The Pyramid Method

Today's workout was great, except for the part where my necklace got all tangled up in my earbuds. This annoys me more than anything, as it typically takes about five minutes to undo what can only be described as a hot mess. It's true that five minutes isn't all that long, but when you're working against the clock and trying hard to keep your heart rate up—five minutes is like five years. Plus, I lost my claim on the calf press machine. But these things happen, so I moved on once I convinced my necklace and earbuds to part ways.

So what made my workout so great? I know, right. Get to the juicy stuff already! (Pa-tience...) I upped the ante a little by using the pyramid method. This form of strength training really challenges the muscles with added weight and any time you do this, you're essentially pushing yourself to reach new benchmarks. Or, more simply, you're kicking it up a notch which is always a good thing.

If you've never used the pyramid method, it goes something like this: Three sets of an exercise. 15 repetitions at X weight. 12 repetitions at X+5 weight. 10 repetitions at (X+5) + 5 weight.

Of course, you can do 12/10/8 repetitions as well. You get the basic drift, right? It's all about decreasing reps while increasing the weight. And you could, theoretically, do it in reverse, too. Either way, you'll work on building up those muscles.

My workout:

Give it a try if you're looking for something new. And if you're not looking for something new, well...give it a try! I'm always interested in your feedback.

Question: Do you incorporate the pyramid method into your training? How and why?