I’m doing the Waterbury Method right now but on some of the lifts the weight just doesn’t seem very heavy. I know you’re supposed to do 80% of your 1RM. Is it ok to increase the weight to a point where you would consider it “heavy?” Or should I strictly follow what he’s outlined and stay at 80%? My max bench is only 210, so for me 80% of that is roughly 165, which isn’t very hard. Granted at the end of the 10x3 bench day I struggle to get the last one up, maybe that’s how it’s designed. Taxing but not destroying yourself. Any ideas?
You hit the nail on the head with the end of your post. Its meant to be challenging, but not so much that you have a hard time recovering. Its easier for a workout to make you half dead than it is for a workout to give you the results you want. Stick with the guidelines, its working just fine for you.
A related question. Coincidentally, I just did my first day of Waterbury Method last night.
There has been some confusion over this, so I’d like a more authoritative opinion.
For the supersets, I did the exercises back-to-back, only resting after the last (second) exercise of the superset. Is this what was intended? It didn’t seem too taxing this way, but like I said, it was my first day on this. Plus, it gets the heart rate up quite nicely.
Chad, is this the way you intended it to be done?
Thanks
I don’t think that’s it. You should do the first exercise, rest, do the second exercise, rest.
from the discussion thread after the waterbury method article
"The rest periods are prescribed at the beginning of each workout. Your confusion probably arises from the term “superset.” Usually, trainees equate supersets with no rest between sets, but that’s not how I, or Tudor Bompa, define such a method. For instance, on Day 1 you’ll rest 70s between the 10 x 3 method with squats. Then, the supersets will utilize a 60s rest period between each exercise:
A1, rest 60s, A2, rest 60s, A1, etc"
from the man himself.