What have I learned after trying an endless amount of weight training methods over several decades? This biggest lesson is that the most predictable reliable gains come from being able to identify my personal capacities for strong training and training according to those capacities. There are four basic types of capacities for strong training. These capacities consist of:
Strong reps
Strong sets
A Strong lifting motion
Progressive Recovery
Strong Reps
Strong reps are best described in the following way: The same form, the same rep speed, and the same rep pace are all used as long as they can be maintained within a set. If form starts to deteriorate, or fatigue causes rep speed to slow down, or pauses between reps grow longer and longer in order to gather one’s strength for the next rep, then weak reps are being done. Do strong reps and avoid weak reps.
Strong Sets
Strong sets are sets that are being done for a muscle group while it is at full strength. If a muscle group begins to weaken from repeating too many sets, then weak sets are being done. Do strong sets, avoid weak sets.
A Strong Lifting Motion
A strong lifting motion is a smooth nonstop lifting motion that usually pertains to single reps with heavy weighs. A weak lifting motion is marked by any of the following including; pausing or slowing down within the lifting motion, a very slow lift that takes more than two seconds from bottom to top, a decrease in the quality of lifting form.
Progressive Recovery
Progressive Recovery means that you fully recover between workouts, plus you are gaining a little extra strength or muscle over time. This is the kind of recovery you want. Steady state recovery means that you recover enough to maintain strength and size, but you can’t gain any extra. Insufficient recovery means that you don’t even recover enough to regain the amount of strength you had for your last workout. Progressive recovery is ideal, steady state recovery is less that ideal, insufficient recovery is s bummer.
If you figure your body out in terms of your capacities for strong training, progress is likely to follow. I believe that identifying these capacities should be the starting place for figuring your body out in terms of what type of training works best. However, not all lifters and bodybuilders have used this formula to figure out their bodies.
Arnold Figured it Out
Arnold Schwarzenegger did up to 30 sets per body part three times per week. He used light, medium, and heavy weights to include tons of volume, intensity, and weight into every workout. He did mammoth workouts that exceeded his some of his capacities for strong training, but he was still able to respond with progressive recovery and develop one of the greatest bodies in history. Arnold figured out his body, but you will have to figure out your own body. Over the past four decades, tens of thousands of people have tried training like Arnold, because they all want to look like him, but no one does. Everyone must figure out their own body.
Others Figured it Out
Mike Mentzer tried training like Arnold and he didn’t like the results. When he cut way back to about three high intensity sets per body part he got results. Mentzer figured his body out. Larry Scott found a protein supplement that made a huge difference in his training progress. He figured his body out. Leroy Colbert was the first to develop over 20 inch arms without steroids. He originally started with just three sets for his biceps because that what everyone else was doing. He went against the norm of the day and did up to 18 sets for his biceps and triceps. He didn’t do high intensity sets, but he used the right amount of intensity to make his training work. He figured his body out. Ed Coan, Bill Pearl, Phil Heath, Yury Belkin, Richard Hawthorne, Andy Bolton, all figured their bodies out.
Some people are mostly concerned about finding a workout that gives them a pump. They believe that this is the key to progress, so how do you get a good pump every workout? That’s what they are trying to figure out.
Others believe that the right workout or combination of workouts will always make their muscles sore. They believe that this is the key to progress, so how do you make your muscles feel sore after every workout? That is what they are trying to figure out.
Most commonly, lifters want to gain at least five pounds of strength from workout to workout or from week to week. That’s what they are trying to figure out from their workouts.
All of these things are based on getting a quick reaction out of your body. Is that what you are trying to figure out? If these things lead to consistent progress they are meaningful. However, if they are just a feeling or a sensation that you get during or after training, but you are not growing or getting stronger on a consistent basis, you are not trying to figure out the right things.
The main thing you need to figure out from your workouts is how to get a little stronger every month or six weeks. That’s all you really need to figure out. This usually comes from patience and even holding back a little in favor of gradual consistent gains as opposed to a sudden burst of progress that peters out to nothing.
You Can Figure Your Body Out
If you haven’t found a training method that leads to consistent results, that doesn’t mean that an effective method doesn’t exist, it just means that you haven’t figured it out yet. Figuring it out takes trial and error, time, methodical analysis, and patience. It takes determination to figure it out, so be determined and figure your body out. Best of training to you.