long-term sheiko training

[Deleted]

Hey guys,
I am very happy to have found this site about a month ago and found out a lot of good things about training sheiko. I had some questions and would like to participate more on the forum, but I figured I should just give one of Dave's routines a try first. Now I am in the 4th week of the CMS-MS prep/comp cycle and will be having a skills test/1RM day next week. I started the routine with my results from a full power meet in December and finished about 10lbs shy on each because I didn't plan my attempts very well that day. I am sure I will improve on the 1RM's that day, but it may not be a representation of how sheiko training is affecting me.

My question is: what do you do after running a full cycle? The one I'm on has 4 weeks of high/very high volume and moderate intensity (80-85%) followed by one week of low volume very high intensity (~100%) and three weeks of low-moderate volume and moderate intensity peaking at a day designated for a competition.

Since I am not planning on competing for a few months at least what would be the best thing to do after the 8th week? Take a full week off from lifting? Take a week of rest/low volume + low intensity followed a repeat cycle or jump right in to another CMS-MS routine with altered weights?

ps: I am loving this new style of training! it is exactly what I needed to get my mind right.. however my hip flexors are screaming for mercy and my lower back gets lit up every workout

[davebates]

Jan 26, 2009 23:00:03 GMT -5 @dirtyharry said:

Hey guys,
I am very happy to have found this site about a month ago and found out a lot of good things about training sheiko. I had some questions and would like to participate more on the forum, but I figured I should just give one of Dave's routines a try first. Now I am in the 4th week of the CMS-MS prep/comp cycle and will be having a skills test/1RM day next week.

Keep in mind you only go to 90-95% at this point.
Save it for your test day.

I started the routine with my results from a full power meet in December and finished about 10lbs shy on each because I didn't plan my attempts very well that day. I am sure I will improve on the 1RM's that day, but it may not be a representation of how sheiko training is affecting me.

My question is: what do you do after running a full cycle? The one I'm on has 4 weeks of high/very high volume and moderate intensity (80-85%) followed by one week of low volume very high intensity (~100%) and three weeks of low-moderate volume and moderate intensity peaking at a day designated for a competition.

Since I am not planning on competing for a few months at least what would be the best thing to do after the 8th week? Take a full week off from lifting? Take a week of rest/low volume + low intensity followed a repeat cycle or jump right in to another CMS-MS routine with altered weights?

You take a week off from barbell lifts and do some light GPP work. Then, you can start back up. If your training 4 days a week a good break would to be to use a 3 day a week plan. You can do the 4 day a week plan based off your new maxes too.


ps: I am loving this new style of training! it is exactly what I needed to get my mind right.. however my hip flexors are screaming for mercy and my lower back gets lit up every workout

[erictalmant]

I have more work than anticipated with Raw Unity as we have some very interested sponsors and opportunities. I will be on these boards as soon as I can.

Eric

[Deleted]

I agree with dave. While I have used the cms-ms 36 in the past for competition prep, i generally keep things to a three day split during the offseason. the 37 is my template of choice. Although, I'm happy to say that I'll be peaking for my next comp using dave's 13 week cycle. There is a natural deload when you jump from template to template since all the cycles start with less intensity. For this reason, many lifters stack 4 week cycles directly on top of one another, and instead of testing out after each, they simply add 10lbs to their squat number, 5lbs to their bench number and 10 lbs to their deadlift. Repeat. This allows them to not waste their time testing.

[Deleted]

thanks for getting back to me Dave and DJ

i like the idea of running two prep phases back to back, because I can't be sure of the training effect after so little time invested.. but i am a little apprehensive to running the prep phase of the CMS in two consecutive cycles because i am still adjusting to the volume.

would it make sense to do 4 weeks of CMS-MS (prep), add 10/5/10 pounds to the max lifts followed by 4 weeks of the #37 or another 3 day a week cycle? then just keep switching back and for between the two, maybe throwing in a skills test every 8 weeks just to feel >95% weights.

Can you still make progress on a 3-day a week cycle even though if you are ranked in the CMS the routines prescribe 4 days a week? I also analyzed the CMS-MS routine a little bit checking out overall sets, volume, average intensity and max intensity per week and am wondering if there is a sort of critical volume ratio that is what is ideal for each lifter.

Dave: I found my way to a CMS-MS (don't know if you wrote it) and was wondering if you have any routines posted that are in excel? ive seen the routines posted by Eric on EFTS but they are all in text format.

[benburgess]

Jan 28, 2009 21:59:25 GMT -5 @djstarer said:

There is a natural deload when you jump from template to template since all the cycles start with less intensity. For this reason, many lifters stack 4 week cycles directly on top of one another, and instead of testing out after each, they simply add 10lbs to their squat number, 5lbs to their bench number and 10 lbs to their deadlift. Repeat. This allows them to not waste their time testing.

This is not always the case, and depends on the individual cycle. For example if you were to go from #37 straight into #30 in the way you describe, the following would happen:

Wk 4 #37 - 15,760 lifts at average intensity of ~69%
Wk 1 #30 - 24,570 lifts at average intensity of ~69%

You can see that if you went into the 1st week of the #30 expecting a deload you would probably get a right old shock.

[davebates]

Jan 29, 2009 15:02:29 GMT -5 @dirtyharry said:

thanks for getting back to me Dave and DJ

i like the idea of running two prep phases back to back, because I can't be sure of the training effect after so little time invested.. but i am a little apprehensive to running the prep phase of the CMS in two consecutive cycles because i am still adjusting to the volume.

would it make sense to do 4 weeks of CMS-MS (prep), add 10/5/10 pounds to the max lifts followed by 4 weeks of the #37 or another 3 day a week cycle? then just keep switching back and for between the two, maybe throwing in a skills test every 8 weeks just to feel >95% weights.

Hmmm So you want to train 4 days a week for 4 weeks, then go down to 3 days a week for 4 weeks then what?
I basic idea is you "over train your body for 4-8 weeks. Then the last 4 weeks you under train it and test your lifts for progress. The way I use the skills evaluation is to help you find openers and second attempts for a meet.

Can you still make progress on a 3-day a week cycle even though if you are ranked in the CMS the routines prescribe 4 days a week?

I believe so. Keep in mind these lifters do this for a living so they have a little more free time to train than most of us.

I also analyzed the CMS-MS routine a little bit checking out overall sets, volume, average intensity and max intensity per week and am wondering if there is a sort of critical volume ratio that is what is ideal for each lifter.

Honestly I think each person has an ideal volume and average intensity that works for them. The question is what is it? It's part of the reason for this forum to share information with lifters to see what is working and what is not. The 3 day a week program is a good starting point and I suggest lifters keep doing it until they no longer make progress.

Dave: I found my way to a CMS-MS (don't know if you wrote it) and was wondering if you have any routines posted that are in excel?


No I did not write it, boris did.
send me a PM with your email and I'll see what I can find.
ive seen the routines posted by Eric on EFTS but they are all in text format.