Clip of Someone Ramping Up

Training Bodybuilding
101

Take it for its worth since I’m weak compared to most everyone here, but I just switched to ramping about a month ago and my lifts have exploded. I used to ramp where I did low rep warm up sets so as not to fatigue myself on the last one, but now that I look back on it, it just felt like I was training like a pussy. I think the extra volume and having the warm up sets actually be tough really helps. Before it felt like I was going through the motions when just doing light 3 rep sets, but now I feel like I’m actually working harder AND feel more primed for my last set when I actually do higher rep, more intense warm up sets.

Just my 2 cents

102

[quote]ashylarryku wrote:
I’ll probably get bashed for this but I thought I’d throw it out there. I’m a complete newb but I’d like to just point out the fact that I started making actual progress the second I quit looking for a “Perfect Program” and started focusing on busting ass in the gym. This came about by reading PX’s posts a while ago, really got the message “Just f*cking do it”

My method is simple: bring the log book, try to beat my previous lift on a given exercise by using more weight, or beating the number of reps with the same weight. This, combined with lots of food, has been giving me PRs pretty much everytime I step in the gym. Granted I’m a beginner and experiencing newb gains, I bust ass and stick with the basics. I’ve been getting compliments everytime I see someone that hasn’t seen me in a while, saying I look like I’m “buffing up”, must be doing something right.

-Adam[/quote]

Why would you get bashed for writing that you work out and eat right?

103

[quote]eggowned wrote:
Take it for its worth since I’m weak compared to most everyone here, but I just switched to ramping about a month ago and my lifts have exploded. I used to ramp where I did low rep warm up sets so as not to fatigue myself on the last one, but now that I look back on it, it just felt like I was training like a pussy. I think the extra volume and having the warm up sets actually be tough really helps. Before it felt like I was going through the motions when just doing light 3 rep sets, but now I feel like I’m actually working harder AND feel more primed for my last set when I actually do higher rep, more intense warm up sets.

Just my 2 cents[/quote]

I do low reps for my warmup sets but NOT for WORKING-WARMUP aka RAMP-UP sets.

Example:

Warmup:
95 x 15 - 20
135 x 8
165 x 6
205 x 4

Work aka rampup aka working-warmup (aka whatever the fuck you want to call them) sets:
255 x 10
285 x 10
315 x 10

104

Mr. Martian wrote: “If professor X sees this, I’d really like to hear his thoughts on this. It seems that a lot of the confusion stems from, where to start your work ramping steps, and how you go about progressing from there. With one all out set, its a little more concrete as to where to add reps/weight.”

I’ve given OVER A DOZEN examples of this, including in THIS THREAD for BOTH bodybuilding and working up to a 1 to 5 rep max!

It’s also been shown over 100 times in articles and other threads by other posters.

I wrote before that jumps are 5 to 10% of the top working set. So here’s a lesson in basic math.

10 percent of 100 is 10 and 5 percent is 5. So you figure out your sets by subtracting 10 from 100. Here’s an example:

80
90
100

GOD HELP US!

105

[quote]Bricknyce wrote:

[quote]ashylarryku wrote:
I’ll probably get bashed for this but I thought I’d throw it out there. I’m a complete newb but I’d like to just point out the fact that I started making actual progress the second I quit looking for a “Perfect Program” and started focusing on busting ass in the gym. This came about by reading PX’s posts a while ago, really got the message “Just f*cking do it”

My method is simple: bring the log book, try to beat my previous lift on a given exercise by using more weight, or beating the number of reps with the same weight. This, combined with lots of food, has been giving me PRs pretty much everytime I step in the gym. Granted I’m a beginner and experiencing newb gains, I bust ass and stick with the basics. I’ve been getting compliments everytime I see someone that hasn’t seen me in a while, saying I look like I’m “buffing up”, must be doing something right.

-Adam[/quote]

Why would you get bashed for writing that you work out and eat right? [/quote]

Just figured I’d get something like “Your a beginner, anything is gonna work for you, let the big dogs talk” lol. I just like to throw in my 2 cents every now and then. I don’t do much posting because nothing needs to be said. It has been said in this thread and many others “People are making lifting way to complicated. Lift heavy weight until you can’t anymore, then do it some more. Then go eat, sleep, and do it again”

This is pretty much the message I’ve gotten from reading all of PX’s posts. I actually think about him saying something like “Everyone wants to be big and jacked but no one wants to do the work to get there” everytime I get under the bar, good motivation.

It’s true though: train hard, beat your previous workout (or give sweat and blood trying), eat and sleep. Simple as that.

106

[quote]Bricknyce wrote:

[quote]eggowned wrote:
Take it for its worth since I’m weak compared to most everyone here, but I just switched to ramping about a month ago and my lifts have exploded. I used to ramp where I did low rep warm up sets so as not to fatigue myself on the last one, but now that I look back on it, it just felt like I was training like a pussy. I think the extra volume and having the warm up sets actually be tough really helps. Before it felt like I was going through the motions when just doing light 3 rep sets, but now I feel like I’m actually working harder AND feel more primed for my last set when I actually do higher rep, more intense warm up sets.

Just my 2 cents[/quote]

I do low reps for my warmup sets but NOT for WORKING-WARMUP aka RAMP-UP sets.

Example:

Warmup:
95 x 15 - 20
135 x 8
165 x 6
205 x 4

Work aka rampup aka working-warmup (aka whatever the fuck you want to call them) sets:
255 x 10
285 x 10
315 x 10[/quote]
I didn’t make myself clear, but this is exactly what I meant.

107

I have 2 questions. I am sorry.

  1. Doing 1-2 ‘blast’ sets after a ramp OR following a 3-4 x 8-10 scheme that brick does are all the same shit?

  2. In that sample quad workout that brick gave (page 4) why didn’t the leg extensions or lunges have a last ‘blast set’ or some 3x8-10 scheme, or different scheme of their own? The only obvious answer to me would be that they are all the same muscle group, but couldn’t you still ramp up with lighter loads to reach a maximum?

108

EQ:

  1. Everything that I’ve gone over has a very difficult, maximal set! I mean EVERY example! If you want to do the top set twice, fine! But that’s the most sets intermediates and advanced can do successfully barring “back-off sets”, something I don’t bother every doing. (Perhaps they work; I don’t care to experiment with them.)

  2. Are you kidding me? EVERY example I gave here, including that sample leg workout has a TOP SET in EVERY exercise! The lunges have 45s for a top set. The leg extensions have 100 for a top set. As I wrote above, if you want to do 2 top sets, have at it.

Also, are you blind? The leg extension sets all have 10 reps to them. That is, they’re listed for 3 sets of 10, usin 80, 90, and 100 pounds.

Why didn’t they get a set-and-rep scheme of their own? 1) I don’t care to. 2) I don’t see any successful bodybuilders or powerlifters (for assistance work) doing much else besides 3-4 sets of 6-8 or 8-12 reps.

You said I don’t work up with lighter loads. I DO. Working from 80 to 90 to 100 is using lighter loads.

Judging from your posts, you’re not that (or don’t seem) to be even at an intermediate level. So you can get away with straight sets.

As I’ve written before (forgot which thread) I’m not–actually no one on this board, and not one trainer/coach–is god or the ultimate go-to for all things pertaining to training and nutrition.

I just live by 3 basic concepts for set and rep schemes and am actually stubborn or unwilling to experiment with any off-the-wall, complicated shit:

  1. To get strong in a lift: Work up to a 1 to 5 rep max.

  2. To get fast: 8-10 sets x 2-3 reps with 40 to 60% of the max OR with plyometrics use 3-8 sets x 3-5 reps.

  3. To get big and for assistance work ina powerlifting or S&C routine: 3-4 sets of 6-12 reps.

I’ll take what I said above back. At this point of life I refuse or it’s highly unlikely that I’m willing to experiment with other things. I don’t see the point to and I don’t see anyone else successful doing so.

109

Man I don’t even think about this shit when I’m lifting and I’m progressing fine geeze

110

I should have asked if its legit to do a few more lighter sets before your all out but now I can see that I’m overthinking this.

Thank you.

111

Also I’m with MODOK on this one; doing the least amount of warm up sets necessary in order to perform your working set(s) safely and effectively. Their ‘training effect’ is that they allow you to move on to your heavy sets without hurting yourself. Keeping a certain amount of reps on warmups would be counter productive as it would build up fatigue and fuck up your top set(s).

I don’t count the reps on my warmup sets (except for on max attempts and heavy triples ect.) and I likely never will because it just makes more sense to listen to your body here, even if you are going to be systematic about the rest of your training.

But if you think counting your warmups will improve your training be my guest, just my opinion.

112

I believe some get it better then others. Ive only been training for 3 months and I dont even count sets and reps. I find it unuseful and makes me hate working out. Heres and ex of me benching. Sometimes more warm ups sometimes less depends on the day and how Im feeling.

Bar 3 x 4-8 “Get De Blood Flowwiinnnn”
95 x 5-8
135 x 4-8
185 x 4-6
205 x 4-6
225 x 4-5 re rack then take a few breaths then go for another 3 or 4 reps
then do a drop set of 135 for like 12-15 reps.

probably not scientific mumbo jumbo but it works. in 10 years is it really gonna matter if i warm up with 3 sets or 4. or 6% of my 1.5 rep max. i find most of this non sense retarded and all of these posters problems can be solved by simply going to the gym and trying to lift heavier shit then they did the week before.

113

[quote]earthquake wrote:
I should have asked if its legit to do a few more lighter sets before your all out but now I can see that I’m overthinking this.

Thank you.[/quote]

You asked this and I answered it again. How does the following not involve using lighter sets before the top one, considering that the weights are going up from set to set?!

80
90
100

Now you have me confused!

114

[quote]Hazzyhazz24 wrote:
I believe some get it better then others. Ive only been training for 3 months and I dont even count sets and reps. I find it unuseful and makes me hate working out. Heres and ex of me benching. Sometimes more warm ups sometimes less depends on the day and how Im feeling.

Bar 3 x 4-8 “Get De Blood Flowwiinnnn”
95 x 5-8
135 x 4-8
185 x 4-6
205 x 4-6
225 x 4-5 re rack then take a few breaths then go for another 3 or 4 reps
then do a drop set of 135 for like 12-15 reps.

probably not scientific mumbo jumbo but it works. in 10 years is it really gonna matter if i warm up with 3 sets or 4. or 6% of my 1.5 rep max. i find most of this non sense retarded and all of these posters problems can be solved by simply going to the gym and trying to lift heavier shit then they did the week before. [/quote]

Maybe it’s useful to warm up with less or more sets. I don’t know! All I know is that I need quite a few warmup sets for my first exercises. I always have. After that, I do 0 to 1 warmup set per exercise.

115

[quote]Bricknyce wrote:

[quote]rasturai wrote:
okay thanks for the responses modok and bricknyce we pretty much do the same thing…I do it just a little different. You gotta realize without anyone ever helping me (trained in my basement always) and not ever reading about “ramping” I lifted this way just cause it felt like the right thing to do.

This is because I went in with the mindset that I wanted to improve my numbers on the bar ALL the time no matter what.

Before I read any of this ramping shit I would do things like

Squat warm-up to a top set of 8 on squats.
135x6
185x3
225x5
275x3
325x3
365x1
405x2
430x8* top set.

RDL’s 3x8

  1. 235x8
  2. 275x8
  3. 325x8* done.

anyways…thats how I set up training on all days. I always work up to something really heavy on my main movement that I’m really trying to improve. And then all the assistance stuff is eitehr 4x6, 3x8, etc etc. and then I work up to an all out set of whatever rep range throughout the sets so on that last set it’s pretty damn tough, and I won’t increase the weight until I hit the target rep. Or I will increase load and go down in reps the next week (from 10 to 8, or 8 to 6)

THE END.
I’m done reading about this word ramping.
[/quote]

With my way of doing it–which is NOT the way YOU must do it–the last 3 to 4 sets of squats would all be done for 8 to 10 reps, making it a 3-4 x 8-10 rep scheme, like every other goddamn bodybuilder does or any other athlete does for assistance work. [/quote]

How is my way different than anyone else’s really? Yes I do go in with the mindset more weight on the bar. You also have to know that I backoff every 4th-5th week for a deload. During that period, I get all the recupuration I need and hit it back hard again starting back at week 1 adding more intensity/volume until the final 4th week where I take it off again.

116

You just said it yourself Bricknyce…you use 1-5 reps on a lift to get strong in a lift.

The squat was just an example. I usually NEVER go over 6 reps on a main movement. If I get 6 reps, the next session I increase the weight until I can only get 4 reps. and then I go from there.

ALL my assistance work is based on 3-4 sets of 6-12 reps. example DB presses

80x10, 100x10, 125x10 - the other 2 sets were working weight still, and I’m getting a good feeling. but the last set was the top one. OF COURSE I DID NOT warmup for that 80lb dumbbell cause I just finished doing a bench press max of 5 reps with whatever weight.

The only thing I was saying is that for a MAIN MOVEMENT…if my MAIN FOCUS is to increase bench press I wouldn’t do a bunch of sets/reps.

I would work up to a 5RM

135x8
185x3
225x5
265x3
295x1
325x1
350x5** top set of 5

After this I would do some DB presses…3 sets of 6-8 - starting with 80’s or 90’s cause I’m already warmuped up and work up to my next set of 6-8 hard reps.

Do you agrree with this, this is how I do all my training…assistance work is different compared to main movement is it not?

Or would you do 3-4 sets of 3-5 reps (work up until you hit that max) to help with the bench press)
example
135x8
185x3
225x5
265x1
295x5 (first work set)
320x5 (2nd work set)
350x3 (3rd work set)

Of course I can’t get all 5 reps with 350 now because I am a bit fatigued…

What are your thoughts on this?

117

[quote]rasturai wrote:

[quote]Bricknyce wrote:

[quote]rasturai wrote:
okay thanks for the responses modok and bricknyce we pretty much do the same thing…I do it just a little different. You gotta realize without anyone ever helping me (trained in my basement always) and not ever reading about “ramping” I lifted this way just cause it felt like the right thing to do.

This is because I went in with the mindset that I wanted to improve my numbers on the bar ALL the time no matter what.

Before I read any of this ramping shit I would do things like

Squat warm-up to a top set of 8 on squats.
135x6
185x3
225x5
275x3
325x3
365x1
405x2
430x8* top set.

RDL’s 3x8

  1. 235x8
  2. 275x8
  3. 325x8* done.

anyways…thats how I set up training on all days. I always work up to something really heavy on my main movement that I’m really trying to improve. And then all the assistance stuff is eitehr 4x6, 3x8, etc etc. and then I work up to an all out set of whatever rep range throughout the sets so on that last set it’s pretty damn tough, and I won’t increase the weight until I hit the target rep. Or I will increase load and go down in reps the next week (from 10 to 8, or 8 to 6)

THE END.
I’m done reading about this word ramping.
[/quote]

With my way of doing it–which is NOT the way YOU must do it–the last 3 to 4 sets of squats would all be done for 8 to 10 reps, making it a 3-4 x 8-10 rep scheme, like every other goddamn bodybuilder does or any other athlete does for assistance work. [/quote]

How is my way different than anyone else’s really? Yes I do go in with the mindset more weight on the bar. You also have to know that I backoff every 4th-5th week for a deload. During that period, I get all the recupuration I need and hit it back hard again starting back at week 1 adding more intensity/volume until the final 4th week where I take it off again.

[/quote]

If it works, continue.

118

Brick it doesnt say you didn’t use lighter, fuck, i meant ADDITIONAL, like

50x12
60x10
70x8

then
80
90 , etc.

Im really shit at this. sorry.

119

[quote]rasturai wrote:
You just said it yourself Bricknyce…you use 1-5 reps on a lift to get strong in a lift.

The squat was just an example. I usually NEVER go over 6 reps on a main movement. If I get 6 reps, the next session I increase the weight until I can only get 4 reps. and then I go from there.

ALL my assistance work is based on 3-4 sets of 6-12 reps. example DB presses

80x10, 100x10, 125x10 - the other 2 sets were working weight still, and I’m getting a good feeling. but the last set was the top one. OF COURSE I DID NOT warmup for that 80lb dumbbell cause I just finished doing a bench press max of 5 reps with whatever weight.

The only thing I was saying is that for a MAIN MOVEMENT…if my MAIN FOCUS is to increase bench press I wouldn’t do a bunch of sets/reps.

I would work up to a 5RM

135x8
185x3
225x5
265x3
295x1
325x1
350x5** top set of 5

After this I would do some DB presses…3 sets of 6-8 - starting with 80’s or 90’s cause I’m already warmuped up and work up to my next set of 6-8 hard reps.

Do you agrree with this, this is how I do all my training…assistance work is different compared to main movement is it not?

Or would you do 3-4 sets of 3-5 reps (work up until you hit that max) to help with the bench press)
example
135x8
185x3
225x5
265x1
295x5 (first work set)
320x5 (2nd work set)
350x3 (3rd work set)

Of course I can’t get all 5 reps with 350 now because I am a bit fatigued…

What are your thoughts on this?[/quote]

Yes, I use the max effort method to get strong in a lift - WHEN I’m using a program that
s geared towards maximal strength.

What you describe is NOT what I used for bodybuilding. When I used a bodybuilding scheme, I never worked up to a 1 to 5 rep max anything in the ways I’ve described to get strong in a lift.

For a hundredth time, here’s what a quad workout looks like:
Squats: 3 x 8-10 (no working up to a 1 to 5 rep max)
Lunges: 3 x 8-10
Leg extensions: 3 x 8-10

I DON’T use the word “assistance” when speaking of bodybuilding.

But if what you do works, continue.

120

For the majority of new and/or weak lifters (some people still can’t bench more than 135 for reps after 5 years of “training”) I think the problem is they don’t see how using a lighter weight will help them since they are already so weak. If you’re benching 300 for reps it makes more sense to include more warm-ups/ramp-ups than someone who’s repping 135.

The problem is in the failure of guys to progress and get stronger. So they hop on T-Nation all confused and dumbfounded.

I’ve found two top work sets to work for me. Either at the same weight or dropping the weight on the 2nd work set for a burn-out. That works for me because I ain’t benching 400.

It regulates itself. Say with now…auto-regulation. More weight requires more warm-ups more ramping.

Alan