Consider the differences in training among bodybuilders such as, Arnold, Mike Mentzer, Milos Sarcev, Lee Haney, Johnny Fuller, Serge Nubret, Bob Gajda, Tom Platz, and Vince Gironda. Each had his own unique method of training. Arnold utilized a very high volume of sets and reps and hit each muscle group three times per week. Mike Mentzer trained with low volume using his Heavy Duty High Intensity method. Lee Hany was moderately high volume and split his body parts into three workouts. He trained on a three day on, and one day off schedule. Milos Sarcev is famous for giant sets with no rest between sets for the same muscle group. Johnny Fuller did ten sets of 32 reps for five different exercises per muscle group. Serge Nubret preferred light weights for about 12 to 15 reps and did 25 to 50 sets per muscle group. Bob Gajda trained his whole body six days per week with PHA training which is similar to circuit training. Tom Platz trained each muscle group to failure followed by forced reps and partial rep burns. He started heavy and kept decreasing the weight until he could barely even twitch under a light weight. Vince Gironda is famous for popularizing 8 sets of 8 reps and for his Four Sides to a Muscle workout.
Within powerlifting, you have high volume lifters like Richard Hawthorne, Eric Spoto, and the Russian lifters trained by Boris Sheiko. There are also many popular powerlifting methods including 3 x 5 and 5 x 5, The Westside Method, The 5-3-1 Method, and Linear Periodization. In addition, there are lifters who thrive on the type of minimalist training that Marty Gallagher is famous for promoting.
Freedom and Confusion
When you take into account the vast differences in training methods that have produced elite level physiques and elite powerlifters, it’s hard not to come to the conclusion that there is more than one form of training that is capable of producing championship physiques and lifters. This conclusion is both freeing and maddening. It’s freeing because it often compels people to be open minded about training instead of being bound to hard, fast rules about lifting that can never be violated.
While it may seem freeing to have an open mind when it comes to the opportunity to experiment with endless training possibilities, it can also be maddening and produce great confusion. I myself have enjoyed both the freedom of endless training possibilities combined with the frustration of wanting to sift through the multitudes of training options in order to narrow my training down into a set of principles that delivers consistent results. This search led to the enormous amounts of trial and error that eventually produced the conclusions that became the basis for the principles which I now refer to as Precision Point Training, and Marker Rep Training. Precision Point Training is a system which bases the intensity of effort within a set on the marker rep, and the amount of sets per muscle group on the marker set.
In my own experience, Precision Point Training works best in combination with high frequency training in which the whole body is worked four to six times per week. I understand that other lifters are better off training each muscle group two or three times per week in conjunction with Precision Point Training. When it comes to progression, the workouts are repeated with the same amount of weight, sets, and reps until the workouts become easier. At that point, I increase the poundages by five pounds.
More Than One Way To Train
Do I believe that Precision Point Training is the only way to train? No! There are many ways to train and Precision Point Training is just one option. It’s a good option for me, and I believe that it is a good option for a lot of lifters, but I don’t pretend that it is the best option for everyone.
Keep an Open Mind
I am currently at the point where I have returned to an open-minded approach to training where anything goes as long as it’s not injurious. At 58 years of age, I can no longer lift heavy on a regular basis without aggravating past injuries, but that doesn’t stop me from trying a lot of new concepts with lighter weights.
I’ve always known that there are training methods that I have tried that worked pretty well that do not fit within the guidelines of Precision Point Training, and some of the training that I am doing now is very different than my general Precision Point Training advice. I don’t say this to suggest that I no longer recommend my Precision Point Training guidelines, but at some point, I may add to those guidelines, and it may sound a lot different than the concepts that I have been teaching up to this point. You can already see that my thinking takes many forms of training into account if you look towards the bottom of the home page of this website as it shows seven different books, six of which deviate substantially from Precision Point Training.
I understand that there are basic forms of training that will work pretty well for the majority of lifters, but I also understand that there are lifters who benefit from training that is very different than the general training methods that seems to work for the majority. These lifters respond to workouts that seem like too much or too little training in terms of intensity, volume, or frequency for other lifters. Such lifters will never fully optimize their training if they try to fit neatly into popular training norms.
Start With Basic Workouts
My advice to total beginners is to start with a tried and tested training program like Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength, or 5 x 5. The 6 -15 Workout, which is explained in a free book on the homepage of this website, is also good for the general population of those seeking to get stronger. If one of these basic strength training routines stops working, or you simply become curious and want to experiment with other forms of training, the sky is the limit in terms of what you can try. If you don’t know where to start, look for the following seven titles towards the bottom of the homepage on this website and read them.
Precision Responsive Lifters
Intensity Responsive Lifters
Minimalist Responsive Lifters
Density Responsive Lifters
Frequency Responsive Lifters
Speed Responsive Lifters
Volume Responsive Lifters
If you try each form of training contained in the free books, you will begin to understand what you respond to best and will have a basis for determining how you should train. May God bless you with the best of training.