Stop burning out with full body barbell routines
I think that a lot of people try the full body barbell, 5x5 variant routines and get burned out or injured due to the schedule of progression. Adding 5 pounds each training day as your priority rather than listening to your body is going to create problems for most people…. Especially around this time of year if you’re just getting back into a lifting habit and try to run right at the heavier stuff.
Here’s something I came up with for a friend. The concept is pretty much the same! But we can do it smarter and more sustainably.
Train 3x weekly, or every other day. Alternate these two every training day:
Day 1:
Overhead press, or seated high incline if you lack overhead mobility
Back squat (preferably high bar, or use a SSB)
Chinup
Deadlift
Day 2:
Bench or low incline
Front squat (or zercher)
Chinup
RDL
So week one might be day 1, day 2, day 1 again. Then the next week is day 2, day 1, day 2.
Every day:
5 min joint mobility in the morning. Prying goblet squats, a lunge complex, shoulder mobility with a band or dowel, joint circles, etc. Anything by Tim Anderson/OSI is quite solid, too.
20 min fast walk at some point during the day–could be morning, lunch break, after work, or in the evening. Do walk if you can, get upright and outside… don’t hunch over a stationary bike. Ideally, breathe through your nose only, and move at a brisk, steady pace. Include some hills. Don’t track your speed or distance, just the time.
The progression for lifting is as follows.
5x2
3x3
2x5
5x2 and add weight - 5 to 10% of bar weight for lower body, 2-5% for upper.
Keep the rest periods brief, just until can pass the talk test. If you can bang out 5 easy doubles in 5 minutes, great. This isn’t a program to rest 10 minutes so that you can grind out 5 more lb on the bar.
The working weight stays the same for three training sessions, then there’s a noticeable jump! Play this by ear… but with the following guideline: when you do add weight, pretend that you are going to lift again tomorrow, with no days off. This will keep you from getting ambitious and wrecking yourself.
Chinups
-If you can do 8 or more with good form, add weight according to the same plan as the other movements.
-If you can do 5-8 nonstop, do 10 total reps but change grips/tempo/do partial or assisted reps/add weight for some easy doubles or triples, really vary it up. Let the ability creep up over time.
-If you can’t really do chinups yet, that’s fine! Do rack chins with your feet elevated on a bench. Your upper body will be in the same vertical position as a regular chinup, and your feet being supported will help. Much more useful than doing horizontal rows.
Deadlifts
The RDL plays by the same rules as the other lifts.
Deadlift (which can be from the floor, or low block pulls) is 10 singles in 10 minutes. Literally treat it as technique/setup practice but add some weight here and there if you want. See my prior blog entry on singles for one idea on how to do this.
Low back fatigue
Like a lot of versions of a 3x weekly full body routine, you’ll have to watch your back fatigue. Front or zercher squats are better than low bar, and sumo deadlift or block pulls for the deadlift itself are a good idea.
Other stuff for health/balance
5 minutes of bicep/tricep/rear delt circuit after the lifting on one of the days, and 15-20 total reps of hanging leg or knee raises on the other day is an easy way to work those in. Do some lunges, and hang from your pullup bar before and after your daily walk and you should be good to go. If you’re really pressed for time, do the walk on the days you don’t lift but go for 45 minutes or so. Rucking is fantastic too, just work into it slowly.
In terms of overall load, if you have to ask you can’t afford it. Take your time, enjoy getting active and getting under the bar again, don’t hurt yourself. That’s in. If you’re antsy, just move at a quicker pace through the sessions and remember that you’re adding weight soon enough. After a few months of this your form will be dialed in, you’ll feel good in your own body, and ready to move onto something with a more ambitious progression if you so choose.
