[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
[quote]MeinHerzBrennt wrote:
[quote]ryanbCXG wrote:
[quote]roguevampire wrote:
[quote]jp_dubya wrote:
RV is dead on. If you can’t progress in weight, there is nothing to show for the amount of work you are doing. Over training may have many, many definitions, but the one that sticks with me is the amount of work over and above that which you can improve upon later.
Yes there are some days that you are just on and some that you are off that may affect your work output, but in the long run, you should be able to progress in weight used, reps with a weight, or the bar velocity.[/quote]
If at the end of a years time, and your still lifting the same weight, whether its curls, benches, military presses or whatever, you will most likely not have gained any new muscle. Progression is the #1 thing all “experts” agree on. If your not progressing in the exercises your doing, you will not gain any new size. [/quote]
So the only way in your mind to progress is weight…to bad thats wrong.[/quote]
That’s not what he said. Progression is key, whether increasing the weight or otherwise. He said “most likely” not have gained new muscle, which IMO is probably true for most guys who find themselves lifting the same weight 365 days later.[/quote]
Besides… Reducing rest periods, increasing volume etc are all far more limited means of progression compared to adding weight, especially without drugs being part of the equation.
One can make them part of a training cycle, say, increase the amount of sets every 2 weeks or whatever, but eventually you have to back off again… And those methods eventually get in the way of progress if you go too far with them.
There is simply not nearly as much potential for progression in decreasing rest periods or increasing volume vs. increasing weight, and eventually you have to increase the weight anyway. (and that will make grow whatever is lifting the weight, before we end up in one of those retarded “my chest grew better when I started focusing on form and using less weight” debate.)
As for the OP and some of the guys in this thread… Well, you are outdoing most if not all olympia competitors in the (sets under work load)-volume department… (didn’t we have a thread like this recently already)… You certainly have better recovery abilities than I do, my hat is off to y’all.
[/quote]
I do believe we did have a thread like this earlier. As for your thoughts on rest periods and adding sets, I somewhat agree, but somewhat disagree. I understand what you are getting at, and for the OP and probably many people that is very true. On the other hand, if you’re unable to handle more weight than you currently are–for however many reps you are doing in one set–then it becomes invaluable to push your body’s ability to handle repeated strain via less rest and/or more sets. It basically becomes a modified work capacity problem at that point in training–trying to increase your body’s ability to handle repeated stress is a prerequisite to increasing the total weight you can lift.
I agree they get in the way of progress if you go too far with them, but on the other hand so does jacking up the weight if you’re not able to do it properly. It’s all the same. Dunno if that makes sense. If I got hammered stuck in a press where 315 was doable but I just couldn’t get 335, I’d likely work on cluster sets (reducing rest period) and putting more volume every week on the same weight (increasing volume). That usually does the trick to adding more weight.
As usual, I think we’re mostly in agreement in principle. Just giving out my thoughts.
EDIT–after having read the rest of the page, I think we are completely saying the same thing from different perspectives. A tool for every situation and all that.
Also I really really dig CT’s current philosophy. It’s made a big difference, and I for one feel much better doing more frequent training in a “tendonitis management” scenario than less. There’s definitely a threshold however, and I have passed that from time to time. I believe that much as doing a similar movement every day will keep you from being sore and stiff more than an “off” day does, that it works for tendonitis as well. Couple caveats there are that it depends on the movement and weight (say, skullcrushers would murder my triceps tendons). But I like it.