Skip to main content

In Praise of High-Sets, Low-Reps

     This week, it seems that I've received an inordinate number of e-mails.  Most of them have been related to questions regarding my latest article at Mike Mahler's website.  (If you haven't read that article—see the post a couple below this one—be sure to do so; and make sure that you check out Mike's site.  He's got a lot of good stuff there.)  I've been too busy to answer all of them—but I'll be sure to do so by the end of the weekend (hopefully).
     Anyway, I received an e-mail earlier today asking me what the single greatest "approach" is for building muscle mass.  In other words, what kind of workout program seems to elicit the best gains in both building muscle mass and garnering strength gains.  I started to answer with one of the more popular lines from strength coaches (and one of the most redundant):  "The best workout program is the one you're not doing."
     Then I decided that was a bit of a cop-out.
     Truth is, I do have a favorite approach.  And that's the high-set, low-rep approach.  I'm talking 10 to 20 sets of anywhere between 1 and 5 reps.  Pick one or two exercises at each workout.  I also like to pair an upper body pulling movement with a lower body pushing movement on one day, then an upper body pushing movement with a lower body pulling movement on another day, then have a day reserved for arm training, calf training, ab training—you know, the small stuff.  I find this is about as good as it gets.
     Here's what a good workout might look like:
Day One
Squats: 15 sets of 3 reps
Wide-Grip Chins: 20 sets of 3 reps
Day Two
Incline Dumbbell Bench Presses: 20 sets of 5 reps
Deadlifts: 15 sets of 2 reps
Day Three
Off
Day Four
Barbell Curls: 20 sets of 3 reps
Skullcrushers: 15 sets of 5 reps
Ab Wheel: 20 sets of 5 to 10 reps (Okay, I know that the reps are a little bit higher here, but that's for those of you who are conditioned enough to handle it.)
Day Five
Off
Day Six
Repeat with a different 5-day cycle of exercises

     Simple, but highly effective stuff.

Labels:

Comments

  1. TomFebruary 21, 2017 at 8:24 AM

    Thank you for this!

    However, how would you program this? For an example with squats, do you start at 70%, do the 15X3, add 5-10 pounds, and repeat next workout? Or start at a higher percentage, do 5x3 and gradually build up to 15 sets? Or, similar to Hepburn, do 15X1 and gradually build that to 15X3?

    Thanks in advance for your reply.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Feel free to leave us some feedback on the article or any topics you would like us to cover in the future! Much Appreciated!

Popular posts from this blog

Power/Pump Alternates

  A Unique Heavy/Light Training Approach for Bodybuilders Seeking Size and Power      I first discovered alternates a little over 30 years ago.  At the time, my primary interest (training wise) was bodybuilding.  I had just started writing for some of the popular bodybuilding magazines and it would be a few years before I discovered my real love—which, by the way, would be powerlifting and other strength sports.  However, even then, I loved being strong.  I couldn’t understand—and, I suppose, I still don’t, though I’m perhaps a little more sympathetic—bodybuilders who only trained for looks without the strength to go with it.  Even though I considered myself a bodybuilder at the time, I was definitely a power bodybuilder.  I wanted to be at least as strong as I looked.  I was actually stronger than I looked.  If I had known then what I know now, I would have known that I was “made” for powerlifting and strength ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Q&A: 3-Day Easy Strength? - Building Mass without Squats - Rest Periods for Strength

       Here is a random selection of questions that I received via email the last several weeks.  I figured these might be of interest to some readers. Question: Is it possible to do an easy strength program only 3 days each week and get good results? Answer: Maybe.  It depends.  (This might annoy some of my readers, but, to be honest, the answer to a lot of questions is it depends .)      Now, first off, if you don’t know what “easy strength” is, the standard recommendations for an easy strength program goes something like this: 1.      Train with full-body workouts using a limited number of basic barbell, dumbbell, or kettlebell lifts such as squats, bench presses, overhead presses, chins, dips, curls, cleans, snatches, or deadlifts. 2.      Lift 5 to 6 days per week. 3.      On average, keep your reps per set in the 1-5 range.  Doubles and triples are probably the p...
4 comments
Read more

Back-Off Sets and Extra Work for the Strength Athlete

  Some Thoughts on How/When to Use Back-Off Sets, Add Extra Work, and Increase the Total Workload of Your Training      The other day, I received an email from a reader who wanted to know my advice on back-off sets and how to use them.  His question was based on the fact that he was having a hard time increasing the weight on his “top-end” sets using a standard 5x5 training model.  This essay is partly an answer to that question but, in addition to that, I want to use it to discuss how (and when) you should not only do back-off sets but also when a lifter should add extra work, whether that additional training is at the end of a workout or in another workout altogether.  The goal of all of this being, of course, greater strength on the core lifts, whatever those core lifts might be, whether you’re a powerlifter attempting to increase the three powerlifts, an Olympic lifter looking to increase your quick lifts, or just an “all-around” strength...
Post a Comment
Read more