Hail to the Dinosaurs!
A lot of readers have questions about single
rep training and how to progress with single
reps.
One of the best ways to do it is to use a
system where you add sets, and then drop back,
add weight reduce the number of sets and build
back up again.
For example:
In Workout 1, you do a series of progresively
heavier warm-up sets followed by ONE single
with your working weight. Your working weight
is NOT your absolute max in a gut-busting
single. Instead, it's a weight you can control.
It's a weight that requires concentration
and focus, and effort, but it's a weight you
should be able to make WITHOUT FAIL.
In Workout 2, you do the same warm-ups (you
always do them) followed by TWO singles with
your working weight.
In workout 3, you do (you guessed it) THREE
singles with your working weight.
In Workout 4 -- FOUR singles with your working
weight.
In Workout 5 -- FIVE singles with your working
weight.
In Workout 6, drop back to ONE single with your
working weight, but add some weight to the bar.
Don't be greedy. Just add a small amount of
weight. Five or ten pounds will do the trick.
Now repeat the entire process -- and then repeat
it again. Then do it again.
For younger lifters, that basic program will
work fine for several cycles. Older trainees
may do better by using a simple cycling
system that adds in some lighter workouts
or a deloading week. See Gray Hair and Black
Iron for more info about simple cycling systems
for older trainees.
The idea is to gradually move from one single
with your working weight to five singles with
20 to 50 pounds over your working weight. That
will take some time, but when you get there,
you'll be enormously stronger and much more
powerful -- and you'll be carrying plenty of
extra muscle.
By the way, this is a NO MISSES program. If
you start with the right weight (a challenging
weight, but not an impossibly heavy weight,
and you make small poundage increases on a
regular basis, you can use the workout for
a long time and make plenty of progress with
NO MISSES. And that's important, because
misses take a lot out of you -- especially
if you're an older lifter.
So there you have it. Safe, sane, sensible
single rep training. It's not complicated.
It just takes common sense, confidence
and enough self-discipline to stick to
the program and take things slow and
steady.
Give it a try and let me know how it works
for you!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. As far as your actual workout goes, use
one of the programs in any of my books. CHALK
AND SWEAT has 50 programs for you, and GRAY
HAIR AND BLACK IRON has another 50 workouts
designed for older Dinos. You can find them
right here:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 2. The program would work VERY WELL with
the ultra-abbreviated workouts in STRENGTH,
MUSCLE AND POWER:
http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html
P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Simple isn't
always easy, and complicated isn't always
difficult." -- Brooks Kubik
