For those who don’t want to use heavy weights, but want to get a training effect that is similar to what would be experience if heavy weights were used, you can try a technique called pre-exhaust single reps.
At my current age of 59, I am no longer able to lift heavy without putting myself at substantial risk of injury. This is not just a matter of age, but it is also a matter of the wear and tear that has accumulated in my body from past lifting, past sports activities, and medical conditions. I can still use light to moderate weights without any problem, but for the most part, I avoid going over 75% of my single rep max on any lift. Most of my lifting is performed with 70% or less of my single rep max.
I wish I could go heavy, but I can’t. This being the case, one of my goals over the past several years has been to find ways to get the most out of training with the use of light weights and moderate weights. After much trial and error, I have improved in my ability to get more benefit out of the use of light and moderate weights. One of the techniques that I would like to share that has helped me to accomplish this is what I refer to as Pre-exhaust single reps.
Pre-exhaust Work
The pre-exhaust technique is often used in conjunction with high intensity training and it refers to the use of an isolation exercise which is immediately followed by a compound exercise for the same muscle group. However, the idea behind pre-exhaust single reps is a little different. I don’t worry about doing an isolation exercise followed by a compound exercise, instead, I apply the pre-exhaust concept by simply doing one set per exercise for two or three exercises for the same muscle group. Each set is performed while using light weights for about eight reps. There should be little to no rest between sets for the same muscle group. I then immediately move to a basic compound movement with a weight that will only allow three or four reps without grinding.
Single Reps
At this point, all of the work that has just been described is pre-exhaust training that is designed to prepare my muscles for rest-pause single reps. This means that immediately after the pre-exhaust work, I rest five seconds and do a single rep. I put the weight down for another five to ten seconds and do a second single rep. This process of short rests between single reps is repeated until I have done four to five single reps. I then work other muscle groups using the same technique, until I have worked chest, back, legs, and calves. Then I go back and work these same muscle groups with the same technique a second time before using the same technique on my shoulders, biceps, and triceps.
Moderate Intensity Enables Faster Recovery for Higher Frequency
The pre-exhaust single rep concept that I just described may sound like a high intensity training method, but I do not use high intensity. Instead, I use comfortable intensity and have been amazed at the pump I get out of this workout while using a very moderate intensity of effort. The benefit of getting a pump without pushing hard on each set is that it doesn’t take long to recover. I can work out every other day, or even two or three days in a row and still recover. This is an important factor for anyone who has found that they respond better to higher training frequencies than lower training frequencies.
Example of the Pre-exhaust Process
In order to give you a better idea of how this system works, I will give you an example of how to use it when training the chest muscles. This example will be based on finishing with rest-pause single reps for the bench press. The pre-exhaust work would start with three chest exercises that are each performed for 8 reps as follows:
1 set of dumbbell bench presses for 8 reps
1 set of wide grip dips for 8 reps
1 set of incline presses for 8 reps
The three exercises listed above are performed one after the other with no rest between sets. This is followed immediately by bench presses as follows:
1 set of bench presses for 3 to 5 reps using 70% of your single rep max.
Finish with 4 to 5 rest pause single reps for bench press. Rest five to ten seconds between single reps.
These steps are basically a nonstop process with no rest between sets except for the time it takes to change exercises, and the time it takes to rest five seconds between single reps.
How Much Effort?
When considering how much effort to use for each set, the pre-exhaust sets should feel about like half sets. A half set simply means that you only do half of the number of reps that you can perform if you push to failure. Even though you will be using about 70% of your single rep max for your rest-pause single reps, the pre-fatigue process should make it feel like you are lifting 80% to 85% of your single rep max when you get to your single reps.
A Pre-exhaust Pyramid to Single Reps
You can also use this pre-exhaust process with a pyramid while using the same exercise for every set. For example, if you choose bench presses as your exercise, you would do a set of 15 fast reps. Quickly add some weight and immediately do a set of 8 reps. This is followed by an addition of weight and immediately doing a set of 5 reps, followed by another addition of weight and immediately doing a set of 3 reps. Upon completing the set of three reps, rest five seconds and do a series of four to five rest-pause single reps.
Some would ask, why do a pyramid followed by rest-pause single reps? Why not just do one set of 8 to 10 reps followed by some rest-pause single reps? The reason is because when a pyramid is performed with little rest between sets, it will give you a better pump, plus the whole reason for doing this is to avoid the use of heavy weights. Light weights are used to pre-exhaust the muscles so that moderate weights will feel heavy. This saves you from the wear and tear that can be caused by continually using heavy weights. This is an important consideration for anyone who is at risk and vulnerable to injury when using heavy weights.
If you ever reach the point where your body is suffering from the use of heavy weights, you don’t have to quit lifting weights, you just need to find an alternative. One alternative is to use pre-exhaust sets before doing some rest-pause single reps. My hope is that you benefit from this by using it as needed. May God bless you with the best of training.