5thSet Team
Team Membership Includes:
Powerbuilding programming via smartphone app
Team community interaction and form checks from Coach Swede
New Powerbuilding mesocycles every two months
Video tutorials by Coach Swede for all three lifts
Group-specific lectures and education videos
Cycle Terminologies and Explanation
Microcycle: A microcycle is the smallest repeating cycle within a macrocycle. In 5thSet, that’s 9 days.
Mesocycle: A mesocycle is the largest repeating cycle within a macrocycle. In 5thSet, that’s typically 6 microcycles, or 54 days.
Macrocycle: A full macrocycle typically consists of 3 progressive mesocycles, followed by a peaking mesocycle. In 5thSet, that’s about 7 months of training.
Regardless of protocol, all lifts reset to the prescribed percentage at the beginning of each new mesocycle.
5 pounds or 2.5 kilos will be added to each lift per microcycle, for 5 microcycles.
A deload, using the Deload Protocol is always performed for the 6th microcycle. This completes a mesocycle.
After three consecutive mesocycles, the lifter should run a peaking cycle. Those three mesocycles would take 155 days, or about five months, in that case. Like I said, the 4th mesocycle is a peaking cycle.
The lifter can choose to simulate the circumstances of a meet and take three attempts for each lift on one day at the end of a peaking cycle, if for some reason they want to train for powerlifting and not compete in it. We call that a Mock Meet.
Training Max and Training Numbers
A Training Max is a working figure we use to pull % number for our programming. If the programming indicates we should be using “75%,” for example, that refers to the % of training max we will be lifting. Typically, an additional 5 pounds above that starting figure will be added per microcycle until the deload, which is microcycle 6.
Training maxes should never be adjusted within the course of a mesocycle.
To figure out where to set the training max for your programming, for the first microcycle: in place of the main work, warm up to a weight that you think you can get for at least 4 but probably not 8 reps. If we mess up and pick a weight we can get for more than 10 reps, this won’t work. So try to judge based on your last warm up and don’t take a big jump to the testing weight. We want to take this for as many reps as possible. Use a spotter and use your head. Then use the number of reps you get with this coefficient chart to figure out the TM. Every rep of a squat test must be to depth. Every rep of a deadlift test must be reset, absolutely no touch and go.
Again, never adjust a training max within the course of a mesocycle. The training max can stay the same for the entire macrocycle (6 months). That’s how this method is designed to work.
Coefficient chart for setting training max
Training Schedule
Three training days per week are scheduled for you. You may want to split the squat and deadlift sessions after the MSM. This is a good strategy. Since we have no back to back sessions scheduled with this way of training, we can finish the assistance for the long sessions (squat/deadlift) the following day.
Posting Videos and Tech Correction
Address me in the post of your video when you need a tech check. If your program includes an AMRAP for the lift in question, that should be the set you video and send me.
This is a team and we all should want to help each other. Plenty of times you’ll see something in a teammate’s training video you want to help them with. As long as it isn’t a post addressed to me for tech correction, please do so.
As for the videos team members post addressed to me for a tech check, please don’t offer correction on those. I will get to them for sure.
We have to work around some aspects of the software
You’ll notice we have the ability to enter a “working max” on the app. This is an easy way to find starting numbers. It’s fine to do that, but keep in mind there is no way to add five pounds per microcycle into the calculations. For this reason, we want to remember the app is not adding 5 pounds per week. It will set our working weights as the percentage prescribed for the first microcycle. We have to manually adjust the weight by adding the incremental increases.
Micro 1 will be the prescribed starting %.
Micro 2 will be 5 pounds more than the numbers which populate.
Micro 3 will be 10 pounds more.
Micro 4 will be 15 pounds more.
Micro 5 will be 20 pounds more.
Micro 6 is a deload for everyone, regardless of when you joined the team. You’ll notice programming is set at 50%. That’s one deload micro every two months. Do not adjust deload % up.
If you join the team in the middle of a mesocycle,
Start with the programming scheduled for that day, and deload when we deload. This way, you’ll be on track moving forward for subsequent mesocycles.
Attempt Selection
Laying out attempts for the “New 100%” Micro:
We have to take the smallest possible gym PR first. This doesn’t have to be an all time PR and I don’t care what your best ever is. That’s not relevant. This will be a PR over your current training max.
That is probably 5 pounds over your current Training Max.
To plan attempts, we would start with that number: TM + 5. Multiply it by .07 and this will give us our jumps. Round down if necessary. Whatever that figure ends up being, subtract it from the “first PR” (TM+5) mentioned above.
Continue to subtract the figure we came up with for 7% from each attempt to lay out the attempt before it. This way we have a plan going into it.