Combination Training

Bodybuilding - Combination Training for the Best of Both Worlds

There is no one best program, as no program will produce results forever. Eventually, you will adapt and become immune to whatever program you are on. At this point you can either be a stimulus addict and just stick with the program you're on even though it is not producing results or you can wise up and switch to another program.

This is a hard concept to grasp when you are actually on a training program that is working extremely well. During this time it is easy to have the illusion that progress will keep coming indefinitely. Even when progress comes to a screeching halt, many trainees find it hard to "break up" with their beloved favorite program.

Similar to a bad relationship, the trainee often looks back to when the program was great and ignores the reality that it is no longer working in the present. Do not be this trainee. Do not be so attached to one training system that you cannot benefit from another training system. Do not make the mistake of being addicted to the stimulus of training that you overlook the fact that you are not making progress.

Just clocking in hours at the gym is not going to guarantee that progress is eminent. Just as clocking in hours in a business or job is not going to guarantee that you will make more money. You have to work smart not just hard. 

One option that works very well with training is to switch gears every three to four weeks. For example, do three weeks of high volume training such as 10x10 (ten sets of ten). Then switch to some moderate volume training with a higher intensity such as 5x5.

Finally, go to a low volume higher intensity program in which training with maximum weights is the goal. While the concept sounds simple enough, it requires discipline to move from one program to the next. Why? You will often be making great progress in week three as you get used to a program.

Once you switch to a new program the first week or two are uncomfortable as you adapt both mentally and physically. Once you get used to the program, it is time to switch again and that my friend is exactly the point. Rather than wait for the program to stall in week five or six, we stay one step ahead of the curve by switching gears before it is too late.