Recently, my training partner Bret Contreras published a fascinating interview with Canadian researcher Stu Phillips. One of the key take-aways was the relatively recent revelation that, for hypertrophy at least, the numbers of repetitions per set matters much less than how hard you push the set.
In other words, as long as you strongly fatigue the muscle, it doesn’t really matter a whole lot how many reps it took to accomplish that fatigue. You can watch this very interesting interview below:
This Week’s Training:
Everything still seems on track as of late for my June 8th competition. I haven’t hit any particularly stellar lifts as of late, but I’m healthy and everything’s been very consistent. Next week will be my last heavy week of training, which will be followed by a light back-off week.
Hope you’re training is treating you well, and as always, if you have questions or comments, there’s a place for that below!
Weekly Volume and Noteworthy Lifts
Volume: 38,319 lbs (Last Week: 42,973 lbs)
Cambered Bar Squat 275 (3×3)
Bench Press 255×1
Block Pull 455×1
Tuesday, May 20, 2014, 4:55 PM
Bodyweight: 202.2 lbs
Volume: 12,625 lbs
CAMBERED BAR SQUAT
Set 1: 65 lbs × 5
Set 2: 115 lbs × 5
Set 3: 155 lbs × 5
Set 4: 205 lbs × 3
Set 5: 245 lbs × 3
Set 6: 275 lbs × 3
Set 7: 275 lbs × 3
Set 8: 275 lbs × 3
Set 9: 245 lbs × 5
BACK EXTENSION
Set 1: 145 lbs × 10
Set 2: 145 lbs × 10
LEG EXTENSION
Set 1: 150 lbs × 10
Set 2: 150 lbs × 10
Wednesday, May 21, 2014, 3:15 PM
Bodyweight: 202.4 lbs
Volume: 10,610 lbs
BENCH PRESS
Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
Set 2: 95 lbs × 5
Set 3: 135 lbs × 3
Set 4: 185 lbs × 3
Set 5: 205 lbs × 1
Set 6: 225 lbs × 1
Set 7: 235 lbs × 1
Set 8: 245 lbs × 2
Set 9: 255 lbs × 1
CHEST-SUPPORTED ROW
Set 1: 100 lbs × 8
Set 2: 100 lbs × 8
Set 3: 100 lbs × 8
LYING TRICEPS (EZ CURL BAR)
Set 1: 55 lbs × 10
Set 2: 75 lbs × 8
Set 3: 75 lbs × 8
Set 4: 75 lbs × 8
BICEP CURL (DUMBBELL)
Set 1: 70 lbs × 10
Set 2: 80 lbs × 8
Set 3: 90 lbs × 5
Set 4: 50 lbs × 20
Friday, May 23, 2014, 5:40 PM
Bodyweight: 200.8 lbs
Volume: 6,865 lbs
4″ BLOCK PULL
Set 1: 135 lbs × 3
Set 2: 135 lbs × 3
Set 3: 135 lbs × 3
Set 4: 225 lbs × 3
Set 5: 275 lbs × 3
Set 6: 315 lbs × 1
Set 7: 365 lbs × 1
Set 8: 405 lbs × 1
Set 9: 455 lbs × 1
HIGH BAR SQUAT
Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
Set 2: 95 lbs × 5
Set 3: 135 lbs × 3
Set 4: 185 lbs × 3
Set 5: 225 lbs × 3
Set 6: 275 lbs × 1
Saturday, May 24, 2014, 8:31 AM
Bodyweight: 202 lbs
Volume: 8,219 lbs
BENCH PRESS
Set 1: 45 lbs × 5
Set 2: 95 lbs × 5
Set 3: 135 lbs × 3
Set 4: 185 lbs × 1
Set 5: 205 lbs × 1
Set 6: 215 lbs × 1
Set 7: 225 lbs × 1
Set 8: 225 lbs × 1
Set 9: 225 lbs × 1
Set 10: 225 lbs × 1
Set 11: 225 lbs × 1
Set 1: 10 reps
Set 2: 7 reps
Set 1: 65 lbs × 10
Set 2: 65 lbs × 10
Set 3: 65 lbs × 10
A big believer in practicing what he preaches, Charles Staley trains and competes just like his clients. Every Friday you can read what Charles has done this week in his workout sessions.
