40 Day Program 3.0

     I spent the past two months attempting the most mundane weightlifting program known to man. It was titled the 40 Day Program (for a better explanation check out 40 Day I, or 40 Day II) and the directions are quite simple: for the next 40 lifting sessions, you will perform the same exercises, each and every session, over and over again. I am not proud to admit that after 32 sessions, I am no longer taking part in the program. I tried like hell to find ways to make it more interesting but couldn't bring myself to continue for another 3 weeks. Here are a few things that I learned from the program:

1. I saw tremendous improvements early on in the program. Every time I would repeat a workout, I made sure to add weight to the bar. Buyer beware: increasing too much weight between sessions will cause you to "peak" sooner than expected. Once you reach the peak of a cliff, the next step is down so be careful adding too much weight too soon. Stick to 5 pound jumps for the upper body lifts and 10 pound jumps for the lower body lifts until you find a reasonable weight to train at. This brings me to my next point...
2. If you are someone looking to regain some "lost" strength, I would highly recommend doing an abbreviated version of this program. Pick a few exercises that you would like to improve on and have at it. The only way to master something is with practice and this program exemplifies that. So for 10 or 15 training sessions, repeat the same workouts until you reach your goals and regain some of that strength you may have lost.
3. Strength is a skill. Performing the same lift over and over enables you to improve on your technique and to steal a phrase from Dan John "grease the groove". Like everything else, the more you do something the better you'll be. With that being said, this program could be beneficial to the novice athlete who is trying to learn how to perform a few major lifts. Through repetition and proper instruction, the novice would see tremendous improvements in weight lifted through improved proprioception. 
4. These workouts should give you more than it takes out of you. Like the directions say, make sure you never miss a rep and stop a set if fatigue sets in earlier than expected. If ou are interested in getting a "pump" or "feeling the burn", then this program is not for you.
5. Your body will feel good on this program. With proper nutrition to enable recovery, soreness should be limited as your strength increases greatly. If you want pain when you train, forget the 40 day program and learn muay thai.
6. If I ever plan on doing the program again, I will follow the "same but different" model. What that means is that if you choose bench press as one of your lifts, after 10-20 sessions perform the incline press. That way, if offers a little variety in the hopes of keeping you sane during the training.
7. As the program progressed I got progressively lazier in regards to cardiovascular training, working on weaknesses, and performing dynamic or static stretches. Advice: if you decide to try this program, work on your weaknesses as you rest between sets, make sure you warm up and cool down, and add in some form of interval training to train the cardiovascular system. Something as simple as 8-16 rounds of tabata training would do the trick!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Chris Fluck