BSC Client John Petrizzo – Case Study, Part I

John Petrizzo Case Study, Part I

In 2012 I was contacted by fellow Starting Strength Coach John Petrizzo for consultation regarding his training.  John is a very bright guy.  He is on the Starting Strength Coaches Association’s Science Committee and is Physical Therapist by trade.  John knows his stuff about training and is an excellent strength coach himself. But he is also sharp enough to recognize the fact that even coaches need coaches.  We all suffer (to varying degrees) with the inability to objectively analyze ourselves.  We are all plagued by our own biases about training, and we find ways to talk ourselves into doing the things that we want to do, or talk ourselves out of the things that we don’t want to do – regardless of what will actually bring us closer to reaching our goals.  So John contacted me to get some objective analysis of how to move forward with his programming.  

All of us that have spent any significant time under the bar, have dealt with the dreaded “paralysis by analysis” when it comes to our programming.  There are a lot of options out there to choose from, and quite frankly, World records have been set with all types of different strength programs.  It can be difficult to hash out the correct path forward.  One of the most difficult crossroads to navigate is the transition to intermediate level training from simple novice linear progression. 

John had hit a wall on his linear progression (using the basic Starting Strength program) and there was a wide variety of possibilities for him to explore for  his intermediate level training.  The most common transition into intermediate programming is the Texas Method, however I didn’t think that was the direction for him.  His work schedule was too demanding to accommodate the length and rigor of the workouts and he was strong enough that I felt like he might burn out pretty quick on that format. 

I told him that the next phase of programming should keep two goals in mind:

1)     Short and focused workouts

2)    Get away from doing strictly sets of five

One of the biggest mistakes I see with those who have used the Starting Strength program is the insistence to try and stick with sets of 5 forever, once they become intermediate trainees.  Think about the Starting Strength novice program……basically all you do is sets of 5. Mentally and physically you need a break from the monotony.  Myself and fellow Starting Strength Coach Matt Reynolds have had numerous discussions about how well trainees respond to lower volume higher intensity training after their initial run on the Starting Strength program.  You are ripe to get some big gains out of less volume. 

Also, an overlooked part of the switch to less volume is the MENTAL BREAK that you get from knowing that you really only have to hit ONE thing hard when you get to the gym each day.  I work long hours, similar to John, and I know that I could not train effectively if I had to Squat/Press/Pull at every session.  Shorter, more focused gym time is critical for many busy professionals, especially after 30.  Most trainees love this aspect of the program.  It is sustainable over the long term and it will keep your enthusiasm up for training. 

There are basically four workouts:

1 – Squat

2 – Bench

3 – Deadlift

4 – Press

You can plug those into a four day training week, like:

Mon/Tues/Thurs/Fri (or whatever arrangement works for you)

………Or……..

You can rotate those four workouts over a Mon/Wed/Fri schedule. 

The latter can be good because it gives your body 4 unique training loads over the course of the month.  In other words, over a 4 week training period, every week is a little different in the stress placed on your body.  This makes stagnation and overtraining easier to avoid. 

Here is what a month would look like, using a 3 day schedule:

Mon – Squat

Wed – Bench

Fri – Deadlift

 

Mon – Press

Weds – Squat

Fri – Bench

 

Mon – Deadlift

Weds – Press

Fri – Squat

 

Mon – Bench

Weds – Deadlift

Fri – Press

 

The first thing people usually do is freak out over the lack of squatting volume.  Simple solution:  Do a light to medium squat workout prior to deadlifting.  You will be fine.

 

Sets & Reps?

Start your training program off with a weight that is 5 lbs heavier than your last 3×5 workout on your linear progression.  So if your last squat workout on the LP is 395x5x3, then your first day on this program would start at 400.  Do a set of max reps with 400 lbs, capping yourself off at 8.  The next time you squat you will do 405 x max reps also capping yourself at 8.  You will keep adding 5 lbs per workout and capping yourself off at 8 reps for as long as you can.  As the weeks go by, your rep total will of course drop…….just add 5 lbs per week until you hit a heavy triple.  At that point, reset the weight back to about 410-420  and start the progression over again….eventually aiming to beat all your previous rep maxes and winding up with a triple that is 5-20 lbs heavier than the previous cycle.  You will follow this same protocol of doing rep work between 3-8 reps for all four lifts.    Keep in mind, there is no set time frame for completing a cycle from 8 to 3.  It may take you 20 weeks to get there, it may take 6.  It doesn’t matter really, as long as you are beating rep maxes and winding up with a triple that is a little higher than the previous cycle. 

Back off sets

To keep the volume up you may decide to include 1-2 back off sets of 10-12 reps after the main heavy set.  Most will find they like doing this on the bench and the press and can live without it on the squat and deadlift.  My buddy John Sheaffer of StrengthVillain.com calls this strategy “pushing up the back end.”  This is just using higher rep back off sets to build volume.  If you employ back off sets for the squat and deadlift, you won’t need more than 1 set in all likelihood.  Jim Wendler’s Boring But Big Template in his 531 program operates off this same mechanism, but I tend to recommend a little less volume for the back off work than Jim does. 

Alternate Exercises

As a way to add variety and keep from stagnating you might find that after a while you start introducing some alternate movements into the program.  You can use them for the main lift itself, or for back off sets. 

For the deadlift, I like using 2 sets of Stiff leg Deadlifts on a raised platform for my back off work.  Additionally, every 2^nd or 3^rd training cycle you can try subbing deadlifts with Deficit Deadlifts, standing on a 2-4 inch platform. 

For Bench Pressing you may try Inclines for your back off work or your main exercise.  DB Bench presses also work well for the back off sets. 

Squats and Presses tend to do better when you just train those two lifts.  Subs for them tend not to work as well. 

 

Assistance movements

Chins/Pull Ups

I have had success doing them as the second movement on Bench & Press day or as the 1^st movement on the Squat/Deadlift day.  For some of my MMA guys I put a big priority on chins and we do them when fresh before our leg stuff.  The choice is up to you.  I’d try to do one or the other twice per week. 

Triceps

Consistent improvement on a 3-4 different tricep exercises is a good way to keep your bench and especially your press moving up.  Do 2-5 sets of 8-12 reps after your Bench/Press sessions.  Lying Tri Extensions, Dips, Pushdowns, Overhead Tri Extensions etc are all cool.  Close grips benches can also be used as your back off sets after your main bench set. 

 

A lot of people who are used to training with the Starting Strength program don’t think this is enough volume.  For some it may not be.  And this program is not a universal recommendation for all intermediates.  I felt like this program was appropriate for John, due to the fact that he is handling some pretty big weights and has a very demanding professional life.  Factors like this can’t be ignored, they do have an impact on training.  Brutal full body routines will just  be too draining.  You can do it for a few months here and there, but the goal (as John had stated to me) was to get a program that he could stick to for a long time and train with consistently.  This program will allow that.  If you get interrupted by work or illness and miss some days, you just pick up where you left off.  It’s a simple program to manipulate. 

This was essentially a glimpse into what I recommended to John as his go to intermediate program when he wasn’t prepping for a meet. For lack of a better term, it is an “offseason” program.  In part II, we will examine how we altered his training to prepare him for power lifting competition.  Using the meet prep cycles I laid out for him, John added 210 lbs to his total in about 1 year.  

Wondering if the program works?  Click the link below to see a deadlift set that will make you sore just by watching:

Deadlift 505×7