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.