Hypertrophy instead of intensity?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Over 35 Lifter
1

So, I do a lower-body, upper-body split. This means that I do all the main lifts twice a week.

The way it works now, I do intensity one day. So, 2/2/2 as heavy as I can. The other day I do 5/5/5/5/5 at 80% of the intensity weight. If I can do all the reps on intensity day, I add 2.5 kilos (5 in the case of deadlifts) and, well, that’s how it goes.

Recent shoulder pain has me thinking: should I rethink this?

What if, instead; I do like this?

  1. I keep the 5x5 day, and this is the prime mover in terms of linear progression. I add 2.5 kilos next week if I can do all the sets and reps.

  2. I replace the intensity day with a hypertrophy cycle. Week 1 I do… what, 60% of my estimated 1RM (?), and go for 4 sets of 8. Each week, I add a rep to each set. After a number of weeks, I do 4x12.

  3. The week AFTER I’ve done the 4x12, I replace this with an intensity set. Here I attempt my current 5x5 weight divided by 0.8.

  4. Hopefully, I should now have a slightly better 1RM. I use that to calculate a new hypertrophy weight, and start at 4x8 again, working my way to twelves.

Is this stupid?

2

Can we clarify the difference between 1) %1RM and 2) Intensity (proximity to rep failure)
?

It sounds that you are asking about training at higher volume but with a lower %1RM for a training block.

If Linear Periodization is no longer working for you, it sounds like you should stop running a LP program and do something with undulating volume/working weight. I’d suggest 531 for this, instead of just winging it (it sounds like you’ve pulled numbers from a hat and tried to turn it into a progression model to be honest).

I’ll also plug Conjugate Training as it’s one of those programs I see people start, then never really stop running.

All that being said, there’s no harm in running a volume block, i just don’t think using lighter weights is ideal when you’re trying to teach your body to use heavier weights

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Thank you, I’ll check those out.

Yeah, my idea was that the 5x5 would somehow drive strength while the 4x8-12 would grow muscle and then it would go -? - Profit like the Underpants Gnomes.

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It’s not stupid. You’re thinking! That’s good.

And your plan isnt far off from Conjugate style programs like DeFrancos Westside for Skinny Batsards.

A lot of other guys just work up to a 5 rep max on “heavy” day to get the strength, without the abuse of many reps.

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You’re not incorrect, there’s just systems which already exist that have been proven. Easier to rely on than something we whipped up ourselves (I did this for years and it only ever hurt my progress).

It’s also a catch-22. You need to get stronger to build muscle, but strength training is not always ideal for building muscle. So as you’ve ascertained, hypertrophy blocks, or volume blocks, can help with this.

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I’d focus on either "strenght " or "hypertrophy " type program. Having prioritized program helps with staying on track.
Use the % of 1RM to determine the weights though :wink: