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Fitness

It’s All About Speed (Athlete Journal 15)

The loads were light this week, as the focus for the next two weeks is compensatory acceleration training.

Ryan Seaver

Written by Ryan Seaver Last updated on January 7, 2015

It’s all about speed, baby. After squatting heavy and often for three weeks, these next two weeks are focused solely on speed. I’ll be using explosive movements and short rest periods, and will essentially take a deload from moving heavy weights. I had free reign with my programming for these two weeks, but I chose my movements wisely.

Compensatory Acceleration Training

I love to squat every day, so I had to throw in a heavy day to keep myself sane. Besides the heavy day, all of my squatting was done in the Olympic/bodybuilding stance (high-bar, narrow stance), as it gave me the largest range of motion possible. I also included speed pulls, benches, and squats, with all sets done in five seconds or less. For explosiveness, I chose box jumps and power cleans, and even threw in some high pulls.

“Compensatory acceleration training is essentially moving the bar as fast as possible throughout each lift (squat, bench, deadlift). The goal is to apply as much force as possible to the bar, and accelerate the bar as quick as humanly possible.”

The week was great. I was in and out of the gym in an hour or so (including my warm ups), which felt odd. More time for myself! The loads were light this week (between 40-60%), as the focus was compensatory acceleration training. Compensatory acceleration training is essentially moving the bar as fast as possible throughout each lift (squat, bench, deadlift). The goal is to apply as much force as possible to the bar and accelerate as quickly as humanly possible.

READ: Compensatory Acceleration Training: Speed Up Your Strength Gains

When I benched, it felt like the bar was going to fly out of my hands. It also felt like the bar was going to fly off my back during the concentric portion of the squat. The deadlift is always explosive, so that lift didn’t really change. If you do any of these speed movements, proceed with caution. It can’t be a good thing to feel like the bar’s going to fly off your back during the squat.

Here’s my meat and taters for the week:

Monday

Olympic-Style Pause Squat (3 seconds)

Bar x 5 (2 sets)

135 x 5 (2 sets)

155 x 5 (6 sets)

Dead Bench

Bar x 5 (2 sets)

135 x 5 (2 sets)

155 x 1 (12 sets)

Speed Pulls

135 x 5 (2 sets)

185 x 5

205 x 3 (5 triples)

Tuesday

Box Jump

15 lbs x 3 (6 sets @ 10 height)

Speed Squat

Bar x 5 (2 sets)

155 x 4 (5 sets)

Olympic-Style Pause Squat (7 seconds)

135 x 5 (3 sets)

Floor Press

Bar x 5 (2 sets)

135 x 5 (2 sets)

165 x 1 (12 sets)

Speed Bench

135 x 4 (5 sets)

Wednesday

Yoga

Thursday

Olympic-Style Pause Squat (3 seconds)

Bar x 5 (2 sets)

135 x 5 (2 sets)

165 x 5 (6 sets)

Clean & Jerk

135 x 5 (5 sets)

4” Defecit Deadlifts

135 x 5 (2 sets)

185 x 3 (5 sets)

Friday

Box Jump

15 lbs x 3 (6 sets @ 11 height)

Heavy Squat

Bar x 5 (2 sets)

135 x 5 (2 sets)

185 x 5

225 x 3

275 x 1 (1 single)

285 x 1 (2 singles)

295 x 1 (2 singles)

Speed Squat

155 x 4 (6 sets)

Dead Bench

Bar x 5 (2 sets)

135 x 5 (2 sets)

155 x 1 (12 sets)

Speed Bench

135 x 4 (6 sets)

Saturday

Rest

Sunday

Box Jump

15 lbs x 3 (6 sets @ 12 height)

Olympic-Style Pause Squat (7 seconds)

Bar x 5 (2 sets)

135 x 5 (2 sets)

145 x 5 (3 sets)

Power Clean

145 x 5 (3 sets)

High Pull

155 x 3 (5 sets)

Speed Bench

Bar x 5 (2 sets)

135 x 5

145 x 4 (5 sets)

One more week of explosive training and I’ll be back handling the heavy weights. I hope everyone enjoyed their new year celebrations. I know it’s tough to stay on track during the holidays. Stay active!

Ryan Seaver is a novice powerlifter who found his love for the sport after six years of going to the gym religiously. Follow Ryan’s journals to learn how to get started as a competitive lifter.

Ryan Seaver

About Ryan Seaver

Ryan is a novice powerlifter who found his love for the sport after six years of going to the gym religiously. In the 165lb weight class, Ryan has competed three times this year, and will be looking to increase his frequency in 2015. Ryan’s fitness journey has taken him from an avid swimmer, golfer, and yogi, to a man obsessed with getting under the iron on stage. When he’s not strength training, Ryan can be found putting his nutritional practices to the test with his other favorite hobby, cooking.

In addition to his active lifestyle, Ryan also works for the world’s largest running company, where he resides in sunny San Diego. While he swears running will kill all of his gains, Ryan also has extensive knowledge of anything running related, from biomechanics to preventing injuries.

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