Repetition Effort Method

Repetition Effort Method

The repetition method is sometimes used to substitute the dynamic effort method. This is most common on upper body days as the value is high and we’ve seen really solid results doing this. On these days we can be doing an 8 x 8, a 20 rep max, or max reps of 225/135 lbs Bench Press. These days are great for developing hypertrophy, building volume, as well as refining technique because of the high number of repetitions.

We are much more likely to use this method for our upper body days, as they can be extremely demanding on the lower body. See example of a three week mesocycle with the Bench Press.

Benefits of Repetition Effort Method

1. Hypertrophy: Higher reps create more time under tension, which helps to build muscle mass.
2. Work capacity: The high volume will help increase the athletes work capacity, improving recovery between sets in training.
3. Perfecting technique: The high number of repetitions allows for refining of technique. It’s important to remember that the reps must be excellent if you’re subbing in this method for dynamic effort. You will develop the strength through the movement you train, whether you move very well or poorly, you will reinforce these patterns of movement with building muscle that supports them. This means it’s very important to move well (even if in the short term it equals less weight on the barbell).

Note: Usually after 12 to 16 weeks of these 3 week cycles athletes will need to move to OT2:15 for their best results. The timing is important on these cycles as it prevents athletes from loading more weight on the bar than they can recover from before their max effort upper day 72 hours later.

Repetition Effort: Upper

Week 1 uses Bench press: 8x8. Timing is OT2min. Bar Weight is 65%-70%. Must make all 64 reps.

Week 2 uses Bench press: 8x8. Timing is OT2min. Bar Weight is Increase. Must make all 64 reps.

Week 3 uses Bench press: 8x6. Timing is OT2min. Bar Weight is Increase. Must make all 48 reps.

Week 4 uses Floor press: 8x8. Timing is OT2min. Bar Weight is 65%-70%. Must make all 64 reps.

Week 5 uses Floor press: 8x8. Timing is OT2min. Bar Weight is Increase. Must make all 64 reps.

Week 6 uses Floor press: 8x6. Timing is OT2min. Bar Weight is Increase. Must make all 48 reps.

Notes from the source:

• Weight stays the same across all 8 sets.
• Quality must be maintained through all sets or athlete should reduce weight.
• Percentages are based off of 1RM of the same lift.

Accessory Exercises

The primary lifts account for 20% of a training session, while accessory work and midline accounts for the remaining 80% of our training on any given week. Of the 2 upper body and 2 lower body days the most common breakdown is 1-2 primary pieces, 4-5 accessory exercises (often including a finisher), and then 1 piece for midline (the torso).

Think of your accessory exercises as the contributors to a healthy overall ecosystem. If the primary lifts (max, dynamic, repetition) are your big fish, your accessory lifts are your medium fish, and your finisher work is your tiny fish. All support the others upstream and provide optimal balance in our mechanical patterns and strength adaptations.

Technically, accessory work is a form of the repetition effort method. However, we reserve the ‘method’ standard to indicate our primary exercise for the day.

Best Practices for Accessory Exercises

• Be Able to Show Progress: Keep records of your accessory lifts, just as you would for max lifts. Strive to surpass previous records in small, manageable increments. “Chip” plates, 1 to 1.5 pounds for dumbbells and 1.25 pounds for barbells, are a great way to progress movements when the load is otherwise low (less than 100 pounds).
• Minimize Rest: One common pitfall with accessory work is excessive rest. Stick to a 1-2 minutes of rest between sets, use a clock, or train in groups using a waterfall line format to keep the pace and efficiency high.
• Perfect Your Mechanics: Most accessory lifts involve shorter ranges of motion. If you struggle with positioning in these lifts, it’s likely you’re struggling with the mechanics of your main lifts too. Difficulty indicates areas needing attention.
• Be present: Most accessory lifts involve more isolated ranges of motion, specific muscles being used, and planes of action. This can be a great opportunity to discover asymmetries in your lifting, underdeveloped muscles, and both strong/weak ranges of motion. This, similar to the primary lifts, can give you direction for where you should focus your time in not only your training but also in your recovery work between sessions. A piece taken from bodybuilding is the idea that it is not enough to just perform the movement, you must think about it and make sure the muscles and joints you intend to work are doing what they should.

Benefits of Accessory Exercises

1. Addressing Weaknesses: Accessory lifts allow us to isolate and address individual weaknesses in our lifts. Every lift has limiting factors—specific positions and angles where lever lengths and muscles, history of injury, an asymmetry, or other factor hinders our progress. Trainers and athletes should continually seek to identify these limitations, particularly during 1RM attempts where mechanics are most likely to be challenged or on Dynamic Method days when velocity challenges mechanics. For example, performing a floor press: 1RM and missing near the top could indicate either weak triceps and/or lack of strength/stability around the athlete’s shoulders. Accessory work can give the coach and athlete more information about this puzzle by isolating the shoulders and the triceps allowing the coach and athlete to determine the best course of action needed to improve the floor press (primary lift).
2. Targeting Various Strength Adaptations: The accessory lifts support slow-strength (low repetitions), strength endurance (moderate to high repetitions), isometric strength, and asymmetrical strength.
3. Finisher Exercises: Finisher movements focus on burning out motor units and pushing a tremendous volume of blood into the targeted muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Since tendons and ligaments are slow to receive blood, this practice aids recovery and promotes thickening of these tissues. Finishers typically involve light loads and very high reps (e.g., 200 banded pull aparts with a # band), ensuring both durability and resilience in connective tissues.