I would increase the sets per exercise and choose heavy weight that you reach failure on before hitting 10 reps. I’ve been doing 5x5 lately and have been getting good results. I’ve been using heavy weight and get to near failure with most sets.
The other thing you may consider is more recovery time. If I read this right you are training 6 days a week. I would cut it down to 4 more intense days and give your muscles more time to recover.
Legs are like 40% of total bodymass and you train them like that?
GGRRrr…
I see you are a HIT fan. I hope you are going to be using some decent advanced training techniques to make the low volume worthwhile?
OR how long you been on a program like this or similar, you could do well to double the volume for 8 weeks then return to this… and revise your rest day(s) too, unless you think you can consistently make the BEST gains like this.
One thing i suffer from is thinking if i CAN do it and not overtrain, then i should… thus my 30 set workouts… But i get a right surprise when i drop the volume and increase the rest. A BIG surprise! Your gains may be coming but they could be coming faster if you allow more recovery time…(thanks DC)
[quote]Joe Joseph wrote:
Legs are like 40% of total bodymass and you train them like that?
GGRRrr…
[/quote]
Do you mean I should focus on legs for more than 1 of 3 sessions?
Yes, I’ve incorporated HIT, but I’m not tied to it and open to suggestions. What kind of advanced training techniques are you referring to? I do a drop set typically after my heavy set, but I don’t usually do forced negative/assisted positives.
I would normally take every other day off, but when I’m on cycle I lift more often since I seem to recover more quickly. But it’s still possible that I’m overdoing it.
One thing i suffer from is thinking if i CAN do it and not overtrain, then i should… thus my 30 set workouts… But i get a right surprise when i drop the volume and increase the rest. A BIG surprise! Your gains may be coming but they could be coming faster if you allow more recovery time…(thanks DC)
Joe[/quote]
Joe, I totally feel you. I used to do 30-35 set workouts (only took 1.25 hrs with 45-60 second rest periods) and would utterly DESROY that body-part. I resisted Hanely’s “stimulate don’t annihilate” policy and did get some results. But with a bit longer rest periods, I’ve now gained 24 lbs in 6 months.
Anyways, back to the thread. I do think you need more sets. You’re really disregarding chest (only a couple sets to your max) and your legs could certainly use more work. I agree that you might want to consider only doing 4-5 days of lifting instead of six. Personally, I like doing 3 on, 1 off, 2 on, 1 off and repeat.
If that’s the kind of training you want to pursue, it isn’t a bad setup. One change I would make is to do it as a 3-in-5 or 3-in-6 instead of 3-in-4.
With a single-factor, low-volume failure based approach, you need to recover completely between sessions for the same muscle groupls. So I’d cut back your frequency a little.
You say you have been lifting for 5 years and that the routine is your current routine.
Is this routine something different than you have been following for past 5 years? Are you trying to accomplish something different than what you have been training for in the past 5 years?