The way to a bodyweight Military Press
Why?
Recently I took a four-month hiatus from weight lifting to focus purely on training for a marathon. Now that this goal has been achieved it is time to get back into the weight room and start a new challenge.
What could such a goal look like in terms of strength? I remember reading „Beyond Brawn“ back in the day where the author writes „Achieving a bodyweight Military Press should be one of the highest priced goals“. In the past, I always failed just short of getting there for different reasons. Whether it was taking time off, stiff elbows, or excuses. This time I feel like the urgency is stronger and the game plan will be better.
To not only focus on a pressing movement and to build a well-rounded body and strength base additionally I want to add a weight goal for the Deadlift.
What to aim at?
An ambitious but still achievable number for a drug-free lifter seems to be three times the own body weight which would put one into the “Elite Natural Raw Strength” category, according to Muscle and Strength.
Currently sitting at 82 kg (180 lbs) that would add up to 246 kg (541 lbs). My personal best in the past was 245 kg, but at above 90 kg (198 lbs) bodyweight.
Testing on the first day back at the gym I was able to do 100 kg (220 lbs) for 12 reps which gives me roughly a max of 140 kg.
Quite a low number, but no surprise after my absence and some weight loss.
Other references were:
Bench Press: 10×60 (80 max)
M. Press: 14×36 (53 max)
Squats: 8×80 (101 max)
Definitely some way to go…
The plan
The question now is how to get there? What I have learned from running a marathon is that if you have a well set-up training plan and follow it closely at least most of the time not too many things can go wrong. Additionally, you don’t have to think about your daily training too much and are not distracted by how you feel but rather follow the numbers already laid out.
Another learning from the marathon is that the more miles you run per week the better your final time will be. Of course, this cannot be applied blindly to strength training but still, sometimes progress can be as simple as increasing the workload.
From past experience not just in training but generally in life, especially when it comes to learning and improving a skill the routine has to be rather simple than complex and narrow down the effort to the 20% that give you 80% of the results. Finally, training should also be fun because otherwise you will quit before making much progress and question the whole point of doing it.
In the past I was quite successful with an adjusted 5/3/1 system where I also included some higher rep work to get more volume in and also practice the lifts more often.
It was a setup I enjoyed but never pushed it as far as possible.
The basic structure consists of two different training days, which are executed with one rest day in between.
The progression would look as follows:
70%@3 sets of 10 reps
75%@3 sets of 8 reps
80%@5 sets of 5 reps
85%@3 sets of 3 reps
A sample periodization would then look like that:
Week 1: A rest B rest A rest B
Week 2: rest A rest B rest A rest
Week 3: B rest
One cycle in this case would take 16 days to complete.
To make sure that you don’t hit failure on any set, the maximum weight used for calculating the percentages should be only 90% of the actual one rep maxes.
After one cycle the weight is increased by 2.5 kg for Bench and M. Press and 5 kg for Squats and Deadlifts. As soon as failure is hit on an exercise it will be reset to 90% of the current (estimated) one-rep max.
In terms of exercise selection, I also want to pick the few time-proven stables with which you cannot go wrong. If I have any additional time I will throw in some ancillary movements but they are definitely not mandatory. As long as one of the parameters of the big lifts goes up all is well anyway and tinkering with what already works just to squeeze out a few more percentages does not seem smart.
Workout A
Squats
Bench
Pullups
Abs/Hip flexors
Workout B
Deadlifts
M. Press
Rows
Abs/Hip flexors
Squats, Bench Press, Deadlifts and Military Press follow the previously outlined progression.
For the other two exercises, I will try to do three sets each for 5-12 reps.
Ab and hip flexor exercises are included mainly because they train the antagonists of the muscles used in Deadlifts and Squats. In the past I had some issues especially with the hip flexors when squatting often, that’s why I want to counter these effects right from the start, but more about that in another article.
Other exercises I will only include if I have some energy left, feel like training some beach muscles additionally, or in case I get a quick workout in at home. Luckily I have a Glute Ham Raise machine setup in my living room, which should assist the progress in Squats and Deadlifts.
To limit the weight gain and keep my endurance at a decent level I will do some kind of cardio at least twice a week.
Before starting this specific plan I want to get up my lifts to a decent level by just training full body three times a week since that should be sufficient for this first part of strength gains which will come relatively easy and won’t require a more sophisticated approach.
Putting it into action
In terms of a time horizon for this goal, I set myself a deadline of 12 months from now on.
I will update my current progress regularly to keep myself accountable and share my failures and learnings.
