Progression with Precision Point Training
One of the keys to Precision Point Training is to train at the right difficulty level as it allows for future progression. The right difficulty hovers around what is referred to as the transition point when using Precision Point Training. This is explained in detail in the “basics of PPT” section of this website. For now, just know that the transition point is designed to be located at a difficulty level that is between a positive training state and a negative training state. A lifter is in a positive training state as long as they can use near maximum rep speed during a set of an exercise, and they remain strong enough from one set to the next to complete the same number of reps that they could perform for their first set of the same exercise. A lifter has transitioned into a negative training state if the rep speed decreases during a set of an exercise due to fatigue, and if they can not perform as many reps for a set as they could for the first set the same exercise. The initial onset of a negative training state is where the transition point occurs and is an indicator that a lifter should stop doing reps of a set, or stop doing sets of an exercise. The level of training difficulty that I have just specified represents the training boundaries that put a lifter close to the transition point where progressive results are most likely to continue over time.
If a lifter trains just slightly past the transition point in a slightly negative training state, his/her body will be close enough to the positive training state to know that a slight increase in strength can help it transition back into a positive training state. The body will want to do this because the positive training state is an easier state to train in, and an increase in strength is the easiest way for the body to transition from the slightly negative training state into a positive training state. All the body needs to accomplish this is consistency by repeating the same workout. Constantly trying to train harder to beat your previous best is not necessary or productive. Constantly changing the exercises or amount of weight is not necessary for the transition from a slightly negative training state to a positive training state, although changing exercises and weight is not necessarily bad. The key is to consistently train at the transition point as this is what will cause the body to want to become stronger.
It is Possible to Progress by Repeating the Same Workouts in the Right Training State
It goes against the advice of what many training philosophies advocate, but you can get stronger doing the same workout with the same exercises, the same amount of weight, the same amount of reps and sets, and do this over and over again, provided the workout is done at the transition point. Yes you will have to increase the weight eventually, but it doesn’t have to be every workout or every week. You may have tried doing the same workout again without ever getting results, which may cause you to think that I am out of my mind by saying you can get stronger by doing the same workout again and again. But I must remind you that it’s not by doing the same workout again and again that you become stronger, rather it’s by doing the same workout again and again in the right training state that you will become stronger. If you haven’t tried it yet, you should try it and you will be shocked that it works. Productive training may be way easier than you think. After you have had sufficient time to become stronger from doing the same workout, you will notice that the workout has become easier and you can add on two to five more pounds of weight and start the process of gaining strength again. Beginners can often progress fast enough to add weight every week or two, while people who have been training for several months or years may have to wait as long as six to eight weeks before adding on some weight. When you stick with it month after month, and year after year, before you know it you’ll be much stronger.
Repeating the Same Workouts can Make it Feel Like You are not Making Progress
If you actually do the same workout with the same exercises for the same amount of sets and reps for six to eight weeks, a psychological problem can occur; the problem being that doing the exact same thing for six to eight weeks makes you feel like you can not possibly be making any progress during that time. The truth is that you are becoming stronger during this time period, but it’s not showing up in how much weight you’re lifting, or how many sets or reps you are doing, rather the increase in strength will show up as you sense the workouts are slowly becoming easier over time. If you don’t keep this in mind, you may panic and go back to trying to shock your body, trick your body, or finesse your body into a strength response with some kind of magical training cycle. The reason I bring all of this up is that if you don’t think your training through in terms of months and years, you will look for some training system or training cycle that makes it feel like you are constantly breaking personal strength records every week, but at the end of the year, your only a little stronger. I need to explain this a little more.
Constantly Adding to Your Workouts Can Make it Seem Like You are Making More Progress than you Truly Are
There are two basic training strategies that people use that incorporate constant change and make you feel like you are getting stronger every week. The truth is that these strategies may indeed help to gain strength every week, but only in very small amounts. The first strategy is to start out with a light weight for high reps for each exercise. As the weeks progress, you keep adding on more weight while steadily reducing reps until you eventually reach a week where you can only do one rep with a maximum weight. The training cycle is then repeated over and over again with the goal being that each cycle will allow you to be stronger than the previous cycle. With this method, you feel like you are progressing and breaking strength records every week for two reasons. The first reason is that you are adding on weight to your exercises on a weekly basis and using more weight each week makes you feel as though you are becoming stronger. The second reason is that if the training is working, you will be using five to ten more pounds during the first week of the cycle than you were using during the first week of the previous training cycle. Each week you are using more weight than you were using during the equivalent week of the previous cycle and it feels like you are breaking a strength record every week. Even though you are breaking a record every week, the truth is that if you are doing a twelve week training cycle, you are breaking a record every twelve weeks. You are actually comparing the weight being used during a given week of a training cycle with the weight that was being used 12 weeks earlier during the equivalent week of the previous training cycle. All of these constant changes seem like visible evidence that you must be getting stronger every workout which is somewhat true, but the question is how much progress have you really made at the end of 12 weeks? You may find that you haven’t made any more progress than when you did the same workout over and over again that made you feel like you weren’t progressing.
The second strategy that can make a lifter feel like they are constantly getting stronger every workout or every week is to change the exercises that are used every week. If we use the example of a 12 week cycle again, a lifter may use 8 variations of the squat by changing foot spacing, the depth of the squat and where the bar is positioned on his body. They may also use 4 variations of the leg press. This would equal 12 leg exercise so that a different exercise could be done every week for 12 weeks. After 12 weeks, the same 12 exercise would then be repeated. Assuming that the lifter has truly become stronger, they will be able to use more weight for the same amount of reps when they return to an exercise 12 weeks later. As in the previous example, the lifter will feel as though they are breaking a record every week, and they are, but once again they are comparing their increase in strength with an exercise that was done 12 weeks earlier, not the previous week. The question arises again, how much stronger are they at the end of 12 weeks? They may feel like they are making consistent, visible progress every week, but was any more progress actually being made than a lifter who does the same workout over and over again, and then raises the weight after six weeks?
One of the reasons for this discussion is because people can actually be making progress from repeating the same workouts but give up too early because the sameness is giving the illusion of lack of progress, while constant change is giving the illusion of sizeable weekly progress, but in the end, consistency may be working better.
Understanding Your own Psychology of Progression
I bring this up because I believe repeating workouts can be an effective strategy when using Precision Point Training. However, a person who uses the same workout over and over again must forget trying to break a record every workout or every week, and patiently allow their body to gain strength by making the transition into an easier training state. I also think it is very important to point out that training cycles and changing exercises can be done when using Precision Point Training as long as the training is done within the boundaries of a correct training state. So if you are a person who loves consistency, you can use the same workout and succeed. If you need to see constant change to feel like you are progressing, or you simply need variety in your training to avoid boredom, variety is ok as well. Hope you enjoy your training whether you choose consistency, variety, or combination of both. If you would like a more thorough explanation of Precision Point Training, or you want to learn the basic principles of Precision Point Training, you can find this information by going to “the basics of PPT” or obtaining a copy of the book, Get Stronger with Precision Point Training.