i 21.93 i bt Anazn & = —— —— Practical Programming for Strength Training Mark Rippetoe & Lon Kilgore with Glenn Pendlay AUG 2 8 2008 CONN LIBRAR' Wayne State Colfe 1111 Main Stree Wayne, NE 6878Copyright ® 2006 by the Aasgaard Company Second Printing (2007) All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in a form by means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded, or otherwise without the prior written consent of the publisher. The authors and publisher disclaim any responsibility for any adverse effects or consequences from the misapplication or injudicious use of the information presented in this text. Copyeditor - Carrie Klumpar ISBN 0976805413 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 The Aasgaard Company 3118 Buchanan, Wichita Falls, TX 76308, USA"The Iron never lies to you ... The iron will always kick you the real deal. ‘The Iron is the great reference point, the all-knowing perspective giver. Always there like a beacon in the pitch black. 7 have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friends may come and go. But two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds." - Henry RollinsForeword Any project such as this is not the result of any one anthor’s epiphany about a ground breaking theory of training, itis the result of experience, practice, and education, The quote “I see farther as I stand on the shoulders of giants” is particularly apropos here, Dr, Bob Kraemer and Dr. Chris Ross allowed me to stand on their shoulders and showed me that my practical experience as a coach and a competitor was valued and useful in experimental design. ‘They also pushed me to think about practical applications and about asking the right questions in the lab, Similarly sny practice in the sport of weightlifting as an athlete and a coach was built by standing on the shoulders of silent giants, Guys no one knows but who have had much to teach helped me understand why things work in the gym. "There is nothing in life that could have prepared me for my nearly decade long association with Mark Rippetoe. Rip is a unique character and has a unique influence on anyone he mects. His experiences, education, and constant search for better and more efficient ways to train and do business, his intolerance of BS, and his absolute generosity have been essential in making this flat litele expanse of north “Yexas we know as Wichita Falls a bastion of doing weight training like it’s supposed to be done. He is one of the few coaches, personal trainers, and gym owners I know that have truly bridged the gap between science and practice. Mark is an amazing wordsmith and gym practitioner and has made the past two plus years working on book projects with him one of the most intellectually rewarding and fun periods of my academic career. To me Rip is the “Iron” that Rollins describes. ‘There are a number of ather important learning influences I would be remiss in not mentioning: Joe Bradford - Bill Clark - Bob Hoffman - Marty Cypher - Russ Knipp - Bill ‘Welfele - Carl Miller - Ron Hall - Lyn Jones - Dr. Ben Timson - Dr. Geoff Ringer - Bobby “Hollywood” Howell - Dr. Mike Stone - Dr. Kyle Pierce - Dr. Stef Bradford — Dr, Phil Cole - Dr. Steve Snowden - The Johnay Cooper family — and every training partner I have ever had Thave been blessed with a steady stream of good graduate students with an interest in weight training, Some information in this book is couched in knowledge that graduate students brought to the world. ‘The ones whose work with me most influenced this book: are: Jacob Reeves, John Martin, Dan Talbot, Tony Miller, Jeff Schley, Glenn Pendlay, Brandon Ezzell, Michael Hartman, Chad Touchberry, Justin Kulik, Kathy Wells, Clay Worthington, and Becky Kudrna My parents, Jim and Mary Kilgore have supported, in a variety of ways, every one of my hair brained adventures in life. My family, Tommi, Val, Derek, Ashton, and Thomas have displayed incredible patience and support over the years and were essential in making this thing work. ‘Thanks. - Lon iitMoreword Thave had the good fortune to be associated with the best people in this field, ever since I wandered into the weight room at Midwestern University in the summer of 1979 and met Bill Starr. He introduced me to many of his friends and associates, who introduced me to many other good people and taught me many things. Over the years since David Anderson’s Gym became my Wichita Falls Athletic Club I have met lots of folks who taught me many other things, all the while thinking that I was teaching them. A few need specific mention: George Hechter and Jimmy Moser, ‘Tommy Suggs, John Pettit, Hal Koenig, Terry Young, Kenny Blake, ‘Treva, Cardell Hairrill, Angel Spassov, Loribob, and Dumplin. Thave also been fortunate enough to be able to work with Glenn Pendlay and Dr. Kilgore for the past decade or so. This book is primarily due to Lon’s realization that our synthesis of a new approach to programming was working well, and that it needed polish and organization if it was to be truly useful to other coaches and athletes. I don’t know how polished it is, but T promise it works. The recent loss of my friend Jason Christie has left a hole in our little community here at WEAC. He was the best kind of guy there is - generous, ballsy, funny, eager to learn, more eager to help, and very tough under the bar. He was a big supporter of weightlifting, and our efforts to do things the right way. This book is dedicated to him, - Rip ivDoes history record any case in which the majority was right? - Robert HeinleinTable of Contents Chapter 1 1 Introduction Do we know what we know? Chapter 2 23 Training and Over-training A question of balance, Chapter 3 59 Understanding Training Goals Massive & powerful. Huge & muscular. Chapter 4 75 Physiological Responses Basic stuff you need to know. Chapter 5 113 ‘Training Program Basics ‘The nuts and bolts. Chapter 6 139 The Novice Everything works. Some things just work better than others. Chapter 7 165 The Intermediate Cycling workloads: Weekly periodization. Chapter 8 205 The Advanced Trainee From progressive to periodized. Chapter 9 243 Special Populations Does this stuff work on everyone? Index 263 Appendix 1 - Basic Strength Standards 271 Credits 277 viDo we know what we know? 1 - Introduction Do we know what we know? . “The most erroneous stories are those we think we know best —and therefore never scrutinize or question.” —Stephen Jay Gould The ability to effectively design, organize, and implement training programs is an absolute requirement for success in all areas of exercise: performance, coaching, physical education, health and wellness, and rehabilitation. Volumes have been written on programming aerobic exercise for a variety of populations. They are usually written by academics with practical experience in aerobic exercise and are backed by research specifically addressing this type of exercise. Precise guidelines exist for programming aerobic exercise for virtually any population. The literature in the scientific, medical, and exercise journals in this topic is abundant. On the anaerobic side of the street, where weight training resides, the situation is much different. While there is a great deal of material available for consumption by the public, its quality is frequently suspect. The supposed “gold standard” for exercise prescription recommendations, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, provides only a cursory description of a method for programming weight training. Frequently, the “experts” on whom the public relies for guidance come from one of two camps: 1) individuals with practical experience and little or no specific education and training, or 2) individuals with degrees (usually not in the area of anaerobic physiology) who have very little practical experience with weight trainingPractical Programming but the best of intentions. The end result is that the typical coach, clinician, gym member, or athlete trying to maximize performance is very poorly served by inappropriate instruction in weight training and inadequate program design. Professionals, both practitioners and academics, in weight training seem to avoid addressing this issue, likely for a variety of reasons. With little or no available information providing strong evidence in favor of a particular approach to programming, a practitioner can never actually be wrong in programming for a client, athlete, patient, or student as long as the program stays reasonably close to the ACSM’s nebulous position, And if it is close, he cannot be legally challenged in terms of professional liability. Even if he obtains less than optimal results for his trainee, he is being “technically correct” in his approach. As a result, there is really no incentive to rock the boat, find out what really works, and potentially be held to more rigorous standards of practice. Practitioners without education are not truly “professionals,” in the sense that one prepares oneself academically as a professional before practicing as such. But it is not only the practitioners who have failed to address the shortage of informed guidance on weight training programming; it is also the academics, Many well-meaning professors have taken it upon themselves to write texts on how to train with weights and how to program weight training. With very few exceptions, there is something missing in these individuals’ professional preparation: practical experience. How many of these exercise science teachers have experience on the platform? How many of them have worked in a varsity weight room as athletes? How many have been strength coaches? How many have coached actual weightlifters or powerlifters? How many have coached bodybuilders? How many have operated commercial gyms, serving clients from a wide range of age,