I have been weight training for decades and have tried multitudes of workouts and methods. Nonetheless, I haven’t tried everything there is to try as that would probably take 1,000 lifetimes to do so. Since I have always been curious about the effects of different training methods, I will keep trying out new methods as long as I can. However, at this point, I have found over and over again that a well constructed simple repeatable workout tends to deliver the best results in the long run. If there is complexity to the simple workout, it is in being precise. However, once you understand the precision behind the method, the training concepts become simple.
Politically Incorrect
My opinion in regard to the details of effective training are not politically correct among the current trends of strength training methodology. The reason for this is that I have a fundamental belief that most weight training authorities would think of as stupid. My so called stupid belief is that a single workout, when carefully constructed and performed with precision, can be repeated again and again and deliver results that are just as good, and in some cases even better, than most of the complex training paradigms that are floating around in the world of strength training.
There is a part of me that likes complexity and well constructed change. I am as intrigued by complex training as anyone and I know that you can put some powerful changes together in the right sequence to shock your body into some very rapid gains. In fact, if I only had a month to get as strong as possible, I would probably use the BOOM method because it delivers quick strength gains for my particular body type. The only problem with this is that BOOM doesn’t work forever (see the home page on this website if you want to know more about BOOM). When it comes to a long term training perspective, simplicity combined with precision have consistently resulted in superior improvements when applied over the context of several months or more of training.
The 6 – 15 Workout
There have been many times when I have indulged my curiosity by training according to the latest periodization trends. After satisfying my curiosity, I always ended up going back to what I call the 6 /15 workout. It’s based on doing 3 basic strength training exercises within a workout. The first exercise would either be squats, leg presses, or deadlifts. The second exercise consists of either a seated pulley row or lat pulldowns, and the third exercise consists of either bench presses or incline presses. I do 3 to 4 warm up sets per exercises and follow the warm up sets with two work sets for each exercise. The first work set consists of 6 reps, and the second work set consists of 15 reps, which is why I call it the 6 /15 workout. I also usually included one to two sets of a biceps exercise, a triceps exercise, and a deltoid exercise.
Simple Worked Better
It took two and a half years of training to figure out that this simple workout worked better than all the complicated, heroic workouts that I had been trying. It worked in my early years of training, and it kept proving to be the most successful training option for the next 30 years until I decided to take a break from heavy training due to a neck injury and shoulder problems.
Precision
It sounds ridiculous, but the 6 -15 workout worked even better when I was 50 than it did in my 20’s and 30’s. The reason for this is that I finally understood how to apply the workout with more precision.
There was a time in my younger years when I trained my whole body with the 6 /15 workout three times per week. The sets and reps were basically the same for all three workouts within each week, but the amount of weight and the intensity of each workout varied. I pushed to failure on my work sets once per week, and the other two workouts consisted of a light day and a medium heavy day. Training to failure on my heavy day was what produced the most substantial results. The purpose of the other two workouts was to maintain the gains from the heavy workout while allowing for recovery. If I did not do this and pushed to failure in every workout, I would always start to lose strength, so I stuck with the varied levels of intensity within each week.
A Repeatable Workout
I eventually found that if I used the right level of intensity, I could simply do the same workout with the same amount of sets, same amount of reps, and the same amount of weight in every workout until the workouts became easier. When the workouts became easier, it meant that I had become stronger and I was able to get through each set without straining or slowing down on any of my reps. Once I gave the workout sufficient time to become easier, I would add 5 pounds to my lifts and repeat the process of allowing the workouts to become easier again. This training concept is so simple, but it worked better than all of the other sophisticated training methodologies that I had tried.
The only reason it worked so well to repeat a simple workout over and over again is that I understood how to apply it with enough precision to make it work. Training with precision means training hard enough to stimulate strength gains without training so hard that over training occurs. This is accomplished through the use of training thresholds. What are training thresholds and how do you use them? I have more thoughts on this than I did when I first discovered the concept of training thresholds, and I will discuss this in more detail in the next article. Best of training to you.
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