Legendary bodybuilders like Tom Platz and Robby Robinson built their incredible physiques by lifting heavy for high reps. That was one of the secrets to success back in the day—select a heavy weight and keep lifting it rep after rep until you absolutely can’t lift it anymore.

As the Iron Guru, Vince Gironda, once said:

It’s not high reps that work. It’s not heavy weights that work. It’s high reps with heavy weights that work!

The 20-Rep Method

One of the most effective ways to apply this principle in the gym is to perform 20 reps with a 10-rep max (10RM) load. Here’s how it works:

1. Choose a weight you’d normally lift for 10 reps.
2. Perform 10 reps as usual.
3. Take a breath or two, then continue one rep at a time with short rests in between.
4. Keep going until you reach 20 reps.

Sounds simple? It’s anything but! This method is brutally tough, demanding extreme mental and physical resilience.

How to Progress Without Burning Out

If you’re trying this for the first time, you can use any exercise, but don’t go all out immediately—you won’t survive! Instead, scale the weight back at first to allow steady progress.

Here’s a smart progression plan:

• If your 10RM back squat is 225 lbs, start with 185 lbs (or even less) and increase by 10 lbs per week (5 lbs per side).
• If your 10RM is 315 lbs, start with 225 lbs and increase by 20 lbs per week (10 lbs per side).

The key is to start lower than you think you need to and progress incrementally.

If you start too heavy, you’ll burn out fast and won’t last more than a few weeks. But if you start lighter and build gradually, you’ll make steady progress for weeks to come.

What’s Next?

Tomorrow, I’ll introduce a strength workout using this “20 reps with a 10RM” method that takes just 20 minutes a week to complete.

Stay tuned!