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Which Program Is Right For You?

By December 20, 2017May 11th, 2019No Comments
In this article, I’ll attempt to clarify which of the programs for sale on AndyBaker.com is best suited to your goals.
If you are trying to decide on a program to purchase but you aren’t sure which one to pick, this should help give you some insight.
This is by far my most popular and best selling program and the program which I get the most positive feedback from.
Who is this program for?
Any intermediate trainee.  This is a classic Heavy-Light-Medium program focused purely on building and peaking strength in the Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press and/or Press.
This program is ideal for lifters who train with minimal equipment and like the structure of a 3-day per week full body routine.
This program is extremely effective for older trainees with limited recuperative abilities or trainees who are trying to balance stressful personal/professional lives with training.
There are some hard weeks, but overall the program does not require exhaustive effort physically or mentally.
This program is very straightforward in that the entire cycle is laid out for you with strict sets, reps, and percentages to follow for loading.  If you don’t like to “think” about your training too much, this is the way to go.
As laid out, this program is pretty “bare bones”.  It’s just the major barbell lifts with very little assistance work outlined.  However, you can add assistance work to this if you like.
 
How to use this program?
This is a good baseline program to run for the bulk of the year if basic strength is the goal.  It can be repeated for multiple cycles in a row with very simple adjustments to sets, reps, and loading.
In my article series on Annual Periodization, this would be a good program to use for base-building at the beginning of the year, or during the summer months, between more aggressive peaking programs if you aren’t interested in doing any power-builiding / hypertrophy based training.
Who is this program for?  
KSC Texas Method – early intermediate trainees
KSC Method for Power-Lifting – late intermediate / advanced trainees.
Both programs are fairly short term and aggressive peaking programs which involve alternating between higher volume sessions and higher intensity sessions.
The KSC Texas Method is more “bare bones” in that it involves very little to no assistance work and operates on the classic 3-day per week full body programming model.  However, it can be modified into a 4-day per week program.  Percentages, sets, reps are all laid out for you in a very easy to understand manner.
The KSC Method for Power-Lifting is a 4-day per week program (although it can also be modified for a 3-day per week schedule) and involves a bit more assistance work and some higher-rep hypertrophy work thrown into the week.  It’s a bit more nuanced than the Texas Method, but still pretty straight forward.
If you like a bit more variety in your training, do the KSC Method for Power-Lifting.  If you want something very straight forward and “done for you” do the Texas Method program.
How to use these programs?  
It’s best to use these programs for just 1-2 cycles before transitioning to something with a little less frequency on the intensity side of the spectrum.  Both programs call for you go heavy on a weekly basis.  This is very effective in the short term (like before a meet), but is not the best solution for year round / long term usage.
Alternated with with cycles of something like the Garage Gym Warrior program, both programs are very effective additions to your annual plan.
In my article series, I suggested that the Texas Method be used for a strength peak in the spring, and the KSC Method for Power-lifting be used for a strength peak in the fall.  This strategy works well.

Although these are two very different programs, they are based on a similar model.  Both systems use a 3-week rotation of different rep schemes for the strength movements, layered with a moderate to high volume of assistance work for hypertrophy and physique oriented training.

Who are these programs for?  

KSC Method for Power-Building:  Intermediate / Advanced Trainees focused on strength with a massive emphasis on building mass and physique development.

Strength & Mass After 40:  Intermediate / Advanced Trainees focused on strength with some additional hypertrophy work

The Power-Building program uses my very popular system of rotating 8s, 5s, and 2s in 3-week waves along with lots of higher volume assistance work.  The weekly training is a 4-5 day per week body part split organized like this:

  • Monday – Bench + Chest/Biceps
  • Tuesday – Deadlifts / Squat + Hamstrings, Calves, Abs
  • Wednesday – Off
  • Thursday – Press + Shoulders/Triceps
  • Friday – Back / Lats Hypertrophy Day
  • Saturday – Squats + Quads, Calves, Abs
  • Sunday – Off

The program is very difficult but very effective for both size and strength.

Strength & Mass After 40 uses a model of 5s, 3s, and 1s on a 3-week wave.  This is a 4-day per week plan that operates off of a Heavy – Light split (each lift performed 2x/week, once heavy, once light) plus some higher volume assistance work for hypertrophy in a dose more appropriate for older lifters.

How to use these programs?  

Many lifters have had success running several cycles of the Power-Building program followed by the Strength & Mass After 40 program where intensity on the main lifts is increased and the volume of assistance work is decreased.  This strategy has worked well for trainees over 40 as well as younger trainees.

Younger trainees may do long periods of time with the higher volume Power Building program followed by short spurts of the SM40 program.  Older lifters can do just a few high volume cycles of the Power-Building program followed by longer stints with the SM40 program.  

Trainees have had good success running both programs as a base-program for many months at a time.  A simple lower volume, lower intensity deload week every 6-12 weeks is enough to keep you running for long periods of time without overtraining.

A Sample Annual Plan

January – March:  Garage Gym Warrior or other Heavy-Light-Medium Program

April – May:  Strength Peaking with KSC Texas Method

June – August:  Strength / Physique / Hypertrophy Training with KSC Method for Power-Building

Sept – October:  Strength Peaking with KSC Method for Power-Lifting

Nov-December:  General Strength / Hypertrophy with Strength & Mass Over 40

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