After a long break, I got back into weight training in the last week of June 2021. I weighed 67kg and my strength in the Big 4 lifts were
Bench Press – 60 kg for 6 reps
Squat – 60 kg for 6 reps
Deadlift – 100 kg for 3 reps
Overhead Press – 35kg for 6 reps
My goal was to get as strong as possible in these 4 lifts while maintaining the same bodyweight. Six weeks later, I am still at 67kg body weight and my best lifts are
Bench Press – 85 kg for 2 reps
Squat – 100 kg for 1 rep
Deadlift – 120 kg for 7 reps
Overhead Press – 45 kg for 6 reps
My estimated 1 rep max i.e maximum weight I could lift for a single repetition went up by 100 kg across the four lifts in these 6 weeks
| Exercise | Est.One Rep Max Week 1 | Est.One Rep Max Week 6 | Strength Gain |
| Bench Press | 70 kg | 87.5 kg | 17.5 kg |
| Squat | 70 kg | 100 kg | 30 kg |
| Deadlift | 105 kg | 145 kg | 40 kg |
| Overhead Press | 40 kg | 52 kg | 12 kg |
| Total | 99.5 kg |
Here’s the workout plan and diet that helped me with this strength gain.
Note : This plan is mainly for beginners and might not work as well for those who have been working out progressively for more than a year.
The Workout Plan
My training plan is based on the first phase of a 5 day split recommended by Mike Matthews in his book “ Bigger Leaner Stronger”.
I highly recommend his book to anyone interested in weight training.
Key Training Principles
- Train 2 to 3 major muscle groups per workout
- Do 4 to 6 reps per set
- Do 9 to 12 sets per workout
- Rest 2 to 4 minutes between sets
- Increase the weight once you can do 6 reps in a set for any given exercise
Workouts
Day 1 Push
3 sets each of
Day 2 Pull
3 sets each of
Day 3 Upper Body 1
3 sets each of
Day 4 Rest
Day 5 Legs
3 sets each of
Day 6 Upper Body 2
3 sets each of
Day 7 Rest
The idea is to work all the major muscle groups in the 4-6 rep range and minor ones for 10 reps. Once you are able to hit the required reps in a set, you increase the weight.
Proper form is mandatory before you add weight to any of the exercises. As you will be working with 80 – 85 % of your 1 rep max weights, there is a high risk of injury if good form is not practiced.
These videos by Mark Rippetoe are the best form guides out there for the bench press, squat, deadlift and overhead press.
Diet
My diet for this experiment has been pretty simple and straightforward. I consumed around 140g of protein per day (2x my bodyweight in kilos) and my daily overall caloric intake was around 2000kcal.
This was slightly below my TDEE i.e the number of calories I burn in a day, as I was trying to gain strength while maintaining my current body weight.
However, It is recommended to consume more than your TDEE for optimal strength gains.
Meal Breakup
Pre Workout – Coffee
Post Workout – Protein Shake
Lunch – Rice, Chicken, Lentils and Vegetables
Evening Snack – Protein Shake
Dinner – Rice, Chicken, Lentils and Vegetables
Because I was in a caloric deficit, I could get away with 2 to 3 cheat meals every week. My approach to diet wasn’t as strict as my earlier experiments.
Summary
To summarise, the main principles that helped me add a 100 Kilos to my one rep max in the big 4 lifts are
- Focus on compound exercises
- Sticking to the 4-6 rep range
- 5 day per week workouts
- Adequate protein intake
- Progressive overload
- Relatively clean diet
If you’d like to recommend any other workout programmes that helped you gain strength, do let us know in the comments below.
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