Top 10 articles: Chad Waterbury

I have spent a lot of time reading various internet writers on the subject of gaining strength.  Very many of them merely repeat what other people are saying while claiming it to be their own work.  Some valuable few have bothered to read some of the oldtime strongmen techniques for gaining strength and report it well.  Still fewer actually have their own refined and polished ideas that help people put on strength and size.

Chad Waterbury is one of those final few.

Here is my favourite selection of his articles:

***

1.  Singles Club - Chad tells you how to get really strong, really quickly or how to keep your strength while gaining size.  Chad explains why the old farm-hands were so strong, why some powerlifters don’t develop significant hypertrophy despite a heavy diet of singles and what variables you need to manipulate in your own training.
2. High Frequency Training - Chad explains why high frequency training is best for any strength goal.  He uses the example of the Cirque du Soleil performers as perfect reasons for why high frequency training works.  I guess you could look at the routines of most professional bodybuilders, Olympic lifters and powerlifters and come to a similar conclusion.
3. Get big, get strong, get on with it - in this article, Chad talks about some of his preferred set and rep schemes and how they fit into a programme.  Expect to hear about his famous 10 sets of 3 reps scheme, as well as 4 sets of 6 reps.  Chad prefers quite a lot of volume in his programmes.  Consider a workout in which you do 10 x 3 on back squats, followed by 4 x 6 on dips and rows, 4 x 6 on curls and skull crushers and 4 x 6 on hanging leg raises!  And that’s just Monday!  He’s doing that sort of workout 5 times a week!
4. The Science of Ten Sets of Three Reps - if you were after something a little more technical, look no further, as in this article Chad goes into great detail about the background to his favourite routine and why it works as well if not better than anything else.  Chad explains that a 10 x 3 routine utilises a large resistance (>80% of 1RM), which is necessary to recruit the motor units that possess Type IIB and Type IIA muscle fibres.  This is very important since these fibres have the greatest potential for growth.  Chad also notes that, with only 3 reps per set, the total duration of the set is very short (~9 seconds). This is important, since the force producing capabilities of the above motor units decrease at any time longer than approximately 10 seconds.
5. Ten sets of three reps for fat loss - if you really liked using 10 sets of 3 reps but you’re not sure that it’s compatible with your new obsession with getting a set of abs for the summer, check out this article by Chad on how to modify that programme for that very goal.
6. Chad on the fascia - if by now you’re thinking that all there is to Chad is 10 sets of 3 reps, you might be forgiven.  So just to prove you wrong, here’s an article by Chad on something completely different: the fascia and why you need to know how it works.
7. Chad programs for powerlifters - Chad explains how using a supramaximal hold can build increased strength for the powerlifts.  This is definitely on my list to try when I have a power rack.
8. Chad on fat loss - in this article, Chad has one of the best descriptions of a perfect fat loss protocal that I have ever read.  He says: “consume one gram of protein per pound of body weight, fibrous vegetables, water, green tea, 12 grams of fish oil, and spread those out over the course of six meals each day”.  He also notes that people often see this as boring but if you held them in captivity and forced them to comply with these guidelines for a month they would be amazed by the results.  I could not agree more.  
9. See Chad train - if by now you’re curious to see whether Chad walks the walk or just talks the talk, you can find out more here as Chad discusses his own training in some detail.  Chad likes to pair horizontal pulling with vertical pushing and vertical pulling with horizontal pushing.  Very old school. 
10. The Essential Waterbury - if you’re too busy to read all of the other articles, check out this one.  Chad summarises most of his points in this brief post and you’ll pick up most of his secrets here.   

***

That’s my favourite selection of Chad Waterbury articles.  He has definitely influenced my lifting routines.  I hope he has a beneficial effect on your lifting too.