http://hprc-online.org/physical-fitness/files/STRENGTHTRAINING.pdf
This is an article I found called
Strength Training for the Warfighter published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research I thought may be of interest. Fairly basic, but a good read nonetheless. To my eyes, it looks like they advocate programming similar to Pat McNamara’s
Combat Strength Training.
I have no formal education on the topic of strength training and realize I know somewhere between jack and shit, so I was hoping to bounce ideas off members of the site. Right now, I am focusing on military “sport-specific” training with some deadlifts, squats, and weighted pullups added. I am still lean at 5’10”, 164, age: 22 with weak numbers on the main lifts. I have not benched in months, but my most recent working sets before the foot injury was: Squat (185x5)x3, Deadlift (255x3)x3, Pullup (BW+50x5)x3. While surely not perfect, I do all lifts with as strict a form as possible, especially no kipping pull ups.
To my knowledge, the type of programming advocated in the article above and by Pat McNamara is ideal for those with an already strong base in the main lifts. I obviously do not have that, and while this discussion is irrelevant in the near future as I go through initial training, my hope is to be able to hit the ground running with a well thought-out plan, regardless of where I end up.
My initial goal is to get the main lifts to respectable numbers while learning some of the key Olympic Lifts. Research has led me to believe that the first step should be to increase muscle cross-sectional area through mainly high volume, moderate intensity workouts. In Chad Wesley Smith’s recently released (Dec 2015)
Juggernaut Training: A Thoughtful Pursuit of Strength, one of the auxiliary programs given was the Championship Program. The first 4 weeks include a hypertrophy phase that I was planning on being my first step. The program rotates variations of the main lifts with assistance exercises and varying (low, medium, high) intensity days. Additionally, in his previous book,
The Juggernaut Method 2.0, he advocated using medicine balls as an alternative for people lacking skill in the Olympic Lifts. Below, I will provide the link to the video showing the throws, but my plan was to use these while learning the Oly Lifts.
My main point of uncertainty is how long this hypertrophy phase should be. I was thinking 8-12 weeks. After building muscle, the plan is to begin one of the many cookie-cutter programs such as 5/3/1, Juggernaut Method, or Military Athlete.
Hopefully I am on the right track, but if not I would appreciate a nudge in the right direction. Additionally, I enjoy reading about this, so I am up for some recommendations. My next two books I plan on purchasing at some point are;
Becoming a Supple Leopard by Kelly Starrett and
Scientific Principles of Strength Training by Chad Wesley Smith, Dr. James Hoffmann, and Dr. Mike Israetel. Eventually I would like to build up enough knowledge to program for myself, but I realize many years of research and time under the bar is needed before that can happen. Thanks for the time spent reading this.