3 Ideas For Tougher Workouts
Alternative Methods of Progression
by Alwyn Cosgrove

Are you on exercise autopilot? After every set do you add a 10-pounder
to each side of the bar before you can say, "Please spot me, Jamie
Eason?" Then it's time to consider some new ways to step up your
workout. Alwyn Cosgrove has got some great ideas about the subject.

The Path To Progress Most
people use a single variable to progress in their weight training —
load lifted. There's nothing wrong with that, but eventually you reach
a ceiling when you simply can't add more weight to an exercise. In
a typical training program, we have exercise order, exercise selection,
sets, reps, tempo, rest period and load. Here's a small sample workout
below. Let's go over three progression methods and see how each changes
the workout.

Sample Workout
1A) Squat — 3 sets of 6 reps (3x6) with 90 seconds rest, using 200 pounds
1B) Dumbbell bench press — 3x6 with 90 seconds rest, using 50 pounds
Workout Volume (sets x reps x weight): Squat 3600 pounds. Dumbbell bench press 1800 pounds. Total 5400 pounds. Assuming each set takes a minute, the workout is done in 15 minutes. Most
people would just increase the load each week. But instead, we could
add an additional rep next workout. Or add an additional set. Or maybe
we cut the rest period down, and with the extra time we can add more
exercises or even back-off sets.
Method #1: Add Reps Add one rep to each set of each exercise.
1A) Squat — 3x7 with 90 seconds rest, using 200 pounds
1B) Dumbbell bench press — 3x7 with 90 seconds rest, using 50 pounds
Workout Volume: Squat 4200 pounds. Dumbbell bench press 2100 pounds. Total 6300 pounds.
You can always get one more rep.
Method #2: Add Sets Add one set to each exercise.
1A) Squat — 4x6 with 90 seconds rest, using 200 pounds
1B) Dumbbell bench press — 4x6 with 90 seconds rest, using 50 pounds
Workout Volume: Squat 4800 pounds. Dumbbell bench press 2400 pounds. Total 7200 pounds.
Do a little more work than the next guy.
Method #3: Reduce Rest Periods Decrease the rest between each set.
1A) Squat — 3x6 with 75 seconds rest, using 200 pounds
1B) Dumbbell bench press — 3x6 with 75 seconds rest, using 50 pounds
Workout Volume: Squat 3600 pounds. Dumbbell bench press 1800 pounds. Total 5400 pounds. Assuming each set takes a minute, the workout is now done in 13.5 minutes.
Workout's done already? Whatcha gonna do with that free time?

Let's Put It All Together
Week one: Workout as described. 3x6 with 90 seconds rest.
Week two: Increase the reps on each set by one. 3x7 with 90 seconds rest.
Week three: Maintain the reps, add one set per exercise. 4x7 with 90 seconds rest.
Week four: Reduce each rest period by 15 seconds per set. 4x7 with 75 seconds rest. This
will take us from week one's total volume of 5400 pounds in 15 minutes
to a total volume of 8400 pounds in 18 minutes, with an increase in
workout density from doing those two extra sets. That's 55% more work
in only three more minutes, or over 100 pounds of additional work per
minute training. Obviously this is a huge increase in
the total work done without having to add any weight to the bar. So
even if you're in a situation where your home gym doesn't have any
extra weight, you can still make great progress. I haven't even changed
exercise order, exercise selection, rep tempo or load, yet I still
managed to create a more challenging workout.
This would not be a more challenging workout.

In Conclusion Hopefully
you see the benefits of implementing different methods of progression
rather than just increasing load all the time. The key to progress is overload and there are various ways of getting there. Just make sure you're moving forward every step of the way.

About the Author
Alwyn
Cosgrove is one of the country's most popular fitness coaches, writers,
and speakers on the lecture circuit. For more of Alwyn's material,
check out his site.


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