Is there a rep and set scheme you recommended that’s has a top set of a heavy weight
So I can do a top heavy and lower the weight so I’m always at my max as I’m still getting stronger every 2 weeks
Just read the 5/3/1 books and get on a template that excites you.
Alternatively, top set back off/some kind of reverse pyramid training.
First set 4-6 reps
Back-off 6-12 reps
Or a top set and then 10% off, and then another 10% off. Don’t get caught up overthinking, these will all work in a balanced program with the right dose of intensity and volume. With these kinds of questions though, I feel like just getting on 5/3/1 will be your best bet.
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I like to pick a number of reps and just do sets of that, adding weight, until I can’t hit it. Then I’ll take like 30% off and do one more set of as many as I can get.
Let’s say it’s an incline press:
45/12
135/8
165/8
185/8
205/8
215/8
225/6 —> couldn’t do 8, that’s the end
155/15
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Occured to me your simply talking about wanting to do a few back off sets.
I follow a similar approach. Ramp-up sets are great.
45/12
95/12
135/9
185/9
225/6, for 3 sets, plan to not hit 6 on the last set, but do partials and a static hold on the final set.
45/as many as possible
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12-10-8-6
And after that last heavy set of 6 you can do a back-off set of 15 reps if you want. Maybe hold off on that last set while you’re still making fast progress every week.
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I didnt see a stated goal so in the scenario that you’re looking for Muscle gain first,
Top set: 6-9
Backdown set: 10-12
*if training to failure
Backdown about 20% of your top set. Push both sets to momentary muscle failure.
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Similar to everybody else, my favourite scheme was to ramp up to a 3-6RM, and then do an AMRAP at between 75-90% of my top weight depending on goal
Generally
- an AMRAP at 75% would lead to a set of 15+ reps
- an AMRAP at 80-85% would lead to a set of around 10-12 reps
- an AMRAP at 90% would lead to a set of around 6-10 reps
If I wanted some heavier weights, I’d lean toward a 90% back off. If I wanted to spare my joints and push my conditioning I’d lean toward a 75-80% back off. The sweet medium was around that 85%
I like this approach because it gave three avenues of progressive overload:
- Do more reps at the same weight on the heavy set
- Do more reps at the same weight on the back-off set
- Do more weight on the top set (and by extension, the back-off set)
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Could look into the sheiko app. When i was running that, I would have pretty heavy top sets like 90-95% and i would be testing like once every 4 weeks but having pretty good 5-10lb jumps when starting out that got to like 2-4lb jumps once i was more used to it.
Having those 3 different methods of progressing is why I love reverse pyramids so much. Having the top set as the calculator for all the other sets makes me to not worry so much if I don’t get a +1 on it each week. Knowing I have at least another set or two to get an extra reps on keeps my form honest. Progress in those backoff sets will always eventually carry over to a nice and clean +1 on the top set, and as long as at least one of the sets improve you know you’re still moving forward.
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I really like @j4gga2’s explanation. I also like the backoff set for a purely practical reason: if I get sloppy on the heavy set, because I want to hit something heavy, or I take too big a jump and barely get any reps, I’ve still got that backoff set to ensure I do something targeted and productive.
@FlatsFarmer’s scheme was my favorite for pretty much all of high school and college, which, coincidentally, is when I was still actually adding muscle.
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