Old Forum Results from Pavel/John 40 easy strength

[thezagorce]

I wanted to give credit and feedback as to the effectiveness of this program. I followed it as outlined on Dan Johns T-Nation article and picked the Bench press, Deadlift, Fat-bar inverted row, and rollout. My warmups consisted of 5 getups and 50 goblet squats with 24k. Press increased from a shaky 285 to 315 for a smooth 2 reps no spotter. Deadlifts were done in the double overhand position and went from 405 to 485. Inverted rows were put in to balance the pressing volume and reinforce the pull into press groove, I used the same hand position as my press. The whole block I never used more than 225 on the press or 385 on the dead. When I pulled mixed grip on the dead I was able to pull my old max of 525 for a super smooth dead stop double. Just wanted to share the success story of the program.

 

[Rickard]

Congrats, thats really good results. I was thinking of trying 40d prog after my RoP cycle.

 

[MikeMoran]

Wow! That is awesome. Just reading Easy Strength to me made a ton of sense. I can see why people get results.

 

[Pavel]

Excellent, Shawn! Power to you!

 

[Dan John]

What's funny is that I wanted to say "Great results," but, honestly, anyone who has finished the 40 Days has great results. I just don't think people finish programs (even ones as loose as "Even Easier Strength," "Simple Strength, GTG and the like). So, hats off for having the integrity to do what you say you will do.

I've been reading up on a number of diet and fasting programs as well as training in a fasted state. What I find amazing is that people will log their stories and say that "Paleo didn't work" or "Atkins didn't work" and you discover they stopped doing them after two weeks....or less.

I think the 40 Concept...and, God knows, there is nothing religious in 40 Days (attempt at humor)...comes down to simply practicing and doing something so that you finally have a chance to get good at it. My big breakthrough in both throwing and O lifting came through when I just went back to the basic basics...

I am as bad as anyone about sticking to a program, so don't worry, I walk along with you here. The best to you.

 

[MikeMoran]

Yes. You are right Dan John. Most people just give up. I could tell a few weeks into the ROP that it was already working great so I still do it!

 

[thezagorce]

Thanks everyone, I must admit it was so incredibly hard to exclude certain exercises but once I did it was enlightening. I am a CSCS and lifelong martial artist, like so many enthusiasts I constantly want to add this exercise and that piece of equipment. Trusting Pavel and John's expert teachings allowed me to remove the biggest roadblock for my personal success, ME! I had 40 days to train then focus on other things instead of worrying and searching for missing links in training. I can honestly say it contributed to improvement in other areas of my life. When I returned to a more intense phase of training I had more focus, momentum, and my joints feel great. If anyone is having second thoughts about choosing only 4 or 5 exercises and a lower than usual intensity wipe them away. This program is a game changer! Thanks again guys.

 

[Rif]

that's fantastic results

 

 

[rhgo5]

What would be recomended for reps if a bodyweight exercise(pull-ups/pistols/HSPUs,one arm)  was subbed for presses/pulls/legs for this program?

 

Thankyou in advance for your responses.

 

[thezagorce]

From everything I have read  on the training program the intensities start anywhere from 40% - 60% and stay easy from there. I am not sure if we can translate to bodyweight and let reps be the intensity or if there is a different starting point. It would depend on the individuals strength level in the exercise. I was curious about this too. I did fat-bar inverted rows with a longer iso-squeeze as the weeks progressed. A week or two later when I did a back lever I noticed I could hold it much easier.

 

[Michal Vratny]

s f,

I'm on the Easy Strength program right now with deads, pull-ups, OAPs, pistols, snatches and AB wheel.

I train 5 times a week and so far have great results. You can adjust the difficulty of the bodyweight exercises by adding weight or playing with plyoboxes of various heigths to stay in the 10 rep scheme and be comfortable there.

Say regular OAP are too difficult to be done in two sets of five. If you have time, you can do six singles with plenty of rest. Otherwise you can do them with hand elevated. The same goes for pistols - you can use a plyobox to shorten the range of motion. If they feel too easy, you can elevate your toes. If the pistols are too light, do them weighted (same goes for pullups as well). You get the idea. This approach works just fine if you want to get stronger in the bodyweight exercises as such.