Creighton Personal Training

Creighton Personal Training Group exercise. Private Training. Small group training. Nutrition. Shape up, get fit and burn fat. Personal Training Studio

17/04/2026

HOW ONE TINY STUDY SOLD THE WORLD ON 3 SETS

In 1962, Berger ran a study on bench press strength.
He compared 1, 2, and 3 sets over 12 weeks in college-aged men.

Strength gains were roughly:
1 set: ~23.6%
2 sets: ~24.0%
3 sets: ~26.3%

So 3 sets only beat 1 set by about 2–3 percentage points.
That small difference is easily within normal training noise.
But this paper was treated as proof that “3 sets is superior.”

The story doesn’t end there.

Berger later did follow-up work with different set/rep schemes.
Those later results didn’t clearly replicate the idea that 3 sets is best or that one specific scheme was magic. When people went back and re‑analysed his work, they found the advantage for 3 sets was small and shaky, not a slam‑dunk case for mandatory multiple sets.

What that means for you:
1 hard set can still build a lot of strength.
More sets can help somewhat, but not like dogma suggests.
The right number of sets should fit the person, the goal, and the schedule,
not a rule from one old study.

Key Takeaways
The original Berger study showed only a tiny edge for 3 sets. Later analysis and follow‑up work weakened the “3 sets is best” claim.
Programming should be individualised, not chained to an old 3‑set rule.

Too many people just following blindly what they have been "taught" without critical thinking and asking... WHY?
At CPT, we deal in those why's 😉

12/04/2026

Most people don’t stick with bad training because it works…

They stick with it because they’ve already invested so much into it.

That’s called the sunk cost fallacy.

“I’ve been doing this program for months”

“I’ve always trained this way”

“I’ve put too much into this to stop now”

But here’s the truth:

Past effort doesn’t make something effective.

It just makes it familiar.

If your training is:
Beating you up.
Not progressing.
Taking more than it’s giving.

You don’t need to double down…

You need to change direction.

It’s not too late to switch to something simple, structured, and actually effective.

We’re not committed to exercises.
We’re committed to results.

If you’re ready to train smarter, not just harder come try a week of ICE.

Comfort doesn’t get results. Better decisions do.

www.creightonpt.com

Nice work Tania.She now has her Mother training along side her, to ensure they are both fit and strong.
09/04/2026

Nice work Tania.
She now has her Mother training along side her, to ensure they are both fit and strong.

02/04/2026

One of the most common things I see as a health and fitness professional:

Someone has a problem with their body…
We identify exactly what’s going on…
We give them a clear, simple plan to fix it…

…and then the part that actually matters doesn’t happen.

The work at home.

It’s not usually a knowledge issue.
It’s not that the plan is too complicated.

It’s this:

• People overestimate how much they’re doing
• They underestimate how much consistency matters
• They rely on motivation instead of routine
• They want the result, but not the repetition

The truth is, most results don’t come from what we do together in the session.
They come from the small, boring things done consistently outside of it.

Your prescribed activation exercises.
A short walk to get you up from the desk you've been hunched over for hours.
Tracking your food if you're goal is fat loss.

Repeating it… again and again.

Now here’s the part most people don’t think about - the psychology of it:

• There’s no immediate reward, so it feels pointless in the moment

• No one is watching, so it’s easy to skip

• After a long day, even 5 minutes feels like effort

• “I’ll do it later” becomes “I didn’t do it”

• It’s not part of your identity yet, so it stays optional

Humans are wired for what’s easy now, not what pays off later.

No hype. No magic. Just ex*****on.

If you actually want change, the question isn’t:
“What’s the best program?”

It’s:
“Am I doing the simple things consistently when no one is watching?”

We’ll do our part in the sessions.We’ll guide you, coach you, and give you exactly what you need.

You just need to do your part to help you reach your goals.

17/03/2026

The best part about ICE is knowing all you have to do is show up.
Everything else is handled. Proven methods, no fluff, no wasted effort.
Just results. 🏆

12/03/2026

Most people don’t realise how small the actual training stimulus is.
If a lift takes about 3–4 seconds per rep and you do 8–12 reps, that’s only ~25–50 seconds under tension for a working set.
A session with 5 exercises equals roughly 2–4 minutes of real muscular tension.
Train twice per week and that’s only 4–8 minutes for the entire week.

There are 604,800 seconds in a week.
Your strength training stimulus?

Around 0.04–0.08% of your week.
Less than 0.1% of your time can improve strength, muscle, metabolism, bone density, and long-term health.
A very small investment.
But one of the best you can make for your body. 💪

08/03/2026

International Women’s Day

Today is a good reminder of something I see every week inside the studio.
Strong women don’t all look the same.
Some are lifting heavier than they ever thought possible.
Some are just learning how to train properly for the first time.
Some show up consistently even when life is chaotic.
Some are rebuilding confidence after years away from exercise.
Strength isn’t one thing. It’s not a body type.
It’s the decision to keep investing in yourself.

To the women here who choose to train hard, learn, and look after their health, I see the effort you put in and I respect it.

Wherever you are in your training journey is perfectly fine.
What matters most is simply making time for your health in whatever way works for you.
And if we can ever help along the way, our door is always open.

Happy International Women’s Day to all the women in our community. 💪

P.S
Kyla Spicer thanks for being a wonderful part of CPT and all you do for people.
🫶

11/02/2026

💬 Client win that matters

A client said something to me this week that’s easy to overlook, but huge in real life:
She no longer gets low back pain or sciatic pain, and hasn’t for a while.

Not from stretching. Not from massages. Not from core drills.
From consistent resistance training.

Here’s why that matters 👇
Strength training builds tolerance in the muscles, tendons, and connective tissue that support the spine and hips.
It improves load sharing, stability, and confidence in movement, instead of fear and guarding.

Over time, the body becomes more resilient, not more fragile.
Pain doesn’t always mean something is “out of place.”
Often it means the system isn’t strong enough yet.

This is why we lift.
Not for six-packs.
Not for ego.
But to move through life with less pain and more capacity.

That’s the real win. 💪

03/02/2026

We spend a lot of time upgrading phones, cars, and homes,
But the body is where we actually live.
Health isn’t about looks.
It’s about strength, function, and resilience.
Exercise is how we service the body,
keeping it capable, mobile, and strong for life.
When health is taken away, everything else fades into the background. 🗝️
Look after your body. It’s the only one you get.

27/01/2026

I have always admired Dorian Yates for his no-nonsense approach to strength training.

Being a six-time Mr Olympia, who spent 45 minutes in the gym three times a week or so, as opposed to hours upon hours like his opposition.

He is now an expert trainer and deals with non-enhanced people, like the general population, in the gym all the time.

Women's strength training matters.
This clip could be the most important thing someone needs to hear today.

When the 🐐 speaks, I tend to listen.

16/01/2026

The Barbell Jack saves you time.
I'd recommend it to anybody.

Evidence-based exercise works. Every time.Programs built on: • Consistent training• Full-body coverage of all major musc...
14/01/2026

Evidence-based exercise works. Every time.

Programs built on:
• Consistent training
• Full-body coverage of all major muscle groups
• Sustainable weekly doses that can be maintained for life

…will always outperform programs that throw everything plus the kitchen sink at people.

The research is clear:
Long-term adherence beats short-term intensity.
Doing the basics well repeatedly, produces better strength, health, and longevity outcomes than extreme, unsustainable approaches.

There’s nothing flashy about consistency.
But it works.
👉 Learn more about how we train at Creighton Personal Training:
https://www.creightonpt.com

Address

Armidale, NSW

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Creighton Personal Training posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Creighton Personal Training:

Shortcuts

Share