Juggernaut Review
I decided to run the Juggernaut written by Chad Smith, after being quite impressed with his performance at the Worlds last year.
I also (maybe stupidly) decided to go on a cut whilst doing it.
I ran it over 16 weeks, deloading after each 'wave' of rep segments. 10's, 8's, 5's, 3's.
Each wave consists of an accumulation phase of lots of volume, Intensification where intensity picks up, and Realization, where it's a test of your max reps at a given percentage.
I started with working maxes (based on 90% of my actual maxes) of:
Squat - 193kg
Bench - 99kg
Deadlift - 252kg
M.Press - 58.5kg
My final maxes at the end of week 16 were:
Squat - 203kg
Bench - 129kg
Deadlift - 287kg
M.Press - 81kg
I felt that my squats strength went down and deadlift improved slightly. Bench and Military Press were always going to go up because I was getting over an injury when I started.
Overall, I would not do this program again nor recommend it for anyone other than a beginner or more of a general athlete rather than a powerlifter.
PRO's:
Good Volume in some weeks.
All out sets are fun.
CONS:
Deloading after each wave breaks up momentum and seems pointless.
Your working maxes are re-calculated after each wave, sometimes giving unrealistic figures due to the formula used.
Week one of each wave is too easy.
Not enough time spent in higher percentage ranges making the final weeks weight feel heavy.
I stress that this is only my opinion, and it might be much more enjoyable and effective for someone else. I like to feel heavy weight on my back more regularly and will be going back to my program.
Dicko