“I command you to grow.”
While self affirmations will get you far, not all of us have the shamanic mental powers of CT Fletcher. In order to get where we need to go we need to lift, and we need all the help we can get. The 100 rep workout, (or the centurion as I like to call it) is that one tip keeping you from the big show, the big ticket, keeping you from breaking the glass ceiling, your plateau.
The 100 rep workout is just like it sounds. You hit different body parts for a hundred reps per exercise. Yeah we said it, 100 reps! But why? conventional wisdom has always told you 6-12 reps is the key. We’ll look conventional wisdom in the face and tell it to shut the hell up. Okay, maybe we’re over exaggerating but what we are simply saying is this is great in ADDITION to the traditional 6-12 reps, they actually work hand in hand. But how? We’ll explain.
While the traditional amount of reps will get you stronger and builds muscle – the 100 reps workout will build muscle in a slightly different way. It’s through a process called microcirculation. Microcirculation happens in the capillaries, these are blood vessels so small only one red blood cell can fit through at one time. This is how oxygen and nutrients are delivered to the muscle.
When you do a high rep workout you get a high concentration of blood in that particular body part – basically flooding it with nutrient rich goodness. Your body then makes accommodations for this high level of concentration by creating more blood vessels which means more receptors for the nutrient rich red blood cells.
So let’s stop the science talk and look at some other benefits too:
- Speeds up injury recovery.
- Hypertrophy: gives your muscle a distinct pump.
- Mental marathon: increases pain plateau and mental toughness
- Optimizes bodies use of calories you’re already ingesting.
- Engages fast and slow twitch muscles.
Implementation
So what does the 100 rep workout look like? A lot like you’re regular workout… just more.
First thing’s first – you should perform one workout of the 100 rep system for a specific muscle group over a 5-6 week period.
Next – you want to make sure you’re doing the exercise strictly for each rep. If you’re doing a curl for example, use only your biceps not your back or your shoulders. If you can’t do this exercise close to form you might want to try going down in weight. General rule is 30% of your usual weight but make adjustments accordingly.
Next you want to make sure that you’re resting when you get tired. A general rule of thumb is that you want to rest in seconds for as many reps as you have left. For example if you’ve done 70 reps you want to rest for 30 seconds; 80 reps, rest for 20 seconds; 90 reps 10 seconds… you get the picture.
Thirdly you want to start of slow but end fast. For example, you can do the first 70 slow and then go HAM on the last 30 reps. Don’t sacrifice form but go for it at the end.
Lastly you want to eventually work this up to a full body workout with 100 reps for each exercise. You might not be able to do it at first but if you stick to it you’ll get there. You’re going to want to take a break from heavy exercise the week you’re doing this marathon workout because your body will be feeling some real hurt. You might even see slightly lower numbers when you do get back to the weight room – but this is normal. You’ll be back to full  form and better in a week or two.
So there you go, your weekend planned. Is this something that you’d try? Let us know what you think in the comment section below.
