Extended ramping when you are â??in the zoneâ?? on an exercise
It can happen that on some days certain movements just feel right. You will feel perfectly in the groove and invincible on this movement.
When this happens you should make the decision of extending your time spent doing that specific exercise, even if that means dropping one or more movements from you daily program.
There are several ways of doing this. Weâ??ll assume that the athlete was already ramping his exercise.
Wave ramping
The first way of adding volume to an exercise without risking CNS overload is to use wave loading. Once you hit the maximum weight you can still dominate all reps with, you back off by around 10-15% and then work your way back up again.
Extended load ramping
This should only be done when the athlete feels super strong and that there is a off day planned the next day. Basically once you reach the maximum weight you can dominate all the planned reps with, you keep adding weight but go down a reps bracket.
For example you start by working up to the maximum weight you can dominate 5 reps with, then you continue to add weight performing sets of 3 reps. Add weight until you reach the max weight you can dominate for 3 reps.
Max rep down set
This is to be done during a mass-building phase or with an athlete who needs to gain muscle mass. You still ramp up to the max weight you can dominate for the planned number of reps. Then you lower the weight by 10-15% and you perform one set of maximum reps.
Max force maintenance
You work up to the maximum amount of weight you can dominate for the planned number of reps. Then you keep performing sets with that same weight until the speed of the reps start to slow dow.
Are any of the extended ramping techniques to be done ONLY on days when you are in the zone for a movement?
Otherwise just ramp up to the max force point and then move on to the next exercise ramping it up to the max force point and so on (if you are not in the zone)?
Can the techniques just be used if you feel normal and would like to increase volume without overtaxing the CNS before moving on to the next exercise?
I have a question about what you call the Max Rep Down Set
[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
…Max rep down set
This is to be done during a mass-building phase[/quote]
[quote]…or with an athlete who needs to gain muscle mass.[/quote] Doesn’t almost everyone desire more mass? I kid…
[quote]You still ramp up to the max weight you can dominate for the planned number of reps. Then you lower the weight by 10-15% and you perform one set of maximum reps…[/quote] Can you please explain this? I’m curious as to why you would reccomend doing a max rep set whereas for all other purposes you seem to be recomending stopping all sets when speed slows even in the slightest. I completly understand your reccomendations on force spectrum ramping and they seem to be sound, but I do not understand why you suggest this method. Does it have something to do with strength endurance (for lack of a better term) or something? I’m mean no disrespect; I’m simply curious about how to best use this method. Thanks.
[quote]BulletproofTiger wrote:
Can you please explain this? I’m curious as to why you would reccomend doing a max rep set whereas for all other purposes you seem to be recomending stopping all sets when speed slows even in the slightest. I completly understand your reccomendations on force spectrum ramping and they seem to be sound, but I do not understand why you suggest this method. Does it have something to do with strength endurance (for lack of a better term) or something? I’m mean no disrespect; I’m simply curious about how to best use this method. Thanks.[/quote]
I do NOT recommend stopping when there is the slightest speed decrease. I recommend stopping when you can no longer dominate the weight, there is a difference.
The max rep set is to stimulate growth via metabolite accumulation and also helps develop work capacity.
I’m not against going to your limit, I’m against going to your limit too often and for too many sets. Each limit set causes a lot of neural fatigue which, if overdone, can be detrimental to recovery and long term progress.
But one set per workout or per muscle group wont kill you.
[quote]BulletproofTiger wrote:
Can you please explain this? I’m curious as to why you would reccomend doing a max rep set whereas for all other purposes you seem to be recomending stopping all sets when speed slows even in the slightest. I completly understand your reccomendations on force spectrum ramping and they seem to be sound, but I do not understand why you suggest this method. Does it have something to do with strength endurance (for lack of a better term) or something? I’m mean no disrespect; I’m simply curious about how to best use this method. Thanks.[/quote]
I do NOT recommend stopping when there is the slightest speed decrease. I recommend stopping when you can no longer dominate the weight, there is a difference.
The max rep set is to stimulate growth via metabolite accumulation and also helps develop work capacity.
I’m not against going to your limit, I’m against going to your limit too often and for too many sets. Each limit set causes a lot of neural fatigue which, if overdone, can be detrimental to recovery and long term progress.
But one set per workout or per muscle group wont kill you.[/quote]
I might be overthinking stuff here, but if following a split like this
mon - deadlift, pull up, BB bicep curls (max rep set performed for every excercise)
wed - BB bench, military, dips (max rep set performed on bench and military)
fri - squat, leg press, leg curl (max rep set on squats)
would this be too draining on the nervous system, or is it fine considering each excercis is only performed once a week?
Too take it one step further, could max rep sets be performed on every excercise on this split?
Coach I have been using the I,BODYBUILDER program and am now at the chest phase. However, I can’t feel the target muscle working. No matter how I try to focus on the target muscle, it’s just not working and I don’t feel any pump. I think the problem is due to the 3 reps per set and the explosive lifting phase. Any solutions?
[quote]BulletproofTiger wrote:
Can you please explain this? I’m curious as to why you would reccomend doing a max rep set whereas for all other purposes you seem to be recomending stopping all sets when speed slows even in the slightest. I completly understand your reccomendations on force spectrum ramping and they seem to be sound, but I do not understand why you suggest this method. Does it have something to do with strength endurance (for lack of a better term) or something? I’m mean no disrespect; I’m simply curious about how to best use this method. Thanks.[/quote]
I do NOT recommend stopping when there is the slightest speed decrease. I recommend stopping when you can no longer dominate the weight, there is a difference.
The max rep set is to stimulate growth via metabolite accumulation and also helps develop work capacity.
I’m not against going to your limit, I’m against going to your limit too often and for too many sets. Each limit set causes a lot of neural fatigue which, if overdone, can be detrimental to recovery and long term progress.
But one set per workout or per muscle group wont kill you.[/quote]
I think the videos made this much clearer. I tend to continue ramping until you get to a set that grinds… Dont know how to explain it but you get all the reps but you have to grind out 1 or 2 reps… Or perhaps you are “muscling” the weight up… if that makes sense
I’m using the last two ramp extensions shuffling them around one or two weeks the first one, then one to three weeks the other since a year now, they work extremely great.
What I realized though, since I am on a calorie restriction, Max Force Maintenence still works very well, but the Max Reps ramp extension brings me pain in all my joints somehow, maybe i have to add that i focus on doing as much, as fast and as many reps as possible eventhough since i’m in the zone the movement is perfect (so theres no pain because of sloppiness). Nevertheless, the pain while on calorie restricted diet, it startet after about 2,5 to 3 weeks. I never experienced pain doing for example a speed bench after ramping up to my total for 3, while on normal diet.
I kid…