help with understanding sheiko program please?

[st3v3]

yeah sounds like a good idea, been wanting to try them for a while! but hmm, i have no experience whatsoever with them haha. also how would you put the bar back down...would you do it above the bench or something? damn this thread is turning into me just asking total n00b questions...

Like a power clean. Clean it up, squat the weight, lower it down.

[omg_otters]

Do not run a volume program with smith machine squats!

One of the main focuses of these programs is neuromuscular facilitation. As in, training your body to efficiently perform the tasks. Reinforcing technique and making it second nature, thoughtless, automatic, however you want to call it.

Doing this training on a smith machine will make it harder to learn how to squat properly, as training with bad technique to the point of automatism makes it harder to learn good technique than if you were just starting as a novice.

well what else should i do? sorry but i can't go doing exercises that aren't allowed in my gym. i know, i'll be the first to admit its pathetic.

i've been squatting free weights for the last year, loved it, and that's how i worked out my max too.

you think i should drop the squats and just do high volume leg presses (and front squats, if i can get away with it)?

[Fluster]

front squats, if i can get away with it

Honestly, change gyms - If a gym won't let you front squat since they've stolen your rack, that's absolutely retarded and is no longer a gym, it's a fitness centre.

Your options are clear - Move, or take up yoga and spin classes.

[Torrtrefireto]

Switching gyms is proffered, but if you can't do that just do the typical BS leg routine
presses, extensions, curls ect

Learning to do something wrong makes it harder to relearn to do it right later.
Its one of the most important ideas in strength training.
But the BS conditioning of the machine work will be unspecific enough not to create improper neural pathways that will be later detrimental to the real squat

[double gonad]

http://bmfsports.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=sheiko

A lot of good information on Sheiko there, you should check it out.

[athos8282]

well i originally found the program while i was looking for one to get my bench up, so if im honest the squats are just there to stick to the program.

the gym im at used to have one but they took it away in exchange for 3 smith machines, means a different clientel and more money for them i suppose. i know it's terrible. the squat in my sig was freeweight though of course!

re: three instead of 4 weeks, i was basically following the advice of a poster on these forums, "john prophet", who i don't think posts any more but seems to be very knowledgeable about sheiko programs, and seems to have had some great gains by doing it his way. for example, read his posts in this thread:

so i have read around quite a bit. but if im honest there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of information on this type of training.

and as for how i'd tailor it...well you're right i'm yet to do it so i don't know, but you'd get an idea over the weeks of what works and what doesn't just by listening to your body i guess.

I'm not saying you can't experiment if that's what you feel you want to do, but my advice would be to run the program the way it was designed first. Let me try and summarize based on what I've been told by other knowledgeable Sheiko users. The Russians did non-stop research for two decades looking at the optimal levels of adaptation and volume. After training for a period of time we will stagnate and come to the point where we need new challenges for the body to continue getting stronger, i.e. variation. Sheiko aims to use the right amount of variation (reps/sets/volume) to continue getting stronger while also building the capacity to do more work/volume. The program is designed to develop strength in the lifter by accumulating fatigue with the volume and intensity called for, adapting accordingly and realizing new strength after supercompensation. So yes, you can move toward personal specificity, but it is smart to start with the template. As you gain experience and knowledge, you then start adjusting to address individual needs. Again, these are not my ideas, they are ideas from others that have been very successful with the system. I did not deviate from the templates my first few cycles, even now I am only making minor adjustments each cycle to see how I respond. The result has been a huge increase in work capacity and new PR's every cycle.

Also the site mentioned above is a goldmine of info, I owe most of what I've learned and the success I've had with the system to some of the guys on there. Great stuff.