Are effective reps legit

Training Beginners
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I am starting to think just doing 1 set to failure 2x a week is not going to work. I started regressing and being beat up so I’m on a deload now and reassessing my plan.

I read about the effective reps model and I ran the calculations…. Right now I can do 10 bodyweight pullups with good form. So if the last 5 reps are the effective reps, I am getting 5 Eff Reps. But after that I am fried and can only do 5 the next set, so no Eff Reps extra. If I only do 8 on the first set (2 RIR), I get 3 Eff Reps and then I’m pretty sure I could do 8 again and get 3 more Eff Reps totaling to 6 Eff Reps. Would this be better?

I am trying to understand why they say volume = hypertrophy. Could this have something to do with it? Because doing a set to failure will fatigue you so much that it makes it a lot harder to get effective reps in more than one set? Or is the whole effective reps thing not real?

Thanks. I am just trying to understand

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Then you are doing something wrong.

They are wrong

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I have been progressing for 3 months now. Hit a wall and started regressing so I’m deloading. It’s normal. I have a 0.75x bw X 5 rep OHP

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From 1 set to failure 2x a week?

That is not a training issue.

Deloading is not a thing when training for hypertrophy.

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Well I forgot I actually doubled everything so it was 2 sets to failure 2x a week on 11 exercises. I might have impaired recovery due to chronic erosive gastritis that I developed half a decade ago

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Which 11? What% of 1rm? Are you really going to failure?

I can see for instance if you’re squatting 85% to failure, then you do another set to failure immediately after that with the same weight how it could be taxing. Now if you’re doing curls to failure, whoopdy doo. But if you’re doing big lifts at too high intensity to absolute failure 4 sets a week, it could be too much.

You’re not going to overtrain doing pullups.

Do you have a log?

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My routine with my last PRs:

Height 5’3 Weight 160lbs BF % around 30

BB OHP - 120lbs 5

Pullups - BW 10

Cable Overhead Tricep Extension (Single Arm) - 17.5lbs 15

JM Press - 105lbs 5 (this is a brand new movement I’m still progressing fast)

Incline Curls - 25lbs 13

Pinwheel Curl - 22.5lbs 11

Leaning Lateral Raises - 20lbs 20

BB RDL - 230lbs 12 (not to true muscular failure, probably 2-4 RIR. I’m still progressing 5lbs every week or so)

Seated Leg Curls - 60lbs 10

Leg Extensions - 150lbs 10

Facepulls - 22.5lbs 12 (this is also a brand new movement so I am still progressing fast)

Neck Curls - BW 4x25

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I don’t think the muscles themselves are the problem, I think it’s mostly CNS fatigue. I am a naturally anxious person. I also have been in my novice stage for 13 years and what always happens is I go hard for 2-3 months, get my muscle memory gains and then just lose energy. This happens no matter what diet or training style I have done. Well this time I am going to try taking a week off and see if my energy comes back.

For instance, in January I was really hyped up and I was loving life and killing it in the gym. But as time went on I just lost my drive and overall energy until one day I was just wrecked and didn’t want to do anything. This happened 3 weeks after I decided to go from 1 set of everything to 2 sets.

I really don’t know. Like I want to get in the gym and crush it but I just can’t get myself powered up right now. It has to be something to do with fatigue accumulation. I took a light day (last tuesday) and reduced volume to just 1 set of everything, then tried a normal heavy day (last friday) with just 1 set of everything and I do feel better but still not how I was a couple months ago. I feel like by this friday I might be able to PR on OHP and Pullups again but who knows.

It might be some mental thing though, because I kind of feel like I could go in and squat and bench, something I haven’t done in 6 weeks. I also feel like I could go in and do a different variation of pullups and do alright. Maybe I develop mental blocks on exercises after some time.

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Serious question: do you enjoy this hobby?

Also, how did you come up with this routine?

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I have no words.

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Is that your typical gym routine???

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I’ve seen this before.

I suggest OP trying less intense training program/method. Training hard first few months, then losing interest, then repeating the process sounds like a burnout.

It’s better to train “less optimally” and with less intensity if it keeps you going longer.

I’m not going down to the volume vs intensity discussion further. It’s not an on/off switch which makes you get gains. It’s a slider like most things in training. Different approaches have different value.

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I’m just some douche on the internet and not actually seeing you train so take it for what it’s worth, but I don’t think your current routine is burning you out. If you’re feeling fatigued I feel like there must be other factors, for instance you mentioned anxiety. Are you bored in the gym, feel like you’re just going through the motions?

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Height 5’3 Weight 160lbs BF % around 30

Is anything being done to address this?

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Tell us more about the different styles of training you’ve tried before.

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I enjoy it when I feel good. But when I don’t feel good then I don’t.

I came up with this routine by wanting to hit each muscle twice a week and not wanting to go to the gym every day.

I think this might help. Like if I just go to 2RIR instead of failure so it’s not as mentally daunting. Thanks

I do kind of feel like that but at the same time I mentally WANT to go hard, I just can’t muster up the gusto. Like my battery’s drained.

Well I can’t grow any taller if that’s what you’re asking. Jk. Yeah I have done a lot of work over the years changing my mental and also learning about how to eat to make it easy to lose fat. Right now I have a condition called Gastritis that makes me feel way more hungry and tired than I should be, but I am healing from it. I don’t eat any processed food, I haven’t had processed sugar in 3 months. I eat fruits, vegetables, lean meat, nonfat greek yogurt, potatoes, beans, nuts, seeds, stuff like that and it’s working good for me.

Short term plan is I want to get down to 150lbs in 2-3 months. Long term plan is I want to recomp at 150lbs until I’m 20% bodyfat and then see what I want to do from there.

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Some people can grind away at the same routine and exercises for years. Their discipline to train exceeds their motivation. That might not fit you and that’s fine as long as you understand it and adjust accordingly. It’s okay to change your routine to keep from getting bored. We’re supposed to enjoy hobbies. If you’re only training for health benefits then you can at least find a way to not hate it.

I personally find PR sets stressful and don’t like doing them…so I don’t. I’m about to run a three week training block where I actually push them a little bit, but after the three weeks I’ll be done and go back to things I enjoy more. I can suck it up for three weeks, but my results would crash and burn if I had to do them every week.

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Short term plan is I want to get down to 150lbs in 2-3 months. Long term plan is I want to recomp at 150lbs until I’m 20% bodyfat and then see what I want to do from there.

Does this mean you’re currently eating in a manner to cause weight loss?

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No not yet. I am eating at maintenance for my deload this week, then next week I want to start losing weight. I started a recomp at 160 in january but I got up to 163 and because it’s getting hotter I want to lose weight to be more comfortable. I just need to figure out why I can’t train longer than 3 months

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I just need to figure out why I can’t train longer than 3 months

That is what I am attempting to do here, which is why I’m asking questions.

Stacking a lot of hard training on top of a diet that doesn’t provide enough nutrition to support the recovery of it is going to perpetuate that cycle. While you will be eating in that manner, have you given consideration to how your training will change?

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