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Resistance training is like a 5 piece puzzle. The pieces are: nutrition, recuperation, sleep, motivation, and variety. If any one component is missing your training is incomplete. Each "piece" of your training must be placed properly to result in a successful cycle.

I am a bench press specialist. This article will review my training puzzle for the bench press on my maximum effort (ME) day. ME day is just what it sounds like; I work up to a 1-4 repetition maximum (RM) attempt on a given exercise.

My ME day for the bench is Friday of each week. I begin putting together the puzzle Thursday evening by employing a recuperation technique and making sure to get to bed early so I get plenty of sleep. The recuperation technique involves icing each elbow for about 20 minutes just prior to bed. This helps to prep them for the beating they will take the next day.

Friday morning begins with some more puzzle making. Nutrition plays a key role in my ME day regimen. My goal is to eat 5 times prior to training later in the afternoon. My meals are as follows:

Meal #5 is consumed about 45 minutes prior to training. I then set another piece of the puzzle. That piece is motivation and I set it by meditating about the impending session for 10-20 minutes. My mind is then prepped for the physical onslaught to come and PRs are the rule, not the exception.

The whole idea of a ME day is part and parcel to the Westside Barbell training template (www.westside-barbell.com). The Westside training methodology is the brainchild of powerlifting and strength coaching legend Louie Simmons. Louie's Westside template provides yet another piece of the puzzle with the principle of conjugate variety in training. The basic idea of conjugate variation when coupled with a weekly ME day is that the body (especially the nervous system) cannot tolerate maximal training with the same exercise every week. Conjugate variety skirts around this problem by dictating that different exercises for the same body part (or even varieties of the same exercise) are rotated frequently (often weekly). So, my ME day involves a fresh movement almost every week. I may use 3, 4, or even 5 different exercises rotated weekly during each training cycle.

To give you a better idea of my training regimen below is a sample 5 week ME day schedule:

My rep counts vary depending upon the exercise. See some sample rep pyramids below:

FLAT BARBELL BENCH PRESS
135 x 12
185 x 8
225 x 3
315 x 1
405 x 4
425 x 4
435 x 2
405 x 4

PAUSE FLOOR PRESS
135 x 12
185 x 8
225 x 6
315 x 1
405 x 1
425 x 1
455 x 1

Rep counts are never set in stone. If I feel strong on a given day I may do more reps with a weight than I had originally intended. What is set in stone on ME day is that I work up to an all-out effort wherein I try to set a PR whether it is for 1 or more reps.

After training, it is time for another nutrition puzzle piece. Intense resistance training places the body in a temporary catabolic state. It is important to reverse this state and optimize protein synthesis as quickly as possible. I do this by consuming a serving of AtLarge's Opticen, 5g of Creatine 500, and a banana immediately after my workout. I then consume one of the following meals within one hour:

1. Meat lasagna
2. Grilled chicken salad
3. 10 egg whites
4. A grilled chicken sandwich

Just prior to bed it is time for a piece of recuperation again in the form of icing my elbows for about 20 minutes each. I then consume a bedtime snack of yogurt and a banana. I wrap up the day with 4 capsules of AtLarge's ETS.

Apply each of the 5 pieces of the training puzzle as I have described above and you will be on the fast track to big PRs in the gym!

TRAIN HARD

“BIG WILLIE” J.T. HALL
http://www.myspace.com/bigwillie12345
http://www.youtube.com/user/NASAKYCHAIRMAN