I have an excel SS workbook. How do I share?
6-8 or 8-10. If you are used to working 15+ I would start by dropping to 12-15 then 10-12 then lower if you like. The less reps the more weight your gonna lift and the more you’ll prob tax CNS.
My execution is this- I do three sets of 15-20 reps. The first set I fail at 19 or 20. The second set I fail probably around the 16-18 range. And the third set I fail about 15. If I get more than 20 on want given set, I up the weight for that exercise on my next session.
In a Special phase of training, with the focus of getting stronger you would do
First set, 6 reps, way shy of failure
Second set, building slightly heavier, way shy of failure
3rd set, heavier, shy of failure, but zeroing in on a weight where you could hit failure
4th set, even heavier, really trying to pick a weight where you fail about 6 reps.
5th set. You did a tough set. Now challenge yourself to do another hard one.
And the process takes like 12 minutes.
I also have been doing a full leg day with upper body on Saturdays for a years. I am going to only do a full leg day on Saturdays and forget the upper body on that day. I wonder if I’m simply not recovering from that Saturday workout. I do take Sundays off.
So you have been training 6 days/wk?
Typically i will either train 5days on/2 off or if it’s a 6 day split i will train 3on/1off/3on/1off.
You need to adapt to what you can recover from as you get older.
I think you would benefit from starting a training log on here. Then when you have questions or issues we have some background info to study. It’s really hard to give solid advice with no context.
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If I were to consider 20 reps to failure, I would be asking myself how deep I passed fast twitch muscle “failure.” As you know the percentage of fast twitch muscle accounts for most all the lower rep strength. Once a significant percentage of the muscle involved is slow twitch muscles, I believe that the benefit for fast twitch muscle hypertrophy is diminishing. And it has entirely diminished for building strength. One philosophy that I always used was to get stronger doing sets of 5 reps, in order to get bigger doing sets of 8 or 10 reps.
I made leg training a 10 rep target, and upper body a 8 rep target. I rarely did less than 5 reps on anything when I was bodybuilding.
Just out of curiosity, do you know what percentage of your 10 rep max is your 20 rep max?
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This^
No I don’t. I get extreme muscle soreness but not CNS fatigue like you mentioned. You also use a lot more volume, shorter rest periods, drop sets and all of that than I do. I imagine that is probably what’s causing it. Like you’re doing some kind of Bodybuilding CrossFit.
In your previous thread I showed the changes I would make and it involves switch to a more reasonable volume, working up to a hard set to failure and reserving Intensity techniques for one exercise per body part, per session.
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I am in total agreement here. I would simply classify what you are doing as overtraining. Now you have grown accustomed to that feeling and don’t accept the internal alarm that your body is sending you.
As to CNS fatigue I am guessing I got that for about a week after a powerlifting meet. I was lucky to pull a deadlift within 80% of what I did at the meet the first week back. I found that out on the first two powerlifting meets I did. I quit considering deadlifting the first two weeks after a meet.
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If you are performing numerous sets of each exercise and going to failure on each set…then your CNS will fatigue very quickly…its that simple
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I don’t know this
Mon, Tues, Wed Off, Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun off
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You could make an educated guess and see at what rep you fail. That will give me the information I was curious about (providing that you don’t get greater than 10 reps). I don’t trust my percent per rep above 10 reps.
So, here’s what I’m thinking-
Knocking down reps from 15-20 to 8-12
Set one and two are used to work up to failure on the third and final set.
Or, do you all suggest keeping 15-20 rep ranges, but not failure on each set. Set one and two used to work up to failure on the third and final set?
No!
Set 1 and 2 are to prepare you for the 3rd set, not to tire you out. You want to make sure the motion your training feels smooth, but be as fresh as possible for the 3rd set.
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You replied to me. I have no experience doing reps over 10. I cannot recommend the rep ranges you are trying. I just watch to see if you are achieving your desired result.
Much of what you are doing seems like overtraining as I am understanding what you write.
Sorry, that’s what I meant. Using the first and second set to prepare for the third set, which will be to failure.
@FlatsFarmer Also, when working up to the third and final set to failure, do I keep the same rep range for the first and second sets, but lower the weight, or do I lower the rep range and keep the weight at my perceived failure weight?
This was so well put, and such a common pitfall. People end up making the method the goal, rather than making the method the method to GET to the goal.
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