The One Change I Made that Improved My Physique the Most
- Jake Hicks
- Sep 4
- 10 min read
Most people start training and never make any drastic changes. I'm here to tell you, you should absolutely explore different training methodologies and ideas. Why train for years without at least giving alternative methods a thought? This was with out a doubt part of how I was able to come across the most impactful change I ever made to drastically improve my physique. Read below for the details.
CLICK HERE to watch the video version on YouTube.
The one change I made that had the biggest impact on my physique
I want to walk you through the single change I made that transformed my physique more than anything else. I’m speaking from personal experience—years as an athlete, then years coaching at a performance facility, and thousands of hours under the bar. If you know me, you know I like to lift. I also like results. Many people think I have a lot of strong opinions and many bias but the truth is, if the results are there I would abandon any belief I currently have and trade it for the one with more results. That's all that matters to me in training. What I discovered, accidentally at first and then deliberately, was that the way most people chase size is the opposite of the most commonly accepted approach.
Why this matters (short version)
I swapped machine-dominant, isolation-heavy training for movement-based, compound lifting using barbells and free weights. I then applied strength-style loading and low-rep sets with a clear plan for accumulating high-quality tonnage, while managing fatigue and stopping short of literal failure. That progression—movement-first, heavy-but-smart, and volume-quality controlled—changed my body in ways that curls and lateral-raise supersets dropsets etc never did. Allow me to explain.
My background: where I started and why the change was accidental
I grew up training like a bodybuilder. Machines, cables, isolation—lateral raises, bicep curls, leg extensions, you name it. My goal was to get as big as possible. Even as a collegiate baseball player, I was always leaning toward that mindset that bigger meant stronger and that bodybuilding was the way.
After my baseball career I started coaching and volunteering at a performance facility called Athletes Performance. It was an open gym—no machines, just bars and dumbbells. That forced me into a new way of training. I spent all day in the facility, my only chance to train was to find some free time and train at the facility. The problem was, the machines I normally used weren't there. And quite honestly, it was very taboo to train like a bodybuilder as a performance coach. So I had to learn to use compound movements as the core of my program. It was inconvenient at first, but it produced results so dramatic that when I later returned to gyms with machines, I still preferred the barbell and dumbbells.
The two core shifts that changed everything
What I want you to understand is that two concept shifts were fundamental:
Movement-first, compound-dominant training — prioritize barbells, dumbbells, pull-ups, presses, squats, deadlifts, and their variations over isolation machines.
Use strength-style loading for hypertrophy — low-rep, heavier sets to accumulate meaningful tonnage while managing fatigue and staying short of literal failure.
Shift 1: Compound movements build more than machines
Compound lifts recruit large amounts of muscle mass and allow you to handle more absolute load. That matters for density and size. There’s a reason powerlifters and strong athletes get thick—the barbell forces whole-body recruitment and high mechanical tension in a way that cables and single-joint machines don't.
That doesn’t mean machines are useless. They have their place for warm-ups, prehab, and targeted finishing work. But if you want to transform your frame—thick chest, dense back, thick arms and legs—barbells and strict bodyweight moves like pull-ups and dips need to be your foundation.
Shift 2: Training strength to elicit hypertrophy
People often categorize movements as “strength” or “hypertrophy” exercises. That’s a false dichotomy. The exercise itself doesn’t make something strength or hypertrophy—rep scheme and loading do. A deadlift, an RDL, a pull-up, or even a strict military press can be trained for hypertrophy if you program them with the right volume and load.
I used to accept the conventional approach: 3 × 10–12 for hypertrophy, 3 × 5 for strength. But I flipped that. I asked myself: if the majority of people are average and train one way, what happens if you do the opposite? What is the opposite of average?? So I flipped it and instead of 3 sets of 10 I started doing 10 sets of 3. I didn't know at the time why it worked better. It took years to fully understand and refine. But I applied low-rep heavy sets to barbell movements and even exercises like pull ups and RDL commonly labeled "accessory exercises". The result: more muscle, more density, and pants that no longer fit. Buying clothes all the sudden became a real issue.
Core principles I learned and now use
There are a few concepts I want to make crystal clear because they’re not intuitive to a lot of lifters.
1. Not all volume is equal—prioritize high-quality tonnage
When I say "volume," I don’t just mean sets × reps. I mean accumulated tonnage done at high mechanical tension and with high outputs. The quality of that volume matters. Low-quality reps—half-hearted reps, extremely light weights that don’t tax fast-twitch units—don’t drive the same adaptations as heavy, intentful reps.
So instead of 3 × 10 where reps 1–7 are relatively “easy” and only the last few are meaningful, I prefer low-rep sets with heavier load where each rep operates in the zone of high mechanical tension. This shortens repetition time to meaningful tension and makes it possible to accumulate more total relevant tonnage across a session/week while keeping fatigue manageable. Oh by the way, turns out lifting heavier weight more often is great for strength.
2. The speed and intent of the rep matter
Tonnage is great but it isn’t just weight × reps—how you execute the rep is important. I want explosive intent on the concentric (where appropriate), even in eccentrics, and technical focus. The bar speed is a useful feedback tool: if your second rep is faster than your first and then the third begins to slow markedly, reps there after are likely accumulating fatigue. This is the toughest part to understand but you want to stop before you accumulate too much fatigue.
3. Failure is contextual—stop at the right time
“Failure” isn’t simply when you can’t squeeze out another rep. That is way too far IMO. If you train for hypertrophy, let me offer a reframe: failure is when your bar speed/rep quality starts to decline in a way that shows you’ve exhausted your capacity to recruit the targeted motor units for that set. In other words, stop when your reps start to slow and quality drops.
True failure in the weight room is not pressing until you cannot physically move the bar; it’s continuing past the point where your motor unit recruitment becomes inhibited by fatigue.
Why? Because continued reps after recruitment has dropped create unnecessary fatigue that harms your ability to perform future high-quality sets. Managing fatigue lets you repeat high-output sets and accumulate more total effective work.
4. Recruit the fast-twitch fibers—train like a sprinter
Sprinting is about high outputs and managing fatigue. You don’t sprint until you can’t run anymore. You sprint short, hard reps with long rests to maximize fast-twitch recruitment. It’s the same in the weight room especially for speed/power and hypertrophy. You want to tax type II fibers, but you must manage fatigue so those fibers stay available across the session and week.
Low-rep heavy sets do exactly this: they activate type II fibers effectively and are repeatable, allowing you to accumulate tonnage without fatiguing out early.
How I applied these principles in practice
Here are the practical changes I made and how to implement them yourself.
1. Swap many machine/isolation sets for compound heavy sets
Trade biceps curls for weighted pull-ups or low-rep sets of heavy chin-ups.
Trade lateral raises for strict overhead presses (military press), focusing on heavy low-rep sets and progressive overload.
Trade leg extensions for variations of squats (back squat, front squat, pin squats, Anderson squats) and deadlifts (conventional, sumo, deficit, RDLs).
That doesn’t mean eliminating all isolation. Keep them for finishers, warm ups, or addressing weak links. But your training should be anchored by heavy compound movements.
2. Use low-rep sets to accumulate tonnage
Instead of 3x10, try sets of 1–5 reps over many sets. I’ve used protocols of any combination of 8-15 sets using 1–3 reps per set. It sounds extreme, but this accumulates huge amounts of heavy, relevant tonnage and drives real structural change.
Example: Instead of 3 × 12 lat pulldowns, try 8-15 sets of weighted pull-ups at 1–3 reps per set spread across the session with full rests. The difference is raw mechanical tension and recruitment, oh and by the way, the pump is a byproduct of this style of training and it's a bigger and better pump than your isolation high rep sets.
3. Question all "accessory" lifts
RDLs are often treated as an accessory and done with high reps or light weights. Stop doing that. You can make any exercise a primary strength exercise simply by prioritizing the time you spend on them, and the reps, sets and load you use. RDL has MANY benefits for strength and hypertrophy. Treat them like deadlift variations—train them heavy and test 1-3 rep maxes periodically. Same idea for heavy variations of pull-ups, rows, and single-leg work. The accessory label is a programming choice, not a physical limitation.
4. Press Overhead
There’s a belief in some athletic circles that pressing overhead is dangerous. That’s a myth. Unfortunately I didn't realize this until I challenged it myself at the age of 24. Pressing overhead develops mid-traps, upper back thickness, and overall shoulder girdle density. If you’ve ever painted ceilings or done sustained overhead work, you know the back-of-shoulder soreness develops when that area is strong. I started pressing strict military press and it paid huge dividends for shoulder thickness and posture.
5. Manage fatigue—learn when to stop
Don’t train to collapse. Train to high outputs, then rest enough to perform the next high-output set. That may mean longer rests and fewer reps per set than you’re used to. The payoff is the ability to repeat high-quality sets and accumulate more effective workload overall.
Programming guide: how to start (6–9 week experiment)
If you’re committed to trying this, give it 6–9 weeks. Short experiments don’t work. Go all in. Here’s a sample way to structure your first block. Adjust the exercises for your preferences and equipment.
General rules
Choose 2–4 main compound movements for each session (e.g., squat, deadlift variation, press, pull-up).
Use 1–5 rep ranges for main sets, focusing on heavy loads that create meaningful bar speed and tension.
Accumulate total tonnage across a session/week by adding sets rather than reps per set. Example: instead of 3 × 10, do 8-15 sets of 1–3 reps spread across the session.
Rest long enough to hit high outputs on each set (1-3 minutes depending on intensity and lift).
Finish with a couple of accessory single joint work sets at moderate reps if desired (8–12 reps), but keep them controlled and purposeful.
Here are some FREE training sessions that reflect these concepts for you to download and try yourself
Chest: Bench Press CLICK HERE
Legs: Squat/Deadlift CLICK HERE
Back/Biceps: DB Row CLICK HERE
Shoulders: Seated Overhead Press CLICK HERE
Back/Biceps: Pull Ups CLICK HERE
Common objections and rebuttals
“But bodybuilding machines give you a pump that builds size.”
Pumps feel good and are a byproduct of mechanical tension, but they’re not the endpoint. Real dense muscle shows up outside the pump—not even a sweat suit or pump cover hides real, dense muscle. Pumps are a warm-up. If your goal is to actually build denser, long-term mass, use methods that create mechanical tension and recruit fast-twitch fibers repeatedly and progressively.
“Isn’t heavy low-rep training risky?”
All training carries risk. The risk comes from poor technique, sudden jumps in load, and lack of progression—regardless of rep range. Low-rep heavy training, when programmed correctly with good technique and appropriate progression, often reduces the total fatigue and joint wear caused by endless high-rep grinding. You can manage risk by building volume slowly and treating accessory lifts as primary when they deserve it.
“Won’t I only get stronger, not bigger?”
If you apply the right volume and progression, strength gains and hypertrophy often go hand in hand. Strength-style loading allows you to use higher loads, recruiting large motor units. When you accumulate enough of that quality tonnage, hypertrophy follows. Strength is a vehicle to muscle growth—especially if you allow for repeated high-quality sets and manage fatigue.
Examples of exercise swaps to get started today
Replace seated cable rows with heavy weighted pull-ups or barbell rows(low-rep sets)
Replace lateral raise supersets with strict overhead press as a primary movement
Replace machine leg extensions with front/back squat variations and RDLs
Replace standing machine biceps curls with heavy weighted chin-ups and low-rep barbell curls as finishers
Final thoughts: be different, but give it time
Most people do what’s average. If you want to be different, do the opposite of the average approach—at least for a time. That doesn’t mean being contrarian for contrarian’s sake. It means making deliberate choices: compound-first, heavy-but-smart, and volume that is quality, not just quantity.
If you’re currently a bodybuilder who chases the pump every session, consider this: the pump is a warm-up and a sign you’re warmed up. If you’re willing to apply barbell methods, low-rep loading, and tonnage accumulation, you might have to temporarily redefine what you think hypertrophy looks like. Commit to a 6–9 week block, find a good coach or follow a proven plan, and be patient. There’s a learning curve, but the rewards are structural and lasting.
“If you want to get bigger, stop training like a bodybuilder. Train to build your body.”
That quote sums it up for me. I didn’t invent these ideas—people from multiple strength disciplines have used them for years—but what I did do is apply them with intent and consistency. I traded machines for bars, swapped high-rep isolation for low-rep compound tonnage, learned to manage fatigue, and stopped treating failure as a badge of honor.
If you’re ready to see real, visible changes—thickness under your clothing, arms that aren’t just pumped but truly dense, a back that changes your silhouette—start with a movement-first plan, use low-rep heavy sets to accumulate quality tonnage, and manage fatigue like a sprinter manages sprints. Train smart, be patient, and the results will come.
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