Powerlifters often use percentages to define how much weight they are lifting in relationship to their single rep max. For example, if a powerlifter says he is using 60% for a particular exercise, it means that he is lifting 60% of the maximum weight that he can lift for a single rep. If you understand how to use percentages, it can help you to plan out your progress for the next year.
Acclimation
One of the biggest differences between the methodology that is used in conjunction with precision point training compared to other methods, is that precision point training is often based on the principle of acclimation. Acclimation refers to repeating workouts with the same amount of weights, reps, and sets until it becomes easier to lift. When the weights become easier to lift, it means that you have gained strength and you can add five to ten pounds to your lifts. The key to this process is to start at the same percentage and the same level of effort every time you start a new acclimation cycle by adding weight. More explanation is needed.
Acclimate and Re-set For Each Acclimation Cycle
When giving an example of how an acclimation cycle works, we will assume that you are working out with 60% of your single rep max. You must understand that 60% of your max has a certain feel in terms of the amount of effort it takes to lift the weight. If you gain strength, the weight will feel easier to lift and the weight will also become a lower percentage of your single rep max. This means that a weight that started out being 60% of your single rep max will gradually transition to 59%, then 58% and 57% of your single rep max as you get stronger. The idea is to gain enough strength so that when you add 5 to 10 pounds to your lifts, the percentage will go back up and re-set at 60% again. If you are progressing correctly using the acclimation method, each cycle should start out at 60% of your single rep max and decrease to a lower percentage as you gain strength before resetting at 60% when you add weight.
Many lifters are in a huge hurry to gain strength. It is possible to make rapid strength gains if you are genetically gifted and are fairly new to weight training. Such lifters will only take a week to acclimate, at which point they will be able to add another 5 to 10 pounds to their lifts. Not all lifters gain this fast, and even those who do gain fast will usually start gaining at a much slower rate within a year.
When the gains slow down, a realistic plan may be to add 5 to 10 pounds every six to eight weeks because adding weight every week is no longer possible. Nothing ticks a lifter off more than telling him he has to train for six to eight weeks before adding more weight, and when he does add weight, he should only add 5 to 10 pounds. However, if you are unwilling to face the truth that slower gains are inevitable, you will try to push yourself to keep gaining fast with the result that you will end up exceeding your recovery ability and burn out without gaining anymore at all. If you understand some simple math, you will see that adding 5 to10 pounds to 60% of your max every six to eight weeks will add up to a pretty decent gain over the course of a year. Let me give you an example.
Imagine that you are bench pressing 60% of your single rep max for your workouts. If you have a single rep max of 250 pounds, you would work out with 150 pounds in order to use 60% of 250 pounds. You will bench with this weight for six weeks using the acclimation method. This means that as you repeat workouts with 150 pounds, it will become easier to lift as you gain strength. In the process, 150 pounds will automatically transition to a progressively lower percentage over time by decreasing to 59%, then 58%, and 57% of your max. When you add 5 pounds, the weight will increase to 155 pounds and reset at 60% of your max again. The process of acclimation and resetting at 60% repeats every 6 weeks for a year. If you do the math, you will be using an additional 40 pounds by the end of the year, and you will be benching with 190 pounds when using 60% of your max.
Adding 5 Pounds = 8.3 Pounds of Strength When Resetting at 60%
Many disgruntled lifters will say, “my strength has only improved by 40 pounds in a year, that’s not very much progress.” But if you do some more math, you will find that 190 pounds is 60% of 315 pounds. This means your max went from 250 pounds at the start of the year to 315 pounds by the end of the year, which is an increase of 75 pounds. What you must understand is that in order to add 5 pounds at 60%, you must increase your single rep max by 8.3 pounds. In other words, every 5 pounds of added weight when resetting at 60% translates into 8.3 pounds of added strength in terms of your single rep max. When added every six weeks, you will be about 75 pounds stronger in a year. If this rate of progress continues on a yearly basis, you will be 150 pounds stronger in two years, 225 pounds stronger in three years, and 300 pounds stronger in four years. This would be phenomenal progress for anyone.
How To Acclimate
The point of this is to urge you to acclimate to the weight, sets, and reps you are using.
You can do this by paying attention to three training variables:
First, repeat reps of a set as long as you can maintain a steady even rep pace without straining.
Second, repeat sets for a muscle group as long as you are at full strength and stop training that muscle group when your strength begins to decrease.
Third, work out as often as possible within the context of full recovery between workouts.
Most of you will be able to work out at least three times per week if you limit your effort to what you can lift while using a steady even rep pace, and you limit your sets to what you can lift while a muscle group is at full strength.
If you prefer high intensity training and constantly pushing yourself to max out in order to reach new records, my advice is to stick with high intensity as long as it works. However, if it quits working, consider using a different method where you don’t annihilate your muscles, but you stimulate them until you acclimate to the workouts. Start with a percentage, and let the weights, sets, and reps get easier to lift. The percentage will go down slightly as you gain strength over the course of multiple workouts. Then reset back up to your starting percentage by adding 5 to 10 pounds to your lifts. This strategy will add up to substantial gains over time. Best of training to you.