WHAT PROGRAM, SETS AND REPS SHOULD I DO?

If you want the short answer, visit Routine basics and choose a program. If you want a slightly longer answer, know that sets and reps are secondary to progressive overload, which is what really matters. Progressive overload is gym-speak for increasing the amount of weight you lift over time. This indicates increased strength. Plus stronger muscles are usually bigger, thicker muscles.

The fact is there are an enormous amount of strength-training programs out there from 5x5 to Wendler's 5-3-1, from the Texas Method to German Volume Training, from full body work-outs to upper/lower body splits, from strength-based programs to hypertrophy-focused programs, from a pull-push-squat to circuit routines and every variation before, between and beyond. So which one should you do? Not all these are equal.

There is also an enormous amount of confusion around sets and reps. If this still exists today amongst "experts" then you can imagine what it's like for the novice seeking advice. We want to know right now which is the best amount of sets and reps: should I do 3x5, 3x8, 3x10, 4x6 or 10x2? Should I do low reps at a heavier weight or higher reps at a lower weight? Should I just get high and gain weight?

...'cos that just sounds cool.

Should you do drop-sets, super-sets, fast eccentric/slow concentric, warm-up first and hit your heaviest loads or pyramid up to a top set? Are triplets, doubles and singles beneficial or too taxing? Should you focus on volume or weight? Should you go to failure or leave some in the tank? Are front squats better than back squats? Should I paint my anus vibrant green while whistling the theme song to Star Wars?

Next there's the netspurts, coaches, athletes, bodybuilders, MMA fighters, fitness models, weight-lifters, fuck-knuckles and interior decorators with small foreign dogs, all pushing certain work-outs for certain vocations. Nothing is as straightforward as it seems. Suddenly there are work-out programs designed specifically for fat loss, sports performance, novices, males, females, blacks, whites, transgender and yeah, I'm beginning to make shit up now.

But you get the point.

...and just how fucking ridiculous it's become.

Stop the commotion. Stop the goddamn noise. Turi turi, koutou!

Something really quite simple has become enormously complicated for no reason whatsoever. Let's take a big step back, draw a nice slow breath, flip our tackle down the other trouser leg and start at the beginning of what makes up weight-training. Okay. You ready? Here we go: firstly, you either pull weight or push weight. That's it. Lock that shit in, kemosabe. It could be your legs pushing, as in a squat or it could be your arms pulling, as in a bicep curl but at the end of the day when working out, you're either pulling or pushing/raising or lowering.

Some movements will seem like a combination of both.

...can you handle that?

The second and final thing -- yes, you read the final part correctly -- is that once you get used to pulling or pushing a certain weight, you increase that weight. This is called "progressive overload" i.e. you keep overloading the muscle. You keep forcing it to adapt and, once it does, you overload it with a little bit more weight and repeat the process till you can't any more. No-one can keep increasing weight forever. If they could, after ten years you'd be benchpressing the Eiffel Tower. Ain't gonna' happen.

So there you have it.

That's strength-training, bodybuilding, working-out, pumping-iron, weight-training in its totality.

The confusion isn't in pushing, pulling or increasing weight; the confusion is how to go about these things. In Routine basics I recommend starting off with a 3x5 program using light-to-moderate weights. 3x5 means you do three sets of five reps using the same weight each time. The only reason I recommend this is because it's what I started off with (thank you Mark Rippetoe). That's the truth. That's the depth of thinking behind it. If you want to start with different programming, knock yourself out. What matters is you start.

I recommend light-to-moderate weight to start with so you can groove the movements. Again, you can start on any weight you want to but by giving people a simple 3x5 starting point and weight recommendation, they actually get a starting point to begin with in the first place. This is really crucial. Strength-training folks is incredibly easy. It's meant to be. There are no hidden secrets. You just pull or push a weight a certain amount of times and, once that's easy, you increase the weight.

...end of fucking story.

Everything else is secondary to that -- diet, sleep, supplements, pet ownership it's all secondary. Don't get caught up in minutia.

PULLING AND PUSHING

To pull is to contract and shorten a muscle; bicep curls are a good example of this. These types of movements are known as concentric movements as we pull/lift a weight. When we lower the weight from a curl we lengthen the muscle, also known as eccentric movement. This downward movement/controlled lowering found in the downward motions of, say, squats and benchpress are also referred to as "negatives", whereby you're reversing an initial trajectory.

So upward usually implies concentric movements of lifting, rising and contracting whereas downward usually implies eccentric movements of lowering, releasing and lengthening. Also keep in mind the concept of opposing muscle groups: as the bicep shortens the tricep, the musculature on the opposite side of the arm, lengthens and this dynamic naturally occurs every time we pull or push. If one side of the body is doing one thing, the other side will be doing the opposite.

Pushing is obviously the opposite of pulling. In a push you're lengthening the muscle (usually) as in a bench press or overhead pressing movement where you push the weight away in an eccentric movement. When it comes to upper body, most pushes away from the body are tricep-heavy. Most pulls towards the body are bicep-heavy. Same for lower body: most pushes away from the body are quadricep heavy -- the front of the legs -- whilst most pulls towards the body are hamstring dominant (back of the legs).

Is it crucial you memorise the above off by heart? No, but it is beneficial and if you're as pedantic as I am, you'll appreciate a bit more detail. This is helpful to understand what's going on in terms of the muscles recruited and when planning your own programs. If I was doing benchpress and shoulder-press in the same work-out I'd be hitting my triceps big time which is why I don't (though plenty do). Not over-stressing one particular muscle group is a basic essential we need to know.

WAYS TO PROGRESSIVELY OVERLOAD

The easiest way to do this is to increase weight. Different people have different ideas about how much weight you should increase by and when. For us older lifters I recommend roundabout 3kg a month increase for your upper body and roundabout 5kg a month increase for your lower body. Can you do more? Of course. I just err on the side of caution and don't see the point in rushing. In time you may progress like this weekly on certain lifts, maybe even on them all. Cool.

But, just to confuse you, there is more than one way to progressively overload...

You could also stay on the same weight and choose to increase reps instead. If you've gone from 5-reps to 10-reps on the same weight, you're stronger. Or you could do the same weight and rep program but slow the reps down which is a real fucking killer. You could add more sets. You could do a half rep first then return to your start position and do the whole rep and call that one rep which is a great way to add volume without increasing sets and/or weight. You could do an isolation movement first to pre-exhaust the muscle then do your compound movement without needing so much weight.

Get the point? There are a helluva lot of options and combinations to overload musculature with and no, you don't have to shock muscle by changing shit up. I don't know who came up with that but it's not necessary yet you'll hear it a lot: you need to shock the body. You need to keep it guessing. You need to mix things up so you don't plateau. You need to hit the muscles from different angles. Fuck off. Adding weight is all the "shock" muscle need but in all honesty, give things a go and see what works for you. We all respond differently to different stimuli and I don't know everything.

BUT.

To keep shit simple, just increase weight to start with.

It's worked for years for hundreds of thousands of individuals across the globe for decades.

UNDERSTANDING TIME UNDER TENSION (TUT)

Time under tension means how long a muscle is in use. A fast bicep curl may last 1-2 seconds. Thus the bicep is "under tension" 1-2 seconds. A slow bicep curl could last 8-10 seconds, thus the bicep is under tension much longer. The theory is that longer time under tension illicits greater muscle growth. It may even be true. For bodybuilders, TUT is a key part of their arsenal though many lifters of all creeds use TUT at various times for various purposes -- endurance being one of them. TUT seems to develop better endurance than fast, explosive movements which essentially recruit power.

Speaking of fast, explosive movements, these are essential for Olympic lifters and power lifters. Strength is based upon explosiveness: how fast one can raise, lower, push or pull a weight. TUT is not relevant in these sports (but may be incorporated into their training periods). Olympic lifters and power lifters don't focus upon time under tension; they don't focus on contracting and lengthening muscle; they focus on speed as in how fast they can move a given weight from A-to-B. Which explains why most bodybuilders are bigger than Olympic athletes and why most Olympic athletes are stronger than bodybuilders.

That's not to say bodybuilders aren't strong. They are very strong, certainly stronger than the majority of the population. How many people do you know who can actually press their bodyweight overhead? I bet you don't anyone who can. That, kemosabe, is fucking strong. Lastly, know that as you progress along this journey, as your knowledge-base expands, as you incorporate different methods and ideas you'll end up designing your own protocols that work best for you. This is not only to be expected but the natural goal for all lifters. Trust it helps. Kia ora whanau.

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