Sheiko

[strong enough?]

With 37 I would 5% to your bench max and pause everything 3 reps and under. Intensity is lowish.

Squats is perfect IMO. Looks easy on paper but I felt beat up at the end.

I didn't find deadlifts light. Second group of deads is always hard on the grip after a long session. I only PB'd by 2.5kg in deadlift, but only narrowed missed a +7.5kg pb due largely to technical error on the day. If you feel you can add more, add more, but probably not until week 3 by which time some fatigue will have accumulated.

Never added rows or chins. The Russians don't seem to see the need. I felt like my lats have gotten a lot bigger from the benching and block pulls.

As I've begun to understand the programming more, I think the idea is to feel like absolute shit by the skills test and then bounce back up. If week 4 of 37 is easy or If you PB by a lot in skills test, you probably undertrained and you're probably not going to get much more from the peaking cycle (or could even go backwards).

This is why a 12 week cycle (2x4 week prep cycles followed by a 4 week comp cycle) will generally work better. Currently doing this at the moment using a modified template SP put together (using CMS bench) and its a lot tougher. Yet to see what results it will deliver.

I've kept all the flies in as they really help loosen up the chest and shoulders (really light, dumbells using 10% of 1RM). Whenever a second bench assistance is there, I've swapped with narrow grip pushups with scapular retraction upon SP's recommendation. Apparently helps the shoulders. I didn't need specific tricep work for raw bench on this program when I was pausing all your reps. Added 5kg to my comp bench in 7 weeks, with more to spare. Overhead press isn't a bad idea, as I also think it will help shoulder health, provided its lightish.

That's my experience.

 

[0ni]

With 37 I would 5% to your bench max and pause everything 3 reps and under. Intensity is lowish.

Squats is perfect IMO. Looks easy on paper but I felt beat up at the end.

I didn't find deadlifts light. Second group of deads is always hard on the grip after a long session. I only PB'd by 2.5kg in deadlift, but only narrowed missed a +7.5kg pb due largely to technical error on the day. If you feel you can add more, add more, but probably not until week 3 by which time some fatigue will have accumulated.

Never added rows or chins. The Russians don't seem to see the need. I felt like my lats have gotten a lot bigger from the benching and block pulls.

As I've begun to understand the programming more, I think the idea is to feel like absolute shit by the skills test and then bounce back up. If week 4 of 37 is easy or If you PB by a lot in skills test, you probably undertrained and you're probably not going to get much more from the peaking cycle (or could even go backwards).

This is why a 12 week cycle (2x4 week prep cycles followed by a 4 week comp cycle) will generally work better. Currently doing this at the moment using a modified template SP put together (using CMS bench) and its a lot tougher. Yet to see what results it will deliver.

I've kept all the flies in as they really help loosen up the chest and shoulders (really light, dumbells using 10% of 1RM). Whenever a second bench assistance is there, I've swapped with narrow grip pushups with scapular retraction upon SP's recommendation. Apparently helps the shoulders. I didn't need specific tricep work for raw bench on this program when I was pausing all your reps. Added 5kg to my comp bench in 7 weeks, with more to spare. Overhead press isn't a bad idea, as I also think it will help shoulder health, provided its lightish.

That's my experience.

I've dropped chins and rows for even more deadlifts and shrugs and my lats / rear delts have never been bigger

 

[Skobb]

What do you guys think? I just recorded a big squat/bench session with some diff angles, so I'll upload that as soon as I can.

Ran #37 twice at the beginning of the year and made some decent gains.
Only reason I'm doing #29 this time around is because my mate is and I figured it was better than just following the split I've been doing the past few months.


[YOUTUBE]veXrdNN3Fng[/YOUTUBE]

 

[WarbyD]

What do you guys think? I just recorded a big squat/bench session with some diff angles, so I'll upload that as soon as I can.

Ran #37 twice at the beginning of the year and made some decent gains.
Only reason I'm doing #29 this time around is because my mate is and I figured it was better than just following the split I've been doing the past few months.


[YOUTUBE]veXrdNN3Fng[/YOUTUBE]

LOL No comment on the lifting but WTF Is with the guy in the background, wearing a white singlet, from ~7:00 onwards while you're benching?? .. Hopping around on one foot, duck walks, standing on a medicine ball - fucking LOL

 

[Skobb]

Haha I have a feeling he does parkour or something. I've seen him flipping and doing 10+ rep alternating ATG pistol squats. Wish I could do even one pistol squat
Unsure why he needs to go to a fancy gym to do all that though lol

 

[Bazza20]

Is there anything wrong with breaking the 3 days per week of sheiko up into 6 days.

I can get to gym every morning just dont think I will have time for a full sheiko workout in one morning.

I think I remember reading spritcha saying he was doing this??

 

[strong enough?]

Is there anything wrong with breaking the 3 days per week of sheiko up into 6 days.

I can get to gym every morning just dont think I will have time for a full sheiko workout in one morning.

I think I remember reading spritcha saying he was doing this??

Yep, you can, eg

Mon BP
Tues SQ
Wed BP
Thurs DL
Fri BP
Sat SQ
Sun rest

Where there's a double session of a lift just run both sessions consecutively eg Squat / Bench / Squat becomes day 1 Bench day 2 squat, then run the next squat session, but you can just do the top sets of the 2nd session, so that they effectively become drop sets from the 1st session.

 

[jzpowahz]

I think if you were doing it that way, I'd be upping the maxes a bit. Doesn't seem like a high enough intensity per day if the work load is lighter. (Still adding up over time though I guess)

 

[Bazza20]

Yep I was planning on doing it the way strong enough said but not dropping out any of the sets so the volume is the same.

I'm not that good at doing reps compared to my max so not planning on increasing the maxes first time around.

 

[Bench Polkov]

Is there anything wrong with breaking the 3 days per week of sheiko up into 6 days.

I can get to gym every morning just dont think I will have time for a full sheiko workout in one morning.

I think I remember reading spritcha saying he was doing this??

I've done this in the past as well. Works fine.

I would not recommend upping your maxes though. Run as you would a normal sheiko split.

Which cycle are you running?

 

[strong enough?]

When you run the double sessions together, it's definitely harder, even if you drop the lighter work-up sets. This is because you don't get the break in betweeen. The other way to do it, if you want to preserve some volume, is to reverse to make it a pyramid...

Say Sheiko 37 specifies
Squat (1)
50%x5, 60%x4, 70%x3x2, 80%x3x2, 85%x2x3

Bench

Squat (2)
50%x5, 60%x4, 70%x3x2, 80%x2x4

you can make it
Squat
50%x5, 60%x4, 70%x3x2, 80%x3x2, 85%x2x3, 80%x2x4, 70%x3x2

 

[Bazza20]

Started running sheiko.

People saying dead and bench are pretty easy. Well not for me, It was pretty hard but I'm terrible at reps and volume so I hope this will be good for me. Pretty big change up to how I normally train.

 

[Timeah]

Did you use your true max? I bumped mine up slightly for bench and it was still "easy". Conventional deadlifts were easy as...paused deadlifts were hard though.

Tim.

 

[Bazza20]

Did you use your true max? I bumped mine up slightly for bench and it was still "easy". Conventional deadlifts were easy as...paused deadlifts were hard though.

Tim.

I didn't do a 1RM before I started but I went with 5kg less than what I know i could get for bench and 10kg less for deads.

The weight isn't that heavy but the volume starts to get me in the end.

 

[kaz]

I found bench pyramids a challenge, deads were easy but rack pulls and paused deadlifts hurt!

 

[perceive]

Is anyone going to the Sheiko seminar next weekend?

 

[Bazza20]

I would like to but no chance of making it.

If they recorded it I would happily pay for a copy.

 

[Bazza20]

I have another question. How hard do people go on the assistance exercise.

 

[perceive]

I don't go too hard on the assistance. I watched an Eric Talmant DVD which explained it better than I could but basically use anything that is low rep for decent weight but if it is a higher rep exercise, say flyes for instance, then you probably shouldn't go so hard.

It gets really complex though to my mind and I really can't be bothered over thinking it, which is why I am thinking of a day trip to Tasmania next Saturday...
But exercise substitution and all the other components of a Sheiko program are currently something I really am not qualified to give advice on. Interested to see what Spritcha and the other guys have to say..

 

[strong enough?]

I have another question. How hard do people go on the assistance exercise.

The idea of the accessories is only to stretch out the muscles and flush some blood through the area. The weight only needs to be light. If you apply it this way, it helps a lot with general soreness.

Based on Spritcha's advice, this is how I do it...

I use 10% of my bench max on flies. Bodyweight for dips and pushups.

I go pretty light on good mornings too - only around 40% of my squat. I found barbell good mornings aggravated my low back/hip so I have started subbing banded good mornings or barbell hip thrusts.

They apparently put in the unilateral stuff after deadlifts (lunges, bulgarian split squats etc) as it helps with loosening up the hips and SI joint. I personally go for bulgarian split squats as it loosens up the hip flexors really well. I generally only do bodyweight only but use up to 30-40kg depending on how I feel.

It all feels a bit easy, but it works. Whenever I have left this stuff out, I feel worse the next 2 days. Particularly flies. They really help keep the shoulders and pecs from getting chronically tight.

For abs, I do ab wheel rollouts.