Singles

Some Thoughts on Single-Rep Training for Strength, Power, and Muscle Size

     “Many dinosaurs do heavy singles.  Why?  Because they have discovered that for many men, singles build more muscle and strength than sets of multiple repetitions.  Yeah, I KNOW that singles are contrary to modern wisdom and conventional training protocols.  I KNOW that all of the modern experts say that single reps are dangerous and non-productive.  I KNOW that all of the modern ‘champs’ say to train with light weights and concentrate on ‘feeling’ the muscles.  I KNOW that everyone at the House of Chrome and Ferns never does a single rep on anything.  And I KNOW that we have all kinds of wonderful ‘scientific’ training systems that regard heavy singles as worthless, dangerous, insane, and ridiculously old fashioned.

     “The experts are WRONG when they say singles don’t work.  For many men, singles build muscle and strength like you wouldn’t believe.  Forty or fifty years ago—before the steroid era—quite a number of folks did singles and they got really big and strong on them.  (C.S.’s note: This was written in 1996, so make that 70 to 80 years ago.)

     “In those days, the biggest and strongest men in the world were Olympic weightlifters.  Top lifters like Tommy Kono, John Davis, Stave Sanko and Mahmoud Namdjou could win world titles in lifting AND enter bodybuilding competitions and do terrifically well—Kono won the Mr. World title, Davis placed 3rd in the Mr. America and won “Best Back,” Sanko won the Mr. Universe title, and Namdjou won his height class in the Mr. Universe contest.  And the heavyweight lifters (men like Norb Schemansky, Jim Bradford, and John Davis) were so much bigger than any bodybuilders (with the notable exception of Reg Park, who himself trained like a lifter) that it wasn’t even funny.  If singles are so terrible, why did the lifters thrive on them?” ~Brooks D. Kubik, Dinosaur Training

     I’m not sure if much has changed in the world of lifting since Kubik first penned those words 30 years ago.  Functional training has become more popular.  That’s one thing.  With it there has also been a renewed interest in the quick lifts, and other methods of training—largely due to the advent of Crossfit—that was almost entirely missing from American gyms in the ‘90s.  But overall I would say that your average trainees in your average gyms—what Kubik derivatively called Houses of Chromes and Ferns—don’t train all that differently in 2026 as they did in 1996.

     Perhaps I’m wrong—I haven’t stepped foot in a commercial gym in more than 15 years, and that had been my first time doing so in this century—but I am pretty sure that training with singles is viewed the same way today as it was then.  In other words, useless, unless you’re a competitive powerlifter or weightlifter.  But singles, particularly heavy singles, do more than just build strength and power.  They also, to Kubik’s point, and perhaps in actuality the point of this entire essay, build muscle mass.  Yes, despite what you may have been told and what you believe right now, heavy singles are a great method of building muscle for quite a few lifters.  Now, let me add one caveat.  Not all lifters will build an inordinate amount of muscle by using them, though I think the number of lifters who can generate hypertrophy gains from singles training is larger than your average gym-goer would believe.  If you gain muscle, as I always did, from sets of 5 rep or low—especially multiple sets of low reps—then singles are probably for you.  But they build strength for everyone.

     When I came across the quote from Dinosaur Training above, I was looking for some information on another subject entirely—I won’t spoil what that article will be about; you’ll read it when I write it.  Initially, I was hesitant to write this, not because I don’t believe in the efficacy of singles, but because it's a subject that I’ve written about before.  More than once.  But I also realized that I need to return to certain subjects every so often.  You can’t have too much information on the subjects I constantly harken back to—real training, full-body workouts, old-school mass-building principles, high-frequency training, and multiple sets of low reps (or singles).  For the remainder of this essay, we’ll look at some of the varying ways that you can apply them—the different training strategies and routines that I have found to be the most effective.  We’ll also look at some drawbacks that you need to be aware of.  All methods, after all, have “holes” in them that need to be filled in.

Breaking in Singles

     Based on what little bit that I have written so far, and on Kubik’s quote, you might be fired up already to get started on a regimen of heavy singles training.  However, singles are not something that you should just rush into unless you have prepared your body to handle them beforehand.  If you have been doing any kind of higher-repetition training—in preparation for singles, anything above 5 reps should be considered high—then you need to do at least a few weeks of 5-rep sets, followed by triples and doubles.

      If, at this moment, you are training with a routine that uses sets of 8 reps or higher, start by doing a workout that uses, for the most part, 3 to 5 sets of 5 reps.  Bill Starr’s classic 5x5 system is a great starting point.  If you want to understand Starr’s training philosophy in depth, then purchase my most recent book The Strongest Shall Always Survive: Lifting Lessons from an Iron Legend.  It also contains some routines for advanced, or at least intermediate, lifters that utilize singles—more on that book at the bottom of the article.  Withstanding my book, and the programs within it, you can simply begin with a full-body program, done 3 days per week, that uses, once again for the most part, 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps.  If you’re not accustomed to that method of training, I think the perfect “break in” program would be my Full Body Big & Strong routine that takes an everything moderate approach to full-body training sessions.  (Click on the link for detailed information).

     You can also start by doing 2 weeks of training using 3 to 5 progressively heavier sets of 5 reps.  After that, move to 2 weeks of doing progressively heavier sets of 5 reps followed by progressively heavier sets of triples.  Then, do another couple weeks of 5s, followed by triples and then doubles.  At that point, you can start working up to heavier singles.

     Once you’re “broken in,” the routine below is an example of something you might want to follow.  It only requires 2 days per week of training, so it’s also perfect for anyone with a busy schedule.

Day One (Monday, for example)

• Barbell squats: 3 progressively heavier sets of 5 reps; 2 progressively heavier triples; 3 progressively heavier singles - 8 sets total.  When you first start this program, do your 1st single with around 75% of your 1-rep maximum, the 2nd single with 80-85%, and the final single with 90% of your max.  Increase the weight on these over the course of about 3 weeks until you are close, or at, 100% of your 1-rep max on the last set.  Try to then increase that weight for another 2 weeks.  At that point, back down in weight the following week.  It’s important that you learn to cycle your training loads when training with max, or near-max, singles.

• Deadlifts: 3x5, 2x3, 3x1.  Follow the same scheme as the squats.

• Bench presses: 3x5, 2x3, 3x1.  Follow the same scheme as the other movements.

• Barbell curls: 3x5, 2x3, 3x1.  Follow the same scheme.

Day Two (Thursday, for example)

• Front squats: 3x5, 2x3, 3x1.  Follow the same scheme as Day One.

• Power cleans: 3x5, 2x3, 3x1.  Follow the same scheme.

• Military presses: 3x5, 2x3, 3x1.  Follow the same scheme.

     Add in a couple sets of weighted incline sit-ups, or some other heavy ab movement, such as the ab wheel, and 1 or 2 sets of farmer walks, stone carries, sandbag carries, or any other “odd” lift that you like.  Be sure that you leave a little something “in the tank” at the end of the loaded carries.

     Once you can handle the workload and the heavy singles, you can do the above program 3 days per week.  Do the Day One workout on, say, Monday and Friday, and the Day Two workout on Wednesday.  In your 2nd week of training, do the Day Two workout M/F and the Day One workout on Wednesday, rotating back and forth between the workout sessions in that matter from week to week.

Easy Strength for Singles

     The “easy strength” method of training can also be good for singles.  WIth easy strength, you train at least 5 days per week on each muscle group/lift.  You might train for 7 days straight, and only take a day off whenever you feel like it.  Some guys like that approach.  I think 6 is probably enough, meaning that you could train Monday through Saturday, take off on Sunday, then get back at it on Monday again.  However, I think 5 days is best for most lifters.  When I train on any kind of easy strength routine—such as my 30-Rep Program—or train other lifters, I like to train on a 3-on, 1-off, 2-on, 1-off, which allows you to have “set” days that you train on each week.  For instance, you could train on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, with Thursdays and Sundays off, but start on any day that you wish.

     On an easy strength program, you train your entire body at each session with a handful, or less, of big, bang-for-your-buck movements.  Use between 3 and 5 lifts.  Some good selections would be squats, thick-bar deadlifts, cleans or snatches of all types, overhead presses with barbells or dumbbells, bench presses of different sorts, chinning or rowing movements, and heavy curls.  So, you might pick front squats, power cleans, military presses, bench presses, and barbell curls.  At each session, do no more—this is the “kicker” that makes it work and why it’s given the moniker easy strength—than 10 reps total for each lift.  You might do 2 sets of 5 reps, 3 sets of 3, 3 sets of 5, 3, and 2 reps, or 5 sets of doubles; when you feel as if you need more recovery, you might just do 1 light set of 10 reps on each movement.

     When incorporating singles, some strength pundits—Dan John and Pavel, for example, who literally wrote the book Easy Strength: How to Get Stronger than Your Competition and Dominate Your Sport—recommend only using around 6 reps total when doing singles on an easy strength model.  I think it depends on your strength.  If you can only squat 225 for a single, then (first, you're weak, so get stronger!) sure, 6 singles would be plenty.  If you can squat 405, however, you probably need more.  I think a good plan is to do a triple, and then a few doubles, and then proceed to singles, or just start with doubles, and once the weight gets relatively heavy, move to singles.

     If you go the easy strength route, you might want to save the singles for a couple of movements that you really want to focus on getting stronger and bigger on, such as bench presses and barbell curls for all you “bros” out there who want thick, dense chest and biceps muscles.  In that case, a week of training might look like the following.  In this example, the sets are followed by the reps:

Monday:

Barbell squats: 2x5

Barbell bench presses: 6x2,2,2,1,1,1

Thick-bar deadlifts: 2x5

Barbell curls: 6x2,2,2,1,1,1

Tuesday:

Front squats: 3x5,3,2

One-arm dumbbell overhead presses: 2x5 (each arm)

Power cleans: 3x5,3,2

Wednesday:

Barbell squats: 1x10

Barbell bench presses: 6x2,2,2,1,1,1

Power snatches: 5x2

Barbell curls: 6x2,2,2,1,1,1

Friday:

Front squats: 2x5

Barbell bench presses: 5x2

Sumo deficit deadlifts: 5x2

Barbell curls: 5x2

Saturday:

Barbell squats: 3x5,3,2

Military presses: 2x5

Weighted chins: 5x2

     As with the “break in” program, feel free to add a couple sets of heavy abdominal work and some loaded carries of some sort at the end.

     On the singles, most days work up to around 90-95% of your 1-rep maximum for the last single.  On days when you feel strong, however, add another single or two and go for a PR.  This kind of training does take a lifter who understands his body fairly well and knows when to push it and when to back off.  It takes, in the words of Bradley Steiner, a “mature muscle man.”  So, it’s not for everyone, but it is one of the most effective methods available.  For some lifters—especially those of us who are “frequency lifters” and respond best to frequency over volume or intensity—it might just be the best program on the market.

High-Set Singles

     Despite my love of high-frequency training (HFT) and easy strength in general, if there’s one method bar none that builds insane levels of strength and power, it’s multiple sets of low reps.  You just can’t go wrong with 8 to 10 sets of triples or doubles on any movements for massive strength, power, and mass gains.  Using it with singles is the most effective method for taking your strength to the next level.

     There are several ways to use high-set singles that are effective.  The most well-known one, and still perhaps the best method for building strength that has never been surpassed, is what I—and others, such as Bill Starr—refer to as the “Hepburn method.”  It’s simple and straight to the point.  Created by, you guessed it, the great Canadian strongman and weightlifter Doug Hepburn, it involves doing multiple sets of singles with a weight that is around 90-95% of your 1-rep maximum; the weight should be determined by the number of sets you are “shooting” for.  The process goes something like this: After warming up thoroughly—perhaps doing ramps of 5s and then triples—load the bar with approximately 90-95% of your 1-rep maximum.  For example, if you are using it for squats and your max squat is 405 pounds, you might put 375 on the bar—right at 92.5%.  Go for 8 singles.  Do as many singles as you can.  If you get 8 singles, then add 5 to 10 pounds to the bar at the next session, and repeat the process.  If you get less singles than that—stop when you miss a single—stick with the same weight at the next session and repeat the workout until you do get 8 singles.

     Some lifters like less singles, and some prefer more.  Bill Starr was fond of only 5 to 6 singles, and used it as part of his heavy-light-medium system, doing it on only the “heavy” day of the full-body regimen.  Other lifters prefer 10 to 15 singles, and might use only 90%, or even a little less, until they manage all of their sets.  I think 8 to 10 singles is best.  If you’re interested in utilizing the method, I would start with that.

     Jeff Maddy used this method in the early ‘90s, and held the world record in the bench press in 1992 at 725 pounds.  He did nothing other than this one method for his bench press.  He also used it for squats, deadlifts, and barbell curls.  He did it only once per week, though I think that’s too infrequent for most powerlifters.  Maddy was huge—really big guys tend to thrive off slightly less-frequent training than us of a more “average” size.  I would do it once every 5 days or so if it’s the only method that you utilize.  Here’s what a training cycle might look like:

Day One:

Barbell squats: 8 singles with 92.5% of your max

Deadlifts: 8 singles with 92.5% of your max

Assistance work as you feel needed

Day Two:

Bench presses: 8 singles with 92.5% of your max

Assistance work if needed

Day Three:

OFF

Day Four:

Barbell curls

Assistance work if needed

Day Five:

OFF

Day Six:

Repeat

     Another method that works well—and will probably keep the gains coming for slightly longer—is to use less weight and stop your sets once your single slows down.  For this method, use around 85% of your 1-rep maximum.  Shoot for 10-15 singles, but STOP as soon as a single lacks the speed of the previous ones.  Now, as with the “easy strength” method, this method probably takes a more mature lifter who understands his body well, but it’s fantastic for building strength, power, size, and for preventing “speed degradation,” a subject we’ll look into in more detail below.

     Here’s a “full-body split” program using this method:

Monday:

Barbell squats: 10 singles at 85% of your max

Bench presses: 10 singles at 85%

Barbell curls: 10 singles at 85%

Wednesday:

Power cleans: 10 singles at 85%

Weighted chins: 10 singles at 85%

Military presses: 10 singles at 85%

Friday:

Barbell squats: 10 singles at 85% of your max

Bench presses: 10 singles at 85%

Barbell curls: 10 singles at 85%

     In the 2nd week of the program, do the Wednesday workout on Monday/Friday and the M/F workout on Wednesday, going back and forth in this manner from week-to-week.

     For overall muscle size, this one might be better than the previous workout because it taxes your entire body in a more voluminous way.  Since you’re working your whole body, in a manner, at each workout, it’s more likely to promote total body muscle growth.  Remember: full-body workouts are better at producing hypertrophy, on average, than single muscle/lift workout sessions.

The Problem with Heavy Singles

     When it comes to building a lot of strength, you really can’t do so without—at least fairly regularly—using weights that are in the 90%+ range of your 1-rep maximum.  On a periodic basis, you also need to be flirting with weights that are near your 100% max in order to continually push that max onwards and upwards.  Doing so constantly, however, doesn’t work.  You’ve probably seen guys—or tried it yourself—who try to go for a 1-rep max on their bench press every time they hit the gym.  If you try to max out every time you go to the gym, it will work for a couple of sessions.  Most lifters find that this happens when they attempt such a thing: At the first workout, they hit a PR.  At the 2nd workout, they hit a new PR.  At the 3rd session, they’re back to the weight they made at the 1st workout.  At the 4th session, their PR is less than the 1st workout.  If they keep it up, their “max” will keep treading downwards.  Now, it’s not that, technically speaking, they are “weaker.”  They are, however, slower.

     This phenomenon is often referred to as “speed degradation.”  Since a max single is naturally slow, doing it repeatedly makes you slower and slower on whatever lift you attempt it on.  There are, however, methods that can counter it.  The most commonly used one is to cycle your training loads.  In the West, the macro-periodization model was the common method for load cycling in the 20th century.  A powerlifter 8 weeks out from a meet might start with sets of 8 reps, then do sets of 6, then 5, then triples, and then singles.  After a week or two of singles, the loads are then cycled back to 8-rep sets—but now with heavier weights, hopefully, than the 1st cycle—and the periodization scheme is repeated.  In countries of the East—particularly those from former Soviet-bloc countries—a micro-periodization scheme was often utilized, where the reps were cycled within a couple of weeks, or even just one week, instead of over a couple of months.

     Then came Westside Barbell, and the maverick coach of that powerlifting club, Louie Simmons.  Simmons reckoned—rightfully so—that one could train with max singles continuously, as long as the lifter cycled movements, not reps, for max singles and implemented “speed” work, what Westside refers to—and now the rest of us—as the “dynamic effort” method.  Simmons and Westside revolutionized powerlifting in America, and then it spread to the rest of the world.

     Although Westside’s methods are sound, many powerlifters, such as me, who competed raw and drug-free, found that it didn’t work quite as well.  But that was largely due to the exercises that Westside recommended, which worked best for heavily “equipped” lifters, and not so much for the raw powerlifter.  I, and other strength coaches, however, found that using more of a “hybrid” system did work.  My Power Volume Training, for example, is a blend of Westside, Russian methods, and Bill Starr’s heavy-light-medium system.  This isn’t the article for such hybrid training in detail—I bring it up so that you will understand that heavy singles by themselves will not work for the long haul without implementing something to counter speed degradation.

     The Hepburn method will work for longer than max singles because you are not at 100% of your max but are close enough that you can still make consistent gains in it.  It does run its course, however, after a few months.  One thing you might want to try is quite simple: Train with high-set singles on one training day of the week, and on another, use the dynamic effort method.  A simple bench press program might look like this:

Monday:

Bench presses: 8 singles with 92.5% of your max

Assistance work as needed

Thursday:

Bench presses: 10 sets of 3 reps with approximately 65% of your 1-rep max

Assistance work as needed

     And some lifters will find that they need little other than just a simple load-cycling protocol, such as rotating from workouts where they use 80%, then 90%, and then 100% (or close to it) of their max, and make continuous progress, as long as they also incorporate some same but different movements.

     If you have never tried them before, or if you have done so in more of a haphazard manner and failed to make consistent gains, then give heavy single-rep training a go.  They are just as effective and result-producing today as they were in the age of John Davis, John Grimek, Tommy Kono, and all those old-school lifters Kubik wrote about.  Singles aren’t just for strength and power, either.  Now you know the truth.  They build muscle size as well—maybe better—as anything else in the mass-building world.

     I hope you enjoyed this essay, found it informative, and, perhaps, a bit enlightening.  If you want more programs that incorporate heavy singles, then I suggest purchasing my first book, Ultimate Strength.  If you want some programs that incorporate heavy singles into Bill Starr’s methodology, then purchase a copy of my newest book on Starr’s methods.  You can find more information on those books, and all of my books, at the My Books page of the blog.

     As always, if anyone has any questions about heavy singles, or anything else that this essay touched upon, or you would like to leave a comment on your own experience with singles, then leave them in the “comments” section below.  You can also shoot me an email for a more private, or personalized, reply.