Longevity logo

Training Log: 2nd cycle of Martin Berkhan's Leangains lifting routine

Experience, observations, and questions

By Arsh K.SPublished 2 years ago 4 min read
Like

Saturday, 30th October, 2021; re-edit on Tuesday, 2nd November, 2021.

This is my second cycle on Martin Berkhan’s recommended routine from his book ‘The Leangains Method’. I decided to give this another try as I felt really good and strong doing it the first time. I am also listening to his podcast on Spotify by the same name as I do it and it is informative regarding his own practices and how they have developed in response to the unique demands he placed on himself as a professional model in his earlier years to competitive powerlifter and training clients later.

To begin with I'd like to state right off the bat to any fanboys out there that the routine he has chalked out in the book and what you find on various websites are not the same that he presently practices. These days Berkhan is doing considerably more volume, as in 10 x 10 sets and is hence consequently staying away from failure in any single set. He will in all likelihood still outfit your single rep max, but the adaptive load that comes with such volume does present a unique opportunity to study how the body adapts to it.

To those who are curious as to what the routine in the book itself is - it is a pretty standard 3 day power building split, which is honestly skeletal in the number of exercises, just three a day, and no more than three sets on any of them. The advantage of this however is that because you are not frying your central nervous system it allows you to focus on your primary lifts - these are the bench, deadlift and squat - where you can focus on technique and add weight with systematic incrementality.

A note on progression; Berkhan advocates adding reps to the second and third sets while lifting a lower weight than the first. This is effectively a reverse pyramid - the oppositie of many traditional bodybuilding routines. When you can however devote your first set to strength gains in basic compound movements, in every singly workout, with the benefit of rest days interspersed between each of them, you are going to get stronger.

In just my second cycle I find this low volume and high rest approach to be conducive to actually being able to put more weight plates on the bar. I do feel stronger in my deadlift, though I should state that I was doing more than six repetitions earlier and this may play a factor.

Another aspect of his training which I find appreciable particularly in a powerbuilder is the incorporation of agonist and antagonist lifts. This is simply training the opposite muscle groups from those you were working on while you rest the first lift, and is a great way to get more done in the same amount of time while providing some rest to recover for the first lift again. Combinations could be the deadlift and the military press, or the seal row and bench press.

Let me also state what this routine is not. This is not a program that will develop your aerobic capacity. If you want to train that add a day for dedicated cardio in your week and do some running. Nor is it a regimen that will target your core explicitly, however if you are deadlifting, squatting and rowing with any serious weight your core will be exercised. You can however add some twists and unilateral movements if you like but these would have to be strictly peripheral. The LG routine does incorporate isolation exercises even if minimally, though even here I think the effort would be focusing on exercising the most of your bodily musculature with maximum tension, in a singly movement - ie. compound movements still > isolation work. So think barbell curls instead of concentration curls, and Berkhan is not big on curls...

There are a few questions that I do have in attempting it. Why are the powerlifting lifts done in lower volume compared to the rows, overhead presses and curls etc? 3 sets to 2…? I see that in writing it is only there with the deadlift, but I suspect there may be some reasoning behind focusing on lower volume even here. I can sorta comprehend why powerlifting lifts should be performed with fewer repetitions to focus on strength. And if Berkhan’s own routine varies as significantly from this one which he prescribed - does he still advocate or hold strong to what he put down in the Lean Gains method? Perhaps someone with experience in these matters may hazard an answer.

To the newbies here this is the Leangains lifting cycle as found in the book.

Monday:

Deadlift - 2 x 6

Row or Overhead press - 3 x 8

Accessory: Calves, biceps or triceps - 2 x 10

Wednesday:

Bench press - 3 x 8

Row or Overhead press - 3 x 8

Accessory: Calves, biceps or triceps - 2 x 10

Friday:

Squat - 3 x 10

Weighted Chin-up - 3x 8

Accessory: Calves, biceps or triceps - 2 x 10

If you are trying this always warmup effectively. For the deadlift day for example I pedalled on the stationary bike for about 7 minutes and did two light warmup sets before getting to the main work set.

Going through this again, the temptation for me is to add a set if I find that I was able to lift the weights comfortably beyond 8 repetitions. But I'm going to stick with the plan and work heavy with low volume come the next cycle.

fitness
Like

About the Creator

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.