One Set of 50 Repetitions

 One set of 50 repetitions will approximate “muscle failure” — for all practical purposes. No amount of weight or added resistance — will compensate for a movement performed poorly. So before one undertakes to attempt a one rep maximum, they should check to see that they are performing the movement sufficiently well with as little or no weight possible — just to check that they are performing it properly.

It’s like a ballet or gymnastics — you don’t get any points for performing any movement poorly. But if you can perform the movement precisely, then one has perfected a motor-control far beyond what one thought possible starting off — and that is the progression one should be mindful of, and not simply slapping on more weight, to do something that is so unrecognizable as a meaningful, thoughtful, and productive movement. That work is making one the person they are.

Many lose the connection of the cause and effect of anything — thinking that nothing is related to anything else, never has, and never will be — but that is the evolution and progress of any individual. It is not just a random crap shoot — and then you die a miserable death. You really are creating a life. And like sporting activities, dance, skill, it takes practice, practice, practice — and 3 reps and done, are not going to do it. For these people, it is a full time preoccupation — but what is not unlimited, is recovery ability — and so those who have tried it earnestly rather than the countless many who dismiss it as being “too easy,” that’s where the rubber hits the road, and one discovers reality.

And that is what we ultimately want to know — the person we are and can be — and the only way to know that, is by the doing — and not simply the “thinking” one can. The greatest common denominator between the weakest and the strongest, is their ability to do 50 repetitions — of any movement well. If they are smart, they will start off with the lightest weight that makes that possible — but if they choose to begin with as heavy as weight as possible, they will progressively deload until they end up with the lightest weight (resistance) possible — which is true neuromuscular failure — rather than the familiar cardiovascular failure that causes them to quit prematurely — because they are afraid and don’t want to go there.

That is a frightening prospect for nearly everyone — to go to one’s point of failure and learn what lies beyond. That means breaking new ground for anyone. One won’t get there staying within their familiar boundaries — and always quitting before those supreme tests, and that is what is valuable to know — throughout one’s life. It is as much a mental (psychological) barrier as a physical one — and that is what conditioning should entail, and not just the humdrum of meaningless repetitions performed mindlessly. That’s not good conditioning — for anything.

Of course the bottom line is the results one is getting. If one is attaining excellent results, they should continue on that path — but as so many rightly question, why am I not getting the results I think should be forthcoming? That answer is obvious — in observing what they are actually doing, which is usually resting “between” sets of a low number of repetitions, so that their hour of working out, actually amounts to less than five minutes of actually doing anything. But with a person doing 50 repetitions, they are actually exercising most of the time — except for a brief rest to recover for the next exercise to “virtual failure.”

That is the elephant in the room — that those who do multiple sets of few repetitions, are spending the vast majority of their time in the gym resting — and preventing others from using the equipment productively. No one has a problem with a person actually exercising with the equipment; the problem arises when a person is not actually using it, and is preventing everybody else from using that equipment as well. And a rare few, will actually do supersets or supercycles in that manner — thinking that everybody else showed up just to watch him — just like the people in the media.

In this age of unlimited distractions and diversions, many people have extremely short attention spans — rendering them incapable of doing anything requiring a sustained and persistent effort — which is an absolute requirement in accomplishing anything of great skill and merit. Many just assume that they could — even they really wanted to, or had to — but that is seldom the actuality, and that is an important lesson and discipline in conditioning oneself for the better life. You find out what it really and actually takes — and not just wish it were so because of “magical thinking.” That never gets one there.

And all that is what one is doing in learning and conditioning oneself to be better — and the true meaning of fitness — for meeting all the challenges of life, and not simply doing any one thing — regardless of whether it is the right and appropriate thing to do at that moment. That is like polishing one’s nails while the house is burning down. That is the challenge of being human — of determining what is the right and appropriate response at that moment and circumstances, and not to get lost in all the distractions and entertainment, eating as much food as possible, or seeing how much they can lift before suffering an injury — needlessly.

Instead, one is trying to build up further reserves for even greater challenges — including just living longer in unprecedented good health — and not simply living longer in declining and poor health. That should be the challenge for everyone in the long term and not just the short term one-off. It only makes sense to live longer when one can do it in good health — rather than dragging down the rest of society to keep one alive one day longer. That’s not a calculus that makes any kind of sense.

So with one set of 50 repetitions, one can attain the intensity sufficient to stimulate long-term adjustment and growth — while sustaining it long enough for the body to recognize it must. And then when one achieves that intensity of stimulus, only one exhaustive workout per week is required, and the rest of the time is spent recovering and building up that recovery ability — rather than simply exhausting it for no good reason. The older one gets, the more precious those resources become — and not that one is burning off as many calories so that one can eat unlimited more, and waste as much time, energy and resources — as though that was an intelligent thing to do at any time, under any circumstances.