[BendtheBar]

Fo those of you who aren't familiar with Doug Hepburn...we was a Canadian strongman, and was the first natural to bench press 500. He used a very simple progression approach. Here it is...

A) Train each big lift 2 times a week.

B) Perform 8 sets of 2 reps at 80% of your 1RM. Each time your workout, add one rep to the last remaining 2 rep set in your scheme. When you can perform 8 sets of 3 reps with a weight, move up by 10 pounds. Here is a sample scheme:

2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2
2,2,2,2,2,2,2,3
2,2,2,2,2,2,3,3
2,2,2,2,2,3,3,3
2,2,2,2,3,3,3,3
2,2,2,3,3,3,3,3
2,2,3,3,3,3,3,3
2,3,3,3,3,3,3,3
3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3

This progression takes 4 weeks total. So, every month you are adding 10 pounds to a major lift. It's slow, mellow, and methodical. But it works.

C) Rest 2 minutes between sets

D) For "volume work", "hypertrophy work", or "supplementary work", do 3 sets of 6 reps, and add one rep each workout. progress to 3 sets of 8 reps. Start with about 60-70% of 1RM. Here is the progression:

6,6,6
6,6,7
6,7,7
7,7,7
7,7,8
7,8,8
8,8,8

When you hit all 8's, add 10 pounds to the bar.