3 Things for Continual Progress in the Gym

Here are 3 more tips from the great Charles Poliquin on how to make continual progress in the gym.

3 Things for Continual Progress in the Gym

Tip 1 – never increase the quantity of training at the expense of quality

Some days your strength may be up but your work capacity is down. Don’t drop the intensity, drop the volume. For example, let’s say you did bench and got 100kg x 5 reps for all 5 sets on Monday. Then on Thursday you do the same workout and do 100kg x 5 reps for 2 sets, then the third set you only get 1 rep. Stop there, no garbage sets.

It won’t do you any good to lower the weight and then proceed for the next two sets. It will just tap into your recovery and make the next session a struggle as well.

Tip 2 – 2% rule of progress

You should be able to add 2% more to the bar or add an extra rep every workout. If you are unable to do this then you are not recovering properly between workouts. It could be from not sleeping well, not eating enough, eating poor quality foods, spending too much time in front of screens, to name a few things.

So if you squat 100kg for 5 reps in workout one then in the next workout you should be able to squat 102kg for 5 reps or 100kg for 6 reps. This is why it is important to record all your weights and reps correctly so we can monitor your progress and use the correct loads.

Tip 3 – you have to take the time to lay the foundation

Be patient and take your time getting strong. Everyone who decides they need to get stronger wants it immediately. This is not the way to go about it and will often lead to stagnation and injury. You are better off bringing up your weak points and then progressing from there. We do this in your programs but for those of you on distance programs the next thing is to ensure you have perfect technique on each rep and don’t “cheat” do lift a load that you aren’t capable of doing with correct technique. You want to work to technical failure not absolute failure.

Getting strong takes many years of consistent hard work. It isn’t something that will happen in 12 weeks. Sure you will improve from your starting point but to get really strong takes a long time.

 

The 2% Rule of Progress

How do you know if you are progressing at a decent rate or when it is time to change your program?

You can use the 2% Rule of Progress.

As Charles Poliquin taught us, the 2% rule of progress states that you should be able to add 2% more weight to the bar or add 1 rep per set for a given exercise.

For example, if you squatted 100kg for 5 reps in your first workout, then you should be able to either do 102kg for 5 reps or 100kg for 6 reps in your second workout. Once you can no longer progress at this rate then it is time to change program as you have adapted to it.

Now this is assuming that recovery is optimized. If nutrition, sleep, hydration, etc aren’t in order, you can’t use the 2% rule of progress as effectively.

As a trainee becomes more experienced it drops from 2% to 1% of progress. This generally takes 5-6 years of training properly.

Don't Talk in the Gym

This is a simple tip. Don’t talk in the gym. It will distract you and make you lose focus. If you want to make gains in the gym you have to concentrate on what you are doing. People who talk about rubbish in between sets don’t make the same gains as those that stay focused on what they are doing. They don’t train with enough intensity. Their technique tends to be inconsistent and they can’t hit the loads that are optimal to them making progress.

Talking to your coach about technical ques or load selection is fine, along with the odd bit of encouragement to a training partner, but that should be it. You have to have laser like focus. The more quality reps and quality sets you have in your training sessions, the better the results will be.

This is why I never have any music on when I train or when I coach. I want to focus on what I am doing. I don’t want to be distracted by anything. Whilst music may be a source of motivation for some people, I don’t need it. And for most people I find it isn’t missed once they are training correctly anyway. They get immersed in what they are doing. I coach a lot of young people too, it is hard enough to keep them focused on their technique and give them appropriate ques they can respond to as it is, let alone if I threw on some music that they could carry on with as well.

Another thing is no phones. Leave it in your car or at the front door. Nothing will ruin your training like having your phone with you. That is a huge distraction for a lot of people. You can check all your social media bullshit after your session, this is the real world. Training is one of the only times people can’t lie to themselves. You either lifted the weight or you didn’t. You won or you lost. You had a dig or you dogged it. In the social world you can make everything seem perfect. In the gym, or on the field, you have to actually do it. So, forget the phone.

In a group or team environment you have to keep it business like. It doesn’t take much for people to get off track in a group and waste an entire session. I would see it all the time at footy training. This is why I would stick to myself. I’d tend to get in early so it wasn’t as busy, do my work, and get out and do some extra skill work on the field.

On a side note, I hear a lot of people talk about The Last Dance at the moment, saying how great it is. I enjoy it too. The thing I notice though is that people are missing the point. Jordan is who is because of his mentality, because of hard work. He was ruthless. He had high standards and would make everyone come up to his level, no matter the cost. He was obsessed. He had laser like focus on his goals. He didn’t waste a day or take a session off. He was intense.

If you want to be great at something and you don’t have that attitude, forget it. So, enjoy the documentary but maybe think about what you are going to actually do to improve yourself instead of just nodding say “yeah that’s it”. You don’t know what it is, you have probably never busted yourself for a week, let alone a decade or two.

If we learn from those lessons, some of us may be a chance of achieving our goals. But we have to be honest with ourselves. Get to work, focus, and don’t talk shit while you train.