05 Feb Planning the Plan

By Will Kuenzel/Lowcountry Strength

I’ve got two rules.  Rule #1 is don’t be stupid.  Rule #2 is have a plan.  It basically boils down to don’t be dumb, be smart.  Following Rule #1 isn’t always easy, but it is easier than Rule #2.  The second rule can be a bit more difficult from the stand point of actually having to think ahead.  I’m a fan of the 7 P’s.  Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.  If given the opportunity, I will look as far ahead as I can.  I incorporate both nutrition and training into my plan.  I create a general outline and go from there.  I’ll put it down in Excel and update it as necessary as I go.

[wa-wps]

When creating a plan, I start at the end point and work backwards.  For me in this instance I’m planning backwards from our in-house meet at Lowcounty Strength.  That’s 14 weeks from now.  I am however looking past that as well.  Based upon my current goals, that’s only half of it.  The other half entails where I want to be physique/weight wise.  I’ve got some size to gain but I know after that, I’m going to need to pull it back a little.  My wife and I are also expecting our second child just a couple weeks post in-house meet.  I try to take that into consideration, so knowing my training will be slightly limited it needs to be raw, brief, and flexible.

I’m using an extended 10 week off season plan from Brian Carroll’s 10/20/Life.  The beauty of this system is its flexibility.  I can take the gist of it and easily add in 2-3 weeks and still maintain a beautiful plan.

Initially, I only look at the rep scheme for the main exercises I’ll be doing.  Exercise selection is the next thing I’ll look towards.  In this example, I’ll be switching the main exercises after the first 8 weeks.  6 weeks out, I’ll make some small modifications to the main exercises but only to make it more specific for what I want to try and accomplish on this particular testing day.  Once the main exercises have been selected, I’ll plan out the assistance work.  These exercises are really where I put the main intensity during my off season.  These are the weakness fixers.  I’ll keep the main exercises pretty consistent, I’m constantly evaluating how I’m responding to these.  The main exercises, work performance and technique,  and these assistance exercises are used to hammer out the weaknesses.  The first assistance exercise will usually stay the same throughout the training cycle.  It has a very specific purpose and I want to maximize it.  But I am open to switching it out if my assessment deems it necessary.

Brian’s book has an incredible weak point index.  Pick what’s appropriate for you.  Everything that gets put into the program has to serve a purpose.  If you’re doing something you need to be able to answer the question, “why am I doing this?”  I will always double check and ask myself, “would something else be better for this purpose?”  If you’re satisfied with the answers to those questions then keep going.  If you can’t answer the first question, then reevaluate.  Nothing should be without purpose.

A plan isn’t written in stone.  Nothing is to say that the path may veer off of the plan or that the plan needs to change.  It never hurts to be flexible but being prepared is always a good idea.

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Low Country Strength

Will Kuenzel is the owner of Lowcountry Strength (www.LowcountryStrength.com) in Charleston, SC. Will started his athletic endeavors as a pole vault; finishing up his collegiate career with a best vault of 16’9” at a whopping 160lbs. He the track and field world to pursue bodybuilding, his first show in 2005, he won 1st place in Men’s Novice as a middle weight. One year later he took 2nd as a Men’s Junior heavy weight. Since 2007 he has been a competitive powerlifter and totaling elite as a 220lber. His best lifts in multiply equipment are a 710lbs squat, a 605lbs bench press, a 615lbs deadlift and a 1930 total. In 2008 Will started Lowcountry Strength out of his garage. Since then it has moved into a 16,000 sq/ft facility and shares space with a mixed martial arts studio. With all disciplines of powerlifting, strongman, MMA, jiu jitsu and other sports in the Charleston area getting trained under one roof, Will heads up the strength and conditioning for a wide variety of athletes and clients.

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