Tailoring Your Program

Tommy Suggs and I have known each other since we were collegiate lifters in Texas. When he brought me to the York Barbell Company in 1965 to be his assistant editor at Strength & Health magazine, we started training together. It didn’t take Tommy long to figure out that I was an overachiever in the gym. He quickly determined that he didn’t need to do as much work as I did in order to be successful. He made it a rule to do half of what I did.

Sets, Reps and Getting Strong – Part 4

As I mentioned in Part 3 of this series, I use a different set-and-rep formula on high-skill exercises, such as the Olympic lifts—the snatch and clean and jerk—from what I do on other exercises. I also stay with lower reps on front squats. The athletes can do a couple of sets of five for warm-up attempts, but then they need to keep it to no more than three reps, and in some cases doubles are even better.

Sets, Reps and Getting Strong – Part 3

The question usually comes up: Is there a place in a strength program for higher reps? The answer is, absolutely. I use them in all of my routines, just not the beginning. The reason I don’t have my athletes start with higher reps is that I want their form to be honed to perfection. I also want them to develop a sound strength base before I insert higher reps.

Sets, Reps and Getting Strong – Part 2

I am a big fan of the five-sets-of-five system. For example, your bench press progression might go something like 135, 175, 195, 205 and 215, with only the last set done all out once in a while. I’ve had coaches who advocate three set of 10 argue that their athletes actually end up doing more total work than when they do five sets of five. I disagree.

Sets, Reps and Getting Strong – Part 1

Of all the many aspects of strength training, the one that seems to baffle more athletes and coaches is determining just how many reps and sets they should use for various exercises in a program. Any trainees who have laid out their own beginning programs understands the problem of not really knowing how to proceed in terms of sets and reps.

The Concept of Workload

Understanding and using the concept of workload is very valuable to anyone who’s seriously interested in getting stronger. It provides you with useful information on just how much work you’re really doing. This, in turn, helps you analyze your current program and plan your future workouts. If you don’t know exactly how much total work you’re doing, this planning process is usually hit-or-miss.

Program Design Guidelines

The very first step in setting up a strength program is deciding exactly what you are trying to accomplish with your training. Are you most interested in establishing a solid strength base for a sport like football or basketball, becoming a better bodybuilder, powerlifter or weightlifter, or getting stronger to enhance your general fitness? It’s a key consideration because there are many, many approaches to a strength routine.