High mileage pressing program

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Subject: High mileage pressing program

Last year time was running short in my daily life, and I wasn’t recovering like I used to (even compared to my early fifties). Borrowing from the genius of Pavel and Brett, I created a simple twice per week pressing plan that created beneficial conditions for hypertrophy as well as strength, while not taxing the nervous system. The program also follows anti-glycolytic principles, adding a cardiovascular component.

There is an old Soviet weightlifters’ saying that, “In order to press a lot, you need to press a lot.” And it’s true. But there are lots of ways to do that: ETK, the Plan Strong 499/501 plans, or the wrestler’s protocol from the SFB manual (to name a few). They all work, especially if your job/age/lifestyle is conducive to recovery. But what if it isn’t? What if you are older and have a lot of mileage on your shoulders or a physically demanding job? This is where the following pressing plan comes in.

John Heinz showing the double kettlebell rack position

The author of today’s newsletter John Heinz,
StrongFirst Certified Senior Instructor Emeritus

While there is a lot of volume, it doesn’t tax the nervous system and requires only two weekly training sessions. When considering load, intensity, and volume, I choose to only work with load and volume. Borrowing from Brett’s Iron Cardio/Strength Aerobics anti-glycolytic principles, intensity is static based on heart rate (HR) and respiratory rate (RR). There are no OTM sets or specific intervals. You start the next set when you are recovered (think talk test). Understandably, rest periods might be longer towards the end of your session.

First, you will need three kettlebells, ideally between 55%-85% 1RM. For example, if you have a 40kg 1RM, then you could use a 24kg (60% 1RM), 28kg (70% 1RM), and 32kg (80% 1RM). You will train twice a week on Monday and Friday.

You will always do twenty sets per training session with fast and loose drills in between. A set is complete when you have finished the prescribed number of presses on each side. There is a light, medium, and heavy (weight, not volume) day. You will begin with the following sets and reps:

Light day: 20 sets of 3 reps per side with the 24kg kettlebell
Medium day: 20 sets of 2 reps per side with the 28kg kettlebell
Heavy day: 20 singles per side with the 32kg kettlebell

When you complete all the required sets and reps, during the next training session you will add one more rep to each set (think ETK ladders).

Here is a possible example for six weeks:

In this example, you progress steadily until week 5. During week 5 you couldn’t complete the heavy day, so did not increase the reps. However, you were able to complete all lifts by the end of week 6 and then continued to add volume.

I wouldn’t suggest going further than five reps per set on your heavy day. Instead, you could recycle the program but bump your percentages up 5-10% of your 1RM. As you increase the percentages, the effort will be greater, and your progression will slow down. You might find yourself stalling sooner but continue to stay at the current volume until you can complete the required reps (again think ETK).

Why did I choose twenty sets for each training session? No hard scientific reason. I suppose you could do this with fifteen or twenty-five sets. Fifteen sets might be fine for higher percentages, but subjectively, twenty-five sets just seemed too long. Twenty sets created an appropriate volume for the chosen percentages. It totaled 480 presses per month, which follows the Plan Strong™ guidelines of 400-500 total presses per month. Also, as I still have all my fingers and toes, twenty is as high as I could count.

For me, the volume was just right. I felt some immediate post-exercise fatigue, but my nervous system was never fried. And I had plenty of strength the next day for my work, which happens to be physically demanding. I invite you to give this a try and post your results on the forum.

We thank John for his work with the Teachers of Strength over the years.

VICTORIOUS
A Complete Guide to Pressing a Heavy Kettlebell

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Subject: High mileage pressing program