I've been doing some searching on a new program (as I said in my journal), and have come across a few options. Looking for opinions/input, here's my slightly uneducated thoughts so far:
To put it out there in the beginning, I do cardio 6x/week, with hard workouts 2x/week and a long steady state workout once a week. Cardiovascular fitness is a must right now, so that can't be dropped. It is also a consideration with the program I'd choose. Even with Rippetoes some weeks are closer to overtraining than I'd like, and now that I'm on a reduced calorie diet I didn't want to go with anything
too intense. Bulking will be a different story, but for now I've ruled out programs such as the DFT5x5, OVT, etc. I also looked at the Texas Method, but it seems that I would want to hold off and save that until I stop progressing on linear programs. What I've decided on (pre-getting input from people smarter than me
) is a Volume-Recovery-Intensity workout, actually along the lines of what Rippetoe has suggested as a followup on SS. It looks like this:
Monday (Volume)
Squat - 4x8
Bench - 4x6
Barbell rows - 4x8
Accessory: Abs + lower back
Wednesday (Recovery)
Front Squat - 3x5
Seated press - 3x5
Power cleans - 5x3 (or pullups, 3 x 8-15)
Accessory: abs only
Friday (Intensity)
Squat - ramp to max set of 3 or 5
Bench - ramp to max triple
Deadlift - ramp to max single, double or triple
Accessory: Abs + Direct arm work + lower back work
So, this seems like the best idea so far. Thoughts?
New program options
Hybrid Mode