first of all: thank you for the great plan, high frequency/low volume is working tremendously for me.
Despite being happy with the overall progression, I have some trouble considering the rest-pause method:
If I get 6 hard reps in the first try, I barely get 2 after 15s pause and then 1 again. More often, its like
6 + 1 or max 2 + no additional reps, no matter if the exercise is front squats, dips, close grip bench press or military press-
In this case, which method would you use for progression:
a) increase the weight as long as I hit 6 reps in the first try
b) the weight remains constant till I hit 6 + 3 + 2, resttime remains constant
c) weight remains the same, increase resttime to 25-30seconds, so i hit 6+3+2 and then progress by decreasing rest time
d) switch to mTor or 6-8-10
During the last weeks I’ve choosen a). For example: Dips went from one week to another from
90lbs * 6+3+1 to
112,5lbs * 6+2+1 to
135lbs * 6 + 2 +0
It worked well so far, I am just not sure, if it is the way you consider to be best.
Thanks for answering.
i know what u mean, especially military press heavy rest pause is fkin crazy hard.
I don’t know the optimal solution to your question either, but if I reach 6 reps on 1st set I pile the weight up a bit. If I really feel that I cant do a single rep after the first one I increase pause couple of seconds and usually on the last set I fail to bring it up. So technical failure reached - check.
To be honest with hypertrophy methods I rarely use a precise progression model. The goal of hypertrophy work is only to induce maximum muscle fiber fatigue and growth factor accumulation, this doesn’t rely on progressive overload. In fact you could very well continue gaining muscle mass while keeping the same load but going slower on the eccentric, or squeezing harder during the concentric.
With hypertrophy work I never burden someone with having to increase the weight X amount every Y workouts. Rather I emphasize the need to accumulate fiber fatique in your work set(s). Add weight when the previous working weight feels too light to get a good contraction. Use the feeling of the “easier” sets to select your working weight for the day.
With heavy work the use of a progression model becomes more important.