About to start the above workout but had a few questions first, on different actual workout phases (not warmups) Ian recommends different rep ranges can someone tell me the percentages of 1 rep max i should be lifting for 6 reps, 4reps, 3 reps so on, so on? Is their a pattern i can follow? As you can tell i haven’t been lifting weights for long and some help wouldn’t go a miss. Thanks.
There is no way to determine this since we all have different fiber make ups. If you follow Ian’s program correctly you should be able to gauge how much weight to use in weeks 2,3,5,6,8,9,11,12 by intentionally going too light in the first week of each phase.
I agree, there is a tremendous amount of
variation. Most people though have a fairly
linear response in the 6-3 rep range:
what I mean by this is, each rep is “worth”
about the same number of pounds.
So if let’s say you can do 6 reps with
200 lb, and can do 3 reps with 245,
then you could do 5 reps with 215, or 4 reps with 230.
Basically, you want to record your results
in your training log, and based on past
experience, choose weights appropriately.
If you have no past experience then sometimes
your actual reps will be quite different
from what you planned, but that’s ok. You
still get a good workout. However at more
advanced levels it’s better to train
progressively according to an accurate
plan that can be achieved, but which is
not “too” progressive, trying for more
improvement than can reasonably be expected
to be achieved. This takes experience.
However, let’s say (and this is a different
problem than the Ian King workout you mention)
that you plan to do training cycles going
from 60% 1RM to 90% 1RM. On a given exercise,
you see that it looks like you get 3 reps
at 90% 1RM (estimated) and 9 reps at 60%.
So, you might plan to drop a rep every
week, starting at 9 reps and ending at 3
reps, for a 7 week cycle. You hope to gain
7% in strength – reasonable for a
relative beginner, not reasonable for an
advanced trainer. So right now, the 9
rep and 3 rep values are say 200 and 300
lb. You want to go up to 320 or so. So,
in 6 increments (not 7), the weight increases 120
lb, or 20 lb per week.
What, 7% per 7 weeks isn’t fast enough? That rate would give a stunning 65% strength
increase over a year! (compound interest.)
You can see where later training cycles will
have to have smaller increases.