Advice on designing a macrocycle

[braskibra]

looking for some advice on designing a macrocycle of 6 months
core lifts will be sumo d/l
dumbbell incline press
barbell curl
close grip bp and or barbell row or pullups

i guess the problem I am having is a.) the example in the essentials is for a female college basketball player with different goals than me
and b.) tough time deciding volume and days per week,
has anyone also incorporated supersets, eccentrics and other techniques into their plans? if so what phase

any advice would be much appreciated
goals: gain lean mass and hypertrophy as much as possible

rough outline micro cycle 1 (2 weeks)
monday
sumo d/l : 2 X5 (80% 5RM)
leg press: 2x 15-20 (90% 20RM)
lunges: 2 x 10 RM
glute ham raise/leg curl: 2 x 10 RM
calf raises
abs



tuesday:
Barbell Curl: 2 X 5 (80%5RM)
close grip bp: 2 x 5 (80% 5 RM)
preacher curl: 2 X 12-15 RM
tricep extensions supine: 2 x 12-15
alternate db curl 2 X 12-15
tricep rope pushdown: 2 X 12-15



essentially i would do the same for chest n back with a core lift n accessory lifts

 

[ZiR RED]

Why did you select those as core lifts? I am not sure the bicep curl is very relevant to basketball. The sumo deadlift is a great movement, but is also not as relevant to basketball as is the traditional deadlift or (even more specific) hang clean/clean pull.

When you say "Essentials", are you talking about the NSCA strength and conditioning text book?

Wait, is this for you or for a female basketball player?

Jason Cholewa, Ph.D., CSCS

 

[braskibra]

yes essentials of strength and conditioning

their example is an ncaa girls hoop player, I am not a girls baseketball player lol
I am trying to design a program for myself that is more hypertrophy aimed and less functional per say, ie not going to be performing many olympic lifts

 

[ZiR RED]

Ok, now that makes sense.

First off, I would choose a core lift for each of these movements:
Squat
Deadlift
Horizontal Press
Horizontal Pull
Vertical Press
Vertical Pull

I like to program in 4 week macrocycles. Each macrocycle has microcycles whereby intensity increases and volume decreases. I generally switch the core lifts every 1-3 macrocycles.

I generally switch the ancillary movements every macrocycle, or even every 2 micrcocycles.

This has been extremely productive with my clients for increasing muscle mass.

4 weeks of hypertrophy work, unload, 3 weeks of strength work, unload, repeat.

Next, we can talk about ways to progress the load or volume in each cycle.

Jason Cholewa, Ph.D., CSCS

 

[braskibra]

yes, intensity increasing and volume decreasing, I was planning 4 week meso/macro cycles with a 1 week deload after each

a hypertophy phase (2 weeks), strength phase(2 weeks), unload, hypertrophy phase, strength phase, unload, powerphase (4 weeks) unload
how much volume should the hypertrophy phase start, i was planning 4-5 days per week

 

[ZiR RED]

I don't think you need to unload after a 2 week block of work. Generally, gains take about 3-5 weeks for realization, so if your overall goal is hypertrophy then you should be thinking in 4 week segments.

You should also decide whether you want to work on fatigue toleration or frequency toleration during your macro cycles. Fatigue toleration you train each movement about once a week, where as frequency toleration you train each movement once every 3-4 days (or twice a week). Volume is higher for fatigue and lower for freuquency (per workout). You can always rotate you hypertrophy and strength phases between the two.

Volume usually runs about 50,40,30,24 reps per core lift during a hypertrophy cycle (based on a 4 week marocycle).

Jason Cholewa, Ph.D., CSCS

 

[braskibra]

appreciate the help
yes my cycles are 4 weeks in length then followed by a 1 week unload, ie 2 weeks of hypertrophy, 2 weeks of strength phase, unload
sorry for the confusion

will the volume total still remain the same for a frequency toleration program so 50, 40, 30, 24, but split into two workouts?

 

[ZiR RED]

appreciate the help
yes my cycles are 4 weeks in length then followed by a 1 week unload, ie 2 weeks of hypertrophy, 2 weeks of strength phase, unload
sorry for the confusion

will the volume total still remain the same for a frequency toleration program so 50, 40, 30, 24, but split into two workouts?

Yes, pretty much. You might want to actually extend those cycle lengths. For example, 3 weeks of hypertrophy loading followed by a 1 week low volume period. And then 3 of a similar nature with strength loading, followed by a 1 week unloading or 1 rm testing period.

Jason Cholewa, Ph.D., CSCS

 

[braskibra]

ok awesome appreciate having your input

 

[Rodja]

Yes, pretty much. You might want to actually extend those cycle lengths. For example, 3 weeks of hypertrophy loading followed by a 1 week low volume period. And then 3 of a similar nature with strength loading, followed by a 1 week unloading or 1 rm testing period.

Jason Cholewa, Ph.D., CSCS

Agreed on this. You're not going to be able to do much with 2 weeks of each, especially strength. It takes longer for the CNS to adapt and "hone in" so you see maximal strength gains.

 

[braskibra]

hmm ur saying go with 3 week microcycles which would mean 6 week mesocycles, i think were confusing terms here maybe?????

the names im using for hypertrophy, strength, power are more for rep ranges and intensity
my program will look like this

4 weeks total:
first 2 weeks: working at 85% of 5 RM "hypertrophy phase" accessory lifts in the 12-15 range
next two weeks "strength phase": 90% of 5 RM accessory lifts in 5-8 range

unload week
pick two new core lifts repeat for another 4 weeks

unload week

4 weeks of power phase training up to a 1 RM

volume tapering down as intensity increases



heres what im taking as the suggestions so far:

increase the hypertrophy and strength phases to 3 weeks each (6 total), then follow with an unload week

 

[ZiR RED]

Hypertrophy phase
week 1: 3-4 x 12 reps
week 2: 3-4 x 10-12 reps
week 3: 4 x 8-10 reps
Week 4: 1 set to failure using about 75% 1rm
Strength
Week 1: 4 x 5
Week 2: 5 x 3
Week 3: 6 x 2
Week 4: Work up to "soft" 1 rm, minimal assistance work

Repeat

Something along those lines. Week 4's will vary based upon recovery level, etc.

Jason Cholewa, Ph.D., CSCS

 

[braskibra]

awesome ill give it a go!!!thnx for the help!!