Working out from home. I like high intensity low volume trying to get 20 to 25 effective reps per session for each muscle because any more than than seems to have diminished returns for hypertrophy.
Current routine
Monday-
Neutral bar bench- 3 sets of 5 dbl progression or 2 sets 5-8 reps all out
Incline bench- 1 all out set 5-8 reps
Dips- 1 all out set 5-8 reps
Barbell curls- 1 all out set 5-8 reps
Concentration curls- 1 all out set 5-8 reps
Tuesday-
Heels elevated squat- 3 sets of 5 dbl progression or 2 all out sets 5-8 reps
Split squat- 1 all out set 5-8 reps
Rdl- 2 all out sets 5-8 reps
Leg curl- 1 all out set 5-8 reps
Wed- off
Thursday-
Seated press- 2 all out sets or 3x5 double progression
Lateral raise- 2 all out sets of 5-8 reps
Tricep extensions- 2 all out sets 5-8 reps
Pushdowns- 1 all out set 5-8 reps
Saturday-
Neutral chin up- 2 all out sets 5-8 reps or 3x5 double progression
Barbell or T-bar row- 2 all out sets 5-8 reps
Shrugs- 1 all out set 5-8 reps
Questions…
On the first exercise of each day would it be better to do the all out sets or the 3x5 dbl progression if goal is size with strength
For the all out sets, I know its better to do it on machines with more stability, but since its my home gym I do not have access to machines. Would this still work if using good form and mind muscle connection?
Overall is there a lot you would really disagree with and change or is this something that coult work with success?
Take that for what it’s worth, but in my coaching group, which uses effort-based training, the first exercise is done for strength with 3 work sets not to failure and using the double progression model.
Now, making each exercise more effective due to more stability is only a very small advantage if you train properly. If you have a strong nervous system, you can still send a strong enough excitatory drive to the target muscle(s) even on complex movement. But it costs a bit more neural resources to do that, which could lead to more fatigue and harder recovery.
The main issue is more of safety and the likelihood of hitting true muscle failure on your work set. It’s not as safe to hit failure on a squat, bench, incline bench, etc. At least not if you train alone.
It’s also harder to truly hit failure because when you get to the super hard reps zone, yu might rack the bar before you hit failure (having 1 or even 2 reps in reserve) just to avoid getting stuck under the bar.
Do you use safety pins? If so that might solve part of that issue by making it possible to go to failure, but it’s a hassle to bring the bar back up (although by doing only 1 work set, it’s not that bad). But going to failure on free-weight compound movements is still a bit more hazardous.
I do believe that you can still train this way with only free-weights. In the short-term it can just as as effective. But the greater fatigue and injury risk is likely going to make it a bit less effective in the medium and long term.
@Christian_Thibaudeau Thank u. I’ll give this a shot with double progression as my main lift and all out sets on the assistance lifts.
Do you think 20-25 effective reps per session is enough when training each muscle directly once per week?
I’ve thought about and want to be doing a push pull legs split but have trouble figuring out how to set it up with my available exercises I can do…
What you could do is a push (pecs/delts) / pull (back, traps) / legs / arms (biceps, triceps) split. That’s what I personally like
I don’t know what equipment you have put you could do something like:
PUSH
Bench press
Incline bench
Overhead press (ideally scrape the rack overhead press if possible)
DB lateral raises (I like kneeling on a bench, chest supported)
DB flies AS growth factor sets (probably either myo-reps or two sets of 15-20 reps) with a deep stretch on every rep
PULL
Chin-ups
Pendlay row
Single-arm barbell row (barbell set like a t-bar row)
Upright row
Shrugs
DB rear delts (as growth factor sets)
LEGS
Heels-elevated squats
Split squat or Bulgarian split squat
RDL
Leg curl
(only 4 exercises is fine considering the overall stress of the session)
ARMS
DB hammer curl
Barbell curl
Reverse curl
Close-grip bench (or top half bench from pins)
Nose-breaker/skull-crusher
French press or triceps pressdown