New Routine

Introduction

The primary purpose of this routine is to improve my jerk, and my overhead press.  Simply put, I want to become proficient in putting weight above my head.  I've recently become enamored with lifters of past generations.  Arthur Saxson, Doug Hepburn, Paul Anderson, Tommy Kono, John Grimek, Bill March, etc, etc, etc.  Many of their strength feats still stand today - which is insane when you think about it.  And as I read about these giants, I started to notice a trend. Their methods and protocols varied (sets, reps, frequency, etc), but they ALL devoted a significant time to putting shit over their head.

The classic "clean and press" and its progeny covers a lot of ground: full olympic cleans, power clean, fat bar clean and press, log clean and press, dumbbell clean and press, reverse grip/fast curl and press, power jerks from the front, power jerks from the back, split jerks, kettlebell clean and presses, kettlebell jerks, dumbbell jerks, hang cleans, barbell military press (one arm and two arm), dumbbell military press (one arm and two arm), the side press, and the infamous bent press. The list goes on.  In short, there is a fucking shitload of methods to: 1) lift a heavy object off the ground; and 2) put that heavy object over your head.  I suck at almost all of them.

Overhead work has long been a weak point for me for a number of reasons.  First, and most importantly, I've never prioritized overhead work.  I've done it sporadically, and even when I was consistent with it, it was always a lift I did way down the line.  For example, a typical upper day might be bench, then row, then OH press.  Not going to make a ton of progress like that.  Second, its never felt natural to me.  Even light weight feels like shit.  This brings me to my third reason, which is likely related to the second.  Mechanically, I pressed wrong for a long time.  Hyper-extended lower back, flared ribs, elongated abs, poor scapular function, inactive glutes, and poor shoulder mobility all add up to an awesomely pathetic base from which to press.

Now that I'm better at some of this stuff (or at least self-aware when I'm not), I'd like to develop the clean and press.  To me, the clean is a big part of the movement.  Weight on the ground - weight goes overhead.

To be clear, part of the reason I'm doing this is because I cannot squat.  See last post.  But after some intro-spection, I'm ok with that.  Learning this shit will serve me well.

Routine

The basic routine is a two part split.  Day 1, is focused on power.  Clean and jerk movements.  Day 2 is focused on strength and hypertrophy.  At first, Day 2 will be more hypertrophy focused. Day 3 is optional conditioning.  This can either be on its own day, or simply lopped onto other sessions.  At this point, I'm essentially  always going to have dedicated conditioning days.  I like the way it feels.

Below, I've outlined a pretty balanced program.  Power day focuses on classic oly movements.  Day 2 is more mass based at first.  Eventually, I'd like the first couple movements to be barbell.  But for now, I think this will work fine.  I need more muscle.


Power Day

1.Cleans
-Clean pull, 4-5 sets
-Hang clean, 4-5 sets
-Power clean, work up to strong triple

2. Jerk
-BTN Jerks 10x2
-Split jerks if I feel like it

3. Chins

4. Single Leg RDL

5.  Anterior Core

Strength/Hypertrophy Day

1.  Trap Bar
-3x8-10

2. Seated Shoulder Press
-3-8x10

3.  Bent Row
-Rotate between super strict high rep 45 bent rows on one day and strict  heavy pendlay on other days.

4.  Curls
-Rotate between high rep shit (sets of 15-20 or poundstone) and heavy 3x5 power curls

5. Facepulls
2-3 sets high rep

6.  Rotational/Lateral Core
-One Arm Farmers walks/Suitcase Deadlifts/Barbell Twists