I am not at all surprised.
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I really wanted to work out today after not lifting for 4 days so I went and did pullups and curls in my home gym. I am taking a different approach. More sets less intensity. It is way less mentally scary because I’m not using every single cell in my body and brain to match or beat a PR. I did 3 sets to 1-3 RIR on both so I guess that’s good enough. It won’t even take any more time because since I’m not going to failure I only have to rest for 2 minutes each. I’m going to keep my RDL to just one set though because it took a week of no hamstrings or RDLs to feel recovered.
I did some looking into 5/3/1 and now I realize that it’s just kind of stupid to think I have to go to failure every time. 5/3/1 uses very submaximal work and it’s one of the most popular programs. Thanks @Frank_C
So yeah, I am working WITH my mind and not trying to work against it. And if I get bored of doing more sets and feel up to going to failure again I can do that and just flip flop between. I guess as long as I’m under the iron, I will make gains. Better than quitting.
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Agreed!
…Which kind of brings me back to my original question about effective reps. If I do a set of 7 pullups at 3RIR, then the next set I get 7 at 1-2RIR then a set of 5 at 1RIR, what reps actually count for hypertrophy? Does the RIR of that specific set matter or does it go by the max potential of the first set? Like if I do 5 reps on the last set, is it providing the same stimulus as if I did 5 reps on the first set?
I caution everyone to be careful that you don’t place effective reps as a binomial event. That is, each rep is not either an effective rep or not at all an effective rep.
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I don’t want to fall into doing junk volume
What is your definition of “junk volume”?
Doing more volume and not really growing from it but accumulating fatigue
Let me say that I know nothing about effective reps or junk volume.
But I will firmly state that I don’t see how you can get fatigued doing 8 to 10 reps with a weight that could be considered too light to produce muscle growth, especially the first couple years of training.
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All of them. Every rep you do is more muscle stimulus than not doing them. If you want a simple explanation on which reps cause the most adaptation, the ones that burn.
Are you planning on doing 5/3/1? I think it would be super beneficial for you. It’s simple to understand and effective. It will help you think less, and lift more.
Makes sense to me.
I have never felt muscle burn in my life except for the first few times I did leg extensions haha. But ok. So I guess that is why they say to do so many sets for bodybuilding. The more the better.
I’m considering doing 5/3/1 but only if I can do it 2 days a week. I think I read something about there being a 2x a week 5/3/1 template. But then again I read that it is not hypertrophy oriented. It is an interesting program though
I just found this post
So I guess going to 3RIR is good to get the most out of the set without a ton of fatigue
Either is training 2x a week. Well, not optimal anyway. The guys I know who train twice a week usually come in and Squat, deadlift, row, bench, press. They move a bunch of big weights to cause adaptation in a short period of time.
What is RIR?
I guess you’re right. RIR is reps in reserve. So if I can do 10 pullups max, 7 is 3RIR.
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Why not do 10?
I understand leaving some in the tank on the big lifts, but you’re not going to burn out on pull-ups. Even if you go to failure every set of pull-ups.
Im not piling on you man, I just think you’ve got a ton of info in front of you and would be better off picking any proven linear or undulating program and sticking to it for 4 months. Simplify. Read less, lift more.
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Well initially I thought that I built up fatigue doing pullups but now I think the reason for me to not go to failure on pullups is because I then put pressure on myself to do 10 or more every time and it stresses me out. I think if I leave some in the tank it will be less stressful for me because there’s leeway. I’m pretty sure max strength wanes day to day anyway so putting all that thought into always trying to match a max effort set is kind of pointless.
I could do an undulating program like go 3RIR, then next week 2RIR, then 3rd week 1RIR or failure and then deload. That could give me the dopamine/reward of hitting “PRs” while still being not that fatiguing.
I agree with you that I need to find a proven program to follow. I just don’t know any that fit what I want yet. I need to do research
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I think this is probably the last thing you need to do. We went from “better than quitting” to overthinking again in 2 posts.
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Not to mention 14 years…
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I was going to make some long post but @TrainForPain nailed it as usual. I’m also ADHD so I understand the hyper fixation and the initial obsession however, I use the gym to go “smooth brain” and shut out my mind as much as possible. I have a garmin watch I programmed my lifts and rest periods into (currently running a push, pull, legs 6 days a week) and once it says “go” I go. Helps me a lot with not wanting to make a lift.
Not sure why you feel so tired I would fatigued. I would need to see your diet, sleep schedule, and long term workout data.
Also you aren’t hitting chest at all?
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The worst program followed with discipline and consistency will get better results than the best program not run correctly. You’re still in a phase where the work is what matters. Build a habit of training regardless of numbers or performance. Strength training results take months to show themselves initially and then even longer to keep going from the initial gains phase. This will go well past your mental drive.
Discipline trumps motivation. You have to commit to a plan and execute it no matter how you feel. You don’t have to hit a PR every day. You don’t have to max yourself out every session. You don’t even have to hit the prescribed sets and reps each day (there will probably be days where you don’t, but it’s okay). I’ll use the pull-ups discussion above. Who cares if you hit a rep PR on a set? How about you pick a target number of reps per session and just do that? If you get better at pull-ups and can do 15 strict overhand pull-ups without stopping, then I promise your physique will show it (whether you’re leaner or have more muscle). There are some feats of strength that can’t be achieved without building a decent amount of muscle, so even if the program isn’t “hypertrophy” based, it’ll still happen.
I’m currently cutting a bit of weight. I don’t like being hungry. I don’t like obsessing over my food. But it’s temporary and I’m keeping the goal in mind every time I want to throw in the towel. Do you want to achieve your goal or not? Discipline will get you there. Motivation is the friend who said “Yeah, let’s hit legs at 6am tomorrow!” and then doesn’t show up. You can’t rely on motivation.
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