brad gillingham squat and deadlift program

I'd use Barry Merriman's progression from a million years ago, which I always liked.ġ. If I were you I'd set up an old school powerlifting routine with each lift once per week, (maybe a second light bench session if you want to train 4x/wk). The program to do is the one you can commit to and get violent with, not an Apollonian ideal. Each lift once per week used to be what everyone did, and people got strong back then too. You're lifting weights, focusing on a narrow range of lifts, and adding weight to the bar in a systematic way.įrequent squatting was not always the dominant paradigm. It's the kind of training everyone was doing, people assumed they'd get strong doing it and if they committed to it, they did.

I realize this approach has fallen way out of favor, but again, people got strong.Ĭouple that with what I think we're all coming to understand about the importance of athlete belief in the program, and it's not a surprise that it worked. The vast majority of Powerlifting USA-type programs in the 80's and 90's were some kind of progressive overload scheme, lifts done once a week (with maybe a second light day, but not usually), and only a handful of work sets, usually 1-2. I remember asking Brad Gillingham how he and other old-timers got so strong with such low volume, and he told me when he first showed people his squat and deadlift program they couldn't believe how high the volume was. This looks like 3 weeks of low volume followed by 9 weeks of peaking. I don't care how outmoded this looks, this program kicks ass and will make you strong as a goddamned bull elephant if you attack it. Add a light bench day if you want, and keep it lighter/bodybuilding-style. Do whatever easy assistance you want after, or don't.

Brad gillingham squat and deadlift program