How many sets per body part are you doing to MAX/to positive failure ( i mean when you can’t do more rep without training partner, do forced reps etc. ) and how many days per week are You training you body part?
I train each body part every 4-7 days ( depend of my feel ).
I do 5-6 exercises per large gropur and 3-4 exercises per small group.
I do 3-5 sets per exercise, only last 1-2 are to failure ( sometimes i’m using drop-sets or deload weight but only in one exercise and only in isolation exercises ).
I tried to do every ‘working set’ to failure when I was first laying a foundation, but eventually, during my competitive years, I wouldn’t really do any to complete failure. I figured this balanced out the greater volume I made use of, thereby allowing me to accumulate intensity (quality reps) without just building unnecessary fatigue.
I’m using failure + training on the last set of each exercise and training everything twice per week except arms, which are only done once. Meaning I go to failure, then use a rest-pause, drop set , slow negative, static hold, etc.
Each week the difficulty increases a little. I use the difficulty progression techniques laid out in one of CT’s old articles:
I guess this would be similar to a DC-style program. It’s kicking my butt right now. I don’t know how long it will be sustainable but I’ll see how long I can run with it. I figured this would be a good time to try it since I’m slowly bulking back up. The thing I like about the training is that it forces you to get psyched up for that last set and also has shown me how far from failure I had previously been training at times. It’s certainly not necessary to go to failure, especially with higher volume, but sometimes I would stop the set thinking I had one or two left in the tank when maybe I actually had a few more that I could have cranked out.
Ive come to like the one rep shy of failure or last good form rep n rack it ideas. Its nice to go all out on heavyweeks as those are your noteable p.r’s.
[quote]barbedwired wrote:
Ive come to like the one rep shy of failure or last good form rep n rack it ideas. Its nice to go all out on heavyweeks as those are your noteable p.r’s.[/quote]
So something like Ronnie in video from my last post?
Do you do this in Your all work sets or only in final set?
It really depends what program your on and what your goals are. I mean im doin 10 sets of 3 right now…so just finishing the sets is the goal. Whereas say on 5/3/1 you have the option to rep out on the last set. I always repped out on last set- last rep would be a rep I struggled on and form started to break down- rack it.
Ronnie would have most likely failed on the next rep. This is how I do my sets. It’s easier with dumbbells because you can drop them away but on a bar you really would need a spotter unless you have a good feel for how close you can approach failure without actually getting stuck. I think that just comes from training experience.
[quote]Abkol wrote: Thanks for answers. One more question to this topic:
What is in Your opinion/definition “set to failure”? When do You get it?[/quote]
A set wherein I fail on an attempted rep. Otherwise, it would be either a set before failure, or a set past failure.[/quote]
What I’ve noticed over the years is people’s form breaks down well before that and I always wonder if it’s not beneficial continuing a set once this occurs.
[quote]Abkol wrote: Thanks for answers. One more question to this topic:
What is in Your opinion/definition “set to failure”? When do You get it?[/quote]
A set wherein I fail on an attempted rep. Otherwise, it would be either a set before failure, or a set past failure.[/quote]
What I’ve noticed over the years is people’s form breaks down well before that and I always wonder if it’s not beneficial continuing a set once this occurs.[/quote]
THat’s always been a thing for me. Once I can longer feel like I’m in control of using the weights to apply stress where I want it in a strategic manner, then I’m done with that set.
[quote]Abkol wrote: Thanks for answers. One more question to this topic:
What is in Your opinion/definition “set to failure”? When do You get it?[/quote]
A set wherein I fail on an attempted rep. Otherwise, it would be either a set before failure, or a set past failure.[/quote]
What I’ve noticed over the years is people’s form breaks down well before that and I always wonder if it’s not beneficial continuing a set once this occurs.[/quote]
Depends on the goal of the movement. Many times, I am training a movement purely to develop the ability to strain, wherein it is crucial to experience form breakdown. Other times, I may be practicing a movement, in which case, perfection is necessary.
Thanks for answers. One more question to this topic: