Beyond-Brawn-2nd-Edition

HOW TO PERSONALIZE YOUR TRAINING PROGRAMS
ment for any hard gainer. And you still have the gaining momentum going,
so further progress is possible if you feel inclined to continue with 20-rep
squatting.
13.66 Which is the best way to approach 20-rep squatting or deadlifting, macho or
conservative?
13.67 But the macho approach described here is mild compared to what some
people urge. I described intensive squatting just once a week, but some
people have promoted full-bore 20-rep squatting three times a week. And
they want you to add 5 pounds to the bar each week if not each workout.
Such instruction is a road to ruin for most trainees.
13.68 As far as where in your routine to position the 20-rep squatting or deadlifting,
there are two common alternatives. One is to open your routine with it
(following warmup work), when your energy is supposed to be at its highest.
e other extreme is to do the 20-rep work at the end of the workout,
because after going full-bore on the 20 reps you may not have enough energy
left to do justice to much else. You could do the 20-rep work first, take a
break for 20 minutes, and then resume your workout and do justice to the
exercises that remain.
Singles
13.69 Single-rep work is exaggerated rest-pause training where the pause between
reps is extended to several minutes, making the individual reps into sets of
one rep each. Single-rep training does not use true maximum singles, but
about 90–95% of your limit weights (once you have first acclimatized to
the program using lighter weights). Single-rep training is dangerous if not
done properly, or if used by people who have no business performing such
high-force training. But single-rep work can be safe and productive for some
trainees. It is not the rep count per se that determines safety, but how the
reps are performed.
13.70 e ability to benefit from singles and very low reps is at least in part related
to one’s physical structure. Most advocates of singles, and most success stories
from using singles, are mesomorphs, not ectomorphs. Mesomorphs,
who are usually easy gainers, are blessed with thicker joints and connective
tissue than are ectomorphs, who are usually hard gainers. Mesomorphs can
usually safely respond to intelligently applied singles and very low reps.
Hard gainers can greatly increase the robustness of their joints and connec-
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