Three sets, 12 to 15 reps each. Pyramid sets of 6-8-12-8-6. Sloooow reps of 4 counts up, 4 counts down. Yadda yadda....
In strength training, there are multiple strategies for building your workouts. Depending on your goals or where you are in your Badass Fitness journey, each of them has a place.
But always, we should be looking for new challenges. Muscles adapt, and when they do, it is imperative that we give them a little shock and awe. Otherwise, we get stuck - as does the scale and the tape measure tracking the size of our biceps, thighs, waist, etc.
So this week, I challenge you to a new challenge: The 8X8, first created by former Mr. Universe Vince Gironda (picture at right, courtesy of Critical Bench). Now deceased, Gironda never got fame like the late bodybuilder Jack Lalane. But Gironda's nickname was "Iron Guru," so the Hollywood trainer clearly had somethin' goin' on!
The 8X8, much like his other preferred combos of 10X10,15X4, etc., are based on achieving maximum muscle density by increasing the workout intensity as a unit of time. Translation: Maintain the reps and sets, while decreasing the rest time in between, until you get little rest in between.
It works like this, and I can testify after a few sessions' worth that it burns: Do 8 sets of an exercise, 8 reps per set. Start with exactly 60 seconds of rest in between sets, maintaining the same rest for that day's workout.The next session you work that muscle group, decrease the rest time by 5 to 10 seconds.
Over time, you will get down to as little as 15 to 20 seconds of rest in between sets - an intensity that will result in awesome muscle building! This is a great technique to use for six to eight weeks as a changeup to whatever weight training method you've been using.
A note on weights/intensity: Find weights that leave you feeling challenged, but that aren't so heavy that you find you can't finish all 8 sets - this means if you normally do three sets of 15 shoulder presses with 30 pounds, you should drop down to 20 or so pounds.
And you don't need to do more than three to four exercises per session. So on legs day, maybe it's just squats, calf raises, and leg presses. On chest day, flat bench flys plus decline chest press and incline chest press. Trust me, you'll still feel this. (Also, if you want to keep the heart rate going, especially with the minute rest in between, do 25 jacks in between each of the 8 sets.)
Here is a shoulders and triceps workout, which took me about 45 minutes to complete Sunday. I used the 60-second rest as my baseline, and next time will do 50 seconds of rest in between, followed by 40 seconds the following session, etc. (The following day, I did legs - Smith machine squats, leg presses, and hamstring curls - with a 30-second rest in between. That did not tickle....)
Shoulders/Triceps Eight is Enough
8x8 #1
- Overhead dumbbell presses
8x8 #2
- Straight-arm dumbbell shoulder side raises
8x8 #3
- Tricep weighted two-bench dips (10 to 20 lb weight plate)
8x8 #4
- Tricep rope press-down
Coming up: The Sabotage Zone for healthy eating, and tips on Eating for 2 (a-days)...