Well it has been a while since I last posted on this blog, but not much has been going on. I finished my low rep training phase over the past 8 weeks. There were definitely some surprises in there.
First off my review of the routine. It was ok. It took much longer obviously which meant I couldn't always finish the entire workout. It was definitely hard on my body as well. I was able to keep form much easier knowing I only had to do 6 reps compared to 15, but it was a lot of load on the body. I was getting pretty tired of it by the end. Plus some exercises really didn't work well with only 6 reps. For example 6 reps of KB swings doesn't seem like it is really doing much.
So I wasn't crazy about high reps and wasn't crazy about low reps. Crossfit was just too random and too intense for me, so I am really excited about my next phase of training. I put together an 8 week hybrid training program. I will do high reps, low reps, and everything in between pretty much each workout and compare my results. I am also in the process of writing my first book which will explain the entire program and why I think it works so well.
Here are my results from my heavy training
Weight 178 - same as after high rep program
Body fat 9.1% - down 2.7% after my high rep program
Power Clean - 195lbs up 5lbs
Squat - 315lbs - up 15lbs
Pull Ups - 16 reps - down 4 reps
Push Ups - 26 reps - down 4 reps
Mile Run - 6:49 - 1 sec slower
So some surprises and some expected results. I stopped doing endurance work and my endurance got worse. But I did more strength base work and all those numbers went up. Even my power when up which was pretty cool even though I did not power training.
The interesting thing is my weight stayed the same and I dropped almost 3% body fat. So I think it is safe to say that high reps gets you ripped and low reps gets you big is just not true. So what is better high reps or low reps? Obviously it depends on your goals. If you are trying to get stronger low reps makes more sense. If you want better endurance then maybe high reps.
What if we did both? When that is what hybrid training is all about. I actually started the program a few days ago and I love it. The other workouts were just getting too boring doing the same thing over and over. I'm really interested in seeing what my next set of numbers will be. If my predictions are correct, I should see better strength, better power, better endurance, and better body composition If I am right, this could just be the best program ever.
Mike
