I want to preface this article by saying this is purely to be creative, thoughtful, and mainly fun. This is going to be my evil creation where I build someone to be powerful like a powerlifter, strong and aesthetic as a bodybuilder, and agile/fit like a crossfitter. Now if someone had an interest in one of these dispincles I obviously wouldn’t recommend this or if they wanted to try it I would have to periodize certain movements to certain times leading up to competition. This program would be for an intermediate looking to be an overall badass.
We start with how many training days this person would have. I would design this for a four day split with an option fifth day. This gives the individual plenty of time to rest and adapt so they can continually make progress. The four day would consist of 2 sub focuses, two traditional resistance training and two crossfit days. Overall, because of the nature of everything, I would have all days technically being full body days. Plus there’s promising research showing that full body days are highly beneficial for muscular growth. The days will alternate with a full rest after the second or third day in a row.
Resistance training will change every week! Well at least the first movement. Taking a conjugate approach, the first movement will be a max effort for a certain rep target. Example, block one would consist of 5 rep maxes where block 2 would consist of 3 rep maxes. Or you can just do 1 rep maxed for a true ME day. Following the main movement,one could either pick a main assistance exercise to progress or take 70-80% of the max and perform a 3×6 RPE8. Day 1 of resistance training would be a max effort movement for the upper body and Day 2 would be one for the lower body. After the two exercises are done the individual would perform two back exercises, one shoulder, superset bicep and triceps. Sounds confusing? Yeah maybe but don’t worry I’ll type out a brief outline.
Crossfit days will be fun and the least thoughtful. Simply go to your local box and try not to die. If you have a compound movement of the day try to do them fast. This can mimic dynamic effort for the powerlifter inside of you. I’m looking for more cleans, deadlifts, squats and then on your second day more cleans (if you haven’t done them earlier in the week) bench, row, and absolutely not those kip up thingys. For optimal back growth, ditch those for more traditional pull ups.
The option fifth day could be used for clean up. Any lagging body parts, if you missed something due to time restraints, technique clean up, or just more volume can be done on this day. Should be pretty light and should not negatively affect recovery. Go outside and run if it’s nice out or try a new class but this day shouldn’t be dreadful. I mean it’s an option fifth day so if it was dreadful the likelihood of you doing it would be low. Remember adherence is key. Ok, so I typed this all out and I probably don’t make sense to some people so here’s a skeleton outline to make things a little clearer.
DAY 1
MAX EFFORT (UPPER)
1.)Pick max effort variation ie. close grip bench, wide bench, floor press, OHP
- Perform a REP MAX ie 8RM, 6RM, 5RM, 3RM, 1RM
2.) Pick assistance exercise or perform 70-80% of ME movement for a 3×6
- You could choose to either linearly progress the 3×6 by load or repetitions
3) Pick two back movements (vertical, horizontal)
4) Pick 1 shoulder movement (DB OHP, lateral raise, rear delts)
5) Super-set triceps and biceps
DAY 2
CROSSFIT CLASS (WOD) / DYNAMIC EFFORT
DAY 3
MAX EFFORT (LOWER)
1.)Pick max effort variation ie. High Bar Squat, Low Bar, Pause Squat, Box Squat, Sumo Deadlift, Block Pull, etc, wide bench, floor press, OHP
- Perform a REP MAX ie 8RM, 6RM, 5RM, 3RM, 1RM
2.) Pick assistance exercise or perform 70-80% of ME movement for a 3×6
- You could choose to either linearly progress the 3×6 by load or repetitions
3) Pick two hamstring movements (hinge, hamstring curl, GHR,etc)
4) Pick 1 quad movement (leg extension, goblet heel elevated squat, wall-sits)
5) Super-set biceps and triceps
DAY 4
CROSSFIT CLASS (WOD) / DYNAMIC EFFORT
DAY 5
OPTION
-Clean up, technique, lagging body parts, try a class, hike, bike, kite, etc
BAM, there you have it! The Frankenstein Method is now created. Certain things would be prioritized based on the individual and their goals but this outline gives you a solid structure to handle all things. I would also refine certain things but you get the overall picture. Now it’s time to be MOBILE, AGILE, and HOSTILE !! That’s a quote from “Remember the Titans” just in case you didn’t know.
Written By: Eduardo Cruz
CSCS, PN1
Follow Eduardo on the Gram @coach_emcruz_