The Two Principles of Strength Training

 

     There are, I suppose, a few different “principles” involved in strength training.  You need to train with heavy weights to get strong.  You need to eat enough protein on a regular basis to gain muscle.  You need to follow a program instead of just “working out.”  I could go on and on.  So, what could possibly be the two most important principles of strength training?  Perhaps if you ask me again next week or next month or next year, I might give a different answer.  But I doubt it.  Anyway, the two principles of strength training are (drumroll, please):

1.      Everything works.

2.      Everything works… for about 6 to 8 weeks.

     I am not the first trainer (or bodybuilder or powerlifter) to write this.  I won’t be the last.  Most lifters who take seriously their training discover it on their own without anyone telling them it’s the case.

     When you first pick up a barbell, everything really works.  In that case, it doesn’t even matter if your program is any good.  Or if you’re on a program at all.  So-called “newbie gains” are real.  But that’s not what I’m writing about here.  Here, I’m talking about change.

     A program—even a really good program—seems to “run its course” for most lifters somewhere between the 6-to-8-week mark.  Most lifters need to make a change to their program at that point.  Or get on a different program entirely.  Also, in general the more advanced you are, the more change is needed.

     Just how different will depend upon the lifter.  Individuals vary in their need for change.

     I personally prefer that lifters have three or four different effective (for them) programs that they rotate between.  First, notice that I didn’t write “workouts.”  Rotating to a different workout every time that you go to the gym is just doing random whatever, and that’s not an approach that will bring long-term results for the lifter.  Not ever.  Not for anyone.  Second, the programs that you rotate between should reflect your fitness/strength level, your age, your genetics, and your goals.  A beginner who is in his early 20s and wants to gain as much muscle mass as possible should not be using the same workout programs as a man in his 50s who has been training his whole life and is looking to stay lean and “fit.”  Different fitness levels.  Different ages.  Different goals.

     If you are trying to gain as much muscle as possible, then I would rotate between two different kinds of full-body workouts and one split program.  Your training might look something like this:

·         1^st 8 weeks: 20-rep squat program with full-body workouts performed 2 to 3 times per week.

·         2^nd 8 weeks: Bill Starr-style full-body 5x5 program done 3 times per week.

·         3^rd 8 weeks: 2-way upper body/lower body split program.  Train 4 to 5 days per week.

     Conversely, if you’re a powerlifter, you would use something similar but an approach that reflects your different goals.  In this case, you might do something such as this:

·         1^st 8 weeks: Bill Starr-style H-L-Mprogram.

·         2^nd 8 weeks: Any high-frequency “easy strength” regimen such as my 30-Rep Program.

·         3^rd 8 weeks: Westside-style program incorporating speed work and max effort sessions.

     As a final example, an advanced bodybuilder who already has plenty of muscle, and isn’t looking for more strength but simply needs to “refine” his physique might do something more like this:

·         1^st 8 weeks: 3-on, 1-off “push, pull, legs” split using 3 to 4 exercises for 3 to 4 sets of 10-12 reps each.

·         2^nd 8 weeks: full-body, 3 days per week program for moderate sets of moderate reps.  (Something such as George Turner’s “Full-BodyBlast” would work well slotted here.)

·         3^rd 8 weeks: 4-on, 1-off—chest and shoulders one day, back a second, legs a third, and arms on the 4^th—using a one-exercise-per-bodypart 10 sets of 10 reps program.

     Another approach is to train on the same program year ‘round, but one that has change “built” into it.  If you’re a powerlifter, for example, you can follow Westside’s training template for years because of the variety that is inherent to that style of lifting.  I’ve known many bodybuilders who followed the same “routine” for pretty much their entire training life.  Whether it’s a 3-way split such as the aforementioned push/pull/legs or a so-called “bro-split” where each muscle group is trained on a separate day, many bodybuilders will leave that the same, but they will routinely change the set/rep scheme.  In this case—whatever your actual split is—you might do something such as this:

·         1^st 6 weeks: 3 to 4 exercises per muscle group for 3 to 4 sets of 10-12 reps

·         2^nd 6 weeks: 1 to 2 exercises per muscle group for 8 sets of 8 reps each

·         3^rd 6 weeks: 2 to 3 exercises per muscle group for 5 sets of 5 reps each exercise

·         4^th 6 weeks: 3 to 4 exercises per muscle group using 4 “pyramid” sets of 12, 10, 8, and 6 reps

     Those are just examples.  Use set/rep ranges that work well for you, though if you’re searching for set/rep ideas, those would all be good ones to start with.

     Maybe everything doesn’t work, but every good training program works.  Until it doesn’t.  Which is usually around the 6-to-8-week mark.

 

 

     If you want to read some more mass-building, strength-training essays such as this one—but longer—then get your hands on a copy of my latest book “Ultimate Mass and PowerEssays.”

 

     I am going to try to write more articles and essays for the remainder of the month, so come back every couple days for updates.  Until then, keep lifting.