Year round programming

[u/zonular]

Hey folks,

What do you do to rotate programs / change up training over a year?.

I'm debating alternating DFW to the giant to king sized killer from neupert.

I've seen others mix easy strength and abf

[u/zonular]

I have " more kettlebell muscle" does it differ much from "kettlebell muscle"

[u/Hangi_Pit → u/zonular]

Yes. Kettlebell muscle is 2x6 week blocks where as MKM is as you would know several different programmes.

For year round I’ve settled on Geoffs Barbell Bolt On + Iron Cardio for 12 weeks then switch to the Bolt On + a complex programme from MKM/KB Hard for 6 weeks before reverting back to Iron Cardio. Working well so far.

[u/Hillarys_Recycle_Bin]

I like to sorta rotate between strength/intensity and volume / hypertrophy. I usually stick with programs that have all the main movements, cause I get knee problems if I’m not doing enough hinge work.

Current rotation this year is ABF, Maximorum, KB muscle (6 weeks left) and gonna finish up with ABF

[u/Whitefr00 → u/Hillarys_Recycle_Bin]

Interesting - this is very similar to how I program my year.
I just started KB Muscle last week - had to up the rest times from 120s to 180s on Medium and Hard day - otherwise my form went down the drain on the 4th and 5th set. Already feeling an improvement this week - Snatches feeling snappier and more "secure" - great feeling.

After KB muscle I'm planning to do 2 weeks of deload (most like Easy Strength) and then run Maximorum into spring.

Over the summer I would probably do either 1 or 2 programs from More Kettlebell Muscle and then going into fall, I will do 1-2 months of specialized training in movements and muscle groups that I feel is lacking behind.
This fall programming i used my own program, with a focus on: kneeling half press, Z-Press, Kneeling windmills, Romanian Deadlift, Bulgarian Split Squat, Deficit Push-ups, Glute Bridges, Row variations and C+P / Squats.

[u/Hillarys_Recycle_Bin → u/Whitefr00]

I say this as someone who is a Neupert fan. The rest times are my only critique of KB muscle. He was on crack when he wrote down those rest times for the heavy days. 90 second rest intervals in weeks 5 and 6 for the heavy days is funny. I just went based on heart rate, once I was down to 130bpm I would go again. Looked more like 90 seconds on round 1, 2 minutes, 2.5 minutes, and then three minute rest intervals (has been as high as 4 in the very last round). Then I fall over into a chair until I can breathe again.

I can hold the rest periods with some minor slippage on the medium days in the late rounds, but the heavy days are crazy demanding, it’s like 70-75 seconds of work, 90 seconds is not close to enough time for me to recover, and I feel like my cardio is pretty decent.

Maybe my weights are too heavy, I’m running it with 24s. My clean and press 12rm is 32s, so 24s definitely fall into the “easily press 10 times” category. Could just be my own strength imbalance.

[u/CoachV_PCT]

Run each program as written before switching. DFW and The Giant are both press-heavy, so putting them together makes sense if pressing is the priority. Keep two easy sets of rows and hinges twice a week when a block leaves them out. Take an easier week after each block, then choose the next one based on what you want to improve.

[u/dj84123]

It his can be a resource for you, I wrote this in ABF. It might help.

Q. Can you give me a template for year-round ABF and Easy Strength?

Everything works. That’s a fundamental principle of training I’ve discovered over and over again in my career.

Well—everything works for about six weeks.

My friend Dan Martin calls me “Mister 43” because at about six weeks (42 days), every wonderful program, plan, diet, and idea seems to come to a crushing halt.

Here’s the thing: the smart people figure this out.

Marty Gallagher, one of the smartest minds in training, decided long ago that the standard bodybuilding diet of six meals a day is correct. But so is the concept of one meal a day—the “Warrior Diet” that gained traction around the year 2000. So what’s his approach?

Simple: do both. A few months on one, then shift to the other. Enjoy the cycle.

Oddly, the body seems to love fasting. And it tends to love feasting. Religious traditions remind us that “the fast comes before the feast.” The bigger idea? Changing things up seems to work.

Lyle McDonald, one of the greatest minds in nutrition, taught me this years ago with his Cyclical Ketogenic Diet (CKD). I followed it for a time and made some of my elite throwers practice it. CKD is five days of low or no carbohydrates, followed by a two-day carb-up.

Throwers did well competing with no carbs in the system. They got cranky, irritable, and ready to kill—which, oddly, is the perfect mindset for the shot put, hammer, discus, and Highland Games. Then, after the meet? Pizza and beer. Hugs and happiness.

Let’s just say that’s not the right mindset for competition—but it worked for recovery.

Maybe there’s magic in CKD. But maybe, just maybe, the real magic is in change.

I’ve been writing about this idea for decades. I recommend training with the seasons. Basically, here’s the approach:

·          Winter: Go heavy. Go hard. Go home.

·          Spring: Get outside. Play. Enjoy the fresh air.

·          Summer: Swim, bike, run, play. Soak up the sun.

·          Fall: Back-to-school time. Dial in the discipline. Return to structured programs.

In other words, sometimes you train hard in the gym—and sometimes you play. With food, sometimes you load up on protein—and sometimes you focus on greens, fruits, or fats.

Change things up occasionally. With your diet and your training, give yourself a seasonal reset.

Your health—and your sanity—will thank you for it.

So, another option for combining Easy Strength and ABF could be this:

·          Winter: Easy Strength. Two rounds…about four months

·          Spring: ABF. Don’t skip the two-week break in program!

·          Summer: Easy Strength followed by swim, bike, run, play. Soak up the sun.

·          Fall: ABF or ABF options like Saturday/Sunday Warrior