This chapter is a continuation of the previous chapter. It addresses a topic that will drive some
of you wild with rage and indignation. Some of you will laugh. Others will toss the book in
the nearest waste-basket. Some of you will be intrigued. Some of you will nod your heads and
say “Yep - that’s right!”
Once again, as in the previous chapter, I am offering something from the past – a training
system that used to be used by quite a few exceptionally strong and muscular men, but one
that has fallen into almost total disrepute. To some of you this chapter will run counter to
every thing you believe in. That’s perfectly fine. One of the purposes of this book is to help
you stretch the limits of your imagination. Remember, what seems like outright insanity to
one generation may appear to be self-evident truth to another.
As I noted in Chapter 2, there are many readers who prefer to train on the one set to failure
system. To those readers, this chapter will offer a training concept – heavy singles - that goes
against everything they have learned and everything they believe. That’s fine. If you have no
interest in heavy singles, skip this chapter. There are plenty of other elements of dinosaur
training that you can adopt and put to good use in your own training. For example, did you
ever try a set of military presses to failure with a 120 or 150 pound sandbag or a 100 pound
barrel? If not, take a look at Chapter 15.
For those of you who are ready to boo, jeer or simply consider the idea of single rep training,
read on!
ONE REP AT A TIME
Many dinosaurs do heavy singles. Why? Because they have discovered that for many men,
singles build more muscle and strength than sets of multiple repetitions. Yeah, I KNOW that
singles are contrary to modern wisdom and conventional training protocols. I KNOW that all
of the modern experts say that single reps are dangerous and non-productive, I KNOW that all
the modern “champs” say to train with light weights and concentrate on “feeling” the
movement. I KNOW that no one at the House of Chrome and Ferns ever does a single rep in
anything. And I KNOW that we have all kinds of wonderful “scientific” training systems that
regard heavy singles as worthless, dangerous, insane and ridiculously old fashioned.
1 also know that heavy singles made me bigger and stronger than any other combination of
sets and reps I ever tried. I know that they have worked extremely well for my training
partners. I know that they allowed my good friend, Greg Pickett, to push his upper arms to
18” of rock-hard muscle at a height of 5’6”. All of the experts who can give you a dozen
scientific reasons why singles do not build muscle or strength will have to explain why they
work so well for me, my training partners and Greg.
THE WAY MEN USED TO TRAIN
The “experts’“ are WRONG when they say singles don’t work. For many men, singles build
muscle and strength like you wouldn’t believe. Forty or fifty years ago - BEFORE the steroid
era - quite a number of folks did singles and they got really big and strong on them.
In those days, the biggest and strongest men in the world were Olympic weight lifters. Top
lifters like Tommy Kono, John Davis, Steve Stanko and Mahmoud Namdjou could win world
titles in lifting AND enter bodybuilding competition and do terrifically well - Kono won the
Mr. World title. Davis placed third in the Mr. America and won ’“Best Back.” Stanko won the
Mr. Universe title and Namdjou won his height class in the Mr. Universe contest. And the
heavyweight lifters (men like Norb Schemansky, Jim Bradford and John Davis) were so much
bigger and stronger than any bodybuilders (with the notable exception of Reg Park, who himself trained like a lifter) that it wasn’t even funny. If singles are so terrible, why did the
lifters thrive on them?
I CAN’T SELL SINGLES
If you still are not convinced, consider this: singles are not something that I or anyone else
can sell to you. It won’t make any difference to me whether you do singles or sets of ten reps
or sets of 100 reps. My bank balance stays the same no matter how many reps you choose to
do. So why am I so “bullish” on singles? Why am I pushing them when it would be twenty
times easier to go along with conventional wisdom and tell you to do one set of 8 to 12 reps,
or 3 sets of 6 to 8 reps, or 5 sets of 10 reps?
I am urging you to try singles because they WORK for many men. Period. There is no other
reason beyond my simple, selfish desire to help you grow as big and strong as you can get.
Lifting weights is my hobby, not my vocation. I work as a lawyer. I’m not trying to make a
name for myself by preaching the gospel of singles - or any other gospel of sets and reps. I am
not involved in academic debate or the world of research journals, and I am not trying to
attack, defend, or justify any research studies. I am simply trying to tell you what works best
for me and why I believe it may work best for you.
WHY SINGLES WORK
Why do singles work so well? I think there are several reasons. First, you are using a HEAVY
weight. I believe that there is some sort of connection between the amount of weight on the
bar and the overall effects of any particular exercise. Somehow, a heavy weight does more
than merely trigger growth in the target area that you are trying to develop with whatever
exercise you are doing.
A heavy weight stimulates increases in muscular size and strength throughout the body. This
may be because you are overloading the tendons and ligaments whenever you use a really
heavy poundage, or it may be because the heavy poundage forces more involvement by the
nervous system (i.e., the nervous system has to recruit more muscle fibers to lift the heavy
weight). I don’t know exactly what happens physiologically. I DO know that singles work
better for me than any other training system I have ever tried - and believe me, I have tried
them all.
Singles require good form and white hot concentration. You can screw around a little bit and
get away with it when you are doing reps, but with a heavy weight on the bar, you either use
perfect form and intense concentration, or you miss the lift. It’s as simple as that. Thus,
singles reinforce two VERY important elements of a serious training program: good form and
intense concentration on the task at hand.
HOW TO IMPLEMENT SINGLES
I like to train each lift I do with four or five progressively heavier singles. In the rack squat
for example, I set the bar so I am at the bottom position of a parallel squat when I squeeze
under the bar, and then I drive the bar up to complete each lift. I typically do 135 x 1, 225 x 1,
315 x 1, 405 x 1 and 500 x 1. The last two singles are tough; the final one is downright brutal.
Those five singles are all I do. At that point, I move to another exercise.
Some lifters prefer a different approach. Some men will use the same sequence of
progressively heavier warmup sets, but do five singles with their top weight. For example, a
lifter might do parallel squats with 135x1, 225 x 1, 315 x 1, 405 x 1 and 460 x five singles,
with two to five minutes rest between each lift. Some men use a lighter weight and do even
more singles - ten or even twenty on occasion. I use this system once in awhile, but most of
the time I stick to only one heavy single on any given lift. I tend to go stale if I do multiple
singles with a heavy poundage.
I know just what you’re going to say, “Do you mean to tell me you do FIVE singles in a
workout and then stop! How can a short little workout like that build any muscle?” Well, I’m
glad you asked. The answer is simple; I work those five little sets so hard that they damn near
kill me. My last single in any given exercise on any given day is always brutally hard. I’m not talking about “difficult.” I’m not talking about “uncomfortable.” I’m talking about something
far harder than merely “very tough.” I’m talking about ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE. It takes a
TREMENDOUS effort to make the lift. The final single is so intense and demanding that it
would be impossible to repeat the exercise with any sort of appreciable weight.
A WORD OF CAUTION
Singles may sound easy to the uninitiated, but let me assure you. they are SAVAGE. The
pencil necks, the armchair academics, the theorizers, the slide rule honchos, the guys who
always wear padded gloves at the gym, the guys who wouldn’t be caught dead without a fancy
sports watch or a pair of $200 Cross-Trainers, the wannabes, the drug babies, the shapers, the
toners, the body sculptors and the rest of the gang at the House of Chrome and Ferns would
die if you made them do heavy singles.
Singles are so tough that you need to work into them carefully and gradually. Start by
switching from your current set/rep scheme to the 5 x 5 system. The 5x5 system calls for two
progressively heavier sets of 5 reps, followed by three sets of five reps with your “working”
weight. For example, let’s say you can bench press 250 or so for five reps. To use the 5 x 5
system, you would do five reps with 160 pounds for your first (warmup) set. Then do your
second set of five reps with 200 pounds, followed by three sets of five reps with 240 pounds.
When you can handle your working weight (240 pounds in this example) for three sets of five
reps, add five pounds to each set and build up to three sets of five reps with the new working
weight. Using the previous example, you could move up to 165 x 5, 205 x 5 and then shoot
for three sets of five reps with 245. If you cannot get three sets of five with 245, that’s ok -
just slay at that poundage until you can get five reps on each of the three working sets.
After three to six months on the 5 x 5 system, change 10 the 5/4/3/2/1 system. This calls for
two or three progressively heavier warmup sets (doing five reps per set), followed by one set
of five reps for your first working set. Then add a little bit of weight (five or ten pounds) and
try for four reps. Add a bit more and try for three reps. Add more and try for two reps. Add
more and do a single. It might look like this: 160 x 5, 200 x 5 (these are warmup sets), 240 x 5
(the first “working” set), 250 x 4, 260 x 3, 270 x 2 and 280 x 1. Stay on the 5/4/3/2/1 system
for three to six months, then try an actual single rep system.
The reason you do the “break-in” work with the 5 x 5 and 5/4/3/2/1 systems is to gradually
adapt to the heavy stress imposed by low rep, heavy poundage training. If you have been
doing medium to high reps, you need this break-in period to avoid hurting yourself. No matter
how well conditioned you THINK you are, your body just isn’t ready for the extreme stress of
single rep training. You must give your muscles, tendons and ligaments a fair chance to adapt
to single rep work. THIS IS CRITICAL! Whatever you do, do NOT skip the 5x5 and
5/4/3/2/1 phases and jump directly into single reps. You are asking for trouble if you do.
Let me repeal that warning. And pay attention! DO NOT think you can “condition” yourself
for heavy singles by doing high or medium rep sets. You must reduce the number of reps
slowly and gradually, in a systematic, controlled fashion, or you are almost certain to hurt
yourself. Remember, singles work not only the muscle fibers, but the tendons and ligaments
as well, and it takes time to condition the tendons and ligaments to handle really heavy
poundages. Time after time I see guys who train hard, but with high or medium reps, foolishly
try to jump into heavy singles without having the proper foundation. In every case, they injure
themselves. DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU!
Go back and re-read the previous paragraph. Memorize it. Sear it into your brain cells. And
follow my advice, guys! You only have one body in this lifetime. Don’t injure it by being
foolish.
SENSIBLE SINGLES
When you are ready to do the single rep program, do three or four progressively heavier
warmup sets of one to five reps each, followed by one single with 70% of your one rep max,
one single with 80% of your one rep max, and one single with 90% of your one rep max.
Then stop! Do no more than three singles to begin with: one at 70%, one at 80% and one at
90%.
Try to add 1 to 2 pounds per week and gradually work your way up to the point where you are
approaching your former one rep max. At that point, settle into a long series of training
sessions where you hit your top weight or something very close to it every time you train any
particular exercise. Plan to do this for several months at a bare minimum. It takes a long
period of steady, consistent training to realize the full benefits of single rep work. This is
because the singles are building not only your muscles, but your tendons and ligaments as
well, and tendons and ligaments don’t grow as quickly as muscles do.
As I stated, plan to train with heavy weights week after week for a long, long time. Forget
about “periodization” programs, conditioning phases or anything similar. Forget about
programs where you take ten or twelve weeks to work up to a single rep effort, then drop
down and take another ten or twelve weeks to get back to another single rep effort. Get to the
point where you are training hard and heavy on a consistent basis for a long, long time, and
then watch what happens to your body. You won’t believe the results. A couple of years of
heavy singles will TRANSFORM your body.
)...en nog 4x160kg (wilde 3 doen, maar deed eentje extra voor Max* die achter me stond
). Tja, wat moet ik zeggen...de 1e rep met 170 vloog echt omhoog...maar 3 reps lukten helaas niet. Als excuus kan ik slechts aanvoeren dat ik nog wat spierpijn had in mijn triceps van de floorpresses van vrijdag. Ik heb echt lang nodig om te herstellen...merk aan sommige dingen dat ik een "dagje" ouder word
* Max(iation) had het overigens ook goed gedaan bij bankdrukken, hij deed diverse tripple's met 115kg...best wel goed hoor
!
...dat is lang geleden dat dat iemand tegen me zei 
Brother! 
en dat is dom...mja...heb ik vaker last van...sommige dingen zijn eerder mentaal dan fysiek een probleem. Dan kan ik me gewoon ook heel moeilijk kwaad maken (niet voor niets heb ik de bijnaam huggybear 
).
is 
