Part 4 - FULL BREAKDOWN - Greg Nuckols 28 Free Programs - Once (1x) per Week Squat Program Review

[@geneharrogate6911]

Good on you Alex for using your own channel to shine a light on another coaches good work. Speaks volumes about ones character in my book.

[@aparthia]

In reality, Greg is probably more famous than Alex. Doing these videos give Alex more exposure than Greg, same as the review of 531 and Juggernaut. Great videos however.

[@geneharrogate6911]

@@aparthia I'd argue neither one is 'famous' or even well known outside a comparatively tiny cross section of the strength and fitness community. You can bet YT revenue isn't keeping the lights on at either Gregs or Alexes house. Of course Alex realizes he's riding the coattails a little, but thats how this game is played, and the point is its very much mutually beneficial for both parties. I can think of at least four or five other fucktard channels who tripped over themselves to get onboard the 'Athlean X Fake Weights' clickbait train. Thats what the algorithm rewards. And we all know what Eleanor Roosevelt said about people who discuss other people..

[@AlexanderBromley]

John is correct, wish I could say my whole channel is an exercise in altruism, but these program review vids have a double effect of giving some amount of value to the viewer while simultaneously giving me a way to rank for popular search terms. Greg is much more established in this field than I am. Been around longer, more (and substantially better) content, bigger audience, etc. etc. I'm completely riding his coat-tails, both by using his content to fuel my own and by using his name and work to rank for search terms. In some sense, promoting his work is mutually beneficial...... but I stand to benefit quite a bit more.

[@Bu1wark-99]

@@AlexanderBromley I honestly wish more people in the "fitness" sphere of youtube were as honest and upfront about these things as you are. You put out excellent content, read through comments and actually engage in civil discussion. Please keep setting the amazing example of what lifting is all about, because your channel is a goldmine.

[@aparthia]

@@geneharrogate6911 I'm not trying to talk bad about Alex, these are solid videos, but as a simple measurement, Gregs YT channel (which is essentially just a repo for their podcast at this point) has 35k subscribers compared to Alex' 20k. Beyond that Stronger by Science's website probably get multitudes more views than Alex. By doing reviews of famous programs he highlights his channel more. Which is a great thing, because Alex deserves the spotlight.

[@Oozaruu]

Glad to see you back my dude! One of the most indepth channels on KZbin about fitness. Appreciate all of your help and information. Hopefully a Patreon coming soon

[@AlexanderBromley]

I looked into Patreon but never followed through. I might revisit that.

[@ccq1994]

If I buy you a whiteboard cleaning kit, will you use it? 😁 Thanks for the constant stream of quality advice!

[@AlexanderBromley]

No, its like a skillet. Each presentation adds flavor to the next one

[@TheKremor]

I did Nuckols advanced. I modified it a tiniest bit for extra sets on what happens after the Amrap. As I train full-body 3-4 a week. The amrap set at the beginning has an incredible psychological benefit as you will really bang that amrap with a s**t-ton of focus. I've added 44lbs to my max simply with amrap at the beginning it's absolutely incredible lift driver.

[@gavin1453]

I have loved this series so far! I did notice in my spreadsheet that there is a substantial increase in volume for the main lift. In the notes it says that one should lift an indefinite amount of back off sets, or however many you can as long as

[@archmaesterofpullups]

I don't understand how it's physically possible to complete this setup unless you are sandbagging the AMRAPs. After doing a true AMRAP, there is no way you will be able to complete 5x(F-2). Maybe if you choose a super conservative TM to start and artificially limit the AMRAPs and weight increases. I think that the intermediate layout is correct as written. The idea is that you adjust the TM off of the 85% week since it is the most specific to maxing but he wanted to make the regulatory adjustment two weeks out from the 100% set, allowing the user to adjust his/her TM every other week. He probably would have kept this into the advanced section but he stops regulating based on the AMRAPs in the advanced section so the user only adjusts based off of week 4's performance and prefers a linear setup. Edit: For those who didn't want to download the program but wanted to know the weekly adjustments for the "*" weeks: Week 1: If you get 10 or less, keep your max the same next week. If you get 11-12, bump your max up 5 pounds for next week. If you get 13+, bump your max up 10 pounds for next week Week 2: If you get 8 or less, keep your max the same next week. If you get 9-10, bump your max up 5 pounds for next week. If you get 11+, bump your max up 10 pounds for next week Week 3: If you get 5 or less, keep your max the same next week. If you get 6-7, bump your max up 5 pounds for next week. If you get 8+, bump your max up 10 pounds for next week Week 4:

[@lolekbolek676]

I agree, amrap - 2 for 5 sets sounds like hell... 20 rep set seems like a piece of cake when compared to this. On the other side, Greg says that you need to terminate the set when you hit technical faliure (knees caving, hips shooting up, back rounding). Thats a game changer at least for me, I always find myself grinding reps out while letting form go a bit. Ive been doing 2x int squat and its has been working great for 3+ cycles, last pr was 155 kg, going for 160 in a month

[@TheLouisianan]

There's a booklet that comes with these programs and in it, Nuckols says the AMRAP isn't a true AMRAP set. Your set is considered over when you get form breakdown (butt lifting off the bench, leaning forward on your squat, back rounding when it shouldn't on your DL, etc).

[@TheLouisianan]

@@chrisadams2808 yeah im not a big fan of amraps especially on deads

[@snoopys14]

Going to failure even technical failure of you can do more you didn't go to failure

[@loganfluegel925]

Great video. I learn a lot from Greg, he has awesome content. Personally, I squat twice per week. One day with a barbell or SSb, typically heavy weight around an 8 RPE (Sometimes 9 depending on the goal/day). 72 hours later is a belt squat working a different stance (typically a weaker stance/non competition) with a moderate to lighter weight . This takes pressure off of my shoulders and removes the vertebral spinal compression, but allows me to get more volume. This has worked wonders for me.

[@archiekershaw7930]

Please do the 3x squat program soon, I really don’t understand the beginner version. Thanks

[@aparthia]

Last set of each day is an AMRAP. Increase the load per the instructions in the sheet FOR THAT DAY based on how many reps you do per day.

[@Jaysthudandblunder]

Thoroughly enjoyed the review, concise, clean, informative. As a 50 year old with an arthritic hip, the self regulating volume work is a relief !! As an aside, I particularly enjoy benching, would you consider 3x bench, 1x squat, 1x deadlift per week to be too skewed ?

[@totlguy]

Not that you are asking, but I hope you are doing your presses and pullups and some barbell rows before you go 3x bench. If you don't beef up your back, you are leaving much on the table on your bench. Plus 3x bench leaves you vulnerable for shoulder issues when your chest gets over-developed in relation to your back. Balance my friend. Throw some Dips in there too. I know most will poo poo this idea, but if you haven't tried a carnivore diet for a few months, you may be leaving some arthritis relief on the table as well. Research it. It is an anti-inflammatory diet. I used to have debilitating gout, took allopurinol every day for 3 or 4 years and still had flare ups. I don't take any meds any more. You have nothing to lose, and it won't kill you. I'll be 55 in a couple of months and I'm closing in on a 500 lb squat and 600 lb DL. Not more joint pain! Shoulders feel better than ever. Well, according to my 1RM calculations I'm already there, but doing it is another thing!

[@Jaysthudandblunder]

@@totlguy I have been carnivorous(ish) for about a year cut out most bread and no alcohol. Lots of white rice as carb of choice and I drink my veggies, orange juice with each meal. Sincerely believe that most inflammatory, immuno-suppressant diseases start from the gut, cut all prescription drugs about a year ago, vit D, Vit B, creatine and tumeric. I can't recommend tumeric highly enough! Do a lot of mobility work each day, training or not. Shoulders/back feel good, technique is sketchy, but expect that to be the case, learning is for a lifetime after all. Recently hit 85kg*12 on bench, want to hit 100kg as my working set by the end of the year. Your squat and dl numbers are twice mine but I was being ultra careful to preserve hips. It's good to see that many of the things I had been doing marry up with other people on the (ahem) more senior side ! ;) In fact looking forward to my first powerlifting meet next year though the thought of squeezing my old body into a singlet is somewhat amusing ;) Thanks for your reply and encouragement!

[@totlguy]

@@Jaysthudandblunder Good on ya brother. The gut flora arena promises to be interesting. I would HIGHLY recommend trying full animal product only diet for a month or two. You have nothing to lose. You will have a transition period teaching your body to use ketones for fuel, but it works. If you are worried about gut flora, consider that individual types thrive on their preferred diets...just like any other organism. Ken Berry kzbin.info/www/bejne/eYinXoSso7CKp80 kzbin.info/www/bejne/bH_amaZurMSYnsk Anecdotal: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a2mnfq2ohLOshM0 Check out anything Low Carb Down under, Paul Mason, Shawn Baker. Sounds like you have been touching your toes in the water. I know it sounds "crazy" but there is no real benefit to the veggies, rice, and especially orange juice. Almost all of the modern mans health maladies are connected to an F'd up metabolism. You have to give your mitochondria what they need to efficiently and vigorously thrive.

[@valttering]

Loving this series! I saw great gains with Nuckols' 28 programs and love to learn the underlying principles behind his decision making and the mechanisms which these programs incur strength and size gains with. You're probably flooded with program review requests but is there any chance you could look at Greg's Average to Savage 2.0 program in the future? I feel like it is quite different from the traditional strength programs and his own 28 programs with the high volume, high frequency and low RPE based approach (at least at the start of the program). Cheers!

[@Raiin-77]

Might be tough to go into detail on a paid program

[@valttering]

@@Raiin-77 Oh yeah good point

[@turinho]

What do you guys think of this type of approach: You do submaximal work first than do your +Set and afterwards you take 5% of the bar and do as many sets with the same reps of your +Set untill you reach failure. And in the second workout i would only submaximal paused variation to get proficiency in the movement. e.g. @70% of 1RM 1. Set: 6reps 2. Set: 6reps 3. Set: AMRAP (lets assume 10reps) 4. Set: 10reps @65% (if you had reps in tank you do another set, if not you stop at this point) This way it kinda autoregulates the volume and the weight or am i wrong? Because in the backoff sets in one week maybe you can do 2sets and if you feel good that day maybe you will get 4sets and if you feel shitty you maybe get only 1set. Also with AMRAP you can adjust your weight progression. If i manage to get e.g. 12reps with 70% i know i can add weight for the next week. Would appreciate any kind of critique. Maybe doing the AMRAP only to 1RIR and the backoff sets as well to manage fatigue? My Status: eary intermediate

[@loganfluegel925]

Regarding the sub-maximal work before your top set is a great way to either a) pre-fatigue your body/warm-up, b)work on technical things since it is only 70% for 6 reps which is a low RPE around 6, maybe less than 6, or c) you need to build more muscle as more volume while help drive hypertrophy gains. Regarding the actual AMRAP top set, I personally would never go to true failure i.e. squat down and cannot squat the weight back up. This is dangerous especially without a coach and spotters. This 'failure' would indicate an RPE of 10 or 0 RIR. I usually never go past an RPE of 9 in training. Also when talking about 'failure', define technical failure, CNS failure, and cardiovascular failure. These are all different and I find that my CNS gives out first, with my technique and conditioning still intact. This tells me I need to learn how to strain better (which I primarily the goal for my main squat days). For you it could be a different kind of failure on the amrap top set. Regarding the back off set or sets after the AMRAP top set, they could be done but again I wouldn't go to true failure like I mentioned before, especially since you probably do not need to since you are an early intermediate trainee. I like the second paused squat variation to reinforce that bottom stability and confidence but only if it is the variation you need. I only choose variations that will attack my weaknesses. If you are weakest in the bottom their for some reason, that variation could help! My final advice. The only way to know what works is to try it. I find that a program can look amazing on paper but not great in practice. Experiment, but do it SAFELY. Auto-regulate every day, which you mentioned you do. Also, ask yourself what the goal is each training session and overall goal of the block/macrocycle. Work towards that goal. Good luck man!

[@turinho]

@@loganfluegel925 Thanks for the reply and the critique. I should have mentioned what i mean with "failure". When i say failure i mean technical failure not absolute failure. The risk for injuries would be to high when going to absolute failure. Maybe in bench it's okay but the risk of injury in squat und deadlift is too hight, you're right. My weakpoint in squat isn't actually the bottom position but the middle part of the squat. I don't know what kind of variation i can do to focus and strengthen this weakpoint. Any ideas? Boxsquats maybe or chained sauats idk.

[@loganfluegel925]

@@turinho Great so you now know what failure would be in the AMRAP. Try it out and see how it goes. A variation that I enjoy using to target a sticking point in the squat is a pin squat. Set the pins to the height where you stick in the middle part of the concentric. Once you squat down and the bar rests on the pins, drive up. Straight weight should be fine. Also make sure its not a technical issue that makes you stick there. Hope that helps man!

[@dave4148]

GZCL’s general gains IIRC has AMRAP and then AMRAP / 2, which is way more realistic than AMRAP - 2… Curious how many are able to do all these reps

[@helmutkrusemann9194]

Your videos are bomb! Please make videos about Ed Coans linear periodization programs. Thank you very much

[@jamesscott6661]

I did practical programming style and I would not recommend it. As a beginner you should focus more on quality of reps not how heavy...

[@TheLouisianan]

Same man, I did the Texas method right after my LP and had good progress at first (because I was peaking) and then I just fell off hard. The Bridge by BBM saved me and brought my endurance way up while gaining strength too.

[@AlexanderBromley]

I like the simple LPs for those who literally just walked into the gym. I start them super light, put them on a slow progression, and by the time the weight becomes challenging, they should have a good technical base under them and be able to grind through a little more progress. I personally don't like the idea of staying in the weeds as you get stronger and living and dying for those 5lb jumps. I've ran simple LPs like Greyskull with success, 4-6 week runs, knowing that the brick wall was coming quick and that I would jump into something else when it came. The way I see it, by the time stagnation hits, it's time to vary the stress, and that means some form of periodization.

[@someoneelse4740]

Query about this. How long would this take (for 1 set to failure +5 heavy back off sets). To me I’d be looking at minimum 30 minutes when I factor in warm up sets to get that done.

[@mossoconnor4417]

For the squat? Really depends on your strength level and I think your conditioning and to a large extent how much you want to work on to squat. Squatting around 3-4hundred I could see you squeezing it into 30 minutes if you had great conditioning. I just squatted 525, and I really wouldn’t like to do a hard set to failure and 5 back off sets in less than an hour. After a hard set to failure I’d be resting for ten minutes. This is another major reason why I’d rather do my failure set at the end, I completely agree with Bromley on this Break it down like this, I’d include a minute to do each set 135x5 rest enough to load two plates 1 minute 225x5 rest two minutes 315x3-5 rest three minutes 365 and 405x1-2 rest 3 minutes each (Depends how heavy I was going for the day) Top set 455xamrap, probably around 8 reps I’d probably hit a fast single before the top set as well to get some PAP So that’s around 25 minutes without fucking around just to get my top set After that hard heavy set to failure it’s going to take ten minutes to recover enough to be able to do some sub max work with any decent tech Sub max work is all about tech so it’s worth the wait

[@aparthia]

Sounds like a conditioning issue! How long rest times are you taking right now? Try to shave 15-30 seconds off for the first cycle of this. Then another 15-30 seconds for each after. That's a way to up training density and improve your work capacity :)

[@daemiik6217]

the program maxes you out on 90% of your one rep, for example, my one rep is 160kg and the heaviest I go on this program is 142 for 3x1, the week after I'm meant to 1 rep that's a 15kg jump, isn't this bad as I have not prepared for the heavier weight.

[@Summerbrah]

Could you review TSA's intermediate approach 2.0? I am in the process of finding a good peaking program

[@AberrantArt]

Hey Alex, what's the best resource for learning the theory and methods to program effectively? So far "Practical Programming 3rd edition" has been the most comprehensive at explaining things. Any others that you recommend? You're videos on programming are amazing, I've seen all of them. ❤

[@AlexanderBromley]

There are hardly any that focus on bare-bones principles for specific strength training purposes. Text books are just about worthless. I would strongly suggest most people in today's batch of lifters revisit old bodybuilding methodologies, since they seemed to have been ditched for more specialized programming. Arnold's Encyclopedia was a huge influence on me early on, as were mags like Flex, Muscular Development, etc. Learning how to train without percentages will make it much easier to progress once structure gets added. I like Ironmind books from 'old-school' authors like Keys to Progress and Powerlifting Basics Texas Style because they put an emphasis on exercise selection and hard work, which will make reliance on specific percentage selection less important. As insufferable as he is to follow on Facebook, I actually have to recommend Jamie Lewis' 'Destroy the Opposition', because it gives the clearest picture of how many different methods have worked across all champion lifters.

[@AberrantArt]

@@AlexanderBromley thank you! I'll check out some of those references. I agree, it's difficult to find anything comprehensive on strength training. That's why I love your videos. 👍💪🏻

[@RajendraPrasad-qm3hl]

Are the back off sets done with the same weight as the main working set

[@shantanusapru]

Er, Alex, the title says it is Part 4. Is that a typo? I think only 3 parts have been uploaded so far, isn't it?

[@AlexanderBromley]

I'm labeling the parts in order by the lift, but releasing them out of order to break up the monotony. Part 3 coming soon lol

[@shantanusapru]

@@AlexanderBromley Ah, thanks for the clarification! :)

[@johnmack7050]

any advice on taking accessories seriously? i can usually take my heavy compound seriously then my tier 2 work seriously depending on the exercise. i cant be bothered by light isolation work for some reason.

[@adamhinkle5580]

My recommendation is to do giant sets so it helps conditioning and is much more time efficient and more fun. In 10 minutes you can do 3 giant sets and get a lot out of it.

[@AlexanderBromley]

You don't have to go off like Dorian Yates in Blood and Guts. Just punch the clock and commit to not skipping it. The reason I like the 'volumizing' is because it takes the need for blind intensity out of it and progresses the accessory just like everything else. Do 3 hard sets week 1, 4 on week 2, 5 on week 3, and that set increase in volume will lead to an adaptation.

[@johnmack7050]

@@AlexanderBromley thanks man that makese sense.i just qualified for nationals and the end goal is to compete at the arnold one day. my biggest glarring weakness is i caan only log press 220 as a 175 class guy(i strict press 210). i think my upperback is the limiting factor but i keep skipping all the flies and and band pull aparts.

[@alejandromayofret4526]

Which intensity/RPE is prescribed on the accessories?

[@AlexanderBromley]

I would have all working sets be an 8 or higher. As long as the number of sets increases each week and the weight stays the same or goes up, you will grow.

[@AberrantArt]

Where's part 3? I saw part 1,2 and this is 4.

[@jdmalm123]

0:09 - 0:14

[@mofarha77]

what are submaximal sets?

[@totlguy]

Sets where you don't reach your limit in terms of weight. By default, you would say a 1 rep "set" max would be maximal, so anything less would be a submaximal effort. If you follow Nuckols, (and others) they tend to prescribe most of the work as submaximal using % of your 1RM, and "leaving reps in the tank/ in reserve" . Like in the video, you see 75% to 85% is the bulk of the work load, and then there are AMRAP sets, as many reps as possible, or in other words, to failure. The difference between a 1RM squat and riding a bicycle. every rep on a bike is a small fraction of your max capacity on one rep. If you increase your 1 RM, the percentage of "effort" expended per rep/cycle would go down in the bike example, and you would experience increased efficiencies and stamina/endurance as a side benefit. Think of it as accumulating a stress over time, where it builds momentum, instead of dosing the stress all at once on one lift. You have to be able to recover from the stress dosage in order to train the next time or you are defeating the purposes.

[@gavin1453]

You maintain the same amount of reps after a two to three minute rest.

[@snoopys14]

If you go to faluire and then you can do more sets did u even go to faluire????? I think people running this a tallking shit about going to faluire 😂😂😂