Beginner's Q&A: train smart, don't get caught up in the pyramid scam

Men's Fitness, April, 2004 by Alwyn Cosgrove

I just started lifting weights and read on a Web site that a "pyramid" routine is the best method out there for building muscle. What do you think? Is this true?

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A: No, but I hear the same thing in the gym all the time. Pyramids are a bodybuilding technique where you start with higher reps and lighter weight and gradually progress to lower reps and heavier weight. (For instance, you might do sets of 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, and 2 reps, increasing the weight each set.) That works fine for guys who've been lifting for a few years, but it offers limited benefits for newbies. That's because beginners can adequately stimulate all their muscle fibers in as little as one or two sets. And if they use the pyramid method, they'll probably be so exhausted from the first two sets that they have nothing left for the heavier sets that follow. That means they'll end up using such light weights that they won't sufficiently challenge their muscles. The other problem is that the rep range is too broad. Most of the time, your muscles respond best when you don't change the number of reps by more than 10% within a workout. Bottom line: I'd give it a B as a plan for experienced lifters, but a C- as a routine for beginners.

Alwyn Cosgrove, C.S.C.S., is the author of Macrocycle: 32 Weeks of Strength Training for Sport (available at alwyncosgrove.com).

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Beginner's Q&A: train smart, don't get caught up in the pyramid scam

Men's Fitness, April, 2004 by Alwyn Cosgrove

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