The Magic Is In The
Strategy
A “program” is nothing more than a physical representation of a
strategy, aimed at making you better at something. Whether that be bigger,
stronger, faster, the program is simply a strategy used to create a
physiological response.
For those training primarily for aesthetics, like a bodybuilder,
progression is measured by what you see in the mirror (which is largely
dependent on what you put in your body). But, for the rest of the world,
progression is generally based on how much weight is being lifted.
Primary Exercise
Progression Models
Because it’s impossible to simply put more weight on the bar each
and every time you train, a better model is needed than simply “trying hard.”
One of the most effective, and logical progression models that exists is that
of “building volume.” In this case, building volume suggests that since you
can’t keep putting more weight on the bar, you gradually perform a higher
volume of work using loads that are rather challenging for you right now – but
through stress and repetition, they will become second nature, suggesting that
you have made progress.
An example of such a logical, volume based progression, looks
something like this:
Week 1: 6 x 2 – 45 seconds rest
Week 2: 8 x 2 – 40 seconds rest
Week 3: 10 x 2 – 35 seconds rest
Now, the example above is nothing more than a physical
representation of a strategy aimed at making you better at lifting weights that
are currently challenging for you. Don’t bother obsessing over the actual sets,
reps, and rest outlined above, as they are not important right now.
What you should notice is that the amount of work being performed
increases from week to week, while the rest is reduced – after all, should you
be recovering from the workload, you should not only be able to perform more
work, but do so with less rest between your efforts. To help cement the concept,
here are a few more examples.
Building off the example above, a logical follow up would then be
to start over with slightly more weight and perform the same progression, but
with slightly greater rest intervals to accommodate the increase in weight:
Week 4: 6 x 2 – 60 seconds rest
Week 5: 8 x 2 – 50 seconds rest
Week 6: 10 x 2 – 40 seconds rest
From there you could once again increase the weight, or you could
begin to increase the reps:
Week 7: 6 x 3 – 60 seconds rest
Week 8: 8 x 3 – 55 seconds rest
Week 9: 10 x 3 – 50 seconds rest
Another effective progression model could look like this:
Workout 1: 5 x 1 – 60 seconds rest
Workout 2: 6 x 1 – 55 seconds rest
Workout 3: 7 x 1 – 50 seconds rest
Workout 4: 8 x 1 – 45 seconds rest
Workout 5: 9 x 1 – 40 seconds rest
Workout 6: 10 x 1 – 35 seconds rest
The frequency in which a lift is trained will ultimately determine
how long it will take to make it through the progression. Upon completion you
could then go back, and start over with more weight. Should you want to use
slightly higher reps, then there should be a slight decrease in the number of
sets performed, an example looking like:
Workout 1: 3 x 3 – 60 seconds rest
Workout 2: 4 x 3 – 55 seconds rest
Workout 3: 5 x 3 – 50 seconds rest
Workout 4: 6 x 3 – 45 seconds rest
Workout 5: 7 x 3 – 40 seconds rest
Workout 6: 8 x 3 – 35 seconds rest
Or you could increase the volume with sets first, and reps second,
an example looking like:
Workout 1: 2 x 3 – 60 seconds rest
Workout 2: 3 x 3 – 60 seconds rest
Workout 3: 4 x 3 – 60 seconds rest
Workout 4: 5 x 3 – 60 seconds rest
Workout 5: 5 x 4 – 60 seconds rest
Workout 6: 5 x 5 – 60 seconds rest
In this case you could once again start over, with slightly more
weight, and perform the progression again.
Even the inclusion of bands or chains to maximize speed and power development
should follow a sound progression, especially since they are highly intensive
methods that can easily lead to overworking the body’s capacity to recover. An
example of such a progression for the bench press could look like this:
Week 1 6 x 2 using 50%
of max
Week 2 8 x 2 using 50%
of max
Week 3 10 x 2 using 50%
of max
Week 4 4 x 2 using 55%
of max
*Pause for 2 seconds
with the bar on/near the chest between reps
Week 5 4 x 2 using 40%
of max
Week 6 6 x 2 using 40%
of max
Week 7 8 x 2 using 40%
of max
Week 8 3 x 2 using 40%
of max
*Use bands, but don’t
pause between reps – rather perform them explosively
Week 9 6 x 2 using 60%
of max
Week 10 8 x 2 using 60%
of max
Week 11 10 x 2 using
60% of max
Week 12 no speed work
*No bands, or pauses
What you should be noticing is the simplicity in the strategies
outlined above. Progression, as long as you’re not doing something completely
idiotic, should always be kept simple, and as long as you provide the body with
what it needs to recover, there’s no reason progression can’t be seen from
workout to workout.
These models are just some of the possible examples, but each of them
can be adapted to your training – it should be noted however, that these models
are strictly based on increasing your ability to put more weight on the bar,
AKA increasing strength. They will not work for higher reps, as the
accumulative metabolic fatigue will greatly influence subsequent performance.
For example, a progression model like the one below, will not work:
Workout 1: 3 x 10
Workout 2: 4 x 10
Workout 3: 5 x 10
Workout 4: 6 x 10
Workout 5: 7 x 10
Workout 6: 8 x 10
Workout 7: 9 x 10
Workout 8: 10 x 10
This progression model may work for the first two weeks, but
there’s no way it will continue in that fashion for long, as the reps per set
are simply too high to recover from between efforts, irrespective of how much
rest is given between sets – also keep in mind that taking too much rest
between sets will negatively influence the training effect (and when performing
such high reps, the goal is generally to stimulate growth, and this is best
done with limited rest, so taking more just to hit a rep goal is just plain
stupid).
Assistance Exercise
Progression Models
The models presented above are limited to whatever your primary
lift is – that is, the one in which you seek to make the greatest progress for
a given bodypart/movement pattern. Therefore, such a model should be used for
the first exercise performed in a workout (unless performing 2 unrelated
movement patterns), as it can’t be expected to be that effective of a
progression model for lifts that are trained in a fatigued state.
As for assistance exercises, or those trained in a fatigued state,
a better option would be to pick a set of parameters like 4 x 8, and build off
that. An example would be:
Week 1: 4 x 8
Week 2: 2 x 6, 2 x 10, 1 x 10
Week 3: 4 x 6
In this case, the lower reps are indicative of heavier loads being
used, but considering that you’re already in a fatigued state by the time you
perform an assistance exercise, it cannot be expected to make such great
strides in progression – in terms of using greater loads, or performing more
sets with a given load. Therefore, in the second week the goal is to perform
half as many sets with a greater load, and half as many with a lesser load than
that which was used in the first week, but for more reps.
Another example, to help reinforce the point to not to zero in on
the numbers presented, but rather understand that the numbers are nothing more
than a physical representation of the strategy would be:
Week 1: 3 x 6
Week 2: 1 x 3, 1 x 6, 1 x 10
Week 3 3 x 3
In this example, the second week consists of using heavier loads
for one set, the same as the week before for the second set, and one with a
slightly lighter load for the final set, but performed for more reps to make up
for the lower intensity. As you can see, in both examples above, the goal is to
progressively work towards using a greater load, but since you’re in a fatigued
state by the time you’re performing an assistance exercise, one must strategize
how best to do this – and the two examples above show that.
Auto-Regulatory
Progression Models
Since strength is a trainable skill, it’s of paramount importance
to frequently practice the lifts in which improvement is sought most. Because
it’s impossible to forecast how you’re going to perform on any given day, an
effective way to base your training is to work up to a daily limit (which is a
form of auto-regulation/biofeedback), based on the physiological response you
wish to generate, and base your remaining workload off that. In this case, such
a progression model, in which the same lifts (limit the amount of lifts to
three to prevent overworking the body) were performed at each workout, could
look like this:
Week 1: work up to a 5 rep max
Week 2: work up to a 3 rep max
Week 3: work up to a 1 rep max
From there, the remaining training days (assuming a 4 day training
split) would be devoted to performing higher volumes of work with a given
percentage of what was achieved during the first workout, an example of the
training week looking like:
Day 1: work up to weekly max
Day 2: perform 3-5 sets of 5 using 80% of the top weight you
reached on day 1
Day 3: perform 3-5 sets of 5 using 90%
Day 4: perform 3-5 sets of 5 using 70%
In week 2 and 3 you simply follow the same strategy, working up to
a daily limit on the first weekly training day, and performing 3-5 sets of the
same amount of reps performed on the first day, with a specific percentage of
what was achieved on the first day – 80% on day 2, 90% on day 3, and 70% on day
4.
Should you want to modify this schedule from a 4 day training week,
to a 3 day training week, you could simply perform day 2 using 75%, and day 3
using 85% - once again, you aren’t married to the numbers, as they are only a
representation of the strategy. A strategy that can be adapted to your personal
scheduling limitations.
Upon completion of a 3 week cycle using the framework provided
above, you can simply repeat the process with either the same exercises, or
different exercises depending on your goal.
And one final example of an auto-regulated progression model would
look like this:
Week 1: work up to daily 5 rep max, perform 1 set with 90% (in
cluster fashion – resting roughly 10 seconds between reps), perform 1 set with
75-80% for as many reps as possible
Week 2: work up to daily 5 rep max, perform 2 sets with 90% (in
cluster fashion – resting roughly 10 seconds between reps), perform 1 set with
75-80% for as many reps as possible
Week 3: work up to daily 5 rep max, perform 3 sets with 90% (in
cluster fashion – resting roughly 10 seconds between reps)
Week 4: work up to daily 3 rep max, perform 1 set with 90% (in
cluster fashion – resting roughly 10 seconds between reps), perform 1 set with
75-80% for as many reps as possible
Week 5: work up to daily 3 rep max, perform 2 sets with 90% (in cluster
fashion – resting roughly 10 seconds between reps), perform 1 set with 75-80%
for as many reps as possible
Week 6: work up to daily 3 rep max, perform 3 sets with 90% (in
cluster fashion – resting roughly 10 seconds between reps)
Week 7: work up to daily 1 rep max, perform 1 set with 90% (in
cluster fashion – resting roughly 10 seconds between reps), perform 1 set with
75-80% for as many reps as possible
Week 8: work up to daily 1 rep max, perform 2 sets with 90% (in
cluster fashion – resting roughly 10 seconds between reps), perform 1 set with
75-80% for as many reps as possible
Week 9: work up to daily 1 rep max, perform 3 sets with 90% (in
cluster fashion – resting roughly 10 seconds between reps)
Once again, don’t fixate on the numbers used, but rather the
strategy used. Everything you do should be about progression, and getting
better – after all, why else are you doing what you’re doing? These models here
are some of the more effective ones out there based on making you progress from
workout to workout – unless of course, you’re a bodybuilder, or strictly train
for aesthetics, in which progression has little to do with how much weight is
on the bar.
If you have any questions about progression models, or any of the
models presented, feel free to contact me at ben@paramounttraining.ca. I'm available for
online consulting and personalized program design, as well as one on one
training if you are located in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
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