Have it all... and then some: perfecting Bryce Lane's 50/20

Aris DeMarco

Wondering what 50/20 is? part one

The prior entry detailed some of the strengths and weaknesses of the general 50/20 protocol. In short, the pros: simple, short workouts, extremely fast results, increases in strength/size/endurance across the board, and ideal for those who have minimal equipment. The cons: burnout comes quickly. This is really the only problem--you get stale and you get stale fast. So working with 50/20 becomes an effort to outrace your own progress with changing things up just enough to keep yourself moving forwards. Intelligent exercise choices, basic cycling plans, and carefully planned deloads can all help you get the most out of 50/20 (or any density training plan).

I don't really have any relevant pictures to put up, so this blog will have random videos I've liked recently to keep you from being bored. Don't ever say I didn't give you anything. 

So, exercise choices. Something Charles Staley, the progenitor of the original density training idea, advises is to use 'small' exercises the first time you go through a density program. "[It is] based on my preference to avoid technical or coordination-intensive exercises (such as squats or deadlifts) while in a "panicked" state of mind. In theory, this program can be done using more technical lifts as long as you remain 'present' or 'in the moment'." (The EDT workout he advises can be found here.) So, maybe the first time you try 50/20 or a similar routine, keep things light. Maybe stay away from full squats and C&Ps and stick to a split squat variant and then chins/dips, or something. 

When you do want to load up and go for broke, something I've found is that lifts that begin with an eccentric are much more practical to use. The benefit of the stretch reflex should not be underrated, especially if you're trying to grind out 50 total reps of an exercise. Thus, choosing a bench variant (or perhaps push presses) over standing presses might be a good idea. RDLs are probably a better idea than conventional or sumo deadlifts, since breaking the weight off the ground every rep (or at least every set, if you're going touch-and-go) will just tear you up, believe me. Often, once fatigue sets in the concentric will be your limiting factor if you start with it, so pick lifts accordingly; starting with a negative will help you get more work done. 

Chen Yibing. Lord of the Rings, right there. 

Deloads. This is a big one with 50/20. Bryce advised going 3 on/one off in his original article. That is--do two, maybe three big lifts each twice weekly for 3 weeks, busting ass and trying for a new PR each time. Then, take your fourth week completely off. Alternatively, test your 1RMs on the fourth week, hopefully having gained something along the way. Pretty simple, but it can be a lifesaver. Staley advises stopping the density program and switching to a more Pavel-esque routine of 3-5x3-5, 3-5x/week, if you fail to break your PR twice after backing off a bit (check that article out here). The difficult thing here is making yourself deload; the PRs stack up so quickly and a 'challenging' weight will rapidly become pretty darn light, so the temptation to keep pushing is always strong. Discretion is the better part of valor, though. Stopping while you're ahead and taking that fourth week off is often the difference between taking a big step forwards, and burning out.

Cycling comes in handy here too--cycling the lifts you use, that is. Bryce's original example was this:

3 weeks:
M/R Barbell C&P, 50/20
T/F Full squat, 50/20

1 week:
MWF C&P work up to a near-max single
TRS Full squat work up to a near-max single
(by that third session you should hit a new PR, after a bit of 'practice' with heavier stuff on the other two days)

...Then you switch lifts to keep yourself moving forwards.

3 weeks:
M/R barbell bench, 50/20
T/F pull (DL variant), 50/20

1 week:
MWF bench work up to a nearmax single
TRF pull work up to a nearmax single

...And so on, and so forth. Switch back to squats and presses, possibly.

Another cycling/deloading plan Bryce advised was going 6 weeks on, 1 week off, but changing up the big lift every two weeks. Thus, do the lift twice weekly for 50/20, for two weeks, then change. So you get four sessions with each lift before moving on. I think he advised rotating between rack squats, deadlifts, and sumo deadlifts. The way I'd do it? For lower body, rotate between quad dominant, hip dominant, and posterior chain dominant lifts. For upper body, rotate between pressing or pulling angles. This is something of a bodybuilder's attitude but works well here. So for example:

Weeks 1 and 2:
M/R seated barbell press (shoulder dominant press--start with the eccentric, remember)
T/F full squat (quad dominant)

Weeks 3 and 4:
M/R Incline press (chest dominant)
T/F Box squat or sumo deadlift from low blocks (hip dominant)

Weeks 5 and 6:
M/R floor press (tricep dominant)
T/F romanian deadlift (posterior chain dominant)

Week 7 off. Week 8 start the rotation again.
...And of course you can do the same focusing on pulls for upper body, or using bodyweight/kettlebell exercises, or whatever you want. Lots of possibilities here.

Ksenia. Incredible technique--she's done 178 with a 24kg, ONE hand switch. Those Russians, man. 

Well, there you have it--a few more options to really get the most out of density training. The key really is (and isn't it always?) knowing when to push forwards, when to back off, and when to change things up just enough to keep going. 

Next up: The latest piece in the "lifter profiles" series. I've got at least two more articles coming for 50/20, with options to help you maintain your 1RM while focusing on the density work; cycling weight, repetition, and time variables; and rotating lifts in the course of a single week--all good stuff! 

As always, comment below or send an email to affectinggravity@gmail.com with any questions or comments.

Maxick

Aris DeMarco

Lifter profiles
part one
part two
part three

For those of you who have not heard of Maxick, I'll let the numbers speak for themselves.

At a height of 5' 3 1/4'' and a weight 'that never exceeded 147 pounds' (Willoughby):
Right hand military press 112lb
Right hand snatch 165lb
Right hand jerk (shouldered with both hands) 240lb
Two hands military press 230lb
Two hands continental press 254lb
Two hands clean and jerk 272 1/2lb
Two hands continental jerk 340lb

Moreover, Maxick was known for his skill at muscle control, tremendous grip and wrist strength, handbalancing ability, and gymnastics feats--he was capable of holding an iron cross on a pair of chains, and walking up and down stairs on his hands. He thickened his abdominals, too, to the point that he could lie on the ground and have his 185-pound sponsor Tromp Van Diggelen jump onto his stomach from the top of a seven-foot ladder.

Training these abilities gave him a very thickly developed and powerful build. As someone said of tremendous powerlifter Lamar Gant, "he's really big for such a little guy" (or something to that affect) and that can definitely be applied to Maxick:

There's a big difference between Maxick's '145 pounds' and mine....

Also, it should be noted that Maxick performed all the above lifts in competition, with the strictest of form--thus, the distinction between the military and continental presses. Given the judging of competitions at the time, we can assume that he pressed out some of his jerks, however, there is no doubt that he performed his presses without any side or back bend. 

Max Sick was born to Swiss parents in Munich in 1882, and raised by his mother and a German stepfather after his own father died at a very young age (thus making Max a naturalized German citizen). He was exceedingly sickly growing up, afflicted with dropsy, rickets, and lung problems (Tyrrell).

Through years of isometric training, muscle control, eventually progressing to handbalancing and gymnastics, an engineering job, and eventually weightlifting training; Max transformed himself from a very small and sickly boy into what can be described as nothing other than a all-around powerhouse the likes of which have rarely been seen in the history of strength and physical culture.

In his early twenties, Max abandoned a potential career in engineering to pursue something that would enable him to further develop himself full time, in addition to studying philosphy on the side. He started working as an artists' model, a circus performer (he was both a top-mounter and an under-stander--it was virtually unheard of for such a small man to be the 'bottom' in a hand to hand balancing act, but Maxick was strong enough to do so) and developed solo acts of his own. He also changed his name to a one-word 'Maxick' because he thought it would appeal more to English audiences--at least, that was Tromp Van Diggelen's explanation.

Maxick holding a perfect front lever on parallel bars at age 52

Most of Maxick's act consisted of muscle control, isolating and controlling individual muscles in specific patterns. This was much more sophisticated than the routines of today's bodybuilders, involving, among other things, unilateral flexing of muscle groups, and a high level of scapular and abdominal control. In addition to being able to 'roll' his stomach muscles, Maxick could flex individual rows, both vertical and horizontal. [Maxick's original instructive book. Muscle Control, is available online in a number of places. Beware the man-ass, though....] Maxick did much of this 'muscle control' to music, as Sandow had done, but by all acounts, with a greater degree of control! He also performed a rings routine holding onto a pair of chains, thus displaying his gripping power, and often lifted audience members overhead. According to many accounts, he would take up a 200 pound man, side press him with one hand, and then walk off stage still holding the man overhead. He trained extensively with barbells in various athletic clubs, but did little if any weight lifting in his performances. 

Now, on to Maxick's workouts. Most sources are content to state that 'he did a lot of muscle control, and apparently did handbalancing and lifted weights at some point' but I found a routine he laid out in one of his books--Great Strength by Muscle Control--that he himself used indefinitely. From what I've read, most of the 'old timers' did not do a lot of 'program hopping'; they either found a routine that they liked and followed for the majority of their career, or else did not have a routine at all. Any and all experimentation or play was done after the scheduled lifting.

His training advice--"Never attempt a record oftener than twice weekly. Rest from the weights for two consecutive days, attempting the record on the third day. On the day that the record is attempted, keep off the legs as much as possible before lifting. Try to beat a previous record by a pound at a time--it is by far the surer way. When other exercises are performed, go through them after the lifting. Only practice the lifts at which you wish to excel, or those at which you are particularly good."

Maxick's training routine for the aforementioned lifts:

As you can see, it is a six-day rotation, with two off days, one heavy day, one light day, and two moderate days for each lift. The numbers listed are the top attempt for the day, and all lifts would be done with singles (sets of one repetition). As he wrote, all other training was done after the days' lifting. For him, this would be handbalancing, muscle control, and gymnastics. 

It is worth mentioning that Sig Klein and Ike Berger, also absurdly strong lightweights, used similar training layouts--a heavy day, two or three light to moderate days, and follow the lifting (all or almost all singles) with bodybuilding or bodyweight strength training. 

In addition to the above routine, Maxick listed these standards for each of the lifts--

Clean (split style--also, Maxick apparently did these with relatively little knee dip, so basically a power clean. He never squat cleaned, in fact I am not sure if any lifters did at this time. For weights he could not power clean, he continentalled them to his shoulders): 1.75x bodyweight

Military press: 1.5x bodyweight

One arm military press: 0.66x bodyweight (remember, no side or back lean here, heels together, two-second pause before pressing) 

Continental press: 1.75x bodyweight (back bend and a split stance allowed)

One arm jerk: 1.33x bodyweight

Bent press (a lift Maxick did not practice, he believed it relied too much on technique): 1.75x bodyweight

One arm snatch: 1x bodyweight 

One arm swing: 1x bodyweight (both done squat-style)

Maxick at the bottom of a one arm swing. Note the unreal upper back and shoulder development, the result of years of heavy one or two armed pulls from the floor, heavy overhead pressing, and gymnastics.

Maxick had the following advice for technique in the various lifts (from How to Become a Great Athlete and Great Strength by Muscle Control):

"...The single handed clean to shoulder may be performed in a variety of ways... do not forget to use a bar that is slightly bend, and turn the bend away from you before lifting, so that as soon as the bar leaves the ground it turns into the palm of the hand.... In both the single and double handed clean pull in [racking the bar on the shoulders] success depends not so much upon the pull as upon the speed with which the elbow or elbows can be whipped under the bar, and it is this part of the lift that should be borne in mind, as the pull can be done mechanically. Do not be misled by any rubbish about pulling slowly at first; this may suit a tall weak man with a spring bar, but it won't suit men who have to create records." 

Maxick performing one of his favorite stunts: side press a man while holding a beer in his other hand--without spilling a single drop. Tromp Van Diggelen claimed that Maxick could side press him (185 pounds) 16 times in this manner.

Some other advice: 

-Maxick said that in both one and two arm jerks, the initial drive should get the bar at least to forehead level. 

-He advised a split stance for the continental press, and to bend the front knee slightly as to get into a better position (like a standing high incline press) without straining the back. 

-For the one arm military press, he noted that "if the bell be pressed to the side, the body must go out of the correct position." Translation: do not push your elbow out to the side. Do not kick your hip out. Keep your body straight, your elbow forwards, and press straight up. [Yes, this is very hard. Try it--and you'll see just how impressive the military presses of some of these guys were!]

-As far as body tension goes, he noted that "when the bell has gone up a certain distance it usually seems to stick... were [the lifter] to exercise patience and keep still doggedly controlling the muscles and tightening up the weak places, he would frequently turn apparent failure to success."

-Finally, as far as form went: "...hardly two men perform these lifts alike. These lifts should be analysed and studied with weights that are well within your power, and the positions best suited to your physique discovered."

Most of that is pretty good advice even for trainees today. As you can see, Maxick's analytical approach to technique, conservative progressions, and hard, steady work for years paid off with his transformation from a weak boy to one of the all around strongest men ever at 150 pounds. As David Willoughby wrote, "of him, it could almost be said 'We shall not see his like again'. At least during the period of 60 years that has passed since Maxick was in his prime, no other man of his weight has equaled him."

Sources/further reading:

Willoughby, David. 'The Super-Athletes'. 

Maxick. 'Muscle Control.' 

Maxick. 'Great Strength by Muscle Control.'

Maxick. 'How to Become a Great Athlete.'

Van Diggelen, Tromp. 'Maxick--a Superman!'

Tyrrell, Ron. 'Marvelous Max--the Story of Maxick.'

As always--I hope you enjoyed the blog entry! Ask any questions in the comments section below, or send me an email: affectinggravity@gmail.com. The next one will be either another about program design, or the next in the 'simple progressions' series, a bit more about tweaks for Bryce Lane's 50/20....

Simple progression part 2: Circuits

Aris DeMarco

part 1
In an effort to continue with the 'training information for the everyman' nature of this blog, I've written up the second part of my 'simple progression' series. Basically, this is for guys with minimal equipment (i.e. pullup bar, maybe a few dumbbells, etc.) who want to improve strength and conditioning as efficiently as possible, while taking minimal time out of their busy days.

Part one was all about increasing your one-set max repetitions. However, an approach like that might leave your work capacity wanting when it comes to multiple sets. Plus, overall conditioning is generally improved by, well, being active longer--so you need a way to compress a lot of work (multiple sets) into a short amount of time. Enter circuits.

Basically, a circuit is a series of exercises done in succession, for multiple rounds. Thus:
exercise 1
exercise 2
exercise 3
exercise 1
exercise 2
...and so forth. Some people advocate resting after each 'round', or between exercises, others don't. One option is to do a set number of repetitions for each exercise, each round, and repeat for as many rounds as possible in a given time frame. Ross Enamait's 'work capacity 101' conditioning workout uses that format:

Not quite doing full deadhang pullups here, but we can forgive him that--he's Ross.

As you can see, you have a few different variables to play with: exercises/lifts used, repetitions done, number of rounds, or amount of time the workout takes. Doing the exercises one after the other keeps your heart rate up and improves your overall conditioning, and doing multiple sets of each exercise with relatively short rest periods (doing the other exercises in the circuit) improves your muscular endurance. Given the great amount of work done relative to time taken up, it's possible to get an excellent full body workout in 20 to 30 minutes. Progression is simple. Use more difficult exercises in the circuit, do more rounds total, do more rounds without stopping, or do more total repetitions for each exercise. 

As far as exercise choice goes, it's a good idea to pick 4-5 movements that 'cover' your entire body. 

Upper body pushing--pushups, dips, handstand pushups, one arm overhead presses or push presses

Upper body pulling--pullups, chinups, horizontal rows, one arm dumbbell rows

Lower body pushing--squats or squat jumps, lunges, pistol squats or progressions thereof

Lower body pulling/hip extension--hyperextensions, glute bridges, glute-ham raise progressions, db or kb swings

Midsection/core--lying or hanging leg raises, ab wheel rollouts, 'windshield wipers'...

...there are plenty of possibilities, those are just a few examples. Obviously, depending on exercise choice, your circuits can range from a strength to an endurance focus. Resting in between exercises or rounds can help you get more repetitions in, but of course, the workout will take more time. One thing you can do is add a sixth 'active recovery' movement, say, jump rope or light jogging in place, for 1-2 minutes at the end of every round. That way, all your muscles can get a bit of extra rest, but your heart and lungs are still working. 

Here are a few circuits I used several years back. At the time, I'd just quit running track for the first time due to foot/ankle issues but wanted to improve both my strength and endurance along with general cardio conditioning. All I had was a pullup bar and a pair of kettlebells. 

Workout 1: 

pushups

horizontal bodyweight rows

bodyweight 'free' squats

kettlebell swings-16kg

lying leg raises

--all done without rest between exercises or rounds, for 20-40 reps each exercise, for 5-10 rounds

Workout 2:

Handstand pushups (on the floor, against a wall)

Pullups to one side 

Pistol squats

kettlebell swings-24kg

situps on the floor, 10lb plate behind head, feet unsupported

--all done without rest between exercises or rounds, as many repetitions as possible without pausing or stopping, for 5 rounds. Keep track of total reps done in 5 rounds and try to improve on that number. 

The pistol squat--a very solid exercise overrated by some, underrated by many others

I alternated between the two workouts 3-5 days each week. This was a tremendous workload, at the time, far greater than any I had experienced before. After the first week or so, the initial soreness had decreased to the point that I could train more or less daily, alternating between my 'strength' and my 'endurance' circuit. After a couple of months, I managed to do more than 10 handstand pushups for the first time, 20+ full pistol squats with each leg, and was averaging 250-300 very strict pushups, each several times per week. I tested myself on a 1 mile run and broke the 6-minute mark for the first time while on this routine, without doing any running. 

Circuit training is fantastic for those with limited equipment and time. Bodyweight, kettlebells, sandbags; virtually any tool (or none at all) can be used. Routines are simple to design and easy to implement, and results tend to come quickly. Thus, circuits are an excellent format for busy individuals who want a bit of everything in their workouts but don't have a lot of time to work for it. 

...The next post in the 'simple progression' series will be the first of many articles I'm writing about density training--but first, I'll put up the next piece in the lifter profiles series. 

You can leave comments and questions below or send them to affectinggravity@gmail.com, and watch our youtube vids here.