I do not believe they are optimal for general strength or maximum hypertrophy, especially for the average drug-free recreational lifter.
Minimalist Training Is Always Limited
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Alex, doesn’t Greg from Kinobody advocate minimalist training? Thoughts since I know you recommend his approach.
Greg actually uses exercise rotation as well as assistence exercises. He also improved his relative strength by a lot since 2013 while beeing in a deficit and only training 2 times per week max.
Still not enough exercise selection. And his gains could have been much much better with a more maximized approach.
He knows this is true too. However, due to his highly specific aesthetic proportions he will not do this. But make him do flat benching with bands, barbell rows, and other special exercises, you will see him gain even more size and strength.
I will lay money on the table ANYTIME to prove this.
Very good points. I like how you referenced Science and Practice of Strength Training. It is very rare to find someone who truly understands exercise science and knows how to apply it to training. You’re the real deal, Alex.
Nice G4P mask.
Lol it’s my brother’s can’t you tell it’s a small mask?
Hey Alex Im really fresh Intermediate lifter Level now (new lifting Bench 225lbs etc.)
My Goal is always looking 50’s Era bodybuilder like a Steve Reeves,Reg Lewis,George Eifferman ..
My really week points are Arms and Chest a bit for aesthetic.
So If goal looking 50’s bodybuilders looking big,strong and symetrical which program do you prefer.. Naturally Enhanced or Alpha body ?
The Alpha Body sounds better for your goals. You may also want to consider looking at my free article on building the Steve Reeves physique.
You’re utterly clueless and emotionally invested in whatever training nonsense you believe in. Not only have countless MILLIONS of solid physique been built since the 1940s with single exercises, but the science says quite clearly that there is no difference in muscle hypertrophy between one set and multiple sets, if the set is taken to failure.
The fad of high volume workouts – multi-set, multi-exercise for each muscle – was started by Weider in order to sell the images that bodybuilders got that big due to “worth ethic” and his supplements, rather than the drugs they were using. So you have it completely the wrong way round. Simple, minimalist workouts had been building physiques decades prior.
I feel sorry for you that you’re so ridden with insecurity that you can’t question your own assumptions.
The science? The science states that after 3 weeks the biological law of accommodation will prevent you from adapting.
There are only TWO ways of combating this.
1) Change the paramters (sets, reps, etc)
2) Change the EXERCISE
Option 1 only works for so long. Eventually you must rotate movements. This is a FACT.
Also, you clearly know nothing about general strength and joint angle specificity. My work is targeted for STRENGTH athletes who want maximum performance. That minimalist shit won’t cut it.
Finally, I promote a MIXTURE of volume and intensity through using concurrent periodization. But clearly you know nothing about basic exercise science principles.
Alexander Leonidas; There sure are a lot of people who are your betters who would disagree with your post, both from the bodybuilding world and strength sports. I don’t think that this needs to devolve into a name-dropping contest, since google should help you out well enough.
I will say that firstly, your approach to this is immature at best. You might be trying for that edgy-macho feel, but you come across as a pouting juvenile. There’s no need for you to present this the way you did.
Second, I don’t know where you get the idea that you can talk down to everyone who leaves a comment. I don’t see any stellar credentials coming from you that qualify you as a merit worthy strength trainer, or any stellar athletic accomplishments to the same. You have no idea the backgrounds of any people who post here.
Minimalist does not equate to lazy, nor does it restrict exercise selection. Also, not everyone is going to encounter the problems you encountered.
I think you’re better than this. It’s a shame you felt you needed to write this post in the manner you did.
1) There is a difference between effective versus optimal. At the same time, my advice is catered towards the majority of the population, not genetic outliers or people that are on large amounts of drugs. The fact is that for most drug-free lifters with average genetics, minimalist training will cause them to stall. I simply take the best exercise science + experience and combine it into one. My shit is optimal.
2) I write however I want, this is my site. Paul Carter does the same thing on his.
3) I don’t talk down, I refute their bullshit comments with powerful counter-arguments.
4) In my books it is. It means low exercise selection (aka emphasizing the basics) and trying to manipulate parameters.
Found your channel through Kinobody. Interested in improving my overhead press since it is stuck at just under 1 plate. I weigh 65kg. Are there Any programs that you can recommend or periodization protocols/exercise rotation that can get vme to at least a bodyweight overhead press. Thanks
Hi Alex,
Literally stumbled across this article a day after I was given a routine by a family member and wondered if this was minimalist or if you think this routine would work without adding any extra exercises. Each exercise is 3 sets of 6-8 reps.
Push – Squat, Bench Press, Overhead Press, Dips
Pull – Deadlift, Pull Ups, Chin Ups
Done on a three times a week basis mon – push, wed – pull, fri – push. Then mon – pull, wed – push, fri – pull and repeat
Thanks
Not a fan, too minimalist
Yes, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61O9Xrtrkzk
Thank you sir. I tried so many minimalist programs due to a very busy lifestyle, and was completely sold on them for a while despite my complete lack of tangible progress.
One day, after someone was surprised that I said I lift, I said “fuck this shit” and did the opposite. 6 days a week, pull push legs (which I know you’re not a fan of but whatever), heaps of volume and exercise choice. Suddenly, my “poor genetics” disappeared, and people started noticing the gains very soon after.
Won’t name the programs I was attempting, but never, ever going back to them.
What are your thoughts on starting strength?
Hi Alpha,
Thanks for your reply on OHP bruh! In particular I added z Presses to my routine and i followed linear progress on this till i got to a plate. Can now do slightly more than 1 x bodyweight strict barbell ohp from just under 1x within 4 weeks i added 10kg to the bar. The gains are back thanks alot!
what’s your opinion on using concurrent periodization in a DUP style. in other words, doing something like this.
monday: 5x5s, (rotate lifts every 3 weeks)
wed: 5x10s and 4x25s, (rotate lifts every 3 weeks)
friday: 3x3s, (rotate lifts every 3 weeks)
That approach would work very well. At that point it’s concurrent though, I wouldn’t even call that DUP.
@Jonathan
Good program for novice lifters but after that it loses its value.
9Hi, I agree with the article, but I beg to differ with your comment to Marc. What he describes is daily undulating periodization (DUP) with strength (5 reps), Power (3 reps) and Hypertrophy (10 reps) focus days. It can be mixed together in a different manner too, but it’s a DUP program, and your concurrent periodization term is just another term describing the same thing.
do you believe you can achieve the hollywood body through minimalistic training? if that was your over all goal?
@Luke
Yes that’s easy to do
Sup i just saw your video “top 5 misstakes” and jumped in this page. I been working out “minimalist” training for more than one month now A)Squat, Bench, Barbell row, Chins (B)Squat, Barbell overhead press, Deadlift, Chins (3×5 3 Times’ a week) and found out by you that this was your biggest misstake.. i Love this program much so could you suggsest me something similiar that in your opinion is better for me..i been working out for a long time but was off until few montage ago..thanks bru
Hi Alex! Just checking your site after seeing your video about the 225 lbs dip vs 225 lbs overhead press. I’ve already gotten the 225 lbs dips down, but I’m progressing slowly for the overhead press (goal is 225). I haven’t tested my max, but it’s probably about 185 (a couple months ago, I was doing stuff like 10×1 with 175 lbs, and since then I’ve increased my reps with lighter weights). I was trying to build to sets of 12 with 145, but got stuck at 11 for nearly one month, so I just moved to paused reps with 155 (got 3×6, and I’m hoping to build to something closer to 3×10 before trying again to do 145 for more reps and then moving on to something like z-press with 155 or 165). I’ve been using variations such as standing, very steep inclines, and z-press, accompanied with dips for high reps (I also got stuck at 2×11 with 180, so I just went down a little bit to 160 and got 2×14, which I’m planning to increase to 2×20 before going back up to 180), and I enjoy switching the dips with heavy weighted push-ups variations.
Am I missing something important to build a super strong overhead press? I currently weight 152 lbs and am 5’5″, and started overhead pressing because I started stalling too much on my weighted handstand push-ups.
Thanks for all the interesting content.
Found your overhead pressing guide on Youtube. Please disregard my previous comment, I got a lot of interesting ideas in your video. Thank you.
Interesting post! I would add that it’s essential to maintain a training log. I have written down every session I did since October 2013 (I took training in Jan. 2013 at 40 years old), and know all the lifts, weights, sets and reps I have done ever since. Looking at your log will tell you what is working and what isn’t for YOU.
Minimalist training — My own experience tells me that it worked for me, but lost a lot of its effectiveness as I got stronger and more advanced as a lifter.
I have started out with a very basic program; I was doing Floor Presses (using wooden blocks to elevate the barbell), Deadlifts and then some dumbbell presses, that’s it, the same lifts three times a week. It worked because I was new to lifting and I have good genetics. I’ve built a 400+ deadlift in less than a year. My close-grip floor press (starting from bottom) got up to around 250 lb x 1. That was around Feb. 2014. What happened since then? I deadlifted 554 lb x 1 in Dec. 2017 and was unable to improve since then. My close-grip floor press has got from 250 to 280 in four years… That’s the progression I’ve had over four years of minimalist training.
At one point in 2014, I started to do the strict Clean & Press. I had read the life of John Davis (the legendary weightlifter who was twice Olympic Champion, in 1948 and 1952, and won multiple world titles) and started to train a lot like him. I couldn’t say it didn’t work: it got my strict Clean & Press from 155 lb to 239 lb in about 4 years, between ages 42 and 46. I was basically doing the standard strict press three times a week for 8-10 doubles or triples and adding 5 lb whenever the weight felt easier. Was it optimal for me? Perhaps not. Did it got my shoulders and arms bigger over time? It sure did! I now weigh 265 lb at 6’1″ and have 18″ arms without ever working them directly.
Doing the same lift all the time for large volumes is a good way to get overuse injuries, because the joints are taxed in the exact same way every time you lift. Make no mistake, strict pressing is fun; it’s my favorite lift, but push pressing can also be fun and it will give a break to my joints and my lower back (the position during the sticking point of a standing press is eventually taxing for the back — In a push press, the barbell is weightless when it passes this zone). Dumbbell pressing is also a lot of fun. I am now at 85 pounders for reps; let’s challenge myself and see if I can get close to a pair of 100’s!
And how about getting upside down against a wall and doing some handstands? Zero weight on my spine, and a very high resistance for my arms (I weigh 265 lb).
I can come back later to the strict Clean & Press and use my specialized system to prepare for a new PR. By then, the lift will be fresh once again and my lower back will be 100% ready for this.
Minimalist training can be great when you want to PR in a lift or peaking for a competition. It’s effective when your training needs to be very specific. My own experience taught me that doing the same few lifts year in, year out will produce very slow progress or plateaus and eventually aches and pains from taxing the joints in the exact same way all the time. My training log told me so.
Very interesting feedback, thanks for sharing!