Q: I agree with your progressive-overload theory, gradually making workouts more intense. You suggest adding a few forced reps every couple weeks in the first phase of the Size Surge program. But I train alone and can’t do forced reps. How can I make the workouts progressively more intense for solo training?
A: For those who missed it, we suggested this progression for the 3-days-a-week workouts in phase 1 of the Size Surge program:
Weeks 1 and 2: Go to positive failure only
Weeks 3 and 4: Add forced reps to set 2 on pyramids
Week 5: Do one forced rep on set 1 and two on set 2
Week 6: Downshift, stopping all sets two reps short of failure, then move to Phase 2
That progressively builds the intensity so you stimulate new gains every week. And, of course, you should push to add weight on that program as you get stronger as well.
But you can’t do forced reps because you train alone, so static holds and rest/pause will give you the Size Surge progressions you’re after. Here’s a good plan:
Weeks 1 and 2: Go to positive failure only
Weeks 3 and 4: Go to failure on each work set and add a static hold at the sticking point on all sets (on your last rep, drive the weight as high as you can and hold for 3 to 5 seconds)
Week 5: Use the static hold on the last rep of the first set; on the second set go to failure, rest for 20 seconds, then do as many as you can with the same weight, ending with a static hold
Week 6: Downshift—stop all sets two reps short of failure for full muscle supercompensation to prepare for the full-range-muscle-training onslaught of phase 2
A static hold won’t be possible on some exercises like squats and deadlifts due to the danger factor. Simply do as many reps as you can and keep fighting to add more weight to the bar for progressive overload.
Note: Jonathan frequently used static contractions when he had to train alone during the 10-week Size Surge experiment. That’s very important and explained in the Size Surge e-book.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
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