CUSTOM TRAINING TEMPLATE
PROGRAM HOW-TO
Thank you for purchasing the RP Custom Training Program!
In order to give you the best possible experience, we’ve included detailed instructions in this document on how to run the program. In the FAQ
document which you’ve also received, we address numerous possible questions that you might have about the particulars of the process. Our best
advice for you is to read this whole document first, and then move on to the FAQ. Only upon reading both of these documents do we recommend
you start using the program for your training.
Step by Step How-To Instructions
Opening the program and making sure all documents are included.
When you receive your program, it will come in the form of an Excel file and several other Word files. The actual program is in the Excel file and
covers 1 sheet. If you use another program to view spreadsheets (Google Docs, any Apple products, etc…) we unfortunately cannot guarantee that
the formulas and drop-down menus will function properly, so we highly recommend using Microsoft Excel.
We highly recommend you save an unedited copy of your program so that you can save-as and make new programs from it every time you need
them.
BUILDING YOUR PROGRAM
Steps 1: Entering your preferred exercises.
Before we get into the details, please keep this in mind. If you EVER get lost in all of this just look at the mesocycle workout sheet itself and follow
the numbers (steps 1-5 of the program). Roughly, you will:
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Pick the exercises that you have access to at your gym and/or that you’ve done before or are the most comfortable doing.
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For better stimulus and fatigue management, we recommend picking two different movements for each of the options for exercises when two
cells are available, such as when “quads” is two exercise in a row, however, you can choose to repeat the movement if you feel confident in
your ability to benefit and recover from this approach.
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Only select exercises you’re competent in. This is not a novice program and you must know the basic lifts well. Consider consulting a local
powerlifting coach to help you with technique if you’re struggling.
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To help you remember the proper techniques for the exercises, every time you pick an exercise, its how-to video, will pop up in a clickable link
in the column right next to the exercise name column.
Step 2: Entering your estimated 10RM values.
Once you’ve picked your exercises, you’re ready to pick the estimated 10RM values in the 10RM column. 10RM means “10 repetition max,” the most
weight you can do for one set of 10 on each exercise. Does this mean you MUST actually go to the gym for the whole week before this program and
find your 10RM values by testing them? Absolutely not. If you have actual recent 10RM values from your older training, great, use those. If you don’t,
you don’t have to worry at all. This program is designed to work well in a wide range of weights that are estimates of your 10RM.
Your only job when picking them is to not be a complete knucklehead during the process. For example, don’t pick for a 10RM something you’re likely
going to struggle getting for 6 reps on a good day. These don’t have to be “gun to your head” 10RMs, just realistic ones. On the other hand, don’t
get super conservative and put down weights you can rep out for 15 on any given day. Just give your best guess to a realistic 10RM, keep your fear
and ego out of the decision as much as you can, and go from there.
After the first week, if your first couple of sets on an exercise are 5 or fewer reps, you need to bump the weight down in that initial 10RM column.
If they are over 30 reps, you need to bump that weight up. All else should work just fine. If one of your latter sets dips into 4 reps, that’s ok. But if
it’s 3 or fewer, either rest more or reduce the load for the next sets and sessions.
DURING YOUR TRAINING
Once you’ve completed the 10RM column and filled in all those values, you can switch over to the “during your training” entry columns at the top
of the program. This is where the first week of your newly generated workout awaits! Your whole workout will be generated for you, including
weights, sets, and rep recommendations.
First things first when you’re training; the warmup. You’ve lifted a bunch before, so we’re not going to tell you how to warm up. Warm up how you
usually do until you’re ready to begin the working sets, and feel free to warm up for the different exercises to your liking within each workout. If
you need help with warmups, check out this video.
When you’re doing each working set, you’ll notice that the “rep goal” column is rather strange. It says something like “3/fail, 2/fail or 1/fail.” What
does the /fail (read: “from fail”) system mean?
It’s VERY SIMPLE. If the rep goal says “3/fail,” then you are to stop the set when you think you’ve got about 3 reps left in the tank. When it says “2/
fail,” stop when you only have two reps or so left and when it says “1/fail,” stop the set when you only have one rep left before you give out. That’s
it, it’s as simple as that. What this means is that you’ll be pushing it pretty easy on the first weeks, and ramping up the relative intensity as the weeks
progress to week 4, which will of course be pure hell. This system is designed to execute the function of progressive overload to give you maximum
results, and it will work well ONLY IF YOU’RE HONEST WITH YOURSELF. If you push all the work sets to near failure in the first weeks, you’re going
to overreach and hit the proverbial wall long before the mesocycle is over (getting subpar results). If you take it too easy, then the workouts will not
be sufficiently challenging in order to deliver the best results.
A very quick note; if you have to break your technique to get more reps, YOU’VE ALREADY FAILED. When we write “3/fail,” we ALWAYS mean “3
reps away from failure WITH GOOD TECHNIQUE.” Never let your technique slide for more reps. Sorry for yelling.
Lastly, if you’re confused about the from-fail system and are just not sure if you’re guessing right, don’t be frustrated. Always seek to learn your
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body better, but in the meantime, just guess your best. Great results will come even if you’re not 100% on target with every guess. Remember,
you’re NEVER training to failure in any week of this program. To get some insight behind the system, this longer in-depth video might interest you.
Step 3: Writing down your reps.
After each workout, write down the reps you actually got in the “rep results” column. You’re almost done with your workout-tracking for the day.
You just need to do one more thing; rate your workouts.
Steps 4,5: Rating the workouts.
Most of the exercises have drop down menus for almost every single training day, save for deload and the first couple and last couple days of each
mesocycle. Rate the exercises that have soreness rating and pump rating columns in their rows for that day by selecting either -1, 0 , or 1 from the
drop-down menu in every cell.
Please rate your soreness and pump experience as honestly as you can. You’ll notice that some different responses lead to the same numbers being
selected, and that’s 100% by design.
The purpose of the ratings is very important. How you rate your exercises plugs into a feedback system that programs the future number of sets for
that muscle group. The algorithm can get quite complicated, but the usual process is to alter the number of sets you’ll be doing in the next week
of training. Thus, if your training was super tough early in the week 1, your training next week will be made easier so that you can recover better. If
your training was smooth, no changes will be made, and if you training was too easy, the next week will get harder. This function extends through
most of the program, so please stay diligent with the ratings to get the most out of the plan.
The exact rating descriptions are featured at the top of each mesocycle sheet in the Step 4 and Step 5 descriptions, so please read them carefully
and rate accordingly.
These ratings ONLY WORK if you’re HONEST about your experience. If you blew through all the reps and didn’t feel a twinge sore from last time,
fantastic, rate it a 1 and you’ll have more work in your future. But if you had a tough workout and were still sore from last time but still rated it a
1, you’re setting up a tidal wave of volume that will crush down on your already-beat-down-self in mere days. That can lead to performance loss,
unintentional overreaching, bad results, and possibly even injury. So do your best with the ratings and the workout will adjust itself for you, no ego
or fear of overtraining required.
Final Step: Deloading.
Assuming you’ve survived week 5 of the accumulation phase, the 6th week of the plan is a deload. You can see this week once you’ve scrolled all
the way to the right. The purpose of this week is to preserve your muscle gains while dropping your fatigue off and allowing you to have another
productive training cycle ahead. You’ll notice that the week’s rep goal is usually to do “1/2 reps of week 1,” so that’s exactly what you should do!
If the reps of week 1 are odd numbers, just err on the side of lower. So for example, if you did 7,5,4 reps on week 1, doing 3,2,2 reps on the deload
week is the recommended approach.
Not only are the reps lower, but the weights will be lower too, especially in the second half of the deload week. This is to promote recovery and
maintain muscle, and is entirely planned (your program is not broken because the weights are so puny). There is no rating scale for those workouts,
in part because they will be super easy. If you choose to skip the deload week or make it harder, that is unlikely to be a good decision for your
medium and long term training.
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Repeating the program or moving on?
After the deload week, you can do the whole program over, potentially replacing some exercises via this advanced guide video. You can repeat
the program like this as many times as you like (at least 2 repetitions is often a good idea). But if you get bored or want to focus on some different
muscle groups, feel free to order another plan!
If you want to use this plan as a maintenance/resensitization plan, just do the following:
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Do not rate anything, so that set numbers don’t change at all during your resensitization mesocycle.
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Only do the first 3 weeks of the plan, and then take the deload week, skipping weeks 4 and 5.
Once you’re done with resensitization/maintenance, feel free to re-used the 6 week program again and pick different exercises for several more
cycles, or order another program and choose different muscles to grow and/or specialize!
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