Hey there guys. I’m currently into a strength phase of training. I’m doing basically 5x5 for most exercises, with a 4111 tempo. I am making some decent strength gains, but no size/weight gains…in fact, I have lost weight since I started this phase of workouts.
In a couple of weeks, I’m planning on beginning hypertrophy training, and I am asking for suggestions on what style of workout I should use. Like, is 1,6 appropriate for benching exercises? Most of the training styles I read about seem to be strength oriented.
In the past, what I did was, I began with a light weight, about 30% of my 1RM, and did 8-10 reps with a super-slow 4141 pacing, increasing the weight for each set until I was at about 60% of my 1RM for my fourth and final set. This set would usually only get me 6 reps or so, but because of the tempo, all sets had really good TUT - usually a minimum of 60 seconds per set. But is this the best method for visible growth? I always had an amazing burn and pump doing things this way, but I always wonder if I’m doing this properly.
I know there isn't any 'best' way, but I want to know if the method I was using is far off the mark. I made decent size and weight gains doing the above method, but I'm wondering if there is a better way to do it.
The tempo issue is the thing I find most confusing. 4141 for hypertrophy? Or always stick with 4111 for strength or growth and just up the reps?
One more tempo question, and this is surrounding my current training. I want to do 1,6’s for benching. What tempo should I use for the ‘1’ rep? Explosive movement and controlled lowering? Since it’s supposed to be heavy, I wonder what pace would be even possible.
All answers are very much appreciated.