I believe that one of the most overlooked concepts in weight training methodology is that you can get stronger by repeating the same workout with the same amount of weight, reps, and sets. Believe it or not, you will get better by repeating the same thing in weight training over and over again. Please don’t misunderstand, you will eventually need to change in order to keep improving, but you don’t need to constantly change, you only need to change when your body is ready for it.
Overload is not Always Good
One of the most popular principles in weight training is the overload principle which basically means that you put a load on your body that it has never experienced before. The most common way to apply the overload principle is to increase the poundages you are using for a given lift. You can also apply this principle by doing more reps or sets than you have ever done before with a given weight. The overload principle must be applied occasionally if you want to keep getting stronger. However, I would dispute the mentality that you must try to constantly apply the overload principle in every workout.
When Overload is Good
Some lifters think that they will automatically get stronger if they do more reps, more sets, or more workouts. This idea is wrong, but I must also point out that it is true that there are times when adding more delivers better results. However, doing more is only better if you are ready for more, or you haven’t been doing enough in the first place. If you are already training with enough intensity, and doing enough sets, enough reps, and enough workouts, doing more isn’t going to help. At some point, you are much better off finding the ideal amount of intensity, and the ideal amount of sets, reps, and workouts. Once you find the ideal, settle in for a while by using the same amount of weight, and doing the same number of reps, and the same number of sets from workout to workout. Your body will improve from doing the same thing over the course of multiple workouts, then you will be ready to overload by adding weight, sets, or reps.
Acclimation
Many lifters don’t believe that you can get better from repeating the same workout, but I believe that using the same exercises, same weight, and the same number of sets and reps will help you to improve. However, this will only work if you zero in on the ideal amount of weight, sets, reps, and workouts per week. Getting better at the same thing is called acclimation. You acclimate to the environment by improving so that you can function better within the environment you are in.
Musicians often play the same piece of music over and over in order to get better at it. Little kids say the same alphabet and read the same basic flash card words until they get better at it. Basketball players shoot the same shot in order to get better at it. Eventually the musician moves on to a different piece of music, and the little kid moves on to a new set of words, and the basketball player learns to shoot from different spots, but before they move on, they get better at doing the same thing. In contrast, there seems to be a belief within weight training circles that you should never do the same thing; you must always change or push for another rep, another set, or add more weight. In my opinion, this is a faulty training strategy. Of course, you should add weight, or reps, or sets when you are ready, but you are not going to be ready in every workout, or even every week.
Rate of Progress
If you squat 225 pounds for 5 reps in every workout for a month, and then add one rep every month, you will be doing 17 reps within a year. In two years you will be doing 29 reps. Adding a rep per month seems pitifully slow, but if you are a long term lifter, it will add up. Most likely you won’t work your way up to 29 reps, or even 17 reps, but will add weight after you gain the ability to add a couple reps, or you will simply add weight instead of reps. So let’s look at what would happen if you can currently squat with 225 pounds for 5 reps, and you add 5 pounds every month. In one year you would be squatting with an additional 60 pounds which means you would be squatting 285 pounds for 5 reps. In two years you would be squatting 345 pounds for 5 reps. Five pounds per month may seem very slow, but if you are a long term lifter who plans on lifting for many years, it will add up to big poundages within just a few years.
A few months ago I listened to an interview of an elite lifter who had been lifting for many years. He said if he gains ten pounds of strength in a year, he is happy and satisfied with his progress. Rapid gains are for genetically gifted beginners, but the gains will slow down and you will eventually need to be happy with slow gains no matter how gifted you are.
Ideal Intensity
The key to getting better at the same thing is to work at the right level of intensity by doing the right number of sets, and the right number of workouts each week. When it comes to using the right amount of intensity, I recommend that you repeat reps using a steady even rep pace until you hit a rep where your rep speed starts to slow down. For most lifters, this means that you will leave one to three reps in the tank for each set. If you keep using the same amount of weight with the same amount of reps, the same weight will become easier to lift and you will end up leaving more reps in the tank. For example, if you stop a set two reps short of failure when you bench press 185 pounds for 8 reps, you will eventually get strong enough to stop three reps short of failure when benching 185 pounds for 8 reps. At that point, you can add more weight.
Train at Full Strength
When it comes to doing the right amount of sets, you should keep repeating sets for a muscle group as long as you are at full strength. When you reach a set where you can’t do as many reps as you normally can when you are at full strength, stop repeating sets for that muscle group.
Full Recovery Between Workouts
When it comes to doing the right number of workouts per week, I recommend starting with three workouts per muscle group. If it works, keep doing it, but if it does not provide enough stimulation, add a fourth workout each week, or even a fifth workout until you feel like your body is responding. Some lifters who start with three workouts per week may experience the opposite problem and feel like three workouts per week is too much. If this is the case, cut back to two workouts per week for each muscle group. Cut back as much as you need to in order to fully recover between workouts.
I realize that my belief that you can keep repeating the same workouts for a while in order to get stronger does not fit in with the methodology of many traditional weight training programs. But the only reason I have these beliefs is because when it comes to long-term lifting, these concepts have proven to work better for me than constant change and constant overload. Even so, if constant change or constant overload are currently working for you, I recommend that you keep using these strategies. If not, consider the simplicity of repeating the same workout in conjunction with the ideals discussed in this article until you get better at doing the same workout. Best of training to you.