He
also briefy brushes on Strongman training, plyos, gymnastics, GPP and manual labour
jobs. It's all written in his entertaining colloquial Wiggy vernacular. eg.
"
I don't have room in my house for an Olympic Barbell. Oh, Boo-friggin'-hoo- why
don't you cry me a river! " LMAO
Lower
Volume:
Doing
less sets is the crux of this second book. SnD1 had you doing 20+ sets per exercise.
Here, the volume is way, way less - 5 setsof singles/doubles + a set 8-12 reps
+ 1 soooperslow set. Now much of the advice given in this second book appears
like a U-turn. A set of 8-12 reps can't really be described as 'Singles &
Doubles' any more can it? Wiggy explains his thinking in his What, How & Why
chapter.
Wiggins
explains that SnD1 served to build a 'good, solid base' and in SnD2 you can reduce
your workload leaving more time for other stuff, like MMA. A lot of this begins
to look like simple Olympic /
Powerlifting / PTTP style routines,
which is OK because they work. The lighter 8-12 rep set looks like a typical 'back-off'
set that's common practice in powerlifting. And the last 2-3 minute single rep
set is very reminiscent of the 1minute-up-1minute-down sets that Dr Ellington
Darden used to stick on the end of his High Intensity workouts. So whilst the
first book seemed radical, the second book looks well, more normal.
Exercises:
There
are loads and it fills most of the book. Around 90 pages of exercises in all,
with 20 of them bodyweight exercises. Most of the stuff is very basic, and (+
much of it is covered in book 1), arguably unnecessary. Pretty much anyone who
is interested in such a book will be well familiar with the exercises shown. (Conversely,
the olympic style lifts could have done with more pics and explanations of the
dipping phase of the jerk and power snatch. Wiggys take on the front squat is
excellent though.)
Wiggy,
to be fair is perfectly aware of this and says it's more of a guide to grip and
stance variations. It's just a shame these pages couldn't be filled with more
writing, more methodology, which Wiggy so obviously is talented at.
Summary:
Every product should have a clearly defined USP (Unique Selling Point) and in
his first book, the USP was loud and clear. Multiple sets of very low reps + short
rest + sandbags = strength+endurance.
With the second book's return to conventional barbells, lower set, higher rep
programs the USP becomes a little blurred. It sails close to being another basic
weight training course, kinda like the old school 5x1 routine Kubik writes about
in Dinosaur Training with a Darden
slow repper added as a 'finisher'. The multiple grip positions looks like old
Vince Gironda style bodybuilding wisdom.
It's a nice blend and by no means bad, far from it, it's
great basic stuff with a twist, just not as innovative as book
1. For many, however, the shorter routines in SnD2 may be easier to fit into your
busy lifestyles and that's important.
As
a stand-alone manual, Singles and Doubles 2 is alright, however it's way better
consumed with book 1. Think of the
first book as the main course and SnD2 as the pudding.
