The other day Jnyx, one of my most dedicated clients, asked me a question. He asked “Coming from powerlifting programs, how do we handle progression?

My gut reaction to Jnyx was to tell him to measure it in sets and reps. But I’ve realized something. Progression is subjective and pinned to your own particular goals.

Want to know if you have progressed? What do you see in the mirror? When you walk down the street do you feel like you are a vicious beast? Let’s face it fellas, we aren’t going to be Arnold and we don’t have to. What we can be is our best self.

Mehdi and his SL 5×5 program has made quite a name for himself, but if you are pegging your progress to adding another 5 pounds to the bar there is a problem. So ask yourself, what is it you want?  For me, I want to be strong, lean, healthy and fit. That doesn’t come from injuring myself.

So here is today’s challenge fellas. Grab some 10 pound dumbbells and curl them to failure. 20 reps? 50 reps? 100 reps? 500? Let’s see how many reps you get to failure on 10 pounds and in a month let’s see again. Did it go up? Did it go down? None of that matters. What matters is this: Are you enjoying your workout and do you feel like a total beast.

To answer your question Jynx, this is how we measure progression. We put everything on the line and feel terrific.

This Is Arnold Curling 35 pounds.