The original
Gravity Room Method was built as a way for people to introduce heavy weights into their training and how to effectively add weighting clothing into their other workouts. The program is designed to allow the user to combine it with other workouts to develop whatever level of fitness they are pursuing. The strength workouts increase maximal strength and the remaining workouts would increase cardio-respiratory or muscular endurance, flexibility, speed, or skill.
But the Gravity Room Method has been
upgraded and More. Lifting. Has. Been. Added.
 |
| Mother. F***ing. Upgrade. |
If you're new to lifting head back to the original Gravity Room Method and start there. Phase 1 is really the only thing that is any different, because you'll still have the Maximal Weight Exposure and Daily Weight Exposure Phases remaining the same in execution. In Phase 1 you will now have 1 major lift, five days a week, that will generally follow this progression:
- 10 x Bar
- 5 x 50%
- 5 x 60%
- 3 x 70%
- 3 x 85%
- 1 x 90-95%
- 1 RM Attempt
- Additional 1RM Attempts (if necessary)
The remaining changes will be that core exercises and Real Anime Training workouts will also be 5 days a week and Saturdays will be for cardio. The choice of Real Anime Training workouts will allow you to choose to work on cardio, speed, endurance, skill, or additional strength training or muscle building in accordance with your own goals, while being under heavy weights most days of the week. Go read the original post for all the notes on Phases 2 and 3.
Phase 1
|
Mon
|
Tues
|
Wed
|
Thurs
|
Fri
|
Sat
|
Sun
|
Week 1
|
Back Squat
10/5/5/3/3
1/1+
Decline Sit-ups
10/5/5/3/3
1/1+
Choice
|
Pull-up
10/5/5/3/3
1/1+
Good Mornings
10/5/5/3/3
1/1+
Choice
|
OHS
10/5/5/3/3
1/1+
Phase 2 Workout
and
Choice
|
Bench Press
10/5/5/3/3
1/1+
Side Bends
10/5/5/3/3
1/1+
Choice
|
Deadlift
10/5/5/3/3
1/1+
Hyperext.
10/5/5/3/3
1/1+
Choice
|
|
Recovery
|
Week 2
|
Front Squat
10/5/5/3/3
1/1+
Decline Sit-ups
10/5/5/3/3
1/1+
Choice
|
Chin-up
10/5/5/3/3
1/1+
Good Mornings
10/5/5/3/3
1/1+
Choice
|
OHS
10/5/5/3/3
1/1+
Phase 2 Workout
and
Choice
|
OHP
10/5/5/3/3
1/1+
Side Bends
10/5/5/3/3
1/1+
Choice
|
Pendlay Row
10/5/5/3/3
1/1+
Hyperext.
10/5/5/3/3
1/1+
Choice
|
Cardio
and
10-Minute Metcon
|
Recovery
|
Notes:
- The Pendlay Row is different from the Bent Over Row in that it touches the ground after every rep, allowing you to maintain your parallel to the ground posture more easily and making it more transferable to the Deadlift.
- Make sure that you're using the Choice everyday to work on things related to your goals. If you're going for strength and muscle building, do some of these. Check out your Endurance options. Here are your options for Mobility and Recovery. Alternatively, you could use those days to follow a Training Program, like the Hajime no Ippo Training Program or The Goku Training Program.
As a refresher, here are the remaining Phases:
Phase 2: Maximal Weight Exposure
- Back Squat Hold: Top Position- 10 Seconds
- Back Squat Hold: Bottom Position- 10 Seconds
- Front Squat Hold: Top Position- 10 Seconds
- Front Squat Hold: Bottom Position- 10 Seconds
- Overhead Press Hold: Top Position- 10 Seconds
- Overhead Press Hold: Bottom Position- 10 Seconds
- Bench Press Hold: Top Position- 10 Seconds
- Bench Press Hold: Bottom Position- 10 Seconds
- Pull-up Hold: Top Position- 10 Seconds
- Chin-up Hold: Top Position- 10 Seconds
- Pull-up Hold: Bottom Position- 10 Seconds
- Chin-up Hold: Bottom Position- 10 Seconds
- Bent-Over Row Hold: Top Position- 10 Seconds
- Bent-Over Row Hold: Bottom Position- 10 Seconds
- Deadlift Hold: Top Position- 10 Seconds
- Pick One Position Above- Max Time Hold
- Front Rack or Back Rack or Overhead Positions- 50 Meter Walk
New Notes:
- You will now base your initial holding weights on 80% of your 1RM and will increase according to the same pattern as in the previous Gravity Room Method.
- A 100# 1RM would have you holding 80% at the beginning. However, as you progress, it might go to your new 1RM being 120, with you holding 90% of that for your hold.
Check back to the previous version of the
Gravity Room Method for further explanation of this Phase.
Phase 3: Daily Weight Exposure
- You may not start this section until you have reached an average of 1.5x your bodyweight on all of your main lifts, i.e.- the first three groups. The pull-up and chin-up just have to add half your bodyweight in addition, since you're already pulling your bodyweight up, but not on the squats, because (well) squats. After all, your lower body is super strong, so don't cheat it. Average out all the weights of all your lifts and see if it equals 1.5x your bodyweight. The goal of this is to make sure that you are not neglecting any of your lifts.
- Wear 5% of the highest weight you have held in the Maximal Weight Exposure section. Your first weights should be added center-of-mass up to at least the first 25#.
- Examples of weighted clothes you can wear are: vests, ankle weights, wrist weights, weighted shorts, weighted shirts, weighted shoes, weighted gloves, weighted helmets, and weighted belts. The preferable weights are ones that are going to be more center-of-mass, like the shirts, shorts, vests, and belts. Acquire and add weight to those first and then acquire and add weight to the extremities.
- Ideally, this weight will be worn the majority of the day and may be worn while you train, but not during your Phase 1 and Phase 2 workouts or any other workout that is about lifting maximal weights. Workouts that are not about lifting maximal weights, however, are fine, e.g.- bodyweight, running, sprinting, climbing or non-maximal lifting workouts. If you have a job where you cannot wear a weights or you are absolutely sedentary at work, just wear them while you are at home, running errands, doing chores, and during your training.
- The weights will obviously make your non-lifting workouts more difficult. That is the point. We are adding additional resistance to your other workouts to increase your performance on top of your previously built strength base.
- As you can see, you will not be wearing a ridiculous amount of weight here: even if you were able to hold 1,000# at the top position of the squat, you would only be wearing 50 pounds around on a regular basis. But imagine what you would feel like after wearing weights for weeks or months during all of your non-maximal lifting training and then not wearing them. How light would you feel? How much faster would you be? How much higher could you jump? How much longer could you go? Studies show that wearing a weighted vest during your training can improve speed, vertical leap, and endurance and that wearing a weighted vest during your every day activities improves basic agility. For instance, at the beginning of DBZ, Goku is wearing (arguably, depending on the source) anywhere from 140-250#. Now, he can plainly lift far more than this, as he has lifted huge trees, cars, and stones over his head. If you were to calculate the highest weight Goku would hold following the strategy I laid out, he could have held upwards of 5,000# as a maximum hold. That's a reasonable amount given that his power level was around 400 without the weights on when he fought Raditz.
- Not sure what your Power Level is? Find out!
