Strength Made Simple The Abacus Method

Warning/Disclaimer
This book is for reference and informational purposes only and is in no way intended as medical
counselling or medical advice. The information contained herein should not be used to treat, diagnose or
prevent any disease or medical condition without the advice of a competent medical professional. The
activities, physical or otherwise, described herein for informational purposes, may be too strenuous or
dangerous for some people and the reader should consult a physician before engaging in them. The
author shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss,
damage or injury caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in
this book.
Copyright © 2015 Jamie Bain
First published June 2015
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www.strengthmadesimple.com Page 1
Preface
I want to take a minute to thank all the strength coaches, athletes and authors who have
inspired me over the years and ultimately who inspired me to write this book. In reality there
are too many to thank but I feel it would be best to thank the biggest influencers of The
Abacus Method. In no particular order: Dan John, Mark Rippetoe, Jim Wendler, Pavel
Tsatsouline, Christian Thibaudeau and Doug Hepburn. I’m sure that if you are aware of these
individuals you will see their influence in many parts of this book and program.
It was a Thibaudeau article in fact which led me to read more about Hepburn which ultimately
began the thought process behind The Abacus Method. I am hugely grateful to the above and
countless others for their input and look forward to hearing more from them. I can only hope
that they would approve of the program which they unknowingly played a part in and that it
may inspire others to create their own.
“Standing on the shoulders of giants” – Isaac Newton
With the names above I think that quote has never been more appropriate.
Introduction
I wrote The Abacus Method Program as a challenge for myself. You see, working in strength
and conditioning you are always looking for the next big thing to gain an advantage over the
opposition, and sometimes this persuades you to ignore you're own advice and blindly try out
the latest protocol or program. But I wanted to break that trend and also come up with a
simple, effective and challenging program that I could easily fit around a hectic work schedule.
I got my first inspiration for the program when reading an article about Doug Hepburn, the
legendary weightlifter. His program consisted of heavy singles and he progressed by adding
one single every session. So I planned a program designed to improve my 5RM (an easier way
to progress than chasing 1RM's) by adding one rep every session and got to work.
The first thing I noticed was how liberating it was not to be calculating percentages of 1RM for
different exercises and sets. I am usually pretty anal about this and always stick to loads that
are calculated to 2.5kgs, something that really annoys training partners! The other thing I
noticed was how motivating it was to be frequently lifting a heavy, challenging load but not
having to go "all out" every session. Some sessions were harder than others but, because of
the simple and easy progression plan, I always knew I would be able to succeed at the next
session.
The other thing I noticed was my physique. I had put on a couple of kilos weight over the 8
weeks and probably half of that was muscle, my diet hadn’t been strict so I was fairly pleased
considering. Muscle tone was better also, I guess from neural adaptations from the heavy loads
and I even had a few comments about my physique. Everyone knows how good it feels when
people see improvement when you first start training but to get it after over 15 years training is
awesome, especially as physique improvements weren’t the goal.
The biggest revelation was the first time I finished the program. I had completed 5x5 with my
old 5RM and knew from the first set that I could have got way more reps on that load, that was
a brilliant achievement in itself.
But when I started doing exercises I hadn't done for a long time the next week everything felt
surprisingly light! I ended up comfortably lifting weights that I had previously been struggling
with easily and without training them for 8 weeks!
You see, I had diligently worked at a good intensity, frequency and volume with the same
exercises for 8 weeks, enough time to actually force the neuromuscular system to adapt and
supercompensate. Thus the improvements I experienced weren't just in the trained exercises
but across the board. This is why I will speak about consistency first in the next chapter as I
think it is one of the most underrated principles of strength development. And if you follow a
program designed to allow consistent performance and progress, overtime, you will become
strong. The Abacus Method will teach you how to do this and show you a way to train for the
long haul to get consistent gains and be stronger at everything, and boy it's a good feeling!
Principles Behind The Abacus Method
If you've read any of my blog or free ebook you will be well aware of these 6 principles I use
when planning training and may be excused from skipping to the next chapter. I would
however recommend you read this chapter as a reminder of what's really important to your
success.
The Right Exercises
There are certain exercises that have stood the test of time. They are big compound
movements that recruit a lot of different muscles and cover many joints. They stress the body
as a whole and allow heavy weights to be used. In Starting Strength Mark Rippetoe explains
how this allows us to constantly, over time, make steady improvements in strength.
These exercises are the competitive lifts from powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting, the Squat,
Bench Press, Deadlift, Clean & Jerk and Snatch. All of these exercises have their own
derivatives and any of those would be suitable too depending on your own body shape and
physique. Throw in Pull Ups, Dips, Military Press and Chest Supported Rows and you have the
bulk of your training program. We’ll call these you Core Lifts.
You see as I mentioned these exercises allow continual progress. Compare a squat to a bicep
curl and you can see that the weight you use for a curl is going to stall after a few weeks if you
try and move up to a heavy set of dumbbells each week. With a squat however you can add to
the bar for long periods of time if you train appropriately.
Now I’m not saying you shouldn’t or can’t use isolation exercises but they should only make up
a small amount of your training and should be used to bring up a struggling body part to help
improve your compound exercises strength. Some people can have very good results
eliminating isolation exercises entirely, others, long limbed individuals for example, need extra
isolation work. A good rule of thumb is to devote 80% of training time to compound lifts and
20% for the rest.
Consistency
Now you know which exercises to use, it is important to highlight the need to practice those
lifts consistently.
You see with all the great programs available to people these days there is a tendency to
“program hop” from one program to another, the idea being that the next program you read
about is the best and it is exactly what you need right now. The problem is you haven’t made
any progress on the initial program and chances are you won’t give the next program a decent
crack of the whip before moving to something new.
Some internet guru’s even try to make this sound like it’s the plan quoting muscle confusion
and advanced periodization schemes. But before the internet lifters would stick with an exercise
until they improved and then would continue to stick with it and make more progress!
I can’t emphasize my point enough but you have to stick with your main exercises for a
minimum of 8 weeks before even considering changing. The problem with changing exercises is
that whenever you do the initial progress you make is learning or relearning the lift if you then
change exercise you haven’t forced the neuromuscular system to improve and adapt (get
stronger!).
Now to give yourself a bit of freedom you can change your assistance exercises, you know the
ones that only take up 20% of your training time, more frequently, say every 4 weeks. But
persevere with your core lifts for multiple months to really reap the benefits
Frequency
Frequency refers to how frequently you train a particular muscle group per week. When
training for strength you need to develop not only the muscles but also the nervous system.
You see the nervous system actually controls the muscles and therefore a more powerful
nervous system results in more force produced by your muscles.
The nervous system responds well to frequent stimulation and therefore must be trained more
than once a week going against all the body-part split bodybuilding programs I’m sure you
have seen.
There are 3 common training splits, body-part split where you train one muscle group per day,
basically trashing it with a lot of volume (sets & reps) then leaving it to rest until next week.
Then upper/lower split where you train upper body twice a week and lower body twice a week
and finally total body split where you train your whole body 3 days a week. Obviously the latter
two splits are more conducive to strength development. Not that you can’t get strong on a
body-part split but you won’t get as strong as possible.
Obviously the more frequently you train, the less volume you can perform. However you will
still get similar volume throughout the whole week. Whether you lift 2 or 3 times a week really
depends on the loading protocol but generally the more frequently you can lift and remain
recovered the better. When training for strength 2 weekly sessions of an exercise is the
minimum.
Loading
Loading refers to both the intensity (weight lifted) and the volume (sets & reps). Intensity is
obviously high to improve strength, it should go without saying that to get stronger you need to
lift heavy objects! Research into Russian weightlifters and powerlifters found that the majority
of their lifts were around the 75-85% of 1RM mark with occasional forays into the higher 85%
area.
Again the actual percentage you use depends on the set/rep protocol but so long as you are
around the 80% figure you will be going well. Going into the 90%+ domain of course is doable
but don’t do it too often and don’t be a “one rep wonder” trying to set a new 1RM every
session. Dan John in his book Easy Strength talks about training to gradually increase your 80%
and sneakily improve your 1RM, a much more achievable plan with less chance of burnout.
In terms of Volume working at the above percentages a good starting point is the classic 5x5, it
has been shown to work time and again but is at the limit of what I would prescribe for
strength work (25 total reps). The minimum effective dose seems to be 10 reps total so if you
work between 10 and 25 reps there are many protocols which have been shown to work. 5x2,
5/3/2, 2x5, 3x3, 3x5, 4x5, 5x4, 5x3, 5x5, 4x4, 6x1, 3/2/3/2, 5/4/3 etc. As you can see the
highest number of reps is 5, for strength there is no need to go higher.
Start Easy
I’m not sure if this gets misunderstood or people just forget because they get excited when
they start a program?! But you don’t see someone decide to run a marathon and begin their
training by running a half marathon. It is about progressing to a level that challenges you but is
achievable at the same time.
I see it all the time though someone gets motivated to start a new program, usually having left
it until the last minute to get in shape, jumps in with both feet, great! They smash themselves
the first session and then the next session they can’t progress or improve. This is one of the big
reasons people become demotivated and stop training or dare I say it program hop.
You see when you first start a new exercise, program, set/rep scheme, whatever, it is a new
stimulus to the body and it will adapt. Therefore you don’t need to go 100 miles an hour to
start, just get it done to a decent level, don’t hurt yourself and turn up next time ready to go a
bit harder. It’s no excuse to train soft but there is a difference between training soft and leaving
room to improve.
An example: Your trying to improve your 5 rep max bench press (who isn’t!!) it is currently
100kg, the program calls for 3x5 on the first session. A good idea is to go 10-20% lighter the
first week, start at 3x5 @ 80/85/90kg with great technique, dominating the weight. At the next
session increase the weight slightly.
Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 is a great example of starting really light, working on technique and then
building up to new rep maxes, then backing off and building back up slightly higher again.
Progression
At the end of principle 5 I touched on one progression technique that is the most commonly
used for strength development, putting more weight on the bar! Obviously you can’t always do
this or we would all be squatting 500kg by now. But luckily there are other ways to progress.
All programs should have some sort of progression plan built into them for them to be
successful.
As well as increasing the intensity the other progression models include increasing volume by
either increasing reps at a certain weight or sets and increasing the density of the training. I
will give examples of all 3.
Rep progression could be starting week 1 with 5x2 @ 80% 1RM, then going to 5x3 the
following week, then 5x4 then finishing on 5x5. If you make every rep you could begin again
with 5x2 @80%+2.5-5kg and build up again. A typical set progression is begin with 3x5, then
4x5, then 5x5 the third week then deload with 3x5 the 4th week.
Density refers to the amount of volume performed per unit of time and is often forgotten about
as a progression model. An example would be to perform as many reps as possible with 80%
1RM in 5mins. Record the number of reps and at the next session try to beat it, if you have,
well, that’s progress! This is a really powerful method but shouldn’t be followed for too long as
it can be quite stressful.
You should be able to see how principles 5 & 6 work together to allow the program to work. It
is imperative to get this right to make long term gains in strength.
It is the combination of these principles that led to naming The Abacus Method, because the
program you are about to learn about is like sliding one counter along an abacus every time
you train which eventually leads to a large increase in volume at a load that is appropriate for
developing strength using compound exercises at an optimal frequency and starting at a level
that is challenging but manageable.
The One Lift Abacus
For simplicity I will explain the program for one lift and then build the rest of the program up
around it, so it all makes sense. You can of course use the protocol for one or two lifts
depending on your goals, for instance Olympic lifters will have great results from using the
Abacus Method for their Squats while continuing their technique on the classical lifts. Anyway
for this example we will use the bench press as the main lift.
First things first we need to select the weight you are going to use. Basically a 5RM or about
85% of 1RM. This needs to be a solid record that you have repeated in training, not a record
that you built up to for 16 weeks and haven't hit since. If you are confident using a percentage
of 1RM that's great but in my experience it is better to use a known 5RM. If you have any
doubt it is always better to error on the side of caution and go lighter, you'll thank me in a few
weeks’ time as this is the weight you will use for the entire 8 weeks.
For this example we will say that your 5RM is 100kg (to make my maths easier later!). You will
perform the Bench Press twice a week, preferably Monday and Thursday, and begin with 5 sets
of 2 reps. The progression is to add one rep to one set every session, so on Thursday of the
first week you would do 1x3 & 4x2 still at the same weight! You progress in that fashion,
adding one rep to one set each session, until session 16 when you perform 5x5.
Now anyone knows that if you can perform 5x5 with your 5RM after 8 weeks that is a brilliant
improvement. The simplicity of the programme is evident, you start with 10 total reps at you
5RM, what some would call the minimum effective dose for strength work, and end up hitting
5x5 with it. When put into practice it is relatively easy! Some sessions will feel tough and others
you will feel stronger than ever, but even when it is a challenge psychologically you only have
to do one extra rep at the next session!
When you look at the volume load, in our example, you start with 1000kg (10 reps x 100kg)
and finish with 2,500kg (25 reps x 100kg). That's a massive improvement but it it's done in
such a way that it is achievable and repeatable.
If you had tried to do 5x5 with that weight in your first session you would most likely have got
5,4,3,2,1 so yes you might have gotten a higher volume load to start (1,500kg) but it would
have been harder to progress. The beauty of the Abacus Method is the ease of progress,
success builds on success and you slowly ease up your strength as opposed to smashing
yourself and burning out.
Before we move on I should explain the rest periods. Begin with 90s rest then as you progress
the rest increases slightly. When you hit 5x3 the rest periods become 2mins, 5x4 becomes
2.5mins and finally the last session, 5x5 has 3mins rest periods. This is another tweak that
makes the mental progression easier and makes the earlier sessions slightly faster paced and
tougher.
Here it is all put together:
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4

Session 1 Session 2 Session 3 Session 4 Session 5 Session 6 Session 7 Session 8
5x2 1x3, 4x2 2x3, 3x2 3x3, 2x2 4x3, 1x2 5x3 1x4, 4x3 2x4, 3x3
90s 90s 90s 90s 90s 2min 2min 2min
Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8

3x4, 2x3 4x4, 1x3 5x4 1x5, 4x4 2x5, 3x4 3x5, 2x4 4x5, 1x4 5x5
2min 2min 2.5min 2.5min 2.5min 2.5min 2.5min 3min
The Abacus Method Full Program
The full program consists of two full body workouts to be performed twice a week, using the same
progression model as the one lift program. The only difference is that you use only 80% 1RM for the
lower body exercises. Session A will be performed on Monday and Thursday and Session B will be
performed on Tuesday and Friday.
Session A
A1: Military Press
A2: Weighted Pull Ups
B: Back Squat
Session B
A1: Bench Press
A2: Bench Pull/Chest Supported Row
B: Deadlift
These exercises can be changed slightly but only like for like eg. A Front Squat instead of Back Squat or
Sumo Deadlift instead of conventional, of that is what you are used to performing. It is important to note
that the two upper body exercises are supersetted, meaning you perform one set of A1 then straight
away one set of A2 then take your rest. Upper body is performed before lower as the lower body work
will fatigue you more before the upper body work whereas the other way round you can warm into the
lower body work.
On completion of this program you can change exercises, again like for like, but I feel this is
the best combination to begin and will give you the most benefits. So there you have it an
incredibly simple program but one that becomes very challenging especially for people who
aren't used to high frequency full body training.
Here is the full program in table format:
Week 1 Week 2
5x2 5x2 1x3, 4x2 1x3, 4x2 2x3, 3x2 2x3, 3x2 3x3, 2x2 3x3, 2x2
90s 90s 90s 90s 90s 90s 90s 90s
Military Bench Military Bench Military Bench Military Bench
Press Press Press Press Press Press Press Press
Pull Ups Bench Pull Pull Ups Bench Pull Pull Ups Bench Pull Pull Ups Bench Pull
Back Squat Deadlift Back Squat Deadlift Back Squat Deadlift Back Squat Deadlift
Week 3 Week 4
4x3, 1x2 4x3, 1x2 5x3 5x3 1x4, 4x3 1x4, 4x3 2x4, 3x3 2x4, 3x3
90s 90s 2min 2min 2min 2min 2min 2min
Week 5 Week 6
3x4, 2x3 3x4, 2x3 4x4, 1x3 4x4, 1x3 5x4 5x4 1x5, 4x4 1x5, 4x4
2min 2min 2min 2min 2.5min 2.5min 2.5min 2.5min
Week 7 Week 8
2x5, 3x4 2x5, 3x4 3x5, 2x4 3x5, 2x4 4x5, 1x4 4x5, 1x4 5x5 5x5
2.5min 2.5min 2.5min 2.5min 2.5min 2.5min 3min 3min
Warming Up
The warm up protocol its really simple 6 upper body mobility moves to prepare you for the
upper exercises and then some lower body mobility during the upper body exercises to prepare
for the squat and deadlift.
Upper Body Warm Up:
Band Shoulder Dislocates x10
Band Pull Aparts x10
Scapular Wall Slides x 10 Klokov Press x 5
Push Ups x 5
Ring Complex x3 (3 of each exercise)
Lower Body Warm Up:
1. Foam Rolling 2-3 x10-20 rolls (concentrate on tight/tender areas)
2. Glute Activation (pick one) x5-10 reps
3. Spinal Flossing/Thoracic/Hip Mobility (pick one) x10 reps
4. Specific Movement Prep (pick one) x5-10 reps
Obviously on some days you might feel that you need more or less of a warmup and that is
fine, it's important to learn what your body needs and there is no point wasting time and
energy if you don't need it. For instance after a long day at work where I have probably taken
3-4 warm ups there is no need for me to do loads, so I would quickly foam roll do some goblet
squats or kettlebell swings and get into it.
Obviously on some days you might feel that you need more or less of a warmup and that is
fine, it's important to learn what your body needs and there is no point wasting time and
energy if you don't need it. For instance after a long day at work where I have probably taken
3-4 warm ups there is no need for me to do loads, so I would quickly foam roll do some goblet
squats or kettlebell swings and get into it.
Following the brief mobility work you perform 3 warm up sets of the exercise at a progressively
heavier weight, building up to you work weight. Perform a set of 5 reps, a set of 3 reps and
finally a set of 1 rep just below your work weight. Make sure you focus on these sets and
perform then exactly as you would your work sets, this way you end up with 8 sets working on
perfect technique.
Here's an example: Bench Pull working weight 100kg

Warmup Set 1: x5 @ 60kg
Work Sets: 5x2 @ 100kg
Assistance Exercises and Protocols:
This is where people can go seriously wrong, do too much and get into trouble. The first thing I
will say is that The Abacus Method is challenging enough and was designed to be a stand-alone
program, assistance exercises are NOT needed for most individuals to progress. However more
advanced athletes may benefit or require some assistance work, even then err on the side of
caution.
If you do decide to do assistance work I advise that after week 4 you only perform such work
on days 2 and 4 (Tues & Fri) and no assistance work during the last 2 weeks. This way you will
remain fresh for those sessions and have rest days after for recovery and during the last 2
weeks you leave all energy to completing the highest volume sessions.
Assistance work shouldn’t be demanding, you should think of it as extra bodybuilding work to
bring up a weak bodypart or to prevent injuries. Stick to isolation and dumbbell exercises for no
more than 3 sets of 8-12 reps with weights that are easy to perform but still give you that
“pump”! Slowly (very!) increase the load but remember go easy, I don’t want to see anyone
shouting and balling whilst curling and performing lateral raises!
Use complementary exercises for the ones you have used previously for instance if you have
just squatted don’t perform glute ham raises as assistance work as they will fatigue your
posterior chain for Deadlifts the next day. Instead I would suggest performing a quad dominant
exercise a split squat or lunge variation instead. This is difficult for upper body so again I
emphasise the need to go light and use isolation exercises. Only perform 1 assistance exercise
for lower body and no more than 3 for upper.
Another approach that I have found effective is to use drop off sets after The Abacus Method
sets. Perform the 5 work sets as prescribed for that day then drop the weight and perform a
set of 12 reps. To begin I recommend 60% of your working weight and then make very small
increases.
Always remember this is additional work and won’t make or break the program, listen to your
body and if you’re tired or sore skip it and recover for the heavy work sets at the next session.
Nutrition:
This isn’t a nutrition book but I feel that a few nutritional tips will really help you get the best
out of the program.
Drink at least 4 litres of water a day
Eat at least 2g of protein per Kg of Bodyweight a day
Eat green veggies with every meal
Eat a fist sized portion of quality carbohydrate with every meal
Avoid processed foods
Supplement with Whey protein and Creatine after training
And there you have it dead simple and to the point. Bottom line, stick to whole foods, which
are nutrient dense and low calorie. Carbohydrate is not the enemy and is important to help us
recover from heavy training. You don’t need a huge amount of supplements but whey and
creatine are the ones that will make a difference.
Conditioning:
As with the assistance exercises conditioning work shouldn’t be overdone, this is a strength
program and most of your energy should be aimed towards adapting to the heavy lifting. If you
are worried about bodyfat levels or are an athlete/crossfitter that needs to keep your
conditioning up I would suggest short high intensity conditioning using kettlebells, bodyweight
exercises and loaded carries.
Here’s a few examples:
A1: Farmers Walk x20 yards @ BW

A2: Prowler Rope Pull x1
1min Rest
X5 Sets
C1: Pull Ups x5
C2: Medball Slams x10
C3: KB Swing x20
Rest as needed!
X4 Sets
If physique enhancement is your goal my Friend Mike Whitfield has over 50 science backed
finishers that helped him lose 100lbs of bodyfat that would be a great addition to The Abacus
Method. Click on the image below to learn more.
Whatever you end up doing in terms of conditioning, I suggest you perform it separately to
your heavy strength work. I find for best results do your conditioning in the morning and
strength work in the evening, schedule permitting. This way the last thing you do in the day will
be the strength work and therefore (without getting too sciencey!) your body will preferentially
adapt to it.
Periodisation:
Periodisation has been built up and complicated so much that most strength coaches get a
headache just planning their morning. Let’s get a bit of clarity on how you can use it to get the
best out of The Abacus Method for the long haul and what you should do after completing the
program.
Periodisation can be defined as the manipulation of volume and intensity of training to improve
performance at a desired moment in time. A basic preiodisation model takes an athlete from
high volume, low intensity general training to low volume, high intensity more specific training
and then tapers off for competition.
But how can periodization help the average strength enthusiast? Well, research into
periodization shows us that certain physical qualities can be developed better following a
specific training approach aimed at another physical quality. For instance, it is easier to put on
muscle following a fat loss program because your body is better primed to utilise extra nutrients
to increase protein synthesis and muscle growth.
We can use this information to help plan our subsequent training after The Abacus Method is
completed. I would recommend moving to a higher rep training program focusing on 6-12 reps
per set for 4-6 weeks before returning to The Abacus Method with heavier weights. This way
you will get good results from hypertrophy because you will be using heavier weights and your
nervous system will be primed to recruit more muscle fibres following The Abacus Method, and
after that when you return to The Abacus Method your work capacity will have improved also.
For those who want to go straight back into another 8 week cycle of The Abacus Method, this is
doable but requires a few changes to the exercises. Only slight changes eg. Different
grip/stance, Fat Gripz, trap bar instead of regular etc. and make sure you take at least one
week to test for your new 5RM’s with your chosen lifts.
Some people will want to test there 1RM’s following the program and I can understand why,
however, I must urge you not to. I don’t feel the need to test 1RM’s too often especially if
you’re not a competitive powerlifter and even then you should only really perform a true test in
competition. I know people will still want to so the only thing I can suggest is to work at heavy
triples, doubles and singles for 3-4 weeks slowly building up the weight before testing properly.
This way you have got your body used to 90%+ weights whereas The Abacus Method was all
about slowly nudging up your 85%. Your strength will improve but you need to do some
specific work to transfer it to what you want to achieve before this is realised (remember
paragraph 3 of this chapter).
Personally I think one can cycle between The Abacus Method and hypertrophy programs for
years and make consistent progress but I realise everyone has different goals and therefore
understand people will use it for different purposes. Whatever they maybe go for them whole-
heartedly and have no regrets!
But how can periodization help the average strength enthusiast? Well, research into
periodization shows us that certain physical qualities can be developed better following a
specific training approach aimed at another physical quality. For instance, it is easier to put on
muscle following a fat loss program because your body is better primed to utilise extra nutrients
to increase protein synthesis and muscle growth.
FAQs:
Why Use 80% 1RM for Lower Body?

Simply because your lower back won’t be able to cope with such a high frequency of loading.
One the one lift Abacus you can hit Squats or deadlifts twice a week at 85% and recover but
throw in another 2 sessions and its too much. Don’t worry though 80% will still be a challenge
but you will be able to make progress with it. Remember key 4 Start Light!
Can I use different exercises?

Of course! Just switch like for like. Eg. DB bench for Bench Press, Trapbar Deadlift for Deadlift
etc. If you have exercises that you know you body adapts to or tolerates better use them.
Why isn’t there more variety in The Abacus Method?

Because variety sucks for adaptation. If you don’t train something with consistency and
progression you won’t adapt to anything. If you want to be entertained do some “different”
things in your assistance window.
I like to get a “pump” can I continue to use assistance exercises in the last 2 weeks?
No. This is for two reasons. Firstly, it allows you extra energy reserves to lift the higher volume
Abacus sessions and to recover from them. Secondly it acts almost as a deload to allow you to
peak you strength. Pump work is great but it is only to assist your strength gains. Don’t let it
hinder it.
Will I build muscle on The Abacus Method?

Yes you will. It is not a max muscle plan but so long as your nutrition is good you will. If you
get stronger and increase volume you will build muscle.
I’m trying to lose bodyfat at the moment will The Abacus Method work?
It will work as a strength program! But seriously you can get lean with it. Again, so long as
your nutrition is on point. You may need to focus more on recovery modalities and conditioning
but it is possible.
I’m in the last week of the program, What should I do next?

Firstly reread the Periodisation chapter. If you still don’t know consider your goals. If you are
training to be stronger, healthier and look good naked, follow a hypertrophy program for 6-8
weeks. If you want to get better at sport, do a power or Oly lifting program for 6-8 weeks. If
you are a powerlifter or weightlifter do a 3 week peaking phase and test your max lifts. After
this you should be in a primed state to begin The Abacus Method again, only stronger!
About The Author:
Jamie Bain is a highly experienced strength and conditioning

coach who is currently working in the UK’s top Rugby League the
AVIVA Premiership. He has worked extensively in rugby and has
also worked with football, netball and ice hockey athletes to name
a few.
Jamie’s passion is to take complex training subjects and make

them easily understandable to the layperson and make the
information, usually kept in elite strength and conditioning,
available to anyone who takes the time to learn the simple
principles. He is devoted to helping people find what works for
them and what they need to do to get better.
Jamie does this through his blog strengthmadesimple.com and

has also had articles published by elitefts.com and rugbyrenegade.com. He has an MSc in
strength and conditioning and is a qualified British Weightlifting and Precision Nutrition level 1
coach.
Recommended Programmes:

Strength Made Simple The Abacus Method

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Copyright © 2015 Jamie Bain

First published June 2015

“Standing on the shoulders of giants” – Isaac Newton

The Right Exercises

Here it is all put together:

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4

Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8

Here is the full program in table format:

Upper Body Warm Up:

Band Shoulder Dislocates x10

Band Pull Aparts x10

Ring Complex x3 (3 of each exercise)

1. Foam Rolling 2-3 x10-20 rolls (concentrate on tight/tender areas)

2. Glute Activation (pick one) x5-10 reps

3. Spinal Flossing/Thoracic/Hip Mobility (pick one) x10 reps

Here's an example: Bench Pull working weight 100kg

Assistance Exercises and Protocols:

Here’s a few examples:

A1: Farmers Walk x20 yards @ BW

Why Use 80% 1RM for Lower Body?

Can I use different exercises?

Why isn’t there more variety in The Abacus Method?

Will I build muscle on The Abacus Method?

I’m in the last week of the program, What should I do next?

Jamie Bain is a highly experienced strength and conditioning

Jamie’s passion is to take complex training subjects and make

Jamie does this through his blog strengthmadesimple.com and

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