My Powerlifting Deception

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 All of my weight training used to follow a powerlifting type model.  Heavy squats, bench, deadlifts, and overhead press.  In order to increase the weights I was using for each lift I used to spend a fair amount of time studying the respective technique of each lift and try to figure out different tips and tricks to make heavier weights seem easier to lift.



Now this was done in part from a safety perspective, meaning I was trying to learn how to handle these relatively heavy weights while putting myself at the lowest risk of injury.  But figuring out these tips and tricks was also done so I could lift the weights more efficiently.

I would try to "pull the bar apart in my hands" when pressing, altering the respective moment arm to the shoulder and elbow.  I would throw my body weight back while deadlifting--a tip I picked up after watching countless YouTube videos of some of the best powerlifters in the world--effectively attempting to use the inertia of the mass of my body to help lift the bar.  I would place the bar at a very specific position on my back every time I squatted in order to maximize the amount of weight I could add on top of my torso and still sit down and stand up.

The ironic thing about all of this is that I was not training to be a powerlifter.  Powerlifting was not my sport, basketball was, and I was lifting to get stronger and stay healthy.  I liked seeing a lot of weight on the bar and watching as that amount increased.  But the veil of deception that I was under for the longest time is that the more weight I would put on the bar meant I was automatically challenging my tissue more.  More challenge to the tissue meant more strength meant more weight on the bar.  At least that's how I had it in my head.

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Here's the funny thing, though:  I'm not sure how much of that weight was actually challenging my muscles in the way I wanted them to be challenged.  In fact, all of the tips and tricks I learned and applied were done in order to challenge specific tissue less to make the weight seem easier to lift.  For example, trying to pull my hands apart on the bar when I bench pressed created less mechanical challenge to my chest and more to my elbow extensors.  But why was I bench pressing?  To move more weight or to build a bigger, stronger chest?

Trying to rip the bar off of the ground and fling by body backwards when deadlifting certainly helped me pull 500, but how much stronger could I have gotten if I actually tried to lift and control the weight and the motion at every point along the way instead of trying so hard to fling the bar up that the inertial effects of the movement of that mass propelled the bar through part of the range?
And I definitely found the best bar placement spot on my back to create the most optimal moment arms to my knees, hips, etc when I squatted, but what kind of challenge was actually being presented to the muscles that controlled those joints?  Furthermore, how much was I challenging myself when I would stand up so fast that you could see the bar elevating off of my back by the time I was at the top of my rep?

There isn't anything inherently wrong with powerlifting or training to increase the amount of weight you can move, but what I have come to realize is if your goal is to improve the amount of tension (force) your muscles can generate, all of the tips and tricks to make lifting the weight more efficient by actually challenging the tissue less might need to go out the window.  You still want to set yourself in a specific manner to try to limit injury, but if the goal is truly to challenge tissue, then you need to create a different relationship of your joints to the forces of the imposed challenge, in which the pursuit of finding the most efficient way to lift the weight needs to be strongly reconsidered.

What is the goal of the challenge you have created for yourself?  Is it to move a mass with a bigger number on it or to challenge tissue to a greater degree?

Your body.  Your training.

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Build Your Pyramid

Pyramid sets are an effective tool for adding both bulk and lean muscle to one’s frame. While pyramid sets are most popular among those lifting for purely aesthetic reasons, such as bodybuilders, they can also be manipulated to successfully train muscle endurance in athletes. Traditionally, pyramid sets consist of starting at a low weight for a high number of reps for any given exercise and then, over the course of the workout, proceeding to decrease the number of reps for each set while increasing the amount of weight moved until you work your way down to double- or single-rep sets. I would like to add a twist to this traditional format and explain how you can not only achieve more volume in a shorter period of time, but you can use pyramid training for any and every muscle group.

First of all, instead of using a pyramid set template for one lift at a time, try pairing two exercises together that work like muscle groups and performing pyramid sets by alternating back and forth between the two exercises. Secondly, instead of switching the weight between sets as the reps change, pick a weight that is difficult for you to hit for your highest rep count and stick with that weight. You shouldn’t be failing on the final rep, but you should feel like you only have a rep or two left in the tank. Third, have one exercise start on the high end of the pyramid and the other exercise start on the low end. Finally, after both exercises work their way to the opposing ends of the pyramid, have them turn around and work their way back.

An example of this exercise scheme would be to pair an incline barbell bench press with a dumbbell flat bench for somebody who is trying to add mass to his or her frame. For this example, the reps are going to move by 2’s and the highest rep count will be twelve. Depending on what your goals are you can alter both the rep limit and how much the reps move by; for endurance you would have a higher limit as well as rep movement per set, while for strength you would have a lower rep limit and rep movement per set. For both exercises in this example you would choose a weight that you could rep out about fourteen times. Pick one exercise to start with, say the barbell incline press, and hit that for twelve reps, then immediately move to dumbbell flat bench and hit two reps. Rest 10 to 30 seconds, then hit the incline press for 10, followed by four on the flat bench. Then it’s back to incline for eight and flat bench for six. Catch the pattern? Eventually you’ll get to two on the incline press and twelve on the flat bench. After this, rest 90 to 120 seconds and then start again, this time beginning with two on the incline press and twelve on the flat bench, working your way back until both exercises are at the same reps as when you began.

Depending on how strictly you adhere to the rest times, this workout will take ten to fifteen minutes, and you will have gotten in a TON of volume in that time. In fact, you will probably have done more real work in that ten to fifteen minutes than most people do in their entire workout. If you are pressed for time but still want to get a lot of reps in, I would highly suggest throwing in pyramid sets.

Pyramid sets can be very effective for working muscle groups other than the chest too. For the back you can pair lat pulldowns and a row variation. For the legs you could do hamstring curls with lunges, dumbbell step ups with cable pull-throughs or dumbbell swings, or, if you are feeling really hyped, you could pair a back squat with a front squat. This type of training can also add the much-desired size to your arms that you have been working so hard for. You could pair cable pressdowns with hammer presses for your triceps, and incline dumbbell curls with a narrow-grip barbell curl for your biceps. You could pair a seated dumbbell shoulder press with a dumbbell lateral raise for your shoulders, too. For your abs you could do something like cable crunches with hanging toe touches. Obviously there are an infinite number of pairings you could do, but these are just a few examples.

One last twist I would like to provide you with is to keep the reps the same throughout, say anywhere from six to ten, but alternate the weight each set. This would be really good as a finisher, especially for arms. You could start at fifteen pound dumbbells and curl them six times, then move up to twenties, then twenty-fives, and so on until you fail to hit six reps without resting in between each set. Then you would immediately drop the weight and work your way back down the weight rack until you get back to the fifteens you started at.

So whether you are only able to spend twenty to thirty minutes at the gym a few times each week, you are trying to add mass to your frame, or you are trying to develop muscle endurance for athletics, consider switching up your current training regimen to include pyramid sets. The workouts are intense and taxing and you will be getting a very large bang for your workout buck.

Get big or die tryin’.

Charlie Cates, CPT, PES

Self Made, Owner

Charlie Cates is a human performance specialist and the owner of Self Made (http://selfmadefitness.com/) in Chicago, IL. He is a Certified Personal Trainer and Performance Enhancement Specialist through NASM and has worked with competitive and everyday athletes of all ages and ability levels, from 9-year-old kids to NFL MVP's. Athletically, he was a 4-year member of the Williams College men’s basketball team, which made a run to the national championship during his senior year. During this time he also worked intensively with the team’s off-the-court training, helping to develop All-Americans and a National Player of the Year. He can be reached via e-mail atcharlie@selfmadefitness.com.

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