Percentage Based Lifting

Q: I read with interest your article on Vince Gironda's 10-8-6-15 program for ectomorphs. What I am not clear on is how to choose the appropriate weight for each set. For example, if my maximum lift for one repetition in a particular exercise is 100 pounds, how much weight should I use for each of the sets? My plan is to use the following weights based on a maximal lift of 100 pounds:

50 pounds for 10 repetitions (which I view as a warm-up set)
75 pounds for 8 repetitions (which is a working set)
85 pounds for 6 repetitions (which is a working set)
50-60 pounds for 15 repetitions (which is a flushing set)

Is the above plan what you and Vince Gironda had in mind with the 10-8-6-15 program? Thank you for your attention.

Bob M.


My Answer- Yep Bob, that looks good. Frankly I don't care for calculating percentages, because your strength tends to vary day to day. On a given day, you might lift 7 reps with your 85% 1RM, the next day it might 5 reps. It is better to pick a weight that you think you can perform 10 reps with and perform as many reps as you can. That will give you an idea on how to add or subtract weight from set to set. But if you like everything planned out, then here are the official percentages for the 10-8-6-15 program:

First set = 10 reps with 50% of what you'll use for your set of 6 reps

Second set = 8 reps with 75% of what you'll use for your set of 6 reps

Third set = 6 reps with as much weight as you can handle for 6 good reps

Fourth set = 15 reps with 35% of what you used for your set of 6 reps