Hepburn Method

After training with Will Wayland in February this year, I decided to have a try at the Doug Hepburn method to get stronger. Will was using it for a month to change his training up.

This is a methodical grind to get progressively stronger using large compound lifts.

Essentially you start by lifting 80% of your 1RM for 8 sets of 2 reps (with 2 mins between sets) using 4 major lifts. 

I used:

Deadlift

Back Squat

Bent Over Row

Overhead Press  (in place of bench press due to lack of a bench)

You train four times per week, each session you add 1 rep to each lift.

So the sets on your programme will look like this for each exercise:

Day 1 - 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2

Day 2 - 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3

Day 3 - 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3

Day 4 - 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3

etc...

When you have performed 8 sets of 3 reps you add 5kg to the lift on your next session, go back to 8 sets of 2 and start over.

You can see that this is a really methodical 'grind' to increase your maximum lifts.

Every 8 workouts (2 weeks) you will add 5kg to each of these exercises.

Theoretically you'll add 130kg to each of these lifts in a year. That's quite some achievement! 

While this method is a great way (in theory) to build strength, it's incredibly dull. You perform 2 or 3 reps, then wait 2minutes before doing it again.

Every workout is the same and it leaves you exhausted.

I lasted 3 weeks before moving onto something more enjoyable - I was significantly stronger after just 3 weeks though....