band around knees	10/ BW	10/ BW	10/ BW	10/ BW	10/ BW
Jump Rope	30 sec	30 sec	30 sec	30 sec	30 sec
	Circuit 2
Machine Chest Press (neutral)	6/80#	6/80#	6/80#	6/80#	6/80#
Machine Wide Row	6/2×50#	6/2×55#	6/2×55#	6/2×55#	6/2×55#
Monster Walks with heavy band	8 each direction	8 each direction	8 each direction	8 each direction	8 each direction

 

Week 1 – Day 4: Legs

	Super-set 1
	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5
Hex Deadlift	6/155#	6/165#	6/175#	6/185#	6/190#
SL calf raise, on decline	12/BW	12/BW	12/BW	12/BW	12/BW
	Super-set 2
Leg press	6/315#	7/340#	7/350#	6/360#	6/360#
Single leg RDL	8/ BW	8/ BW	8/ BW	8/ BW	8/ BW
	Super-set 3
Sumo Dead-lift	6/155#	6/155#	6/155#	6/155#	6/155#
Jump Rope	30 sec	30 sec	30 sec	30 sec	30 sec
	Super-set 4
Hip Thrust with Barbell	6/135#	6/155#	6/155#	6/155#	6/155#
Low Ab-roll	8/bw	8/bw	8/bw	8/bw	8/bw

 

* Here is a short video I took of myself doing HEX dead-lift that night.

 

 

Week 1 – Day 5: Vertical Push-Pull (Lats, Shoulders, Legs)

	Circuit 1
	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5
Underhand Grip Lat Pull down	6/120#	6/120#	6/120#	6/120#	6/120#
Barbell Shoulder Press	5/60#	5/60#	5/60#	5/60#	5/60#
Functional Squat, band around knees	10/BW + heavy Band	10/BW + heavy Band	10/BW + heavy Band	10/BW + heavy Band	10/BW + heavy Band
	Circuit 2
Neutral Grip Lat Pull down	6/120#	6/125#	6/125#	6/125#	6/125#
Dumbbell Shoulder Fly	6/2×15#	6/2×15#	6/2×15#	6/2×15#	6/2×15#
Single Leg RDL	8/BW	8/BW	8/BW	8/BW	8/BW
	Circuit 3
Wide-grip Lat Pull Down	6/105#	6/105#	6/105#	6/105#	6/105#
Posterior Delt Cable Pull back	6/35#	6/35#	6/35#	6/35#	6/35#
Back elevated, glute bridge. Band around knees	12/BW	12/BW	12/BW	12/BW	12/BW

 

Week 1 – Day 6: BEACH!!! (Arms, Abs, Calf)

	Circuit 1
	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5
Cable Tricep Extension, forearm pronation (bar handle)	8/30#	8/35#	8/40#	7/42.5#	7/42.5#
Dumbbell Hammer Curl	7/2×20	7/2×20	7/2×20	7/2×20	7/2×20
V-up core	12/BW	12/BW	12/BW	12/BW	12/BW
	Circuit 2
Standing, single arm Tri extension, (neutral forearm)	8/15#	8/15#	8/15#	8/15#	8/15#
Preacher Curl with bar	6/40#	6/40#	6/40#	6/40#	6/40#
Single Leg Calf Raise on decline	12/BW	12/BW	12/BW	12/BW	12/BW
Leg Raise	10/BW	10/BW	10/BW	10/BW	10/BW
	Circuit 3
Classic Crunch	30 sec	30 sec	30 sec
Oblique Crunch Left	30 sec	30 sec	30 sec
Oblique Crunch Right	30 sec	30 sec	30 sec
Bicycle	30 sec	30 sec	30 sec
Clam 3	20/bw	20/bw	20/bw
Band resisted Glute Bridge	20/bw	20/bw	20/bw

 

Keep in Mind that these are my personal workouts, and thus what you can do in the gym may be much more, or less.  Go based on how you feel, but always try to challenge yourself.

I hope this was helpful.  Please leave any feedback in the comments below.

Best,

Nicole Mims.  PT, DPT.

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How to survive a busy gym AND get a good workout!

Photo by Mike Chai on Pexels.com

Scenario: You leave work and head towards the gym with all the best intentions… You pull up and the parking lot is PACKED… S#!T.   Immediately your brain starts coming up with reasons to turn your car around “it’s too busy to get in a good lift” “all of the equipment will be taken” “some one always gets on the machine I’m using between sets” “I feel like people are judging me” “I’ll go in a few hours”..etc.   (hint: you probably won’t go back in a few hours. )

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

As a person who used to work at a gym 4 am – 7pm I developed a few strategies on how to get in a good workout (or help your client get in a good workout) during the busy times.  So lets review and quiet those demons on your shoulder.

1. Know the muscle groups you are trying to exercise, not just the exercises themselves and learn alternative exercises.  That way if  ‘x’ machine is being used, you have other options.  This reduces stress and waiting around.  So for example say the Bench Press is being used, you can grab a set of dumbbells or even a resistance band and do a press or chest fly. If you’re going heavier try putting some plates on your back and do push-ups, or challenge your stability with kettlebell push-ups or stability ball chest press.
2.  Be flexible with the reps you are willing to do/ weights you’ll accept.  Remember that the most important thing is that you challenge yourself! So…if those 35’s you really would rather use aren’t available, try more reps with the 30’s or fewer with the 40’s.  Who knows, you might surprise yourself and hit a PR (personal record).
3.  Try circuits which require 1 piece of non-movable equipment and bring the other things you need to that spot. People are much more likely to understand that you are using the seated cable row if you also have your dumbbells, towel, resistance band and barbell set up with you…. kinda like nesting but for the gym :’D.  Additional benefits are all those related to circuit training in general. Its faster, you hit more groups, its more efficient, you burn more calories and so on.

   

4. Integrate cardio and stretching into your sets.  Perform any stretching you feel you have to do (see my previous posts on flexibility first) during your warm-up sets. Additionally, try jumping rope, step-ups, wall jumps, or mountain climbers in between your sets if the cardio machines are taken.  This will keep your heart rate going and not leave you frustrated waiting for a machine or a mat.
5. Finally: Don’t be afraid. Nearly everyone at the gym is there because they see something THEY need to improve and they are just trying to brave the crowded gym too.  Unless you are breaking gym etiquette, chances are they aren’t looking at you.  In that vein
   1. Don’t be afraid to ask someone to work in or when their sets will be done. Wait until they’ve finished their set (of course) and make sure you put their weights back how you found them. But otherwise its a completely normal thing to do if there is a type of equipment that you really had your heart set on.
   2. Don’t be afraid to tell someone that you are still using something.  Say you come back from refilling your water bottle and some lunk is taking off with your barbell.  You have the right to tell them that it is still in use and you will flag them when you are done.
   3. Don’t ignore a free bench cause its close to someone who is ‘more fit’ than you.  They were where you were once.  (if you’re the fit person in this scenario, keep the grunting and flexing to a minimum…you’re in public dude)

 

I hope you found this helpful.  If you have other tactics or questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments!

Best,

Nicole Mims. PT, DPT.

Hypertrophy 7/30/18 + bonus review of Planet Fitness

The workout: Hypertrophy. Week 3, day 1.

Focus: vertical push/pull + posterior leg

Total volume: 42 sets

Circuit 1: 4 sets, 8-10 reps

• Neutral grip lat pull down
• Cable shoulder captions
• Weighted hip thrust (back elevated glute bridge)

Circuit 2: 4 sets, 8-10 reps

• Wide grip lat pull down
• Barbell shoulder press
• Hip extension w/eccentric focus (commonly known as back extension, I focus on the movement coming from the hip joint and using my glutes only)

Circuit 3 (Abs): 3 sets, 30-45 seconds

• Traditional crunch (30 sec)
• Oblique crunch left/right (30 sec each)
• Flutter kick (30 sec)
• Bicycle (30 sec)
• Front plank (45 sec)
• Side plank left/right (45 sec each)

I always enjoy the opportunity to workout with friends. The workout feels faster, I have more fun, and having an accountability buddy is great for consistency. I recently have worked out 1-2 times a week with a friend from my PT class who has a membership with Planet Fitness. Like a lot of gym rats (I assume) I had some presuppositions regarding how my experience would be and they were not entirely positive. I’ve got to be honest y’all, I was pretty impressed.

The gym was CLEAN, like spotless clean. The locker rooms were clean. The equipment was clean….it was amazing.

The gym staff were polite and professional.

Not a single person dropped their weights or performed more than their last rep with bodily noises involved (grunting, huffing, etc.)

Weights were where they were supposed to be! There are signs every 5 feet reminding people to re-rack their weights and I got the impression it was something the staff reinforced.

It was temperature controlled. “What gym isn’t?” You might ask. I’ll tell you. Every single Gold’s location which has bought into the crossfit fad with their “Gold’s Fit” has the darn doors open in the evening so their clientele can pretend they train in Sparta or some nonsense.

Exactly zero gym bros tried to hit on me or “help” me.

The only real negative I found was in the variety of equipment. This Planet Fitness had most of your standard gym fare; however, there were no squat racks, or free barbells/plates available. This is probably due to the idea of keeping away the gym bros or “lunks.” Unfortunately for me, it’s also a nonnegotiable component.

In summary, I won’t be giving up my Gold’s membership anytime soon ( I enjoy squats and deadlifts too much), but for most people I think this gym is a great option and is surprisingly affordable.

Best,

Dr. Mims

Workout 8/19/17 | 8/22/17

Leg days

I usually start leg day with my PT exercises as a warm up in order to activate my glutes and core.  This helps make sure that my workout targets the muscles I want to hit and also stabilizes and protects my back (not included in what I list below).  I perform larger/complex exercises (require more or bigger muscle groups) first and then work towards smaller/isolated movements.

Leg Day 1  (8/19/17)

Circuit 1
Exercise	Set 1 Reps/Wt	Set 2 Reps/Wt	Set 3 Reps/Wt	Set 4 Reps/Wt
Back Squat	8/95	8/95	8/100	8/100
Single leg Calf Raise	10/bw	10/bw	10/bw	10/bw
Circuit 2
Sumo DL	8/135	8/135	8/135	8/135
Seated Calf Raise	8/45	8/45	8/45	8/45
Low ab roll	10/bw	10/bw	10/bw	10/bw
Circuit 3
Leg press	8/205	8/205	8/205	8/205
KB swing	12/50	12/50	12/50	12/50
Hanging leg raise	10/bw	10/bw	10/bw	10/bw

Leg day – 2  (8/22/17)

Exercise	Set 1 Reps/Wt	Set 2 Reps/Wt	Set 3 Reps/Wt	Set 4 Reps/Wt
-first exercise not performed in circuit
Hip Thrust	8/135	8/135	8/135	8/135	8/135
Circuit 1
Rev Lunge	8/75	8/80	8/80	8/80
Low ab roll	10/bw	10/bw	10/bw	10/bw
Standing calf raise	8/95	8/95	8/95	8/95
Circuit 2
Leg Press	8/205	8/225	8/240	8/240
KB swing	12/50	12/50	12/50	12/50
Circuit 3
Sidelying clam-shell ex	12/bw	12/bw	12/bw	12/bw
Crunch	15/bw	15/bw	15/bw	15/bw

 

Workout 9/2/13

Run – 7 miles at 9:49 pace

Lift

Circuit 1	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.
Seated Calf Raise	6/90	6/95	6/100	6/105	5/107.5	5/107.5
SL hammer curl	6/2×20	6/2×20	6/2×20	6/2×20	6/2×20	6/2×20
Cable Tricep ext	6/42.5	6/42.5	6/42.5	6/42.5	6/42.5	6/42.5

 

Circuit 2	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.
Decline Sit-ups	12/12	15/12	15/12	20/12	20/12	20/12
Prison Curls (bicep)	2@25 3@20	2@25 3@20	2@25 3@20	6/20	6/20	6/20
Skull Crushers	5/35	5/35	5/35	4/35	4/35	4/35

• All weights in lbs
• Unilateral exercises, reps and weights listed per side
• Sl=single leg

 

Workout 8/29/13

Run – 6 miles @ 9:40 pace

Lift-

Superset 1	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.
Wide Grip Lat pull down	6/100	5/105	5/105	5/105	5/105	5/105
Sl db fly	5/2×12.5	5/2×12.5	5/2×12.5	5/2×12.5	5/2×12.5	5/2×12.5

 

Superset 2	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.
Wide Grip pull up	6/w 30lb assist	6/w 30lb assist	5/w 30lb assist	5/w 30lb assist	5/w 30lb assist	5/w 30lb assist
Front cable shoulder raise	6/40	6/40	5/50	5/50	5/50	5/50

 

Superset 3	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.
Kb windmill	8/43	8/43	8/43	8/43	8/43	8/43
Tic Tac -> full crunch	10/12	10/12	10/12	10/12	10/12	10/12

• All weights in lbs
• Kb=kettlebell, db=dumbbell, Sl=single leg
• Reps for kb windmill are per side

Workout 8/27/13

Exercise 1	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.
Squats	4/125	4/135	4/135	5/135	5/135	5/135

 

Super-set	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.
Rev Lunges	4/115	4/115	4/115	4/115	4/115	4/115
Kb Swings	15/45	15/45	15/45	15/45	15/45	15/45

 

Super-set 2	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.	Reps/wt.
Turkish get-up	5/18	5/18	5/18	5/18
Decline Crunch	10/bw	10/bw	10/bw	10/bw

• All weights in lbs.
• Kb = kettlebell

This was a great workout for me!  Its been a long time since I’ve been able to squat with 45’s confidently. Of course I’m paying for it today (Glute & Quad soreness!) but it was worth it.

Workout 8/26/13

Circuit 1	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.
Db chest  press	5/2×40	5/2×40	5/2×40	5/2×40	4/2×40	4/2×40
Sa Db Row	5/50	5/50	5/50	5/50	5/50	5/50

 

Circuit 2	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.
Bench Press	6/80	5/85	4/90	4/90	4/85	4/85
SA Cable Row	6/42.5	6/42.5	6/42.5	6/42.5	6/42.5	6/42.5

 

Circuit 3	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.
Turkish Get-up to overhead carry	40 yd/18	40 yd/18	40 yd/18	40 yd/18	40 yd/18	40yd/18
Sl RDL on Bosu	6/18	6/18	6/18	6/18	6/18	6/18

Run – 6 miles at 9:40 pace

• SA = single arm, Sl = single leg, Db = dumbbell, Kb = kettle bell
• All weights in lbs
• Reps and weights are listed per side for unilateral exercises
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Workout 8/22/13

Run – 7 miles at 9:40 pace

Circuit 1	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.
Single leg hammer curl	5/20	5/20	5/20	5/20	5/20	5/20
Db Tricep Kickback	5/10	5/10	5/10	5/10	5/10	5/10
Medicine ball tick-tacks with crunch	10/8	10/8	10/8	10/8	10/8	10/8

 

Circuit 2	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.
Standing barbell curl	4/50	4/50	4/50	4/50
SA Skull Crushers	4/17.5	4/17.5	4/17.5	4/17.5
KB windmill	8/43	8/43	8/43	8/43

• SA = single arm, Sl = single leg, Db = dumbbell, Kb = kettle bell
• All weights in lbs
• Reps and weights are listed per side for unilateral exercises
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Workout 8/21/13

This workout turned out surprisingly well.  I was still slightly sore from Saturday’s leg workout but I decided to hit legs anyway.   I went with Horizontal loading again because it had worked well on Saturday and I wasn’t pressed for time, not to mention my upper body was way too sore to include any other muscle groups for a circuit.  With consistency in form, I ended up lifting 20lbs heavier for both Hex deadlift and hip thrust than I have on either exercise since last November.   I’m not sure why the quick gain, but I was stoked!

Exercise 1	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.
Weighted Hip Thrust	6/155	5/160	5/165	5/170	4/175	4/175
Exercise 2	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.
Hex Deadlift	6/160	5/165	5/170	5/175	4/180	4/180

Circuit 1	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.	Reps/Wt.
Kettlebell Swings	15/40	15/40	15/40	15/40
Kettlebell kneel/stand/kneel	10/25(per side)	10/25(per side)	10/25(per side)	10/25(per side)

*all weights in lbs.