Sheiko CMS-MS Prep Cycle

A preparatory-period monthly plan written by Boris Sheiko for Candidate Master of Sport / Master of Sport (CMS / MS) lifters: 4 weeks, 4 sessions per week, 16 sessions and 570 working sets in total. It puts the vast majority of the load in the 50-80% range of 1RM and uses a huge volume of submaximal reps to polish the squat, bench press and deadlift. Bench is trained 3-4 times per week, with one pyramid that climbs step by step and then backs off. This is a self-contained accumulation month: run it on its own, or use it as the preparatory block ahead of the numbered long cycles.

Origin and philosophy

Boris Sheiko is an honored coach of the Soviet / Russian national powerlifting team and has produced dozens of world champions. His methodology circulates as "numbered programs", originally written as sample routines for athletes of different classes (in the Russian ranking system, Candidate Master of Sport CMS and Master of Sport MS). This program is the preparatory (подготовительный / accumulation) month template for the CMS / MS level.

Its core logic runs against the "go heavy and hit your limit" instinct: build strength from a large number of technically perfect submaximal reps. Not one of the 16 sessions in this block is trained to failure. The bulk of the load stays at 50-80%, only top sets after Week 2 touch 85%, and block pulls reach a maximum of 90%. You don't gain strength from one or two grinding singles; you "lubricate" the neural pathways with 570 precise sets.

Who it's for

• Experience level: Intermediate-advanced / advanced. This is a preparatory block written for lifters at or near Master of Sport level, and it is not suitable for beginners.
• Prerequisites: Known competition 1RMs for squat, bench press and conventional deadlift, and the conditioning to complete sessions of 90-120 minutes with 30+ sets each.
• Main goal: Use a month of high frequency and high volume to build a thick base of technique and work capacity in the big three before moving into a longer competition cycle.
• Best conditions: Maintenance calories or a slight surplus. Around 140 sets of training volume per week is hard to recover from in a fat-loss deficit.

Pros and cons

Pros

• High competition-lift frequency: bench 3-4 times per week, squat twice a week, deadlift variations twice a week, repeating the competition lifts into muscle memory within one month.
• The bulk of the load is at 50-80%, so you almost never have to grind. Every rep is clean, injury risk is low, and it is especially good for polishing technique.
• More deadlift work than the numbered long cycles: besides the conventional deadlift, deficit deadlifts and block pulls rotate in to target the start off the floor and the lockout.
• The 20-set bench pyramid on Wednesday of Week 3 is the signature session of this block, maxing out pressing endurance and technical density in one go.
• Across the four weeks the load follows a clear "volume peak → intensity peak" course (most sets in Week 3, highest intensity in Week 4), so you see feedback within one month.

Cons

• Four sessions per week, including Saturday, with many exercises and sets per session. Sessions generally run 90-120 minutes, so the time cost is high.
• All 16 sessions are different, so there is no fixed routine to memorize and you have to follow the chart every time.
• The accessory "slots" (dumbbell flyes, good mornings, dips, triceps pushdowns, etc.) are generic defaults that may not target your weak points precisely, so you will need to swap them yourself.
• This block has no built-in deload week, and Week 4 is the intensity peak. If recovery doesn't keep up, you may run out of gas at the end of the month.

Program structure

• Split: Full body every session. Each day covers at least two of the big three, plus accessory slots.
• Weekly schedule: 4 sessions per week, fixed on Monday / Wednesday / Friday / Saturday.
• Total volume: 4 weeks × 4 sessions = 16 sessions and 570 working sets. Sets per week are 140 / 132 / 153 / 145. That is not a linear increase but a "high, drop back, peak, converge" wave, with Week 3 as the highest-volume week.
• Training day archetypes:
  • Monday: Main squat work (often two segments) + bench press + chest slot (dumbbell flyes) + abs.
  • Wednesday: Deadlift (conventional / deficit) + bench pyramid + good mornings. This is the heaviest day by volume.
  • Friday: Bench press + squat (often two segments) + slots.
  • Saturday: A variation and accessory intensity day. Deficit deadlifts / block pulls / overhead press / incline bench press / weighted dips rotate in, making it the most "different" of the four days.
• Double segments: This block repeatedly uses the signature Sheiko structure of "training the same lift in two segments within one session". The first segment is heavy (topping out at 80-85%), and the second is a lighter volume / back-off segment (topping out at 65-75%, with 4-6 more reps). Examples are Monday squats in Week 1, Friday bench in Week 1, and squats on Monday and Friday of Week 3, all done as two stacked segments. With this heavy-then-light stacking, the block raises the number of main-lift sets per day without ever dragging any set to failure.

Exercise selection and rationale

This block is built almost entirely around the three competition lifts, with lean, generic accessory work.

• Barbell high-bar squat: The main lift on 2 days per week. Top set is 80% in Week 1, rising to 85% in Weeks 3-4. The second segment is mostly 5-rep volume sets at around 70%.
• Barbell bench press: The highest-frequency lift in the whole block (3-4 times per week), carrying the pyramid and double-segment work. Top sets reach 85% from Week 2.
• Barbell conventional deadlift: 1-2 days per week, where one segment is often marked "pull only to knee height", using a pause / partial range to build speed off the floor.
• Barbell deficit deadlift: Builds starting strength from a disadvantaged start position and adds load step by step over the four weeks (60% → 65% → 65% → 70%). Percentages are based on the corresponding main lift (deadlift) max.
• Barbell block pull: Appears on Saturdays of Weeks 1, 3 and 4 to strengthen the lockout, and is the only lift in the block that reaches 90%. Percentages are likewise based on the deadlift max.
• Accessory slots: Dumbbell flyes (chest slot, 3 days per week, 5×10), barbell good mornings (posterior chain, alternating standing and seated "seated on the bar" versions), weighted dips, barbell incline bench press (6×4), barbell overhead press (5×5, Weeks 2 and 4), cable triceps pushdowns (triceps slot in Week 3), and sit-ups (abs of your choice). These are done at moderate intensity, not to failure. They are common defaults in the library and can be swapped according to your weak points.

Sets, reps and intensity

Working sets in the big three roughly follow a Prilepin-style submaximal approach: heavy loads get fewer reps, lighter loads get more:

• 50-70%: 3-8 reps per set (higher for the pyramid's back-off volume sets, up to 10-12 reps). This is the ramp-in and the bulk of the volume in every session, so make sure you don't skip it.
• 70-80%: 2-5 reps per set. This is the center of gravity of the block's load.
• 80-85%: 1-3 reps per set, appearing only in top sets and becoming more frequent from Week 2 to Week 4.

The two deadlift variations follow their own rhythm (both based on the deadlift max): deficit deadlifts for 2-3 reps at 50-70%, and block pulls for a fixed 2-4 reps at 60-90%. The latter is the only lift in the block to reach 90% (90%×2 in Week 1, 90%×3 in Week 4).

The pyramid bench press is the hallmark of Wednesday: 14 sets in Week 1 with a peak of 80%×2; 12 sets in Week 2 with a peak of 80%×2; in Week 3 it expands to 20 sets, climbing from 50%×8 up to 85%×1, then backing off step by step down to 50%×12. The climb builds technique, the peak touches intensity, and the back-off sets on the way down fill out the total volume.

No set is taken to failure; leave 1-2 reps in reserve on every set. If a set has to be ground out, the weight is too high or you didn't rest enough. Cut 2.5-5% from the prescription and don't change the structure.

Weekly load progression

The four weeks form a clear "volume first, intensity later" curve:

• Week 1 (base): 140 sets. Top sets in the big three cap at 80% (squat 80%×2-3, bench and deadlift 80%×3), the bench pyramid peaks at 80%, and block pulls already reach 90%×2. Establish rhythm and conditioning.
• Week 2 (introducing intensity): 132 sets, the lowest set count of the block. The first 85% top sets appear (3 sets of bench at 85%×2 on Monday). No block pulls this week; Saturday swaps to overhead press + incline bench press + weighted dips.
• Week 3 (volume peak): 153 sets, the highest in the block. The signature 20-set bench pyramid arrives (peak 85%×1), Friday squats top out at 85%×2, block pulls are done as high-rep lockout work at 85%×4, and deficit deadlifts at 65%×3.
• Week 4 (intensity peak): 145 sets. Several 85%×2 top sets (squat, bench, conventional deadlift), block pulls go back to 90%, and this time as a triple at 90%×3, and deficit deadlifts push up to 70%×2. This is the highest-intensity week of the block.

Progression is already written into the four weeks based on your current 1RM, so you don't need to add weight between sessions yourself. After running the whole block, use the new 1RM from a test or competition as the starting point for the next round.

Duration and what comes next

Run the full 4 weeks. This is a preparatory / accumulation month and has no pre-competition deload of its own. Week 4 is the intensity peak, so don't expect an "easy finish" here.

• End of the month: Schedule a test or competition to update your big three maxes.
• Follow-up: For a complete competition cycle, use this block as the preparatory month ahead of "Sheiko #29-32 (16 weeks)", or use your updated maxes to run this month again and keep accumulating.
• Change of direction: If you next want low-stress hypertrophy, switch to a volume-friendly general program, and return to a powerlifting cycle after building muscle in the off-season.

Equipment needed

A barbell, squat rack, bench and plates are everything you need for the main lifts.

Accessory work additionally needs: dumbbells (flyes), parallel bars / a dip station that can take added weight, blocks or a wooden box (block pulls), an incline bench, and a cable machine (triceps pushdowns).

Home gym substitutions: Block pulls can be replaced with rack pulls; weighted dips can be swapped for close-grip bench press; incline bench press can be swapped for overhead press; cable triceps pushdowns can be swapped for skullcrushers.

Rest times

This block doesn't prescribe fixed rest seconds. As is usual in Sheiko's approach, rest until you can do the next set with perfect technique. For this block's load tiers:

• Top sets (above 80%, including block pulls at 90%): 3-5 minutes.
• Submaximal working sets of the main lifts (70-79%): 2-4 minutes.
• Ramp-in and back-off volume sets (50-65%): 1-2 minutes.
• Accessory slots: 1-2 minutes.

For a session like Wednesday of Week 3, stacked with the 20-set bench pyramid and as many as 46 sets in one session, running the full 90-120 minutes is normal. To save time, shorten the rest between light sets first and save your energy for the top sets and the peak of the pyramid.

How to choose starting weights

Enter your current competition 1RMs for squat, bench press and conventional deadlift (in the Russian approach, use about 97% of your true max; erring on the conservative side is fine).

• The two deadlift variations, deficit deadlifts and block pulls, are both based on your deadlift max (noted in the set notes).
• Incline bench press, if you use percentages, is based on your bench max. In this block it is given as a fixed 6×4, so choose the weight by feel.
• Accessory slots (flyes, good mornings, dips, overhead press, triceps pushdowns, abs) have conservative defaults. Adjust slightly to your level in the first session. They should feel moderate rather than hard.

Common mistake: Using an inflated 1RM. Week 1 starts at 50-70% for 3-5 reps per set and should feel controlled and smooth. This block is high in volume, so the test is whether your technique holds up through 30+ sets in a session with stacked double segments. If you can't keep up with the set count in Week 1 and your form starts to break down, your max is set too high. Lower it by 5-10%.

Common adjustments

• Accessory swaps: The original uses generic categories ("bench accessory", "lower back", "triceps"). The specific exercises in this block are common defaults, and you can swap them freely according to your weak points.
• Reduce volume: If a week is too much, cut the lighter second segment on the heaviest days (such as Wednesday), keeping the heavy work and dropping the back-off volume sets.
• Add back work: The original has almost no pulling movements. In 2-3 sessions per week, add 3-4 sets of bent-over rows or pull-ups to balance the high pushing volume without affecting recovery.
• No competition: Treat the end of the month as a test / deload week, then decide whether to rerun this month or move into a long cycle.

FAQ

How does this "Master of Sport prep month" relate to "Sheiko #29-32 (16 weeks)"?

This block is a 4-week, 16-session single-block preparatory / accumulation month written for CMS / MS lifters. "Sheiko #29-32 (16 weeks)" is a complete competition cycle made up of four 4-week phases. The two can be linked: run this month first as the preparatory block ahead of the long cycle and then move into the 16 weeks, or use updated maxes to run this month repeatedly for accumulation.

What are CMS / MS? Can I do this if I'm not at that level?

CMS (Candidate Master of Sport) and MS (Master of Sport) are high ranks in the Russian powerlifting classification system. This block is a preparatory month written for lifters at that level, so it is positioned as intermediate-advanced. You don't have to actually reach Master of Sport, but you need to know your big three 1RMs and be able to handle about 140 sets per week and 90-120 minutes per session. Beginners should run a linear progression first.

Why four sessions per week, including Saturday?

This block has 4 sessions per week (Mon / Wed / Fri / Sat), one more day than the "three sessions a week" most people picture for Sheiko. Saturday is a dedicated variation and accessory intensity day: deficit deadlifts, block pulls, overhead press, incline bench press and weighted dips rotate here, setting it apart from the three main-lift days during the week.

Why is there more bench than squat or deadlift?

This is the pressing bias of the Sheiko system. This block benches 3-4 times per week (squat 2, deadlift 2), which is the largest share of the 570 sets, and it also owns that 20-set pyramid session. If bench is your weak point, this frequency suits you well.

How do I run the 20-set bench pyramid in Week 3?

Start at 50%×8 and add weight step by step: 55%×7, 60%×6 ... all the way up to 85%×1. After touching the peak, back off step by step: 80%, 75% ... all the way down to 50%×12, for 20 sets in one session. The climb is for technique and warm-up, the peak touches intensity, and the back-off sets on the way down pile up volume. Never go to failure; leave 1-2 reps in reserve on every set.

What are the weights for deficit deadlifts and block pulls based on?

Both are based on your conventional deadlift max, not tested separately. Deficit deadlifts add load step by step over four weeks: 60%×2 → 65% → 65%×3 → 70%×2, building the start from a disadvantaged position. Block pulls appear on Saturdays of Weeks 1, 3 and 4, target the lockout, and are the only lift in the block to reach 90% (90%×2 in Week 1, 90%×3 in Week 4).

The program description says "top out at 80%", but the data shows 85% and 90%. Which one is right?

Go by the prescription data. 50-80% really is the bulk of the load in this block, which is why it is often summed up as the "80% block". But the real top sets go higher: the big three hit 85% several times in Weeks 2-4 (the Week 3 bench pyramid peaks at 85%×1), and block pulls reach a maximum of 90% (already 90%×2 on Saturday of Week 1).

Do I need to schedule a separate deload week this month?

No, and none is built in. The four weeks run from a "volume peak (Week 3, 153 sets) → intensity peak (several 85% sets and block pulls at 90%×3 in Week 4)", with Week 4 the heaviest. The real deload comes at the end of the month: run a test or competition, then decide whether to rerun or move into the long cycle.

How long is each session? How should I rest between sets?

90-120 minutes per session is normal, mostly because of the large number of working sets (a heavy day often has 10+ sets for a single main lift). Rest until you can do the next set with perfect technique: give top sets a full 3-5 minutes, submaximal working sets 2-4 minutes, and light sets and accessories 1-2 minutes. To save time, shorten the rest between light sets first.

Can I swap the accessory slot exercises?

Yes. Flyes, good mornings, dips, overhead press, triceps pushdowns and abs are "slots" entered in the library with common defaults, while the original Sheiko uses generic categories (such as "bench accessory", "lower back", "triceps"). Swap them freely according to your weak points. See the set notes for intensity guidance: moderate is enough, no need to go to failure.