Winter Training Note – New Lift Sequencing

More learning from the gym this Winter

Mark Brown

February 21, 2023

Over the past year I have been able to identify specific sequences of lifts that fit together very well for power, strength and muscular development. They are a combination of the main – supplemental – accessory lift structure I use as the core tenet of my programming philosophy. Last year I found it with the various pressing exercises I was doing. Over the last 2-3 weeks I have been feeling quite good about a few different sequences of lifts on leg/back days. The biggest reason behind it is my separation of my main squat movement from my main pull movement during the week. I have done what is effectively a main squat and a main pull on the same day in the garage for most of my time there. I decided to experiment splitting them up to see what kind of effect it has on my main pull, which was done now on Saturday not Tuesday. While I have finally managed to pull 415 from the floor with straps, a 10 pound increase from 2022, progress is better measured by added volume I do now and comfort level with the weight in my hands or on my shoulders.

That has been accomplished through mostly power based movements done at relatively high intensity for 6-8 low rep sets. I started doing bent over barbell rows last year after finally getting used to them. I narrowed in on a good weight, 225 pounds, to do them after I do my main or supplemental pulls. They are a very useful lift immediately following any deadlift variety but I have found one it particularly stacks up well with over the last 2-3 weeks. For the last 2 months, I have followed my main squat movement with a supplemental straight leg deadlift. The difference between the main pull and the supplemental is intensity. The latter is just a lighter lift done for more reps. Following the straight leg deadlift I tried to get on the leg press at the beginning the 2023, but it was hit or miss because Tuesday evenings at Genesis are fairly packed. I decided to push the leg press to Saturdays after my main pull in exchange for doing the barbell rows on Tuesday.

That decision unlocked lifting sequences on both days that really show promise going forward. I was using the straight leg deadlift as a supplemental pull for my main free straight bar squat because of heavier impact on the back and hamstrings. Tuesdays this winter have been quad dominant by intention so I thought that by doing a lift that focused on back and hamstring would be useful. The other reason for the straight leg deadlifts is because I don’t have access to my deadlift mats at the gym. I don’t fully straighten my leg during the movement but the knee joint itself never moves so I believe what I am doing qualifies as a straight leg deadlift. The leg press set up I was doing following this sequence was useful, as it was meant to be done with muscular development in mind than strength, but the bent over barbell rows doubled down on the feeling in my body I was getting while doing the straight leg deadlift. It made all 3 lifts more effective, which is the point of proper sequencing of lifts in a training program. It helps the lifter become more efficient and effective at the same time. I got 3 super effective lifts together and avoided a potential commercial gym snag in my program.

Pushing my leg press supplemental to Saturdays following my deadlift made it easier to get the lift done and focus strength development in the hip area. I had been working on it over the space of the last year by implementing barbell hip thrusts into my program on days I was at the gym. I was in an experimental phase with the lift, limiting the intensity. I now have a firm grasp of where the lift should be in terms of the weight, set and rep scheme. That is 3-4 sets of 12 reps at about 315 pounds. I would typically do the bent over barbell rows after the main pull on Saturdays. It is important to understand how changing my tactic when doing leg press really helped improve my Saturday leg/back sequence. In the past I have put my feet pretty firmly in the lower middle of the plate and shoulders width apart on the leg press machine. It’s where the feet go for max range of motion and quad activation. I decided mid-January to do a superset of 15 rep with my feet wide as possible on the corners of it plate, then 15 with my feet in the normal spot. That mix would hit both hips and quads with some serious burn. I was right about that. Over the last 2-3 weeks I have ditched the narrow foot width and just did the outside corner placement, then followed that with barbell hip thrusts. The sequencing of a main traditional full intensity pull – wide low foot placement leg press – heavy barbell hip thrusts in that order was a major discovery for me. I have felt an increase in middle and lower back strength over the last couple weeks, especially the rows.

What my biggest takeaway from learning both of these sequences is that I now have a better understanding of how each of these lifts can be most helpful. I have lifting sequences on each day I lift to help maximize my time in the gym. The funny part is that I learned it by merely switching the day I did barbell rows and leg press. I rarely deviate from my spot in the open rack when I go to Genesis on Tuesdays because I’m normally getting there around 3:30 and it starts to fill up around 4-4:30. Throw in the people who bench press on Tuesdays and it turns into a bad day to leg press. The logic pointed me to the ideal sequence of lifts and I just had to listen to what it was telling me. Chalk up one more victory for learning through experience. Tuesday’s new sequence can definitely translate to the garage better than Saturday’s because only the gym has a leg press. I will just have to do some more experimentation in the garage.