Unorthodoxy: A Training Program
By Thom Van Vleck
Bill Pearl autographed this cover of Muscular Development for my Uncle Phil. This picture hangs in the JWC Training Hall and inspires me in my bodybuilding workouts.
Anybody that trains for any length of time will get stale on any particular routine. Everybody knows that. We constantly switch things around to keep things fresh. For many of us this means recycling many of the basic routines over and over….which can become stale within itself. I have been training for 36 years and it’s easy to get stuck in a rut and make no progress. Or in my case, at age 49….trying to hold off the aging process which means lifting a weight I did 10 years ago is considered progress!!!! With those kinds of goals (avoiding decline instead of making gains) it becomes harder for me to stay motivated and enthusiastic about my training.
So, last year I decided I needed to shake some things up. I upped my sets and reps, added more exercises to the mix, and did what I would call an “Old School Bodybuilding” Workout. Something that would make Reg Park or Bill Pearl happy! This meant training heavy, but with more sets and reps. I figured my single rep strength would suffer but to my surprise….it’s doing quite well. I would credit the routine, but I really think it’s the enthusiasm this routine has created in my training. My enthusiasm has been the highest it has been in years!
I really tried to start thinking outside the box. I recalled about 18 years ago working my Bench Press for a solid year and adding a paltry 5lbs to my max. Back then I was in my early 30’s and expected more! I went from 360lbs to 365lbs. I went into my next workout with no real plan and decided to hit ten sets of ten reps with 185lbs (about 50% of my max). Boy was I sore the next day. I had been used to a basic 3 sets of 8 reps program and this more then quadrupled my reps. I went into my next workout still without a plan so I just added 10lbs and decided to make hitting 225lbs for 10 sets of 10 reps my goal. I spent the next 6 months doing this same routine with NO ASSISTANCE work (of course, I was working back and legs….but no upper body assistance work). This may be hard to believe, but I eventually did 300lbs for 10 sets of 10 reps.
Now, before Al Myers calls BS on me….let me explain. When I did the 185, it was full reps, controlled, with a full pause at the bottom. As I increased my form got sloppier and sloppier…..I didn’t care because I was so frustrated with my bench anyways. I began to do half reps only locking out the last rep and slamming them harder and harder off my chest. I also began to wear two, three, and even five tight t-shirts for extra padding. So, I’m sure if I’d been doing these in a gym there would have been some guy making fun of me, telling me I was a joke, etc. etc. I will be the first to admit that ten sets of ten reps with 300 was about the ugliest benches you would ever see.
The result. The next week I warmed up. I loaded 370 for the easiest PR I’d had in years. I got cocky and jumped to 390….and got it. Then I went to 400lbs…and I narrowly missed the first try and then did it on a second attempt! I jumped up and screamed like I’d won the lottery! The last Powerlifting meet I was in I got that 400lbs wearing a single ply bench shirt and that was my last powerlifting meet. I would point out I got 2 reds on that 400 for moving my feet….but I got it as far as I was concerned. At that point Highland Games were beginning to consume my interest and I haven’t maxed on the bench since.
More recently, I have went back to that 10×10….with a twist. I call it the 10x10x10. Again, this is Unorthodox and will likely get you funny looks in gyms and chastised by most trainers. But I just don’t care if it gets me results and keeps my interest up. That’s worth more than “perfect form and the perfect routine”. So, here are two examples of my 10x10x10.
The first is the Dumbbell Press. I do 10 sets of 10 reps…..but at 10 different angles. I have an adjustable bench that goes from a straight up and down to different angles of inclines all the way to a flat bench and then I slide plates under the front end to get two levels of declines. So it’s ten sets of ten reps done ten different angles. I have done this with the same weight allowing minimal rest and I’ve done it increasing the weight each set.
The second version of my 10x10x10 is with the box squat. I have been using a safety squat bar which right there will get you made fun of my some guys. I contend that you can save your back a lot with that bar and at my age that’s an issue. I also would contend that you have to be very disciplined in using it as you can easily cheat. I focus on keeping me weight centered on the balls of my feet and only using my hands to keep my body upright. This limits the weight…which is hard on the ego…but keeps the focus on my legs where I want it. I do 10 sets of 10 on the squat but I start with a rock bottom squat, then to an 8″ box, then 10″…..in 2″ increments up to 24″ which from me having a 36″ inseam is well above parallel (God forbid!). All the while I jump up in weight.
I’m not trying to say these are “secret routines” or you will have great gains, I’m just trying to show you how I have used some “Unorthodoxy” in my training to keep me motivated. So, from time to time try being a little unorthodox in your training. I would still say a good, structured program is best, but every so often do something outside the box. A little change from time to time is good.
