Progression is the name of the game.
More reps. More weight….that’s what we’re all after, right?
Of course.
The question always becomes – how do we make it happen?
One tool everyone needs in their gym bag is a Log Book.
There is magic in keeping a detailed log book where you record the exercises, sets, reps, and load at every session.
This gives you a target for the next session. If you squatted 315×8 last week you need 315×9 today. Or 320×8.
Having definitive stated goals for each set of each exercise is a powerful powerful stimulus. I can’t imagine going into a heavy set of squats and saying “I’ll just rack it when it gets hard.”
We need a number to beat. We need a target, an aim.
The vast majority of us will quit on a set right when we hit the money reps. The reps the really drive growth are the ones you aren’t sure you can do. The ones you have to dig deep to hit.
If I want 15 reps on a Squat at 315….it’s gonna get hard at 10. It’s gonna feel like enough work by 10.
But my Log Book said I got 14 last time. So somewhere deep down I KNOW I’m capable of at least 14. And the 15th rep is the money rep. The number in the log book is what pushes me to at least hit 14 again, but hopefully pushes me to 15.
To me, starting a set with no number to beat……….that’s like trying to run a sprint with no finish line in sight.
Whatever the performance was last time, we want to beat it this time.
However…..there is a potential drawback to this approach and this mindset.
Especially when training for hypertrophy the goal is always stress on the muscle.
The increased reps, increased load, etc are all just a means to an end. That end is of course – more stress on the muscle than the last time it was exposed to this exercise. We do this primarily by increasing the number of reps we perform or adding load to the movement within a target rep range.
The primary mechanism by which we place a muscle group under stress comes via our Exercise Selection.
We want to choose movements that place the muscle group in question under massive amounts of mechanical tension – this means that the muscle is taken through a full range of motion (including a decent stretch), can be progressively loaded over time with meaningful weights, and allows for a strong mind muscle connection between the exercise and the lifter.
People shit on mind-muscle connection as “bodybuilding voodoo” but I assure you it’s one of the most important components of developing a muscle group.
Once we have those key exercises identified for each muscle group – now it’s time to get busy and go to work progressing those exercises as often as possible – more reps, more weight, etc.
And this is where the log book now becomes an invaluable tool. But you have to use it appropriately. People get in trouble when they forget the log book is a tool that enhances your performance in the gym. The primary goal is to grow…..not to scribble a new number in the book every day.
Form and technique must be standardized across all the exercises in your arsenal or you aren’t able to accurately measure progress.
In fact, you might actually be masking stagnation or regression all while thinking you are progressing!!!!
Here are a few things that need to be standardized across your exercise selection in order for you to accurately measure progress:
#1: Range of Motion
This is probably where 80% of the mistakes happen. The weight gets heavier or the reps get higher, and the range of motion gets shorter.
Unfortunately this takes tension off the muscle group in question and reduces the effectiveness of the exercise.
Most common we see this on Squat movements. A lifter Squats 315 x 10 this week with all reps to parallel or just below parallel. And next week he Squats 325 x 10. However he reports back to his coach that his Squat “might have been a few inches high this week in order to get 10.”
Yay!!! We went up 10 lbs. No….not Yay.
In fact, I’d argue the 315×10 at or below parallel was more stimulative to muscle growth than 325 x 10 several inches high. Your Quads don’t know what you wrote in your notebook.
Your quads only know the amount of stress they were put under today. A higher squat means less time under tension, less stretch under load, a shorter eccentric and concentric contraction.
On a Squat, more reps or more weight can only be considered progress if the form and technique are standardized.
Even if you routinely squat 2 inches high. Okay. As long as it’s 2 inches high for 315×10 and 325×10. Not 2 inches high at 315 and 4 inches high at 335.
This applies to a whole slew of exercises, not just squats.
You need to perform exercises in a way that trains them through the longest effective range of motion possible and you need to hold very true to that range of motion regardless of the poundage used.
Squats and Leg Presses are routinely bastardized when load is added.
So are Dumbbell Presses. Watch one of the Bros in your gym perform heavy seated dumbbell presses. The 75s are lowered all the way down to the delts for a full and complete stretch. Then he throws the 100s up there and barely lowers them to the top of his ears.
Same thing happens on Dumbbell Chest Presses.
It happens on Dips – full range of motion with body weight. Straps on a 45 lb plate on his belt and barely bends his elbows. It happens on Chin Ups and Pull Ups. Lifter goes from dead-hang to chest to bar with bodyweight – throws on some weight and his range of motion occurs in a 6 inch box.
Whatever the movement is – whether it’s a primary movement like Squats or a minor accessory like Bicep Curls….train those movements strictly and with a full range of motion. And as tempting as it may be to squeeze out a few more reps or add a few more pounds by cheating the range of motion – discipline yourself not to do so.
#2: Pauses
I like implementing pauses for strength & hypertrophy training. Not on everything but on some exercises it’s a great tool. For a strength athlete, getting strong in a paused variation of a lift is a great tool for increasing strength on that same lift when you allow for a stretch reflex.
I like pauses for physique oriented athletes as well. Especially those in a diet phase. Paused variations of an exercise allow for athletes to train hard with the most effective exercises, but with a bit less load. This can be important for dieting athletes who want to avoid the little nagging injuries that often show up when trying to push too heavy while body weight is falling.
Whether the goal is strength or physique…..be disciplined with your pauses. It’s hard when the weights get heavy. But starting with a 3 second pause in week 1 of a program and “progressing” to a 1 second pause in week 4 of a program isn’t necessarily progression. Yes you might be adding more weight, but you are also making the exercise easier each week by shortening the pause.
#3: Tempo
This is most important for physique oriented athletes but also for strength athletes training their accessory movements where hypertrophy is the goal. People forget that the eccentric component of an exercise has value and is important for overall growth. I don’t really program a lot of “tempo” exercises where we’re counting the seconds of the eccentric and concentric, but I do like to see a “controlled” eccentric on most every movement with a brief stretch at the bottom of each rep. In other words, keep the muscle under tension. Don’t let weights free fall, don’t relax at the bottom of the movement, don’t use shitty momentum on the concentric, and generally stay in strict control of the exercises during all phases of the repetition.
I can’t see any reason to ever intentionally slow the concentric phase of a movement – but even if moved explosively – the rep should still be under control with tension directed on the muscle group in question.
When I was training people in commercial gyms many years ago I used to watch guys get on the Leg Extension machine, load up the whole stack and proceed to have a violent convulsive seizure on the machine.
I used to watch guys put 4 plates on each side of the Hammer Strength Chest Press machines and let the weights free fall into the rubber stoppers, catch the bounce, and lockout “405.”
They would have gotten far greater stimulus with 2 plates on each side with a controlled eccentric, a brief pause, and a explosive but controlled contraction.
Adding weight but letting tempo and form generally go all to hell is not progression. It’s just moving more weight.
#4: Rest between Sets
This is a bit of a grey area, but is something that I feel like more or less needs to be standardized to some degree. At the very least it needs to be monitored, recorded, and factored into your programming and decision making.
There is a tendency to get into what I call the “linear progression of rest time.”
In other words 3 x 5 x 315 is done on 3 minutes rest, 3 x 5 x 335 is done on 5 minute rest, and 3 x 5 x 365 is done on 10 minutes of rest.
In certain programming models where we are working up to a peak week for a given set/rep range I don’t mind this to some degree. But if you are following a basic weekly progression model you need to be aware that you can’t just keep adding rest time between sets in order to increase the load. Obviously if you keep extending this out more and more every week it could get into the realm of absurdity.
So you need to find some rest-time ranges that apply in certain situations and more or less hold them constant. This can vary between lifters, between lifts / muscle groups, and within the programming structure you are adhering to.
Uniformity to all exercises is stupid though. A blanket prescription of “2-3 minutes” for everything isn’t gonna work on really heavy squat days. But 2-3 minutes is completely appropriate to apply to the vast majority of accessory / isolation type work. Maybe 3-5 minutes on some of the heavier more fatiguing exercises in the program, with an allowance for 5-8 minutes on the heaviest sets of the heaviest exercises during certain phases of your program.
Again, the type of program you are following matters a lot here so I don’t have a blanket prescription for rest time except for the fact that you need to place some fairly strict minimums and maximums on the rest times so that you can actually gauge progress from week to week.
Moral of the story – pay attention to all the variables in the training program. The obvious one you already know about – sets, reps, and load. But don’t forget to include the “hidden” variables that can unknowingly shift on you when you are striving for more progress. Keep form strict, hold range of motion constant, standardize tempo and pause duration, and keep track of rest between sets. All of these factors are indicators of whether you are actually making progress in the gym or whether you think you are making progress in the gym.
