In my last article I introduced the concept of everyone possessing their own SRRR profile. The four letters within SRRR stand for four strength training factors that should be considered. These four factors consist of Stimulation-Recovery-Retention-Readiness. In this strength training article, I will be focusing on the first factor, which is stimulation. Stimulation refers to the workout variables that tend to stimulate a positive strength response in a given lifter.
The whole point of considering an individual SRRR profile is to explore the possible differences that exist in regard to what will bring success for various lifters. Of course I advocate Precision Point Training, but Precision Point Training allows for differences from one lifter to the next and I also recognize that there are many lifters who can succeed quite nicely without using Precision Point Training concepts. This being true, I will explore some possibilities in terms of different types of workouts that lifters may use to stimulate strength in a favorable way.
The most basic type of training that I know of is referred to by some as minimalist training. Minimalist training is the minimum (or least) amount of training that a lifter can do and still make progress. It is generally done by training each body part once per week and often consists of one workout per week. In this case, a lifter would choose three or four basic exercises such as the squat, bench press, bent over row and overhead press. The lifter uses easy warm up sets to pyramid their way up to a target weight for each of the exercises. The target weight can allow for as many as ten reps and as few as one rep. Minimalists often use progressive loading where weight is added and reps are decreased from one week to the next. Some lifters train to failure with minimalist training and others don’t. Workouts can also be divided into upper body workouts and lower body workouts so that each body part is covered once per week over the course of two workouts. There have been some phenomenal accomplishments, and even world records that have resulted from this type of training. For some people it is the ticket to stimulating strength.
The next step up in the amount of training is a method that is similar to minimalist training. It is known as HIT. which stands for High Intensity Training. HIT demands that a lifter take each set to failure unless they are doing a warm-up set. The amount of sets required for each body part is usually limited to one to three sets and the workouts are intended to be brief. The amount of weight used generally allows for five to ten reps. Recovery is often stressed when using HIT training, so body parts are generally trained no more than twice per week, and as little as once per week. HIT also has other names such as “Heavy Duty” training and is often connected to Nautilus training. This low-volume, high intensity type of training became extremely popular in the 1970’s and into the 1990’s. Some top bodybuilders and sports teams have used HIT and it seems to work like magic for some people.
Perhaps the most common type of training is what I would refer to as moderate and moderately high volume training. I am defining moderate volume workouts as workouts that consist of three to eight sets per body part, two to three times per week. The amount of weight used can vary and allow for one to fifteen reps according to the goals of the lifter. I’m guessing that more people use this type of training than any other. Ten to twelve sets per body part would be what I would refer to as moderately high training volume. Competitive bodybuilders often use this type of training volume in the offseason to build muscle mass. I would estimate that the moderate and moderately high training volume workouts have worked for more people than any other type of training.
High volume training where up to 20 sets or more per body part is also used as a workout strategy. Weight lifters and power lifters generally avoid such high volume, but many bodybuilders have succeeded with high volume training. Of course high volume training often backfires on those who try it and results in over training where a lot of work is done with little results to show for it. However, it can’t be denied that there are some who have found great success with high volume training.
If you have tried any of the methods discussed and are still making progress with the method you are using, I would advise that you continue to use it. However, if you have run into a dead end, you can also try Precision Point Training which is designed to help you find the limit of your ATP creatine phosphate energy system without exceeding it. When using Precision Point Training you train hard enough to stimulate strength, but no harder than necessary. You can determine where to stop a set when you notice a convergence of the following conditions:
Rep rhythm and/or rep speed slows down,
You tend to pause longer between reps,
It becomes more difficult to exhale while lifting weight,
The weight suddenly becomes more difficult to lift.
Sets of an exercise can be repeated as long as you are as strong as you were on your first set. If you can’t do as many reps as you could on your first set of the exercise you are doing, stop doing sets. This type of training is not overly fatiguing, which makes recovery easy and will often allow each body part to be trained three or more times per week, but this is not a rule and everyone must find their own training frequency. You may also wonder how much weight should be used in workouts in order to stimulate strength. That will be discussed in the next article. Until then, the best of training to you.