[quote]dave-g wrote:
This density set up appeals to me so I’ve been giving it a go this week.
Tried it with bench press today:
Ramp to 1 rep training max of 385
Singles at 95%, 92%, and 90%
As many reps as possible in 8 mins at 80%: 310 x 23 reps
All of the reps were done as singles and the bar was re-racked between each. Part of the challenge early on is definitely figuring out the proper pace. I can definitely see how this will result in rapid improvements. I like this approach alot.[/quote]
Pacing is an issue. I recently have been breaking the 30 reps down into packets of 10. So, i track how long it takes for each 10 pack. So far, the middle one has been taking the longest.
Is it worth the risk getting somewhat overtrained state… and then adjusting down from there in the future? (I.e., figure out your limits by exceeding them, and then learn to keep within them)
Or is it better to just avoid hitting that point altogether?
[quote]LoRez wrote:
Well, maybe a better question.
Is it worth the risk getting somewhat overtrained state… and then adjusting down from there in the future? (I.e., figure out your limits by exceeding them, and then learn to keep within them)
Or is it better to just avoid hitting that point altogether?[/quote]
It’s better to avoid it. Which is why I only use the 5-4-3-2-1 HDL (original) as a VERY occasional intensifier now. Keep in mind that “the layer system” should actually be called a philosophy and is simply using 2-4 different methods for the same movement pattern in a workout. So you “layer in” different methods for the same movement. There are no “mandatory” method.
[quote]LoRez wrote:
Well, maybe a better question.
Is it worth the risk getting somewhat overtrained state… and then adjusting down from there in the future? (I.e., figure out your limits by exceeding them, and then learn to keep within them)
Or is it better to just avoid hitting that point altogether?[/quote]
It’s better to avoid it. Which is why I only use the 5-4-3-2-1 HDL (original) as a VERY occasional intensifier now. Keep in mind that “the layer system” should actually be called a philosophy and is simply using 2-4 different methods for the same movement pattern in a workout. So you “layer in” different methods for the same movement. There are no “mandatory” method.[/quote]
I think that’s where I’m struggling a bit. I think I have a decent handle on the ramps and clusters, but I really haven’t made much sense of the density work.
I can’t really tell which density methods to use when and why. It also sounds like it’s very easy to overdo it, but not feel the consequences until much later.
So since I’m just not confident in my understanding, I’m gravitating pretty heavily toward a template as far as how things “should” be done.
How do you select which density method to use, and how do you make sure it’s enough, but not too much? You’ve mentioned several different tools, but I just don’t really understand how to use them.
Which is one of the reasons why the original HDL technique was not included in the “10 days cycle” or my work after that. It’s still a tool that I use, but just like many other training tools it is more powerful than originally thoughts and should not be used long term.[/quote]
Ha, wow. i have slacked here and there, pretty candidly in my log, on doing all the HDL all the time, and yet my gains have been unbelievable. I wonder if this laziness (aka being beat to death already and basically quitting) actually worked in my favor.
Which is one of the reasons why the original HDL technique was not included in the “10 days cycle” or my work after that. It’s still a tool that I use, but just like many other training tools it is more powerful than originally thoughts and should not be used long term.[/quote]
Ha, wow. i have slacked here and there, pretty candidly in my log, on doing all the HDL all the time, and yet my gains have been unbelievable. I wonder if this laziness (aka being beat to death already and basically quitting) actually worked in my favor.
[/quote]
It likely did. As I mentioned, it is very powerful and works great. But just like any powerful tools we naturally tend to overdo them. Their benefit lies more in short cycles of 2-3 weeks to help get past a growth plateau,
I have personally been alternating between density work for time and the hard 5’s. Question about those: I know it’s using 80-85% of 1rm, and should be 5 reps/30 rest/5/30 rest/5. Does this group of 15 reps (which I rarely get, more like 5/4/3) count as one set or is that all you do, just the 15 reps. 3 sets of hard 5’s could turn out very similar to timed density work.
Jbal - from one of CT’s previous posts explaining hard 5’s:
using 80%… 5 reps, 20-30 sec rest… 5reps… 20-30 sec rest… 5 reps… done
I’m guessing when he says “done” thats it, the 3-5’s only.
Started these past week instead of extended sets…work much better for me. The extended sets were taking too much out of me.