In this installment of our newsletter I wanted to discuss a progressive resistance training strategy that use tricks of the trade to make light weights heavy. This is a careful, safe and extremely effective approach. The goal of progressive resistance training is to trigger the adaptive response resulting in muscle hypertrophy and strengthening of the targeted muscle. By using highly specific insider techniques, “intensity enhancers” less free weight poundage is needed to inflict the deepest possible muscular inroad. By using precision and concentrated effort maximal results are obtained from the smallest possible payloads: by making an exercise harder, we increase the derived physiological benefit.

Narrow the menu: as part of our overarching strategy we do fewer things better. Most trainees perform far too many exercises haphazardly; we perform far fewer expertly. What is the least number of exercises you do, and still train the body to the fullest extent, without compromise? My mentors passed along to me a system of strength wherein the three powerlifts, the barbell squat, bench press and deadlift were each trained once weekly. Everything past that was superfluous. I worked directly with Hugh “Huge” Cassidy, our guru, who routinely turned locals into world champions: Mark Dimiduk, Mark Challiet, Don Mills, Kirk Karwoski and myself were all IPF world champions and all used Hugh’s system and all lived within 20 miles of one another.

Signature techniques: Cassidy established technical archetypes, technical ideals based on the pursuit of world powerlifting records. Our techniques were formed by results; results guided us. We followed were the results led. Cassidy established technical templates for each barbell lift. Our school had identifying techniques that were iconic and easily recognizable. In the barbell back squat, the wide stance, vertical shins and upright torso; our bench press technique “pulled” the bar downward with internal elbow rotation, a high bar touch point and a bar path that arced up and back to lockout. Our barbell deadlift uses a narrow stance, upright posture and the legs are used to break the barbell from the floor. The hip-hinge is held in reserve until the barbell approaches the knees. This thumbnail sketch is a simple overview, there are numerous subtleties and variations contained within each lift.

Intensity Enhancers: an intensity amplifier is a tactic used in conjunction with a progressive resistance exercise that increases the difficulty of that lift. Increasing the difficulty deepens the inroad. However, care must be taken to retain the essential flavor of the core lift; do not dilute the result by overdoing. There is a tipping point between disadvantage and poundage: disadvantage a lift too severely and degrade poundage-handling ability to a point that the exercise is rendered ineffectual. Weightlifting intensity enhancers are designed to make the lifts harder. The assumption being that the trainee already has perfected the barbell squat, bench press, deadlift and overhead press technique as perfect technique is their default mode. These strategies are used solely and in combination to periodically shock the body out of its complacency and spark progress where none currently exists. This is also an effective strategy for those in need of strength yet too weak to handle the lightest resistance. The challenge for weak is finding ways in which they can replicate the requisite techniques in each of the core four lifts. Take a read below.



Below are some techniques that you can incorporate in your own training.

The Goal: get the most (results) using the least (poundage.) The idea is to disadvantage a lift and in doing so purposefully increase the degree of difficulty. Progressive resistance training is a thinking man’s game so mix and match strategies, techniques and intensity enhancers in order to goose progress. The savvy trainer has a strategy before ever set: what ROM and rep speed am I going to use? Am I going to pause reps? Use of forced reps or drop sets are all conscious choices arrived at ahead of time. The overarching goal of progressive resistance training is to add muscle, add strength and power and improve performance. The grab-bag of intensity enhancers we offer can be used solely or in combination with one another.

Mix and match: the intensity enhancing possibilities are endless: you could perform full range-of-motion, paused, dumbbell bench presses; how about narrow-stance deadlifts standing atop a 100-pound barbell plate laid flat-side up? A training partner can step in and helps you lock out that final rep that you could not do on your own. After working up to a pair of 60 lb. dumbbells for six reps in the strict dumbbell curl, you immediately pick up a pair of 45s and rep them for 5 more tough reps before conking out, you keep the set going by hitting a final rep-out set of 11 reps with a pair of 30s that leaves your arms maximally swollen. You could use maximum depth, ass-on-heels, wide-stance barbell back squats, done using grind rep speed and paused “in the hole.”  On and on we could go. Start your intensity enhancing journey with full and complete range-of-motion reps. Full ROM reps are incredibly difficult and demanding and dig the deepest muscular inroad. Full ROM also serves as the foundation for many of the other intensity enhancer.  Make haste slowly and carefully.

Learn more about how to manage and modify a nuanced training approach in these recent posts. Staying in the game and continuing to elicit physical change requires the ability to assess current capabilities and gradually moderate training load.