Ascending-Descending Training Part 2

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   Canadian Ascending - Descending Power Training Part 2: The Upper Body 

In Part 1 of this series I introduced an new type of power training called Ascending-Descending training. This is a method developed by strength coach extraordinaire Jean Boutet. Part 2 will explain how one can use the Ascending-Descending principles for upper body training and how to design a weekly training schedule. The article is gonna be repetitive, it pretty much is the same thing as part 1 except for the exercises, periodization and exercise explanations.

The Nuts and Bolts

The method is simple. It uses a series of exercises, each different in nature in regard to the F = ma equation. It will use one pure slow-speed strength exercise (or limit strength exercise), one strength-speed exercise, one speed-strength exercise, one reactive strength exercise and one bounding exercise.

Exercises

1. Bench press / Incline bench press
2. Push press
3. Medicine ball throw from chest
4. Depth push-ups
5. Half power push ups for reps

The workout is done twice per week. The first time you start with no.5 and work up to no.1 (ascending training). In the second training you start with no.1 and work your way down to no.5 (descending training). This way, you emphasize the high speed movements once and the slower speed movements with a greater strength component once also. This will allow you to get an incredibly powerful and explosive upper body!

Program Design

While it's not set in stone, I recommend using a 3-1 approach to this training. This means that you increase the volume during the first 3 weeks, then cut it down drastically during the fourth week to allow the body to surcompensate. During week 3 you should be at the end of the line ... you should be tired and somewhat fatigued (although not excessively). Performance-wise that third week is your lowest point (keep that in mind!), but during the fourth week you get better and better and when you start a new 4 weeks cycle you are much improved compared to the first cycle. This progression is maintained for 3 cycles.

Here's what a sample program might look like. You'll notice that I do not write the reps, sets and load immediately. Right after the workout description there will be a list of periodization tables for each exercise explaining how much to do every week. BTW, the exercises are not supersetted, you do all the sets for exercise one then move on to exercise two etc.

The Program Tables

Table 1. Exercises and training density

Training Day Exercise Rest intervals btw. sets
Tuesday 1/2 power push ups 1-2 minutes
Depth push ups 1-2 minutes
Med. Ball throw 2-3 minutes
Push press 2-3 minutes
Bench press 3-4 minutes

Friday Bench press 3-4 minutes
Push press 2-3 minutes
Med. Ball throw 2-3 minutes
Dept push ups 1-2 minutes
1/2 power push ups 1-2 minutes

Table 2. Periodization for the bench press

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8
Reps 7 6 5 4 6 5 4 3
Sets 4 5 6 3 4 5 6 3
Load 80 % 83 % 85 % 88 % 85 % 88 % 90 % 92 %
Tempo 3-0-1 3-0-1 3-0-1 3-0-1 3-0-1 3-0-1 3-0-1 3-0-1

Table 3. Periodization for the push press

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8
Reps 5 4 3 2 4 3 2 1
Sets 4 5 6 3 4 5 6 3
Load 83 % 85 % 88 % 90 % 88 % 90 % 92 % 95-100 %
Tempo  always Explosive 

Table 4. Periodization for the medicine ball throw

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8
Reps 10 9 8 7 9 8 7 6
Sets 4 5 6 3 4 5 6 3
Load 10-20lbs 10-20lbs 10-20lbs 10-20lbs 10-20lbs 10-20lbs 10-20lbs 10-20lbs
Tempo always Explosive

Table 5. Periodization for the depth push ups

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8
Reps 10 10 10 10 12 12 12 12
Sets 3 4 5 2 3 4 5 2
Load BW* BW* BW* BW* BW* BW* BW* BW*
Tempo  always Explosive

*) The load is body weight only

Table 6. Periodization for the 1/2 power push ups for reps

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8
Reps AMAP10* AMAP15* AMAP20* AMAP15* AMAP20* AMAP2
5* AMAP30* AMAP25*
Sets 3 4 5 2 3 4 5 2
Load BW** BW** BW** BW** BW** BW** BW** BW**
Tempo  always explosive

*) Refer to As Many Reps As Possible, the number refers to the amount of time. So AMAP10 means as many reps as possible in 10 seconds.
**) The load is body weight only

Constructing the Workouts

To build your workouts you simply have to look at the periodization tables. Let's say that you are in week 3 and that it's your Friday workout. That would give you:

1. Bench press
6 sets of 5 reps with 85% using a tempo of 301, 3-4 minutes between sets
2. Push press
6 sets of 3 reps with 88%, 2-3 minutes between sets
3. Medicine ball throw from chest
5 sets of 10 reps with 10-20lbs, 2-3 minutes between sets
4. Depth push ups
5 sets of 10 with your body weight, 1-2 minutes between sets
5. 1/2 power push ups for reps
5 sets of AMAP20 with your bodyweight, 1-2 minutes between sets

The Exercises Explained

Bench press: Well if you don't know what this exercise is or how you perform it you've probably been hiding in a cave for the last 20 years!

1. Hold the bar slightly wider than shoulder width
2. Lower the bar to the nipples
3. Press the bar upwards in a straight line

You can use the incline bench press instead, which I find to be more specific.

Incline Bench Press

1. Hold the bar slightly wider than shoulder width
2. Lower the bar to the nipples
3. Press the bar upwards slightly towards your face

Push press: A push press is best described as a cheated shoulder press. You get the bar moving by starting the movement with a leg drive.

1. Hold the bar on your shoulders/collar bone, grip slightly wider than your shoulders.
2. Start the movement with a rapid leg dip followed by a powerful leg drive upward.
3. At the same time press the bar with your arms, try to lift the bar with as much speed as possible

Medicine ball throw from chest: There are 2 variations of this exercise. Standing up or lying down. The standing up version is more specific to sports but involves the torso and a bit of the lower body while the lying down version is more targeted to the upper body, but is a bit less specific. For my money I prefer the standing up version when athletes are concerned but the other one has some merits too. If you choose to do the lying down version, be sure to have a partner to catch the ball for you!

Depth push ups: This is the upper body equivalent of the depth jump. You let yourself fall from a certain height, land on the ground, and explode upward as fast as possible.

1. Feet on the ground, hands on blocks (or 2-3 45lbs plates) 8-10" wider than shoulder width.
2. Let yourself drop from the blocks
3. Land on the ground in the push up position and immediately project yourself upwards in the air ... imagine that the ground is hot lava.
4. Land back on the blocks.

1/2 Power push ups for reps: This exercise is great for developing quickness in the upper body. Start in a push-up position, dips down halfway and project yourself in the air, do the reps fast and try to do as many reps as possible in the prescribed time frame.

1. Start in your regular push up position.
2. Quickly dip down halfway (arms around 90 degrees).
3. Project yourself in the air.
4. Land in the push up position and quickly start another rep.

Complete Training Schedule

If you choose to do the whole ascending - descending power program the schedule is as follows:

Monday: Ascending lower body
Tuesday: Ascending upper body
Wednesday: off
Thursday: Descending lower body
Friday: Descending upper body
Saturday: off
Sunday: off

Adding Other Exercises 

This program contains minimal upper body work for most athletes. Many of us are used to doing much more exercises for the upper body. More for aesthetic reasons than performance reasons in my opinion. So if you want to add other exercises for the shoulders, back, chest, biceps or triceps you can do so BUT only after all the prescribed work is done.  However keep the volume relatively low as you'll already be taxing your system with this program. I would recommend doing 5-10 sets for the upper back, the rest is up to you.

Another alternative is to add your additional exercises on Saturday. Saturday is ideal for extra work because working out on this day will not negatively affect your performance on the subsequent prescribed workout (because you have a full day of rest before it).

Conclusion

Once again let me tell you that this is not a powerlifting or bodybuilding program. It is not optimal to develop maximum strength and/or size. It is an approach to develop maximum power and should be used mainly by athletes wishing to improve their sport performance.

On the other hand, it is a great program to develop power. But that doesn't mean that you should only use this program for the rest of your life. Phases focusing more on limit strength and size must be included in your yearly planification.

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Pingleton Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Postaholic Highland Games' virtually straight legs Joined: 11/28/06 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 2747	Post Options Post Reply Quote Pingleton Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Ascending-Descending Training Part 2 Posted: 1/21/09 at 3:20am
	Canadian Ascending - Descending Power Training Part 2: The Upper Body In Part 1 of this series I introduced an new type of power training called Ascending-Descending training. This is a method developed by strength coach extraordinaire Jean Boutet. Part 2 will explain how one can use the Ascending-Descending principles for upper body training and how to design a weekly training schedule. The article is gonna be repetitive, it pretty much is the same thing as part 1 except for the exercises, periodization and exercise explanations. The Nuts and Bolts The method is simple. It uses a series of exercises, each different in nature in regard to the F = ma equation. It will use one pure slow-speed strength exercise (or limit strength exercise), one strength-speed exercise, one speed-strength exercise, one reactive strength exercise and one bounding exercise. Exercises 1. Bench press / Incline bench press 2. Push press 3. Medicine ball throw from chest 4. Depth push-ups 5. Half power push ups for reps The workout is done twice per week. The first time you start with no.5 and work up to no.1 (ascending training). In the second training you start with no.1 and work your way down to no.5 (descending training). This way, you emphasize the high speed movements once and the slower speed movements with a greater strength component once also. This will allow you to get an incredibly powerful and explosive upper body! Program Design While it's not set in stone, I recommend using a 3-1 approach to this training. This means that you increase the volume during the first 3 weeks, then cut it down drastically during the fourth week to allow the body to surcompensate. During week 3 you should be at the end of the line ... you should be tired and somewhat fatigued (although not excessively). Performance-wise that third week is your lowest point (keep that in mind!), but during the fourth week you get better and better and when you start a new 4 weeks cycle you are much improved compared to the first cycle. This progression is maintained for 3 cycles. Here's what a sample program might look like. You'll notice that I do not write the reps, sets and load immediately. Right after the workout description there will be a list of periodization tables for each exercise explaining how much to do every week. BTW, the exercises are not supersetted, you do all the sets for exercise one then move on to exercise two etc. The Program Tables Table 1. Exercises and training density Training Day Exercise Rest intervals btw. sets Tuesday 1/2 power push ups 1-2 minutes Depth push ups 1-2 minutes Med. Ball throw 2-3 minutes Push press 2-3 minutes Bench press 3-4 minutes Friday Bench press 3-4 minutes Push press 2-3 minutes Med. Ball throw 2-3 minutes Dept push ups 1-2 minutes 1/2 power push ups 1-2 minutes Table 2. Periodization for the bench press Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Reps 7 6 5 4 6 5 4 3 Sets 4 5 6 3 4 5 6 3 Load 80 % 83 % 85 % 88 % 85 % 88 % 90 % 92 % Tempo 3-0-1 3-0-1 3-0-1 3-0-1 3-0-1 3-0-1 3-0-1 3-0-1 Table 3. Periodization for the push press Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Reps 5 4 3 2 4 3 2 1 Sets 4 5 6 3 4 5 6 3 Load 83 % 85 % 88 % 90 % 88 % 90 % 92 % 95-100 % Tempo always Explosive Table 4. Periodization for the medicine ball throw Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Reps 10 9 8 7 9 8 7 6 Sets 4 5 6 3 4 5 6 3 Load 10-20lbs 10-20lbs 10-20lbs 10-20lbs 10-20lbs 10-20lbs 10-20lbs 10-20lbs Tempo always Explosive Table 5. Periodization for the depth push ups Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Reps 10 10 10 10 12 12 12 12 Sets 3 4 5 2 3 4 5 2 Load BW* BW* BW* BW* BW* BW* BW* BW* Tempo always Explosive ) The load is body weight only Table 6. Periodization for the 1/2 power push ups for reps Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Reps AMAP10 AMAP15* AMAP20* AMAP15* AMAP20* AMAP2 5* AMAP30* AMAP25* Sets 3 4 5 2 3 4 5 2 Load BW BW BW BW BW BW BW BW Tempo always explosive ) Refer to As Many Reps As Possible, the number refers to the amount of time. So AMAP10 means as many reps as possible in 10 seconds. ) The load is body weight only Constructing the Workouts* To build your workouts you simply have to look at the periodization tables. Let's say that you are in week 3 and that it's your Friday workout. That would give you: 1. Bench press 6 sets of 5 reps with 85% using a tempo of 301, 3-4 minutes between sets 2. Push press 6 sets of 3 reps with 88%, 2-3 minutes between sets 3. Medicine ball throw from chest 5 sets of 10 reps with 10-20lbs, 2-3 minutes between sets 4. Depth push ups 5 sets of 10 with your body weight, 1-2 minutes between sets 5. 1/2 power push ups for reps 5 sets of AMAP20 with your bodyweight, 1-2 minutes between sets The Exercises Explained Bench press: Well if you don't know what this exercise is or how you perform it you've probably been hiding in a cave for the last 20 years! 1. Hold the bar slightly wider than shoulder width 2. Lower the bar to the nipples 3. Press the bar upwards in a straight line You can use the incline bench press instead, which I find to be more specific. Incline Bench Press 1. Hold the bar slightly wider than shoulder width 2. Lower the bar to the nipples 3. Press the bar upwards slightly towards your face Push press: A push press is best described as a cheated shoulder press. You get the bar moving by starting the movement with a leg drive. 1. Hold the bar on your shoulders/collar bone, grip slightly wider than your shoulders. 2. Start the movement with a rapid leg dip followed by a powerful leg drive upward. 3. At the same time press the bar with your arms, try to lift the bar with as much speed as possible Medicine ball throw from chest: There are 2 variations of this exercise. Standing up or lying down. The standing up version is more specific to sports but involves the torso and a bit of the lower body while the lying down version is more targeted to the upper body, but is a bit less specific. For my money I prefer the standing up version when athletes are concerned but the other one has some merits too. If you choose to do the lying down version, be sure to have a partner to catch the ball for you! Depth push ups: This is the upper body equivalent of the depth jump. You let yourself fall from a certain height, land on the ground, and explode upward as fast as possible. 1. Feet on the ground, hands on blocks (or 2-3 45lbs plates) 8-10" wider than shoulder width. 2. Let yourself drop from the blocks 3. Land on the ground in the push up position and immediately project yourself upwards in the air ... imagine that the ground is hot lava. 4. Land back on the blocks. 1/2 Power push ups for reps: This exercise is great for developing quickness in the upper body. Start in a push-up position, dips down halfway and project yourself in the air, do the reps fast and try to do as many reps as possible in the prescribed time frame. 1. Start in your regular push up position. 2. Quickly dip down halfway (arms around 90 degrees). 3. Project yourself in the air. 4. Land in the push up position and quickly start another rep. Complete Training Schedule If you choose to do the whole ascending - descending power program the schedule is as follows: Monday: Ascending lower body Tuesday: Ascending upper body Wednesday: off Thursday: Descending lower body Friday: Descending upper body Saturday: off Sunday: off Adding Other Exercises This program contains minimal upper body work for most athletes. Many of us are used to doing much more exercises for the upper body. More for aesthetic reasons than performance reasons in my opinion. So if you want to add other exercises for the shoulders, back, chest, biceps or triceps you can do so BUT only after all the prescribed work is done. However keep the volume relatively low as you'll already be taxing your system with this program. I would recommend doing 5-10 sets for the upper back, the rest is up to you. Another alternative is to add your additional exercises on Saturday. Saturday is ideal for extra work because working out on this day will not negatively affect your performance on the subsequent prescribed workout (because you have a full day of rest before it). Conclusion Once again let me tell you that this is not a powerlifting or bodybuilding program. It is not optimal to develop maximum strength and/or size. It is an approach to develop maximum power and should be used mainly by athletes wishing to improve their sport performance. On the other hand, it is a great program to develop power. But that doesn't mean that you should only use this program for the rest of your life. Phases focusing more on limit strength and size must be included in your yearly planification.

Joel Sim Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 9/26/07 Status: Offline Points: 560	Post Options Post Reply Quote Joel Sim Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 1/21/09 at 7:48am
	FWIW I'm goning to substitute medicine ball pushups for the 1/2 power pushups. this is what I mean http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPPTDhLjLgA