One of the simplest ways to introduce a trainee to the concept of “advanced” programming is through the Two Steps Forward, One Step Back model.
Before we get into the nuts and bolts of the model, it’s first useful to discuss a few points about terminology. First, and most problematic is the term “advanced.” When we talk about “advanced” lifters, it doesn’t necessarily mean that this person is highly competitive at the elite level of power lifting, it doesn’t mean they have been training for 10+ years, and in some cases it doesn’t even mean they are all that strong (depending on how you define strong). In this instance, “advanced” simply means that our trainee has reached a point in their training career where attempting to set PRs on a daily basis (novice) or weekly basis (intermediate) is no longer possible.
Instead the trainee should be programming with the longer game in mind, and PR attempts on the major lifts should be attempted with less regularity. How much less? Every 2 weeks? Every month? Every 6-8 weeks? Quarterly? Twice per year?
Well it varies, and this is why there is no clear dividing line between intermediate and advanced lifters, and you don’t necessarily go from weekly to monthly progression overnight on all your major lifts. It’s a slower and more gradual process, and experience has shown that the lines between intermediate and advanced programming can be blurry enough to make the strong case that there isn’t much of a line at all.
There is a time in the immediate post novice window (several weeks to several months usually) where trainees are indeed capable of weekly progression on the major lifts, where as a novice, we were setting PRs 2-3 times per week. We tend to call this stage early intermediate training where PRs are occurring on the major lifts at approximately weekly intervals.
However, once this runs it’s course, we have to start planning our heaviest and hardest sessions less frequently. We simply cannot create enough stimulus across the span of 1 or 2 days or even 1 week that is sufficient enough to drive new adaptations that can be displayed every single week. The build up process takes longer now. We need to accumulate stress over the course of many days or even several weeks in order to force the adaptations we are looking for, and we have to have a window of time prior to our “performance” days that allow some built up fatigue to dissipate enough to be able to actually set new PRs. Just because you are capable of that 500 lb squat, doesn’t mean you are capable of that 500 lb squat today.
So the Two Steps Forward, One Step Back model is a means of addressing these programming issues. The “Two Steps” represents a period of “build up” or volume accumulation. This is the real work the trainee is doing in order to build the muscle and strength necessary to display a new PR later in the month.
The “one step back” part of the nickname represents a week of lower volume and sometimes a bit lighter training that allows for fatigue to dissipate in preparation for the PR week.
Now, one of the problems with the program’s nickname is that the trainees or coaches might box themselves in with the “Two Steps” part of the month and think that all the volume accumulation work must be done in two weeks. I’ve found my best results with Three weeks – so Three Steps Forward, One Step Back is just as viable.
Trial and error is your friend here. Start with a two week build up and then if you aren’t happy with your end of cycle performances, add a third week to the build up phase.
My rule of thumb in most programming troubleshooting is that stagnation requires more work and regression requires less work. Strength tends to be easier to maintain than build. And this programming approach isn’t pushing the boundaries of volume or intensity so hard that large scale regression is likely to occur. So if you aren’t making much progress – add a little more work.
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
- Week One: Moderate to High Volume, Moderate Intensity
- Week Two: High Volume, Moderate to High Intensity (i.e. pushing volume PRs)
- Week Three: Lower Volume, Maintain or slightly reduced intensity
- Week Four: Moderate Volume, High Intensity
Three Steps Forward, One Step Back
- Week One: Moderate to High Volume, Moderate Intensity
- Week Two: Moderate to High Volume, Moderate Intensity
- Week Three: High Volume, Moderate to High Intensity (i.e. pushing volume PRs)
- Week Four: Lower Volume, Maintain or slightly reduced intensity
- Week Five: Moderate Volume, High Intensity
Volume & Intensity for each week…….
Here is where the rubber meets the road and where the details matter. It’s difficult to give out a blanket prescription that will suit all trainees, mainly because it doesn’t exist. You have to base these numbers off of past training history to figure out exactly how to dose all these variables for each individual lifter.
I usually start with the “performance week” and try to figure out exactly what we’re going to use as our measuring stick to see whether our programming is optimal. “Performance” week does not mean a 1-rep max test or mock meet every 4 weeks. This is unnecessary and counterproductive. I prefer to be more in the range of about 90% of 1RM with a low to moderate volume of work. It’s a “test” yes, but we also want to do enough work to simultaneously serve as a stimulus. I think a real sweet spot for this type of work is in doubles and triples across. Usually like 3 sets of 3 reps or 4-5 sets of 2 reps with a weight that is approx 90% of a 1RM.
This means that the work in the build up weeks would range from 70-85%, with most of the working coming in at the 75-80% range.
So if we have a lifter who prefers to Squat 2x/week, we might have one heavy day of squatting per week paired with lighter deadlift variants and one lighter day later in the week where the lifter squats at a low intensity for speed paired with heavy deadlifts
His very simple 5 week Squatting cycle might look like this:
- Week 1: Monday 5 x 5 x 70% Thursday 10 x 2 x 60%
- Week 2: Monday 5 x 5 x 75% Thursday 10 x 2 x 65%
- Week 3: Monday 1 x 3 x 85% / 5 x 5 x 80% Thursday 10 x 2 x 70%
- Week 4: Monday 3 x 3 x 80% Thursday 5 x 2 x 70%
- Week 5: Monday 3 x 3 or 4-5 x 2 x 90% Thursday 3 x 5 x 70%
Sets and reps and exact % may vary of course. And some lifters like the speed work, some don’t. Plain old light squats or a squat variant is also fine on this second day of the week. So this is all very malleable to an extent.
But the gist of the program is that you should try and spend 2-3 weeks building up some volume. Start the first week fairly light to recover from the 90% work from the previous week and build up the intensity over a 2-3 week period. In the final week of the volume loading, really push yourself during those volume workouts with some hard and heavy 5×5 work and aim for new PRs here if possible.
Then take the deload for a week which should maintain your intensity (for the most part) but drop volume.
And then aim for some heavy PR sets in the 90%ish range in the 4th or 5th week of each cycle. Follow this with multiple 4-5 week cycles arranged in roughly the same fashion and you can train for many months and make progress.
