Over the course of the last three articles, I have been discussing five different training stresses that trigger gains in strength and muscle mass. These triggers include:
- Load relative to percentage of a single rep max
- Intensity relative to max reps or training to failure
- Dynamic speed
- Training Density
- Total workload (or training volume)
If you want to know the basics of each type of training, please refer to the last article titled Five Training Stresses That Trigger Strength Gains, in which each type of training is explained.
Some people derive most of their gains by focusing on one trigger, but most people need to use a combination of triggers for best results. In this article, I will be discussing the type of lifter who responds well to a combination that emphasizes both heavy loads, and a high total workloads.
The Effect of Warm ups is Easy to Overlook
One thing that I can’t emphasize enough is that power lifters are notorious for defining their training according to their work sets without any reference to their warm up sets. I recall reading an interview in which Ed Coan was asked how many sets he did for each exercise, and he responded by saying that he usually only did one or two sets per exercise. I wondered how he could get so strong from so little work. When I saw the way he actually worked out, he did nine warm up sets before reaching the one set that he was referring to for his workout. I was surprised at how much lifting he actually did, although I don’t want to over-exaggerate Ed’s warm up because he starts his warm up sets with very light weights, and he keeps the reps very low as he works up in weight from set to set. Andrey Malanichev uses this same concept of doing a lot of warm up sets with only a few reps per set.
Over the past years, I have learned that some lifters do a minimum amount of warming up by just doing one to three reps per warm up set, and they only do a few warm up sets; this is how Mark Challet worked out when deadlifting well over 800 pounds. Others do tons of warm up sets, and they do high reps when just starting out with light weights. These lifters accumulate a substantial total workload from their warm up sets, and they keep adding weight over the course of a lot of sets until they reach a final heavy set. If you are only talking about work sets, the lifter who does a low volume warm up and the lifter who does a high volume warm up may both say that they work up to just one heavy set, however, their workouts are nowhere near the same. The workouts are vastly different in terms of how much total workload is accumulated during the warm up phase of their workouts.
High Workload Warm up Sets
Eric Spoto is an elite bench presser and Richard Hawthorne is an elite dead-lifter and squatter. Both are examples of elite lifters who accumulate a huge workload when increasing weight from set to set until they reach their final heavy set. They are combining both load and total workload into a single workout, which means they are using at least two types of training stresses to trigger strength and muscle growth. Both Richard Hawthorne and Eric Spoto will hit 20 reps on their first warm up set. They will probably do a lot of sets with eight to ten reps and will do close to ten sets before reaching their final heaviest set.
I am providing a few videos that will help you to understand the manner in which they work up to a final heavy set.
Notice in the last video that Eric Spoto does a much more extensive warm up with way more training volume than his training partners. Neither is right or wrong as each lifter must find the method that works best for themselves.
Richard Hawthorne
Richard Hawthorne
Adjust Your Warm Up Weights to Your Strength
If you watched the last video of Richard Hawthorne, notice that he takes the first minute to discuss his training in terms of work sets, which is a common way for powerlifters to describe how they work out. However, Richard then gets more specific by discussing the aspect of training that so many overlook, which is the importance of the training volume he accumulates in his warm up sets. Let me caution you by pointing out that Richard can deadlift over 600 pounds at 130 pounds of bodyweight. This is an important factor when he tells you that he warms up with two sets of 20 reps with 135 pounds. If you are only a 300 pound deadlifter, and you do two sets of 20 reps with 135 pounds for your warm ups, it’s going to take twice as much out of you as it does Richard. You must adjust the warm up weights according to your strength.
I want to also point out that Richard Hawthorne only trains the deadlift and squat once per week. He combines high volume with heavy lifting, but his training frequency is low in terms of how often he works each lift.
Accumulating Workload Before or After Heavy Lifting?
Another way that lifters combine the use of heavy loads with high volume is to start with a low volume warm up by using low reps on all warm up sets while working their way up to a heavy set. After working up to their heaviest set, they drop back to lighter weights and do some lighter sets. These lifters prefer accumulating their training volume after their heavy lifting, whereas Richard Hawthorne and Eric Spoto prefer accumulating their training volume before they reach their heaviest set. Either way, the lifter who is responsive to the combination of heavy weights plus a high workload in the same workout should include both triggers in their workouts. In the next article, I will discuss the use of dynamic speed training with lighter weights in combination with heavy training. Best of training to you.
Note:
click on the title below if you wold like to refer to the previous article in this series: