Sunday, May 31, 2009

Max Effort Black Box (MEBB)

This is my version of the highly regarded system created by Mike Rutherford - based on the way it was formatted several months ago.

1st Cycle
Day 1:
Max Effort Upper Body (PULL) - 5x5, 2x3, 3x1
Total Body Movement - 5x5

Day 2:

WOD/Metcon/Swim

Day 3:

Max Effort Lower Body - 5x5, 2x3, 3x1
Total Body Movement - 5x5

Day 4:

REST Day

Day 5:

Max Effort Upper Body (PUSH) - 5x5, 2x3, 3x1
Total Body Movement - 5x5

Day 6:

Corrective Routine, REST Day, or Swim

Day 7:
REST Day

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2nd Cycle

Use the same sequence as Cycle 1
Max Effort Upper & Lower Body - 7x3, 3x1
Total Body Movement - 5x5

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3rd Cycle

Use the same sequence as Cycle 1
Max Effort Upper & Lower Body - 10x1
Total Body Movement - 5x5

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4th Cycle
Use the same sequence as Cycle 1
Max Effort Upper & Lower Body - 5x5 @ 60% 1RM - Done EXPLOSIVELY
Total Body Movement - 5x5 @ 60% 1RM- Done EXPLOSIVELY

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5th-8th Cycle: Repeat - ALL 4 Cycles, but at a higher weight

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9th-12th Cycle: Repeat - ALL 4 Cycles, but at a higher weight yet again

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Upper Body PUSH Exercises:
  • Dips
  • Press
  • Bench Press
  • Incline Bench Press
Upper Body PUll Exercises:
  • Pull-ups
  • Muscle-ups
Lower Body Exercises:
  • Back Squats
  • Zercher Squats
  • Front Squats
PREFERRED Total Body Exercises:

For Dips:
  • Push Press
  • Push Jerk
For Bench Press/Incline Bench Press:
  • Push Press
  • Push Jerk
For Pull-ups:
  • Power Clean, from the hang position
  • Power Snatch, from the hang position
For Squats:
  • Deadlifts
  • Cleans - from the deck
  • Snatch - from the deck
ALL Total Body Exercises:
  • Clean - from the deck or the hang position
  • Power Clean - from the deck or the hang position
  • Snatch - from the deck or the hang position
  • Power Snatch - from the deck or the hang position
  • Deadlifts
  • Push Press
  • Push Jerk
  • Thrusters
  • Overhead Squat
  • Overhead Reverse Lunge - better suited for ancillary work, not 5x5
  • The Barbell Bear - not the best choice though - better suited for a WOD/MetCon Day, BUT, use a much lighter load than usual - think conditioning, not strength!
WOD/MetCon Routines (Workout Of the Day/Metabolic Conditioning):
  • Crossfit WOD
  • The Fitness Conduit WOD
  • Or one of the routines from my 96 Day Routine
  • Just make sure that the routine makes sense. Examples: if your shoulders are smoked from a Max Effort Upper Body Day, don't choose a routine with too much shoulder work. The day before a Max Effort Lower Body Day you should avoid routines that will smoke the legs. Just use common sense here.
Additional Details:
  • The MAX EFFORT movement is the PRIMARY movement. The Total Body Movement is the secondary movement. As such, the load for the Total Body Movement "may" have to be lighter than it would normally be. Example: If your normal 5x5 weight for a Power Clean is 135lbs, then it may be 125-130lbs on this day
  • The Max Effort Movement is ONE exercise ONLY! - It is MORE than enough!!!
  • Ancillary & Core Work is performed at the end of the routine - the possibilities are endless, just don't overdo it
  • Warm up exercises should be performed as well - a no-brainer
  • It is assumed that you have already ramped up with 5x5 routines, AND that you can perform Oly Lifts with good form before attempting this type of periodization schedule/routine
  • Use the Burgener Warn-up every day, in addition to the Crossfit Warm-up on the really heavy days

7 comments:

  1. Great! On the max effort lifting days, what sort of rest interval do you expect to use, 2-3 minutes?

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  2. Its interesting, days 1-3 have a lot of work volume, days 4-6 have very little work volume. Any idea why he isn't spreading the work and rest around a little more?

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  3. The rest interval will vary based on 5 reps, 3 reps or 1 rep, but it will be as long as it must. The beauty of doing so much MetCon work is that your recovery time tends to be pretty good. I'd say 2-3 minutes is a good range.

    As for work volume, Days 1-3, and Day 5 are ALL demanding workouts! Don't discount the WOD/Metcon work as little volume, unless you think Dumbell Bear Complexes and things like that are easy :D

    Also note that when you lift heavy, you need more recovery time in between workouts - this is where the strength and size come in. Doing it too often has the opposite effect

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  4. Understood. He's using a 3 on, 1 off, 1 on, 1 off cycle. An alternative would be 2 on, 1 off, 2 on, 1 off cycle. Eg. a ME day followed by a Metcon day, rest, ME day followed by a met con day, rest. That would seem to provide better allocation of the recovery days. I'm not saying he's wrong, quite the opposite, I'm sure there's a method to his madness, which I'm trying to understand.

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  6. Jim, I asked my co-worker about this and he said that he does not recall specifically why it's set up like this but that MR does have a reason for it. He also mentioned that it "may" have to do with the old-school mentality that it take 10 days to recover from lifting in this manner. He also mentioned that his olymic weightligting coaches had a similar periodization schedule. He concluded with, "all I can tell you is, IT WORKS!!!" :-)

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