Subject:
IRON MAN E-Zine: Issue #474:
10X for New Bench Press Power and Muscle Mass
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TRY THIS AT YOUR NEXT WORKOUT
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10X for New Bench Press Power and Muscle Mass
Q: I was telling a guy at the gym about your 10×10 density method, and how it’s helped me add a lot of mass. But he says it’s also for power. I tried to explain your power-density concepts, but he insisted that 10×10 can build power. Am I missing something?
A: The 10×10 method we primarily prescribe is pure density designed for muscle mass increases, not strength. That’s because you use a light weight, one with which you can do for 20 reps, but you only do 10. Then you rest for 30 seconds and do 10 more–and so on until you complete 10 sets of 10 reps. The last few sets are brutal, and you actually shouldn’t get 10. If you do get 10 on your 10th set, add weight at your next workout…
That 10×10 protocol is strictly density–so you will need a power component for maximum development of the type 2A fibers, those that are most prevalent in the biggest bodybuilders. In the 10×10 Mass Workout e-book’s heavy/light program we have you do only one exercise for 10×10 (density) on light day; then at the next workout for that bodypart you do a heavy straight-set power workout. You alternate power and density for maximum muscle immensity…
But as your gym friend said, there is a 10×10 strength protocol, and one of the most popular ones is by Olympic strength coach Charles Poliquin, which we also outline in the 10×10 e-book…
His power-oriented take on the 10×10 method is based on the German Volume Training model. Since you’re focusing on strength, there are 3 primary differences:
1) You use a lower rep range, 4-5.
2) You rest 90 seconds between sets (instead of 30 seconds).
3) You increase the load by five percent every workout for two workouts in a row, but reduces the target rep by one for every weight increase.
That last one is a bit confusing, so here’s an example using the bench press for a trainee who can bench 300 pounds for 10 reps with strict form:
Workout 1: 10 sets of 5 with 300
Workout 2: 10 sets of 4 with 315
Workout 3: 10 sets of 3 with 330
Workout 4: 10 sets of 5 with 315
Workout 5: 10 sets of 4 with 330
Workout 6: 10 sets of 3 with 345
Poliquin says that at this point you will be able to bench 330 for 10 strict reps, a 30-pound increase. That may not happen in all cases, but that’s the goal you’re striving for…
Realize that because your rest is two to three times as long as standard 10×10 pure density protocol, the 10 power sets will take longer. And while the short-rest 10×10 method is more for building muscle mass via a pure density blast, the above power 10×10 protocol, or really 10×5-4-3, will also have a serious muscle-size side-effect, just not as ponounced due to the low reps and longer rests.
Use that power 10×10 progression on bench presses if you want to increase your poundage quickly–or try it on any exercise for new power and some muscle size…
Till next time, train hard–and smart–for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
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This Special Report was submitted by Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman.
The IRON MAN Training & Research Team
www.ironmanmagazine.com
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