10 @ 90 Drop

Once you become conditioned enough to complete 10 @ 90 with relative ease, it's time to take it up a notch. Prepare for a nasty drop set. After you're done with the 10th rep, decrease the bar weight to 70% and do 10 more reps using the same breathing squat technique. NO REST! You're doing 10 @ 90 immediately followed by 10 @ 70. That's the 10 @ 90 Drop.

This time, you're doing 20-reps, and not only that, you're doing it at very high intensity compared to the original breathing squat protocol. Expect great strength gains if performed right.

Oh yeah, did I mention your legs will swell?

10 @ 90

You know the classic 20-rep breathing squats, right? Select your 10RM and do 20 reps with a few breaths between each rep. Simple, eh? Now, it's great if you wanna get massive, but it isn't that good when it comes to bringing your 1RM up. This new technique will fix that.

Select 90% of your 1RM, and using the same breathing squat technique, do 10 reps. 10 reps at 90% intensity, hence the name 10 @ 90.

Even for the regular 20-rep squatter or a seasoned 1RMer, this is extremely difficult. It combines the best of both worlds - heavy weights and an extremely long set. 1 set is enough to destroy you.

10 @ 90 should be done at the start of the workout. After you're done with it, perform 3 assistance exercises (one for quads like lunges and two for hamstrings like RDLs and hyperextensions), preferably with 70%-80% of your 1RM for 3-5 sets. Such a workout should be done at a maximum of twice a week.

Give it a go now, will ya?

3x100

3x10. It's the most basic set-rep scheme on the planet. It's usually the rep scheme that plateaus the most. Well, I can turn this into a nasty plateau buster. How? Just add another zero.

That's right. 3x100. It's not exactly a set-rep scheme for a single exericise. It's an exercise-rep scheme for an entire workout. Simply select 3 exercises and do 100 reps with them. This program is perfect for those who always train in the low rep ranges (1-5 reps per set) as this will serve as a rest from intensity work. This change in focus will definitely spark new gains.

Here are the basic guidelines:

• The first exercise should be a lower body movement (eg. squats, deadlifts). Select your 70% RM and complete 100 reps as fast as you can.
• The second exercise should be an upper body bodyweight exercise (eg. chins, pullups, dips, muscle-ups). Don't add any external resistance and complete 100 reps as fast as you can.
• The third exercise should be an abdominal exercise (eg. crunches). Don't add any external resistance and complete 100 reps as fast as you can.

It doesn't matter how many sets you need to complete those reps. Just do 100 as fast as possible.

After you're done with the ab exercise, go home and rest. Typically, you can do a maximum of 2 consecutive workouts, and you need a rest day after the second day. However, the exercises for those 2 consecutive days should be different. A weekly scheme could look like this:

Mon: Workout (squat, chins, floor crunches)
Tues: Workout (deadlift, dips, swiss ball crunches)
Wed: Rest
Thurs: Workout (squat, chins, floor crunches)
Fri: Workout (deadlift, dips, swiss ball crunches)
Sat: Rest
Sun: Workout (squat, chins, floor crunches)
Mon: Workout (deadlift, dips, swiss ball crunches)
Tues: Rest
Wed: Workout (squat, chins, floor crunches)
etc...

If your previous training scheme is extremely demanding (like the Supramaximal Tri-set protocol), you should never have consecutive workout days. A weekly scheme would look like this:

Mon: Workout
Tues: Rest
Wed: Workout
Thurs: Rest
Fri: Workout
etc...

Make sure you have a stop watch with you so you can keep track of your time. You should be able to improve your time to complete 100 reps for each workout. If you could squat 100 reps within 15 minutes, you should be able to squat 14 minutes and 59 seconds or less on your next workout.

Generally speaking, this is a good program for an entire month. After a month, gains halt, and it's time to go back to your regular program. With this "rest" protocol, expect some gains in size. You may lose some strength, but it will rebound fast and increase even more once you go back to your regular program.

Time to workout!

The Supramax Tri-set

A great way to improve strength is to handle a weight that is heavier than what you usually handle. Given your full ROM 1RM, there are strategies that will allow you to "lift" more than that. They're called supramaximal techniques. Here they some of them.

1. Supramaximal Partials. Using a weight around 105%-125% of your current 1RM, do 3-5 repetitions with as much ROM as you can handle without failing. The recommended parameters for extreme CNS stimulation and tendon strength buildup are 125% for 3 reps at near lockout ROM. For more muscular stimulation, 105% for 5 reps are optimal. The disadvantage with partials is that you cant use full ROM to lift the weight. Neglecting full ROM training will leave your weaker ROM prone to injury.

2. Supramaximal Negatives. Using a weight around 105%-125% of your current 1RM, do 1-3 eccentric only repetitions with your full ROM (lowering only without raising the weight). Lower the weight as slowly as you can. To maximize CNS stimulation, 1 rep with 125% is great. To get the muscles more involved, use 3 reps at 105% . A big disadvantage here is that it is extremely taxing to the muscles and the CNS regardless of what parameters you use, even more taxing than partials. Hence, you should use them rarely. Nevertheless, they allow you to use full ROM.

3. Supramaximal Isometric Lockouts. Hold a weight at near lockout position for as long as you can. Normally, you should select a weight you can only handle for 10 seconds if you want to concentrate on strength. 150%-200% of your 1RM is a good place to start. Here, you use even less ROM than in partials (almost no ROM), and it is more strenuous than negatives, but it allows you to handle the most weight out of all the techniques.

Obviously, these 3 have their advantages and disadvantages, but when used together, their disadvantages cancel out. This is where the Supramax Tri-set comes along. Here's what it looks like:

A1. Supramaximal Partials
3-5 reps
105%-125% 1RM
Rest 3 minutes to A2

A2. Supramaximal Negatives
1-3 reps
105%-125% 1RM
Rest 3 minutes to A3

A3. Supramaximal Isometric Lockouts
10 seconds
150%-200% 1RM
Rest 5 minutes to A1

Each stage is designed to help the next. This is designed very similarly to wave loading. The partials would prepare the CNS to handle the more taxing negatives. The negatives take longer, which help prepare with maintaining strength levels during the isometrics. The isometrics shock the body into handling extreme weights, which let the subsequent partials to feel lighter.

What makes this work is that the variety of exercise parameters push the CNS to the extreme and shock them into becoming more proficient. Coming into the second round of this tri-set, the weights would feel lighter than in the first round. The third round may seem even lighter. However, the CNS can only handle so much shock, and usually, the fourth round would feel heavier and is therefore useless, even counterproductive.

Hence, 3 rounds of this training would be optimal. After your 3 rounds, go home and rest.

This is not designed to be a long-term program for everyday use. You should use these parameters at a maximum of twice a week for a single exercise (squat twice a week with this) OR thrice a week for 3 different exercises (squat, bench and overhead press once a week each). Furthermore, you should only have a maximum of 2 other workouts per week, and these workouts should consist only of regular lifting stuff (NO INTENSITY TECHNIQUES ALLOWED). Utilize these parameters only for a month and stop. On a yearly basis, you should engage this training for a maximum of 2-3 months.

Well, that's it. Try them the next time you wanna gain some serious strength or simply stroke your ego.

About Supramax

If you're all about getting stronger, this is the place to be. Here, you will find various techniques that will take your strength to new levels. If not, they will make your workouts a lot more interesting.

Enjoy!