The RTS Generalized Intermediate Program

[caption id="attachment_187" align="aligncenter" width="1000"](C) Copyright 2015 Adam Palmer Photo courtesy 9for9media.com[/caption] I get lots of people coming on the site asking for a program check. Actually thoroughly checking a program is an involved process and it usually requires more information than the poster supplies. What’s more, it turns out that “is this a good program” is actually a bad question. Yes, there’s science and some hard rules when it comes to planning training. But there’s also a lot of art to it. So posting a program and asking if it’s good is kind of like posting a picture of a painting and asking for a critique. You can critique some stuff, but how you paint isn’t going to be the same way I paint. [caption id="attachment_188" align="alignright" width="494"](C) Copyright 2015 Adam Palmer Photo courtesy 9for9media.com[/caption] With that in mind, I decided to write the General Intermediate Program. This is a simple 9 week program for people to use and use as inspiration for their own programming. When I get a new athlete for coaching, I first gather a lot of information. This keeps me from making assumptions during the planning process and helps me to write effective training from the first training day. In an instance like this, I’m building a generalized program, so there isn’t a person to provide those details. That means they’re left as assumptions. In order to be as clear about my assumptions as possible, I’m going to write this program for an avatar. That means I’m going to write it for a person who doesn’t really exist, but is a composite of many people who often ask this question. The closer you are to the avatar, the better it will work for you. The further away, the more stuff should change. The Avatar This program is written for David. David is 30 years old and weighs 215 pounds. He has been lifting for 4 years and has posted Class 3 numbers in the Russian Classification Chart. He comes from a background of various 5x5 programs and has done a short stint of 5/3/1. He is able to continue his transition from a 3x weekly template to a 4x weekly template. He has read enough articles on the RTS site to be familiar with RPE’s and Fatigue percents. He has no significant injuries and no significant time restrictions. He has basic equipment. David trains and competes raw (no knee wraps). He deadlifts conventional style and his sticking points are all at the bottom of the lift. The Program
Week 1 Exercise Protocol
Monday
Squat w/belt Work up to x4 @9 (Load Drop) No Drop Sets
Competition Raw Bench Work up to x4 @9 (Load Drop) No Drop Sets
3ct Pause Bench Work up to x5 @9 (Load Drop) No Drop Sets
Tuesday
Deadlift w/belt Work up to x4 @9 (Load Drop) No Drop Sets
Floor Press Work up to x4 @9 (Load Drop) No Drop Sets
Front Squat Work up to x6 @9 (Load Drop) No Drop Sets
Thursday
Pin Squat Work up to x5 @9 (Load Drop) No Drop Sets
Bench (touch and go) Work up to x6 @10 (Load Drop) No Drop Sets
Push Press Work up to x6 @9 (Load Drop) No Drop Sets
Friday
2" Deficit Deadlift Work up to x5 @9 (Load Drop) No Drop Sets
Close Grip Bench Work up to x6 @9 (Load Drop) No Drop Sets
Snatch Grip SLDL Work up to x6 @9 (Load Drop) No Drop Sets
Week 2 Exercise Protocol
Monday
Squat w/belt Work up to x5 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Competition Raw Bench Work up to x5 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
2ct Pause Bench Work up to x4 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Tuesday
Deadlift w/belt Work up to x5 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Pin Press (mid range) Work up to x3 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
303 Tempo Squat Work up to x7 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Thursday
Squat w/belt, wraps Work up to x4 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Bench (touch and go) Work up to x5 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Close Grip Incline Work up to x7 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Friday
Rack Pull (below knee) Work up to x4 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
J.M. Press Work up to x7 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Lever Rows Work up to x7 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Week 3 Exercise Protocol
Monday
Squat w/belt Work up to x3 @9 (Load Drop) 6-9% Fatigue
Competition Raw Bench Work up to x3 @9 (Load Drop) 6-9% Fatigue
3ct Pause Bench Work up to x5 @9 (Load Drop) 6-9% Fatigue
Tuesday
Deadlift w/belt Work up to x3 @9 (Load Drop) 6-9% Fatigue
Floor Press Work up to x4 @9 (Load Drop) 6-9% Fatigue
Front Squat Work up to x5 @9 (Load Drop) 6-9% Fatigue
Thursday
Pin Squat Work up to x5 @9 (Load Drop) 6-9% Fatigue
Bench (touch and go) Work up to x8 @10 (Load Drop) 6-9% Fatigue
Push Press Work up to x5 @9 (Load Drop) 6-9% Fatigue
Friday
2" Deficit Deadlift Work up to x5 @9 (Load Drop) 6-9% Fatigue
Close Grip Bench Work up to x5 @9 (Load Drop) 6-9% Fatigue
Snatch Grip SLDL Work up to x5 @9 (Load Drop) 6-9% Fatigue
Week 4 Exercise Protocol
Monday
Squat w/belt Work up to x4 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Competition Raw Bench Work up to x4 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
2ct Pause Bench Work up to x3 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Tuesday
Deadlift w/belt Work up to x4 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Pin Press (mid range) Work up to x2 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
303 Tempo Squat Work up to x6 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Thursday
Squat w/belt, wraps Work up to x3 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Bench (touch and go) Work up to x4 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Close Grip Incline Work up to x6 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Friday
Rack Pull (below knee) Work up to x3 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
J.M. Press Work up to x6 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Lever Rows Work up to x6 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Week 5 Exercise Protocol
Monday
Squat w/belt Work up to x3 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Bench (touch and go) Work up to x7 @10 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Close Grip Bench Work up to x5 @8 (Repeat) 4-6% Fatigue
Wednesday
Competition Raw Bench Work up to x3 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Deadlift w/belt Work up to x3 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Push Press Work up to x5 @8 (Repeat) 4-6% Fatigue
Front Squat Work up to x5 @8 (Repeat) 4-6% Fatigue
Friday
2ct Pause Squat Work up to x4 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Pin Press (chest level) Work up to x4 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Snatch Grip SLDL Work up to x5 @8 (Repeat) 4-6% Fatigue
Week 6 Exercise Protocol
Monday
Squat w/belt Work up to x4 @9 (Load Drop) 6-9% Fatigue
Bench (touch and go) Work up to x3 @9 (Load Drop) 6-9% Fatigue
Close Grip Floor Press Work up to x6 @8 (Repeat) 6-9% Fatigue
Wednesday
Competition Raw Bench Work up to x4 @9 (Load Drop) 6-9% Fatigue
Deadlift w/belt Work up to x4 @9 (Load Drop) 6-9% Fatigue
Military Work up to x6 @8 (Repeat) 6-9% Fatigue
2ct Pause Squat Work up to x6 @8 (Repeat) 6-9% Fatigue
Friday
Squat w/belt, wraps Work up to x2 @9 (Load Drop) 6-9% Fatigue
2ct Pause Bench Work up to x2 @9 (Load Drop) 6-9% Fatigue
Pendlay Rows Work up to x6 @8 (Repeat) 6-9% Fatigue
Week 7 Exercise Protocol
Monday
Squat w/belt Work up to x2 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Bench (touch and go) Work up to x6 @10 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Close Grip Bench Work up to x4 @8 (Repeat) 4-6% Fatigue
Wednesday
Competition Raw Bench Work up to x2 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Deadlift w/belt Work up to x2 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Push Press Work up to x4 @8 (Repeat) 4-6% Fatigue
Front Squat Work up to x4 @8 (Repeat) 4-6% Fatigue
Friday
2ct Pause Squat Work up to x3 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Pin Press (chest level) Work up to x3 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Snatch Grip SLDL Work up to x4 @8 (Repeat) 4-6% Fatigue
Week 8 Exercise Protocol
Monday
Squat w/belt Work up to x3 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Bench (touch and go) Work up to x2 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Close Grip Floor Press Work up to x5 @8 (Repeat) 4-6% Fatigue
Wednesday
Competition Raw Bench Work up to x3 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Deadlift w/belt Work up to x3 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Military Work up to x5 @8 (Repeat) 4-6% Fatigue
2ct Pause Squat Work up to x5 @8 (Repeat) 4-6% Fatigue
Friday
Squat w/belt, wraps Work up to x2 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
2ct Pause Bench Work up to x2 @9 (Load Drop) 4-6% Fatigue
Pendlay Rows Work up to x5 @8 (Repeat) 4-6% Fatigue
Week 9 Exercise Protocol
Monday Squat, Bench, and Deadlift Work up to 92% of previous 1RM for one set of one.
Wednesday Squat, Bench, and Deadlift Go through your warm up routine (not heavier than 80%)
Friday / Saturday Practice competition Test 1RM in Squat, Bench, and Deadlift
Other useful articles: Understanding RPE's Fatigue Percents Revisited Anything in this section
About the Author Mike Tuchscherer is the owner and head coach at RTS. He has been powerlifting since 2001 and since has traveled all over the world for competitions. In 2009, he was the first man from USA powerlifting to win a gold medal at the World Games – the highest possible achievement in powerlifting. He has coached over a dozen competitors at the world championships, a score of national champions, and multiple world record holders.