Hey guys,
I’m looking for some input from CT, CW, or someone who is very bright in the st world. When doing higher rep sets, like 8 and above, for pure hypertrophy work, is it better to-
Keep the load the same and due to fatigue, reach an MVC on the last set
Work up in weight (Ian King’s step-loading) and reach finally one heavy set close to your max (if so, what poundage increases are appropriate) or
Reach concentric failure on every set and just decrease load set after set? And assuming this is for pure hypertrophy work. Thanks.
If working in a rep range of lets say 10-12 choose a weight that allows you to complete all the sets in that rep range. There are many ways to progress this over the course of a training cycle. Ian King’s way would have you picking a weight that you could do all 12 reps for all sets without hitting failure, leaving a rep or two in the hole for week 1. Then picking the a weight in week 2 that is pretty much your max for that rep range, but not hitting failure. Finally in week 3 you would try to set a new PR for that rep range (even if it is a small jump like platemates)and maybe missing the rep range on your last set. Of course you could also choose a weight that allows you to get something like 12,10,10 for reps on week 1, try to get all sets of 12 week 2, and then try to up the weight by week 3. There are many ways to do it, but a good rule would be to not hit failure on your first week of a cycle.