By Elliot Fisher MS, ATC, CSCS, PES
Strength Mesocycle
In this blog, I am going to cover my upcoming mesocycle of training. This will be a good reference for what I do and can be used for getting training ideas, learning programming, etc. My personal programs are usually five weeks long, but can vary. At the beginning of every mesocycle I will post my program on this blog.
This next mesocycle of training will be five weeks long. The focus is on strength for powerlifting, with a secondary focus of biceps and triceps hypertrophy. This program was written by Renaissance Periodization with a couple of modification by myself.
This program is five days/week. Weights and sets increase week to week to ensure progressive overload. The percentages are pretty high, about 70-90% of my 1 repetition maximum for all the main lifts, and around 60-80% for the accessory work.
Training:
Key: Exercise Week 1/Week 2/Week 3/Week 4/Week 5
Week 1-3 – all sets taken to 2 reps away from failure
Week 4 – all sets taken to 1 rep away from failure
Week 5 – all sets done for 4 reps
Reps are in the 3-6 range for most compound lifts. About 8-15 for isolation exercises.
Tuesday
Low Bar Squat 280×5 sets/295×6 sets/300×7 sets/310×8 sets/195×2 sets
Sumo Deadlift 370×2 sets/390×3 sets/400×4 sets/405×5 sets/260×2 sets
Barbell Curl 80×2 sets/85×2 sets/85×2 sets/90×2 sets/45×2 sets
Barbell Row 180×2 sets/190×2 sets/195×2 sets/200×2 sets/125×2 sets
Reaching Sit Ups 2 sets
Wednesday
Pause Bench Press 210×5 sets/220×6 sets/225×7 sets/230×8 sets/145×2 sets
Low Bar Squat 280×2 sets/295×3 sets/300×4 sets/310×5 sets/195×2 sets
Dumbbell Overhead Extension 30×2 sets/30×2 sets/30×2 sets/35×2 sets/15×2 sets
Dumbbell Upright Row 45×2 sets/45×2 sets/50×2 sets/50×2 sets/30×2 sets
Reaching Sit Ups 2 sets
Thursday
Sumo Deadlift 370×2 sets/390×3 sets/400×4 sets/405×5 sets/260×2 sets
Romanian Deadlift 270×2 sets/285×3 sets/290×4 sets/295×4 sets/135×2 sets
Barbell Curl 80×3 sets/85×3 sets/85×3 sets/90×3 sets/45×2 sets
Barbell Row 180×2 sets/190×2 sets/195×2 sets/200×2 sets/90×2 sets
Dumbbell Upright Row 45×2 sets/45×2 sets/50×2 sets/50×2 sets/25×2 sets
Russian Twist 2 sets
Friday
High Bar Squat 250×3 sets/265×4 sets/270×5 sets/275×5 sets/125×2 sets
Pause Bench Press 210×3 sets/220×4 sets/225×5 sets/230×5 sets/145×2 sets
Dumbbell Overhead Extension 30×2 sets/30×2 sets/30×2 sets/35×2 sets/15×2 sets
Barbell Face Pull 70×2 sets/75×2 sets/75×2 sets/75×2 sets/35×2 sets
Russian Twist 2 sets
Saturday
Barbell Overhead Press 120×3 sets/125×4 sets/130×5 sets/130×6 sets/60×2 sets
High Bar Squat (sets of 3 reps) 185×2 sets/195×3 sets/200×4 sets/205×4 sets/95×2 sets
Chin Ups 2 sets with blue band/2 sets with orange band/2 sets no band/2 sets with 5 pounds on belt
Hammer Curl 35×3 sets/35×3 sets/40×3 sets/40×3 sets/20×2 sets
Cable Tricep Pushdown 55×2 sets/60×2 sets/60×2 sets/60×2 sets/30×2 sets
Barbell Face Pull 70×2 sets/75×2 sets/75×2 sets/75×2 sets/35×2 sets
Reaching Sit Up 2 sets
Nutrition
My nutrition plan was designed by myself. I start by addressing my daily caloric need. You can use a calculator to estimate this, but I have found what works to gain/lose/maintain weight from tracking total calories daily and weighing myself daily. This mesocycle will be weight maintenance so about 3500 kcal will be used. Next I determine macronutrient goals. I set my macros usually at about 1 gram of protein/pound of bodyweight, fat at 0.5 grams/pound of bodyweight, and the rest of my calories from carbohydrate. Finally, I set a minimum serving size/day of certain foods to ensure I’m getting enough micronutrients in daily for health and wellbeing. As long as I hit all of my minimum food requirements, I eat whatever I want as long as it fits my calories and macronutrients. The only foods I avoid are trans fat almost entirely, and alcohol which I limit to going out once in a while.
Calories
kcal/day about 3500
Macronutrients
Protein 200 grams (800 kcal)
Carbohydrate 450 grams (1800 kcal)
Fat 100 grams (900 kcal)
Food Selection
At least 300 grams of vegetables/day
At least 300 grams of fruit/day
At least 30 grams of monounsaturated fats/day
At least 35 grams of fiber/day
At least 6 oz. of whole grain/day
Everything else fits calories and macronutrients
Limit trans fat (close to none in diet) and alcohol to a minimum (about 1 night of drinking/week)
All food can be followed at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/fisherelliot
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