Beginners Guide to Getting in Shape Part 3: Transitioning to the intermediate phase

The following post explains ONE METHOD of setting up your intermediate phases using HLM. If you understand the principles of adaptation then you'll understand why we use HLM. I come from the strength world and coach in that world so program design is designed around the stress-recovery-adaptation cycle. You have to understand these are not progammes by themselves, rather I try to show the HOW behind it. Follow each section, look at the template, and see if it makes sense. If you don't understand, after these three posts, what "heavy" means in the HLM scheme, let me know and I'll write a post about adaptation, and how the stresses during the week help to make you adapt get stronger/bigger.

Beginners Guide to Getting in Shape Part 1: Why Strength over Aesthetics (At first)
Beginners Guide to Getting in Shape Part 2: Programming for Linear Strength Gains
Beginners Guide to Getting in Shape Part 3: Transitioning to the intermediate phase

Setting up a PR day after your novice phase ended

For the sake of simplicity, transitioning into the intermediate programming we’re going to set up two days for testing. These will be conservative numbers to give us an idea of where to start the weights for the intermediate phase. The week after your last workout on NLP (novice linear progression), pick Tuesday and Friday for the testing of your new 1RMs the following week. (1 rep max).

Tuesday will be squat and bench, Friday will be deadlift and press. This is not a meet so you can go four attempts if you want or go until the bar slows down. The weight numbers are just an idea, not set rules. Change to be more conservative if you want. Set up the safeties in the squat rack to the correct height before you do this.

A note on “failing” the rep.
This is the safest way to “fail” a squat rep. Usually you’ll get stuck anywhere from the bottom during the ascent to the top. When this happens, you simply lower yourself into the bottom position of the squat, still staying tight, and simply letting go of the bar with your hands. The bar will roll off your back onto the safety bars. If you set them correctly, this will only be a couple cm and the bar won’t get bent. All the others, simply lower the bar and put it back in the rack. YOU NEED A SPOT FOR THE BENCH, OR DO IT IN A SQUAT RACK WITH THE SAFETIES SET UP

 

Squat: The quickest way to do this is to add 10kg (20lbs) to your work weight squat and do one rep after you warmed up. Keep adding 10kg (20lbs) until you fail a rep, as described above.
Bench: Make sure you have a spotter for the bench. Do one rep at your last working weight and add 5kg (10lbs) until fail, or the bar slowed down considerably. (optionally do it in the squat rack with the safety bars set just below highest point of your sternum when you have a full breath and your chest is up.
Press: Same as bench, but use 2.5kg (5lbs) increments
Deadlift: Same as squat. I like to start with 15kg but you can keep it at 10kg if you want.

 

What is HLM programming

Recall from the previous posts that we have heavy days and light days later on in the novice program. At first you were making progress workout to workout adding weight each session, then we swapped the midweek day to be a light day and put our heavy deadlifts on that day. HLM is the next transition to where the third workout of the week is a medium stress day. You now have a Heavy - Light - Medium schedule. You make progress on a week to week basis instead of a workout to workout basis. You will find tons of intermediate programs on the net. As I said before, they all work if you are consistent. HLM is for you, the beginner, to dip your toes into this awesome phase of your training and as you gain experience you can alter your program to suit your needs. The HLM schedule is a way to spread the stress(the heavy day) throughout the week.

The basics on how to set up an HLM template- This is always the base of your program

We are still working with the big compounds squat, bench, press and deadlift. The movements utilise the most muscle over the longest ROM and mimic almost exactly (except bench) the human movements you do every day. (stand up, bend over picking something up, putting something overhead). This IS functional training at its best, not the gay ass bosu balls you see holding stupid little dumbbells.

To start, let’s plug into our template the Heavy - Light - Medium schedule for the week. Look at the links as we go through setting up the final template to understand why we end up with the template.:

Standard HLM template: https://imgur.com/ETcJ5f0

As you can see, Monday will be helluva shit workout if all of your heavy stresses happen on one day. If you’re doing 5 sets on squats and the upper body movement, now you have to go and pull one heavy set of 5 on deadlifts AND do your fluffy stuff, you might start to hate your life after the second week and quit in favour of yoga.

Spreading out the high stress days

With a slight alteration we spread out the heavy days so that every workout there is a high stress workout, and either light or medium movement before/after. You can stick to the standard template, I just don’t recommend it. Here is what the template looks like with the slight alteration:

Standard HLM template spread out: https://imgur.com/OoIH7Zb

Usually the next question from a lifter is whether they need to stick to the order of the workouts for that specific day as it is in the template on Wednesdays and Fridays. The answer is “it depends what you like”. Some people do fine with the heavy deadlifts after their medium squats and light benches/presses, some like to do the heavy stuff and get it out of the way. The order doesn’t matter, it’s personal preference. If you like doing the heavy stuff first, here’s the template slightly re-arranged, and also a template if you want to combine an upper body heavy day with a lower body heavy day (my preference):

Standard HLM template re-arranged: https://imgur.com/7eFueBO
Standard HLM template upper/lower heavy combined: https://imgur.com/txvKv2J

Choosing your exercises for each Heavy - Light - Medium workout

Again, I’m not going to cover every single exercise and its variants here. These are just ideas and you’ll find what works for you. Experiment with the medium/light days as you see fit. I usually recommend a lifter stay with the same exercise for a couple weeks to get into the groove of HLM. You will just alter the load and sets/reps of the same movement to make it a lighter or medium stress.

 

Squat
Low bar squat (heavy and medium days)
High bar squat (light days and medium days)
Front squat (light days)
Box squat / Pause squat / Tempo squat (light and medium days)
Bench / Press
Bench (heavy days - can focus on press if you want)
Press (light days - bench if focusing on press)
Incline bench (medium days)
Dips (light days)
Deadlift
Standard deadlift (heavy days)
RDL’s (light days)
Stiff-legged deadlift (medium days)
Chinups (light days)
Rows (light days)

 

A note on bench vs press for heavy days.
You can choose if you want to focus on bench or press. They compliment each other, like you and wife you are never gonna marry.
Example, if you’re focusing on bench for heavy and medium days, then the light day will be press. It will serve as a “light day bench”. Similar for the press. The adaptation induced in the bench will carry over to the press. So if press is your heavy and medium day exercises, then heavy bench on Wednesdays will serve as your light day press.

Here is an example template one might choose, focusing on the bench for the heavy upper body day, using the “upper/lower heavy” combination template above. Heavy press serves as a “light day bench”:

Example HLM Program template - Bench Focus: https://imgur.com/Bo0HV9j

Deciding on rep schemes based on goals - Hypertrophy, Strength or both (powerbuilding)

One can write endless paragraphs about different rep schemes, the why behind it and their use cases. What I’m typing here is simply ideas you can use to try it out for yourself based on your goals. Rep schemes are based on the heavy stress days. Your medium and light days will always have less sets and intensity because, well, they’re medium and light stress days.

5 x 5 (sets x reps)
The staple of most programs for recreational strength lifters because it’s simple and effective for building strength and hypertrophy. The exact percentages that contributes to strength and hypertrophy is not important, consistency is. As a beginner YOU WILL gain muscle during your first year of lifting like this. If your diet is in check 80% of the time. Muscle cross sectional area is correlated to strengh gains at first. After a while strength becomes more a neuromuscular efficiency component. If you’re paid attention thus far, adding the fluffy work will round out any delusional lagging bodyparts you think you have.

Every week you simply increase your heavy days with 2 to 3% (or 2.5kg to 4.5kg (5 to 10 lbs if you don’t like percentages), and then offset your medium and light days by 5% and 10% respectively. The heavy day is the progress driver and the offset days for medium and light percentages can be made bigger or smaller based on how you feel and when you approach peak week.

4 x 8
If you like volume work for hypertrophy you can switch to 8s. You can do 3, 5, or 6 sets, doesn’t matter. Your recovery will dictate which scheme is best. In order for your leg muscles to grow they need volume, but with sufficiently heavy weights, but not so heavy that your form goes to shit. I advise against high rep schemes (more than 12) for the big compounds due to safety. Staying tight is important to keep the spine from moving or your back rounding. Does this mean you can’t use 10s, 12s? No. Don’t be an autistic fuckwhit and latch onto numbers as facts then proceed to sperg-vomit in the comments on how this or that is better.

As you get further into your training you will find when you can knock out more reps because you would’ve learned the form by then and know how to do it safely. Suggestions here ARE FOR BEGINNERS, before you spergs come out of your bodybuilding corner screaming “you need to do 12 reps bro ffs”. Start here, and adapt the program as you move on. Keep it simple. If you need more work add another set is what I suggest.

Why setting up 12 week blocks is better for goals, in my opinion

In theory you could keep doing this template until you run out of gas and stop making progress, reset and continue. But nobody I ever trained does that, nor wants to do that. You’ll get sick, life will interfere, you’ll off days/weeks, life happens. If you train with the big compounds and there’s no variability in the program you’ll get bored and then probably fall off the wagon and start doing yoga or P90X.

I like to arrange training throughout the year in 12 week blocks. In the intermediate stage it’s more fun because you can have an “end” to the program where you test any metric that you choose. Whether it’s a new 8RM, 12RM or single 1RM lift on the big compounds. If you train for hypertrophy, it’s nice to have the “end” in sight because psychologically you’re training for that new rep RM. After that you’ll take nice easy deload week and then start another 12 week block with just a slightly heavier starting weight and progress again through your next block to set new personal bests. Or, you can try a different template and switch it up throughout the year.

For example, I like to do strength blocks, followed by hypertrophy blocks then strength again with minicuts in between to keep the fat gain in check. Getting strong first allows you to use heavier weights for more reps during the hypertrophy block. AT NO POINT SHOULD YOU LET GO OF YOUR DIET AND CALORIE TRACKING. THIS IS A PERMANENT REQUIREMENT AT ALL TIMES.

How to set up your 12 week block in “waves” of 3 to 4 week mini-blocks

Another tool that’s useful with HLM(or any program if you do it right) is to vary the intensity and volume in mini blocks inside the big 12 week block. To prep you for a new personal best at the end of the 12 weeks we’ll usually start with the first 9 weeks with volume, then weeks 10 to 12 will be higher intensity/low volume peaking weeks. The following table linked is just an example of the multitude of variability with regards to intensity/volume you can incorporate to making this wave pattern happen depending on goals(heavy days shown as an example):
Each highlighted/bolded section shows each 3-week wave.

Powerbuilding HLM Template - 8, 5, 2 Rep Scheme: https://imgur.com/e4C8bxC

Changing the blocks to increase volume from weeks 1 to 6 is with 5x5 is also good if you like getting stronger, then peaking towards the end:

Strength Focus HLM Program template - 5 x 5 Rep Scheme: https://imgur.com/opmlR3n

A note on medium/light days: The percentage offset stays the same as 5% and 10% for medium and light days respectively. When the peak weeks begin you can make it 10% and 20% for medium and light days to compensate for the higher intensity.

Conclusion

I hope the text along with the sample templates about HLM, progressing from start to the ones above, makes sense and you understand how to spread the stress of the heavy day throughout the week; as well as how to use your 12 week blocks in waves to finally converge into a peak week.

I’m refraining from posting actual programs because I want to show the method you use to come up with a program, and not just tell you “what to do”. HLM templating for your goals is limitless. You can apply it with anything (except yoga and pilates). This is the base of the program, you can the fluffy stuff for your arms/abs/shoulders after you've done the big compounds, the base of the program. If you're pressed for time, always get the base work in first.

What I’ve shown is not set in stone. It’s an example of how you can plan your training in a 12-week block, use waves of varying volume/intensity to elicit the adaptation you’re working for, and culminate in some form PR at the end.

I plan to have another part or 2 addressing some common misconceptions about strength, and some advice for the obese if they want to start getting in shape.