Simple Strength
This is the absolute simplest and easiest program if you’re looking to gain size and/or strength in the gym. It’s called Simple Strength. This program is the result of 15 years of trial and error, thousands of programs, and a ton of reading. It’s science-back, simple to create, and even simpler to implement.
The Conjugate Method
I’m a firm believer in the Russian Conjugate Sequencing System and have been able to find a ton of success with it both with athletic and non-athletic populations. Many of you may know it by its more well known name: the Conjugate Method. And still even more of you may know it as “Westside.” This system was designed by Louie Simmons for some of the strongest men and women on the planet. It tackles every aspect of your development from speed, to size, and strength. It is the original undulating periodization system.
Without getting too deep into the Conjugate Method, I’m going to explain what it is at least on a surface level. It is a combination of the Repeated Effort Method, the Dynamic Effort Method, and the Maximal Effort Method. I’ll break them down below:
The Maximal Effort Method
Lifting at intensities at or above 90%. The purpose of this method is to increase base levels and absolute strength.
The Repeated Effort Method
Lifting submaximal intensities to failure/near failure. The purpose of this method is to increase both sarcoplasmic and myofibril hypertrophy. This is the scientific verbiage for bigger muscles.
The Dynamic Effort Method
Lifting submaximal intensities for speed, often with accommodating resistance (bands or chains). The goal speed in its most traditional form is 0.8m/s2. The purpose of this method is to increase speed, and power.
Now, in hearing that these are all methods you might be thinking that they’re utilized separately and at different times. Nope! This system is designed for you to hit these stimuli every week, for each lift. In any given week you’ll bench heavy, bench fast, bench to failure, squat/deadlift heavy, and squat/deadlift fast, and squat/deadlift to failure. This allows you to adapt towards size, strength, and speed every single week.
This method is based on the Bulgarian Method, where the lifter trains to a new 1RM in 3 movements at least one time per day (sometimes multiple times per day), up to 7 days per week. It’s categorized by heavy movements, special exercises, and at times minimal increases in your lifts (this method is what those fractional plates were created for).
Louie saw this and saw the potential it could have in the powerlifting world. But he also saw the trail of broken bodies along the way to greatness. Many people didn’t make it through these programs because it was entirely too much on their bodies. Louie figured out a way to hit multiple “max effort” movements, while varying the stimulus. You get an extra maximal effort lift at the failure rep with the repeated effort lift, you get more maximal effort lifts with your dynamic effort work on each rep, and you obviously get maximal effort lifts with your maximal effort work.
It’s a lot more detailed than this, but hopefully you get the idea here. The goal of the Conjugate Method was to be able to use the benefits of the Bulgarian Method, while also providing a size and speed stimulus to the lifter.
Why is this important? Well, Simple Strength is based on the Repeated and Maximal Effort Methods. We’ll talk about this next.
Simple Strength’s Roots in 5/3/1
If you’ve ever utilized 5/3/1, then you’ve something similar to Simple Strength. For me, 5/3/1 falls short in a few places:
90% as a training max is FAR too low for most athletes and recreational lifters
The volume isn’t high enough for someone with a moderate training age
The intensity never reaches above 90%, so you never really get a strength stimulus
With these things in mind, I set out to create a program that plugged these holes. 5/3/1 was based on the Repeated Effort Method, and this program is no different. The biggest differences are the total volume, the training maxes, and the intensities.
For starters, we use a training max of 95% instead of 90%. The reason for this is because most lifters haven’t competed on a platform, so they don’t really have a competition max where they tapered off and all the stars aligned for them to have the highest possible lift. A training max is important though, because the odds of you coming into the gym at 100% on any given day are pretty low. We settled on 95% because of this.
Secondly, we don’t just do one set at a given intensity. 5/3/1 gives you a top set AMRAP (as many reps as possible) but other than that, there’s no time spent at this intensity. Simple Strength changes that by adding in other working sets in addition to the top sets. There are a lot of benefits to this, but the biggest one is more total volume, which is incredibly important, especially early on in one’s training. This increases the hypertrophy adaptations, as well as increases work capacity. It also creates an environment where the lifter isn’t just testing, they’re able to get some work in as well.
The final thing that’s different is the overall intensities. You’ll lift at 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, and then 105% of your training max. This becomes 71.25%, 76%, 80.7%, 85.5%, 90.25%, and finally 100%. This ensures that there are two weeks spent at or above 90% every six weeks. This is critical to strength development.
The Program
Ok, so now hopefully you have a better understanding of why this method was put together the way it was, now we’re going to talk about how to lay it out. Here are the weeks:
Week 1
75% x 5 reps x 4 sets
75% x AMRAP
Week 2
80% x 4 reps x 4 sets
80% x AMRAP
Week 3
85% x 3 reps x 4 sets
85% x AMRAP
Week 4
90% x 2 reps x 4 sets
90% x AMRAP
Week 5
95% x 1 rep x 4 sets
95% x AMRAP
Week 6
105% x AMRAP (no more than 4)
It’s that simple. We get four working sets each week, and then one top AMRAP set. This means we’ll be getting ample volume. The way we get these numbers is to take the intensity, find the number of reps possible, and then cut them in half. For example, at 75% you should be able to get roughly 10 reps. We can get 5 reps in each set without really overstressing the lifter. By the time we get to the final set, the work should be fairly challenging. With this said, the work may not be overly challenging and this is why we have the AMRAP set. It gives us some leeway if we’re having a great day! I regularly have athletes hit from 12-20 reps on their last set at 75% which is well in excess of what they should be able to do, especially after the four working sets. If they hit a set of 5 reps on that 5th set, the training stimulus isn’t nearly high enough. The AMRAP fixes this.
80% is roughly 8 reps, so we do 4 sets of 4 reps. 85% is roughly 6 reps, so we do 4 sets of 3 reps. 90% is roughly 4 reps, so we do 4 sets of 2 reps. 95% is roughly 2 reps, so we do 4 sets of just one rep. The 105% week is really a 100% week and we’ll do this intensity to failure, giving us a new 1RM. The lifter gets plenty of work in a good position every week, and then gets to perform on the AMRAP. As Michael Scott would say, it’s a win win win. You win, the program wins, and I win for helping you.
The Program is Simple
I never really set out to create this program, it just kind of happened as I ran into problems with various other programs. It’s an easy way to increase your strength, and size over time. If you’re interested in learning more, head over and pick up a copy of the book. You can also head over here and purchase a template for the program as well! There’s a lot more detail and the book lays it out pretty well, and it will help give you a better understanding of the program and how you can manipulate it for your needs!
