Compound Variations

[TBPenguin]

KShea, you are using submaximal in a much different way here. Basically you seem to be saying anything less than hitting your X rep max is submaximal. TB is far, far below that. Consider if you did Operator or Zulu with a 90% TM. Your heaviest week would have you doing about 86% for 3 x 1-2. That is about where Vanilla Gorilla starts as I recall. With TB you can lower that TM. Use an 85% TM like Wendler currently recommends and you are looking at 3 x 1-2 at about 80%. My bet is that by the time you got there, just a few weeks in, you could do that daily. It is set that way so you can do conditioning or whatever the other days.

Whether you go with Operator or Zulu, my suggestion is that you put the plan in a spreadsheet. When you look at the numbers you will probably think they aren't so bad. If they make you nervous, reduce the TM for the first time through. A block only lasts six weeks. If you only do the first three weeks and then need to take a week of deload, it isn't like you've lost much. That pattern is kinda suggested for members of the over 40 club anyway, so if it happens to you once so what?

[KShea]

The numbers themselves won't make me nervous. The volume and full range of motion each day may. I've had injuries piling up prior to this... it's one of the reasons I've shifted from a strength standpoint to an overall standpoint.

I tend to overthink my own programs and the advice I give to newbies is generally different than I'd give to myself. So I appreciate all of you saying to run it as is. I'm going to do either Zulu or operator as is and play with it as I go.

Thanks for the discussion. Awesome talk.