Here’s my problem with “Easy Strength”. A couple months ago, I was struggling with my 28kg kettlebells, so I was doing some research and came upon “Easy Strength”. I figured I’d drop back to my 24’s and give 2x5 a go for a while, then come back. I just picked up the 28’s again and they’re flying like they’re nothing. These bells don’t buy themselves, man! In all seriousness, you may have given me a workout pattern I can follow for years and still get stronger with minimal time investment. You’re a legend.
I like it because I can complete it in 20-25 minutes. It is a purely mental thing I have with time. When my workouts were an hour or more, I always felt this pressure/stress that I could be doing something else more important; house stuff, work, school, relationships, etc... Now it is real easy to fit into my schedule. Like you say, it is doable for me. Thanks Dan!
We had our first child last September. I’ve been living of 2x5 for a few months now. I keep all my weight racked and just do them when I can. Some times all at once, and other times throughout the day. I had to finally put the journal down and do it completely Park bench because I was too focused on incremental progress. Funny how the bar just keeps moving faster with the same weight. Almost like I’m getting stronger!
In the early 1970s we started with 2 sets of 6. We progressed reps to 12 before adding weight. Still 2 sets though. Very repeatable. Worked well. I'd go back upstairs and eat all the leftovers from supper, thanks Mom!
You know, as someone who trained for years in the powerlifts. I once squatted 455 and deadlifted 500 at 207 BW. The problem was that any program I ran I could never get the "reproducible" part right. I got those maxes maybe once or twice a year, and spent the rest of the year worrying if I could get close to there let alone getting better. I got so desperate at times that I would overeat and gain body fat because I thought the extra calories would lead to "reproducibility.". Turns out, extra food only led to mild increases in strength and the trade off was several pant sizes and doctors sounding off alarm bells. I did this for about a year and half. I got fatter, injuries accumulated and quitting training altogether seemed like a very real option. Around then, I picked up Easy Strength by you and Pavel and the workouts at first looked weird. Volume and intensity seemed way to low compared to a standard powerlifting program, but I shrugged and said why not I was already at wits end. The first thing I noticed was the extra headspace I gained because the workouts were so easy. I wanted to train rather than dreading what the next injury was. Two months in I noticed that lifts that would have taken me 3 warmups sets and a 30 min foam rolling routine was no longer needed. I was confident I could hit a heavy weight with very little effort or warmup. Next the injuries started to slowly disappearing (I don't actually know why this is) and sleep got better. I am now four months in and I am confident that I can exceed my previous maxes in the near future. I am currently working slowly losing the gained fat (it is taking longer than I thought it would). Not sure how to say this over the internet, but thank you for "figuring it out" for the rest of us. At the end of the day, I just wanted a program that we can rely on and some hope that I am getting better. Thank you!
That is a very inspiring story. I just found out about easy strength the other day. I want desperately to improve my bench. It has not budged in nearly two years despite putting in lots of hard work and lots of heavy sets. I wonder if my age (56) is preventing me from getting stronger. I hope not. Anyway, right now I can bench 150 pounds for 10 reps. I am going to start this easy strength approach tomorrow. My plan is to do two sets of 5 reps with 150 pounds with 5-6 minutes' rest between sets. Is 150 too much do you think? Is the idea to just keep gradually adding weight over time while doing the 2x5 regime most days of the week?
You're like the Warren Buffet of fitness. Whereas he reads old copies of the wall street journal you still have your old fitness mags and reference them. It's all relevant.
Makes sense. Make an easy exercise….easier. Then boom, challenge yourself with a new PR. Question, prior to your 2 sets of 5, do you incorporate any warmups?
You can do this for a bit. Obviously, the body adapts (adding load is appropriate and keeps working). I like to go from 2 x 5 to 5 x 2 and really increase load. 3 x 3 is a great one, too.
As I start to dig a more into it, to understand easy strength (and do it), it oddly reminds of many times I heard my parents ramble about or say something I did not understant fully (or at all) at the time, but (many times years) later, I start to get it. Hat's off to Dan and Pavel for Easy Strength, and thank you to Dan for all the insights. Over time, "Wise Strength" seems to me a fitting cognomen for "Easy Strength". "Easy 'the wise' strength"... Guess I would starve in marketing.
@@DanJohnStrengthCoach Exactly , try squating in this manner for 10 years and let me know if you legs and even rest of body did not grow.. but strength is measured in time;) Also you want to be strong all your life not only in your younger years.. Keep pushing and pulling guys and girls:)
Q. What's the most intense that you could go and you still can come back to the gym tomorrow? A. 2x5 with reasonable load. Then the practice factor and the X factor kick in and you get freakishly strong. It's hard to believe and totally obvious all at the same time when you try it.
