Chuck Sipes was one of the first bodybuilders who combined super size with super cuts, extreme hardness, and exquisite shape. For a 1960’s bodybuilder, he was ahead of his time as he would stand out in any era of bodybuilding. Chuck weighed approximately 220 pounds and it is reported that he had benched as much as 570 pounds raw in his workouts. You can get a taste of his astounding physique and accomplishments in the following video.
Chuck Sipes
Chuck Sipes Superhuman Ability
Chuck seemed to have an unlimited capacity for physical work and weight training that bordered on superhuman ability. As a lumberjack, he was involved in hard physical labor all day, yet he still managed to utilize high volume workouts with heavy weights. His work schedule combined with his training schedule would probably kill most people, but Chuck seemed to thrive on it.
The 1 – 10 – 1 Method
One of Chuck’s training methods was called the 1 – 10 – 1 method. This simply meant that he would begin with just 1 rep for his first set of an exercise. He would then do two reps for his second set, and three reps for his third set. He kept on adding one rep to each successive set until he reached 10 reps. After reaching 10 reps, he would subtract one rep from each successive set by doing 9 reps, then 8 reps, then 7 reps, and so on, until he finished with a single rep of one set. When using this method, the same amount of weight is to be used for each set. The full version of the 1 – 10 – 1 workout is shown below:
1st set: do 1 rep
2nd set: do 2 reps
3rd set: do 3 reps
4th set: do 4 reps
5th set: do 5 reps
6th set: do 6 reps
7th set: do 7 reps
8th set: do 8 reps
9th set: do 9 reps
10th set: do 10 reps
11th set: do 9 reps
12th set: do 8 reps
13th set: do 7 reps
14th set: do 6 reps
15th set: do 5 reps
16th set: do 4 reps
17th set: do 3 reps
18th set: do 2 reps
19th set: do 1 rep
The workout listed provides a total of 19 sets and 100 total reps for the exercise performed. Another way to write this workout is shown below where each number listed represents a set. Each number also represents the number of reps performed for each set listed.
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – 9 – 8 – 7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 = 100 reps
Adjust According To Your Own Capacity
This method of training certainly worked for Chuck Sipes, but it is only going to work for you if you apply it according to your own capacities. For example, you may be much better off working up to only 6 reps before reducing the reps by one per set. This would give you a total of 36 reps which many lifters will find to be a sufficient work load. My personal recommendation is to work up to a minimum of 5 reps, But I believe most lifters would probably benefit most from working up to 6 to 8 reps before working their way back to a final set with 1 rep. You can see how many total reps you would be doing when working up to 5 reps, 6 reps, 7 reps, 8 reps, and 9 reps by looking at the information below:
The 1 – 5 – 1 Workout
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 = 25 reps
The 1 – 6 – 1 Workout
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 = 36 reps
The 1 – 7 – 1 Workout
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 = 49 reps
The 1 – 8 – 1 Workout
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 = 64 reps
The 1 – 9 – 1 Workout
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 8 – 7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 = 81 reps
Keys to Making It Work
In my opinion, there are four basic keys to making the system work.
The first key is to find a rep total that seems to work for you. As stated previously, I believe that most people would be best off if they work their way up to 6 to 8 reps before working their way back down to 1 rep.
The second key is to select an appropriate amount of weight the challenges you enough to stimulate a training effect. At the same time, you must avoid training so hard that you overtax your recovery system to the point where you can’t recover properly between workouts. The weight you select should be based on your ability to maintain a steady even rep pace for every rep of every set. For example, if you are working up to 7 reps, you should still be able to maintain a steady even rep pace for all 7 reps when you hit your seventh set, but you should not feel as though you could do 8 or more reps using a steady even rep pace. On the other hand, if you find that you are already struggling to get 5 reps when you hit your 5th set, you are using too much weight to work up to 7 reps.
The third key is to move quickly from set to set, but the rest time will vary slightly according to how many reps you performed for your last set. For example, if you did one rep for your first set, put the weight down and take one deep breath before moving to your second set for two reps. Once you do your set of two reps, take two deep breaths before moving to your third set. Always take in a number of breaths that corresponds to the number of reps you did for your last set. For example, 4 reps equals 4 breaths, 5 reps equals five breaths, 6 reps equals 6 breaths, and so on.
The fourth key is to find a method for progression. The simplest method for progression is to keep repeating the same workout until it gets easier and then add 5 pounds. If you can’t hit the number of reps you are shooting for when you add 5 pounds, you are not ready to add 5 pounds yet.
Adding Sets For Progression
Another method for progression is to do the workout as you normally would, but just add an extra set of 1 rep to the workout so that you are starting with 2 sets of 1 rep instead of just 1 set of 1 rep. If that seems to be pretty easy, the next step is to do the workout as you normally would, but do an extra set of 2 reps. When that becomes easy, do an extra set of 3 reps. You can then progress to an extra set of 4 reps, an extra set of 5 reps, and so on until you can add on a rep to your top set. If you are working up to a top set of 6 reps, an example of how to progress using this method is shown below:
The Initial Workout
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 = 36 reps
Step 1: An extra set of 1 rep
1 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 = 37
Step 2: An extra set of 2 reps
1 – 2 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 = 38 reps
Step 3: An extra set of 3 reps
1 – 2 – 3 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 = 39 reps
Step 4: An extra set of 4 reps
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 = 40 reps
Step 5: An extra set of 5 reps
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 5 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 = 41 reps
Step 6: An extra set of 6 reps
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 = 42 reps
Step 7: An extra set of 7 reps
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 = 49 reps
Another Modification
Note also that there is no rule that says you must work up to a certain number of reps and that you are required to work your way back down to 1 rep. You can simply work up to a certain number of reps and stop without working your way back down to 1 rep if you feel it will work better.
While Chuck Sipes primarily used this method when training his arms, you can use it in conjunction with any exercise. If you are looking for more training methods to experiment with, the 1 – 10 – 1 method will give you another training option. Best of training to you.