All arguing aside, I think there is some value to the “set point” idea. Without any intentional adjustment, my weight stabilizes around a certain point, which is a good 20 pounds above my last set point. My body just self-regulates and stays here.
Likewise, any half-ass attempt to increase that set point (and there’s been a couple), and after a couple week gain, it just stabilizes back to where it was. I think in many cases you have to make an actual intentional long-term effort to move yourself out of homeostasis… and force yourself to stay there… before your body will actually readjust. And I think that most “hardgainers” just don’t do enough, for long enough, for the body to actually adapt and find a new normal.
So, in concept, I’m in agreement with anyone who says that OP should “force” himself to gain weight (done properly). I don’t think it really counts as altering one’s “gene expression”, as neat as that idea sounds.
[quote]JayPierce wrote:
You posted that the 2g/lb protein was only one of the things I was “called out” for. I quoted 2 more things I was “called out” for. They were:
“2g/lb of protein”, which is not outrageous, especially in the OP’S case.[/quote]
Never said it was outrageous. Excessive, yes, but not outrageous.
Come on, a lot of bodybuilders using gear don’t consume that amount. You think a natty can use that amount of protein? Ask all the gear users here how much protein they use. I don’t go above 1.5g/lb.
Never did. Why make things up? I called your rationale rubbish.
Seriously, who would dispute drinking water? Why would you expect anyone to dispute drinking water?
Quote where I gave you shit for your deadlift. I don’t deadlift. I don’t care for deadlift numbers. I find that it is rarely an accurate indicator of a person’s physical development. Your bench, however…
A skinny fat person can simply be someone used to a sedentary lifestyle. Like… most kids in this day and age who do not engage in much physical activity in preference of their Xboxes, which make up the bulk of beginners here asking questions. We are not talking about someone above the age of 35. A caloric excess with proper nutrients and sufficient protein along with intense weight training is enough. As if this wasn’t common sense.
Let me explain this as simply as I can.
Yes. Many of the older guys bulked. The rationale is that muscle is not built linearly due to constant fluctuations of growth factors and natural testosterone levels. Therefore, an adequate caloric excess needs to be continuously present for when the body is ready to build muscle, in which it does in spurts.
BUT if you are gaining your first 30-40lbs, you do not get as fat as you did because consuming more calories than needed does not FORCE your muscles to grow. More protein than needed is also stored as fat.
For example, the person whom we are mutually referring to was RELATIVELY LEAN at 200-220lbs up from 160lbs. Older members may recall his double bicep shot on 1 knee in his backyard. It was only when he decided to push the limits by going up to 300LBS(yes, 300lbs as a natty) that he resorted to extremes while accepting quite a bit a fat gain.
He has also repeatedly said one should do this when young, and he would not recommend someone do this IN HIS 30s.
I have already written that I absolutely agree with new bodyweight set points. But when you get fat at a weight which could have been reached relatively easily with more time and a sensible rate of bodyfat vs lean mass gains, that’s when the cons outweigh the pros. I am sure that, since you repeatedly bring up gene expression, you understand what I am referring to.
Nope. If you had read his posts, he had recently ended a cut and was staying at maintenance calories to recomp. Tell me again how your application of “gene expression” applies to his situation.
[quote]LoRez wrote:
All arguing aside, I think there is some value to the “set point” idea. Without any intentional adjustment, my weight stabilizes around a certain point, which is a good 20 pounds above my last set point. My body just self-regulates and stays here.
Likewise, any half-ass attempt to increase that set point (and there’s been a couple), and after a couple week gain, it just stabilizes back to where it was. I think in many cases you have to make an actual intentional long-term effort to move yourself out of homeostasis… and force yourself to stay there… before your body will actually readjust. And I think that most “hardgainers” just don’t do enough, for long enough, for the body to actually adapt and find a new normal.
So, in concept, I’m in agreement with anyone who says that OP should “force” himself to gain weight (done properly). I don’t think it really counts as altering one’s “gene expression”, as neat as that idea sounds.[/quote]
yes. This is absolutely true.
But the OP was recently done with a cut and was maintaining his bodyweight to recomp after being advised by Brickhead IIRC.
[quote]JayPierce wrote:
So, dt79, tell us your story. A few of us have given backgrounds, posted pics, and listed lift numbers for comparison. Or maybe have training logs.
Nothing about you, though. How did you get to such an advanced level in physique and strength, and how did you become so knowledgeable about diet and lifting? [/quote]
I have written my history and my stats in this very forum section before. I simply cannot be bothered to go through them again because of you. But don’t worry, I have been FAR more advanced than you, or you will ever be if you continue with what you are doing.
As for knowledge, regulars who have read my posts can be the judge of that.
But I will tell you this. I have been around since Biotest was selling Androsol and CT still had his Lair of the Ice Dog forum, so don’t bring up things old forum members have written and change them to suit your silly little arguments as I’ve read them all.[/quote]
Damn dude. You are old. I’ve been around for a long time as well, back when Ian King was a regular contributor and such. And I remember when CT came on the scene and did that bodybuilding show… and they were selling MAG-10, the prohormone. I don’t remember if Androsol was still around then. I was in college and not buying things, lol. T Nation was my first introduction to intelligent approaches to the gym. I didn’t read the forums much back then, but I read all the articles.
If I was in your position I would definitely cut to at least 10-12% body fat and then gain lean mass until your desired body is achieved.
If you gain 5lb muscle, so what you won’t see it you’ll still be skinny fat.
Being 20%bf has no benefit over being 10-12%. At 10-12% you will feel lighter and look healthier especially in the face.
It takes years to build muscle but only weeks to lose fat, personally I would get fat loss out of the way and then focus on building muscle for the rest of the time until you feel too fat and then cut again.
[/quote]
I don’t agree.
It’s possible for a beginner to gain muscle in a very desirable ratio of LBM to fat. It’s even possible for a beginner to lose fat as muscle is built.
The OP is not actually fat. He has a small amount of belly fat, but his bigger issue is a lack of muscle mass. He will LOOK BETTER even in the short term by focusing on adding muscle as opposed to losing fat, as long as he doesn’t go overboard with the weight gain.
Every single time I would advise a beginner in his position to focus on gaining strength and muscle, which he can do rapidly given proper training and diet, instead of “cutting”. Seriously… the guy is 132 lbs and you want him to cut?
[/quote]
Thanks guys and everyone else again.
@TC15: That was my original plan but I was getting a bit self conscious losing so much weight and looking so damned skinny and I wasn’t happy with the direction it was going (130lb and still needed to lose more). Anyway the earlier pages of this thread convinced me against it and craze9’s post is also reassuring.
[quote]dt79 wrote:
yes. This is absolutely true.
But the OP was recently done with a cut and was maintaining his bodyweight to recomp after being advised by Brickhead IIRC.[/quote]
Yup, I did take BrickHeads advice earlier in the thread (where is he?) and started GSLP while eating at maintenance. I am still really enjoying GSLP though and I have reached the point where the 5th rep on the last set is a struggle now on most of the exercises.
So anyway I have upped my calories by 200-300 to start with this week and I am on day 3.
It’s too early to tell anything but something just feels different.
I feel like my metabolism is working again cause I am getting hungrier in between each meal and it just feels like its more active, it is hard to explain but it feels good.
I was on low calories for a very long time (under 1700/1800) and from reading stuff online I was pretty sure it was my metabolism was “damaged” or atleast not functioning correctly, maybe the gradual increase in calories over the past 2 months is helping it? Then again, maybe it’s all in my head.
Everything is going good for now and I will post new pics up in 2-4 weeks time.
Thanks all.
I would agree with you, dt, except for the fact that his lifts aren’t improving anywhere near as fast as they should. His squat went from 90x8 to 138x4 in six weeks. And that was after a three month cut. At his level, he should have been able to add quite a bit of weight to the bar while he was cutting, and then the increase in calories afterward should have boosted his gains even more. Instead, he only maintained while cutting, and has only improved a little since.
And you’re the one making stuff up. Or actually, you’re pretending that you didn’t mean what you meant. My rationale behind drinking lots of water may have been reductive, but I didn’t think going into a full blown chemistry lesson about digestive processes or how tissues are formed would be useful. It is true that to make use of the food we eat, there has to be a supply of water equivalent to 3 times its dry weight. Maybe you don’t like the way I worded it, but I didn’t exactly post it with you in mind.
Back to the body weight set point idea- I know full well the situation he was in and his acceptance of quite a bit of fat gain to push things to the extreme. I also know that he generally advised against someone in their thirties doing it. I was at a relatively lean 190, up from 145, and the usual gradual caloric increases weren’t working. I was eating 4000 kcal a day, with plenty of carbs, and was going nowhere.
Oh, and I suck at bench press. 5’9" with a span of 6’3" isn’t exactly great proportions for it. I worked at it for a long time, but all it did was tear up my shoulders and put mass on the outer, lower portion of my pecs, so I stopped doing them. That was just before life got in the way. Now that I’m back at it, I’m doing mostly incline work for pecs.
Oh, and I suck at bench press. 5’9" with a span of 6’3" isn’t exactly great proportions for it. I worked at it for a long time, but all it did was tear up my shoulders and put mass on the outer, lower portion of my pecs, so I stopped doing them. That was just before life got in the way. Now that I’m back at it, I’m doing mostly incline work for pecs. [/quote]
If you read in my log from last fall/winter, I had a similar issue going on. It ended up resulting in a tear/purple pec. I also have long arms, although not quite as long. I’m 5 10 with a 6’2 armspan. Anyway, my pecs felt god damn awful leading up to the tear, for months and months. The injury was inevitable. After it happened, I decided to work on technique to try to bench pain free, and I’ve been largely successful. I haven’t had that issue since then.
For me, the solution was to create a much better arch while pressing, and to touch lower on my sternum. I’m now touching about 2 inches below the bottom of my pec, and tucking my elbows in as hard as I can throughout the descent. It’s been a game changer for me. I’m also using a medium width grip, my pinkies are just inside the rings of the bar on most bars.
[quote]JayPierce wrote:
So, dt79, tell us your story. A few of us have given backgrounds, posted pics, and listed lift numbers for comparison. Or maybe have training logs.
Nothing about you, though. How did you get to such an advanced level in physique and strength, and how did you become so knowledgeable about diet and lifting? [/quote]
I have written my history and my stats in this very forum section before. I simply cannot be bothered to go through them again because of you. But don’t worry, I have been FAR more advanced than you, or you will ever be if you continue with what you are doing.
As for knowledge, regulars who have read my posts can be the judge of that.
But I will tell you this. I have been around since Biotest was selling Androsol and CT still had his Lair of the Ice Dog forum, so don’t bring up things old forum members have written and change them to suit your silly little arguments as I’ve read them all.[/quote]
Damn dude. You are old. I’ve been around for a long time as well, back when Ian King was a regular contributor and such. And I remember when CT came on the scene and did that bodybuilding show… and they were selling MAG-10, the prohormone. I don’t remember if Androsol was still around then. I was in college and not buying things, lol. T Nation was my first introduction to intelligent approaches to the gym. I didn’t read the forums much back then, but I read all the articles.[/quote]
Hey! I’m only 35 lol. Yeah Androsol was before MAG-10. It came in spray form so you had to spray that stuff on various parts of your body 70 times everyday. It was quite awful lol. MAG-10 came with some new “nano dispersion technology” which made it orally ingestible.
That’s when the 2 on 2 off cycles started here btw. The protocol was 2 weeks of Androsol rotated with 2 weeks of TRIBEX and Vitex(from gnc).
But the OP was recently done with a cut and was maintaining his bodyweight to recomp after being advised by Brickhead IIRC.[/quote]
Yup, I did take BrickHeads advice earlier in the thread (where is he?) and started GSLP while eating at maintenance. I am still really enjoying GSLP though and I have reached the point where the 5th rep on the last set is a struggle now on most of the exercises.
So anyway I have upped my calories by 200-300 to start with this week and I am on day 3.
It’s too early to tell anything but something just feels different.
I feel like my metabolism is working again cause I am getting hungrier in between each meal and it just feels like its more active, it is hard to explain but it feels good.
I was on low calories for a very long time (under 1700/1800) and from reading stuff online I was pretty sure it was my metabolism was “damaged” or atleast not functioning correctly, maybe the gradual increase in calories over the past 2 months is helping it? Then again, maybe it’s all in my head.
Everything is going good for now and I will post new pics up in 2-4 weeks time.
Thanks all.
[/quote]
Your metabolism will slow at the later stages of a cut. It is normal. It is the body in survival mode attempting to prevent further weight loss. This is why carb up/refeed/etc days are required. Understand that all this is transient and will change easily with modifications in training and diet. The maintainance phrase was a good call because there was a possiblility of a bodyfat rebound if you suddenly switch to gaining in that state.
Also, one of the reasons why you did not see much change during the maintainance was because these fullbody linear progression programs, as you have experienced, make you start light and do not get difficult until several weeks in. This is when you start building muscle.
[quote]JayPierce wrote:
I would agree with you, dt, except for the fact that his lifts aren’t improving anywhere near as fast as they should. His squat went from 90x8 to 138x4 in six weeks. And that was after a three month cut. [/quote]
Refer to the second part of my reply to the OP above.
I don’t know how he was lifting and at what intensity levels, and what he was eating consistantly during his cut. Neither do you. Why don’t you ask him?
I can accept this. But if you want to claim I’m making things up, quote what I wrote. I have told you to do this multiple times.
[quote]Back to the body weight set point idea- I know full well the situation he was in and his acceptance of quite a bit of fat gain to push things to the extreme. I also know that he generally advised against someone in their thirties doing it. I was at a relatively lean 190, up from 145, and the usual gradual caloric increases weren’t working. I was eating 4000 kcal a day, with plenty of carbs, and was going nowhere.
Oh, and I suck at bench press. 5’9" with a span of 6’3" isn’t exactly great proportions for it. I worked at it for a long time, but all it did was tear up my shoulders and put mass on the outer, lower portion of my pecs, so I stopped doing them. That was just before life got in the way. Now that I’m back at it, I’m doing mostly incline work for pecs. [/quote]
I’m rather tired of this part. The reason why I said earlier I wasn’t going to pick apart your physique is because I don’t like hitting below the belt and as long as you’re happy what what you have, it’s fine.
But if you are going use someone else’s words to support your point while giving advice to others, you best make sure you represent him properly. There have been many shitstorms here in recent years with people who got fat like idiots and claimed this was exactly what he told them to do, which unfortunately lead to his demise from these forums.
[quote]JayPierce wrote:
I would agree with you, dt, except for the fact that his lifts aren’t improving anywhere near as fast as they should. His squat went from 90x8 to 138x4 in six weeks. And that was after a three month cut. [/quote]
Refer to the second part of my reply to the OP above.[/quote]
I didn’t realise my lift progress for the past 6 weeks were bad.
I basically stuck exactly to the GSLP program guidelines and increased weight on the squat 5lb each workout (twice a week).
Sticking to the program guidelines I should have been at around a 105lb squat by the start of week 6 so I think my progress was okay? I am using an app to track everything.
I did double increase the weight for the first several workouts as I started off light but I didn’t want to jump the gun too fast and stall too quickly.
I don’t know how he was lifting and at what intensity levels, and what he was eating consistantly during his cut. Neither do you. Why don’t you ask him? [/quote]
My cut was basically 4x week split body superset type workout, reps in the 10-12 rep range with 30-60 sec rest, and 2-3 days of HIIT cardio.
I would walk out covered in sweat but looking back I didn’t progress at all.
I never got much stronger but I lost a lot of weight, but I looked like shit after and it didn’t look like I worked out. I think my biggest mistake was caloric intake and I went too low (1600/1750). I basically just maintained strength but my lifts were extremely weak to start with.
[quote]JayPierce wrote:
I would agree with you, dt, except for the fact that his lifts aren’t improving anywhere near as fast as they should. His squat went from 90x8 to 138x4 in six weeks. And that was after a three month cut. [/quote]
Refer to the second part of my reply to the OP above.[/quote]
I didn’t realise my lift progress for the past 6 weeks were bad.
I basically stuck exactly to the GSLP program guidelines and increased weight on the squat 5lb each workout (twice a week).
Squat:
Week 1: 55lb (25kg) x 10
Week 6: 138lb (62.5kg) x 4
Sticking to the program guidelines I should have been at around a 105lb squat by the start of week 6 so I think my progress was okay? I am using an app to track everything.
I did double increase the weight for the first several workouts as I started off light but I didn’t want to jump the gun too fast and stall too quickly.
I don’t know how he was lifting and at what intensity levels, and what he was eating consistantly during his cut. Neither do you. Why don’t you ask him? [/quote]
My cut was basically 4x week split body superset type workout, reps in the 10-12 rep range with 30-60 sec rest, and 2-3 days of HIIT cardio.
I would walk out covered in sweat but looking back I didn’t progress at all.
I never got much stronger but I lost a lot of weight, but I looked like shit after and it didn’t look like I worked out. I think my biggest mistake was caloric intake and I went too low (1600/1750). I basically just maintained strength but my lifts were extremely weak to start with.[/quote]
Yeah I didn’t say your progress was bad on the Greyskull Program. I was describing the linear progression model of the program, which has you starting light and making fixed increases in weight, hence the current weights you are lifting, which will definitely go up.
Regarding your cut, well, there’s the answer. An inexperienced beginner will usually screw up one variable or another. There’s no reason to prematurely classify you as carb tolerant or whatever.
Your progress was basically in line with what the program dictated. Good on you for actually following through on that.
I know you could have gotten at least 5 reps with the 138 though. A good part of this is learning how to push yourself, and not settling for “only” 4 reps.
This is probably obvious, but in general, the more work you do with heavier weights, the better the training effect will be. So basically, if you want better results, you’re going to have to be moving more weight, for more reps, than you are right now.
Push yourself to always get 5 reps on your 5+ set. Work on your mental game. You should be able to get well into the 200lb area with your squat for 3x5 without ever resetting. Remember that in some circles, a 500lb deadlift is just a “beginnner” weight; just the price of admission.
And just constantly self-monitor. If you realize you didn’t get enough sleep this time, make sure you get more sleep next time. If you feel a bit low on energy this time, figure out how to eat so you have more energy next time. If you feel rested and have lots of energy, push yourself harder. None of those should be excuses for why you couldn’t get that 5th rep though.
[quote]JayPierce wrote:
I would agree with you, dt, except for the fact that his lifts aren’t improving anywhere near as fast as they should. His squat went from 90x8 to 138x4 in six weeks. And that was after a three month cut. [/quote]
Refer to the second part of my reply to the OP above.[/quote]
I didn’t realise my lift progress for the past 6 weeks were bad.
I basically stuck exactly to the GSLP program guidelines and increased weight on the squat 5lb each workout (twice a week).
Sticking to the program guidelines I should have been at around a 105lb squat by the start of week 6 so I think my progress was okay? I am using an app to track everything.
I did double increase the weight for the first several workouts as I started off light but I didn’t want to jump the gun too fast and stall too quickly.
I don’t know how he was lifting and at what intensity levels, and what he was eating consistantly during his cut. Neither do you. Why don’t you ask him? [/quote]
My cut was basically 4x week split body superset type workout, reps in the 10-12 rep range with 30-60 sec rest, and 2-3 days of HIIT cardio.
I would walk out covered in sweat but looking back I didn’t progress at all.
I never got much stronger but I lost a lot of weight, but I looked like shit after and it didn’t look like I worked out. I think my biggest mistake was caloric intake and I went too low (1600/1750). I basically just maintained strength but my lifts were extremely weak to start with.[/quote]
I honestly think the reason you’re not seeing the visible results you want to see yet is because you’re simply not strong enough yet. Nobody who’s squatting 135x5 is going to have great looking legs. But the progression is there, you’re clearly moving in the right direction based on what you posted here. As LoRez said, you’ll learn over time how to push yourself more. This will lead to greater results.
I would stick to the program you’ve been running as long as you continue to see progress. Once you’re pushing bigger numbers, you’ll look better, I promise. You seem willing to be strict with both diet and training. You’re willing to follow pre-established programs. These traits will serve you well. Don’t worry about what you see in the mirror right now. If you learn to lift with intensity, and keep eating enough to grow, you will. By next year you’ll look like a different person!
[quote]JayPierce wrote:
I would agree with you, dt, except for the fact that his lifts aren’t improving anywhere near as fast as they should. His squat went from 90x8 to 138x4 in six weeks. And that was after a three month cut. [/quote]
Refer to the second part of my reply to the OP above.[/quote]
I didn’t realise my lift progress for the past 6 weeks were bad.
I basically stuck exactly to the GSLP program guidelines and increased weight on the squat 5lb each workout (twice a week).
Sticking to the program guidelines I should have been at around a 105lb squat by the start of week 6 so I think my progress was okay? I am using an app to track everything.
I did double increase the weight for the first several workouts as I started off light but I didn’t want to jump the gun too fast and stall too quickly.
I don’t know how he was lifting and at what intensity levels, and what he was eating consistantly during his cut. Neither do you. Why don’t you ask him? [/quote]
My cut was basically 4x week split body superset type workout, reps in the 10-12 rep range with 30-60 sec rest, and 2-3 days of HIIT cardio.
I would walk out covered in sweat but looking back I didn’t progress at all.
I never got much stronger but I lost a lot of weight, but I looked like shit after and it didn’t look like I worked out. I think my biggest mistake was caloric intake and I went too low (1600/1750). I basically just maintained strength but my lifts were extremely weak to start with.[/quote]
I honestly think the reason you’re not seeing the visible results you want to see yet is because you’re simply not strong enough yet. Nobody who’s squatting 135x5 is going to have great looking legs. But the progression is there, you’re clearly moving in the right direction based on what you posted here. As LoRez said, you’ll learn over time how to push yourself more. This will lead to greater results.
I would stick to the program you’ve been running as long as you continue to see progress. Once you’re pushing bigger numbers, you’ll look better, I promise. You seem willing to be strict with both diet and training. You’re willing to follow pre-established programs. These traits will serve you well. Don’t worry about what you see in the mirror right now. If you learn to lift with intensity, and keep eating enough to grow, you will. By next year you’ll look like a different person![/quote]
I couldn’t agree more. Focus on getting stronger and make sure to eat enough to facilitate that.
You know… When I first looked at the GSLP program, I thought “novices doing AMRAP on every lift, every time??? Oh, well. If it works, it works.”
But looking into it further, and looking at the results, I see that a huge number of beginners stall very quickly. Telling a beginner to leave a rep in the tank is kinda like giving a teenager a car with a broken gas gauge and telling them not to run out.
The program itself looks solid. Focusing on the basics and using planned, linear progression is smart. But I think it would yield better results sticking to five reps on the last set.
[quote]LoRez wrote:
You should be able to get well into the 200lb area with your squat for 3x5 without ever resetting.[/quote]
Wow! My short term goals are to reach 180lb on squat and bench. I would absolutely love it if I could achieve that without a reset but it sounds extremely tough!?
I already had to deload once on the squat (4x138lb) and bench (4x120lb).
This week since increasing my calories I did 5x124lb on the bench which is my best yet - but those 5 reps were extremely tough on each of the 3 sets and it took everything to get the 5th rep on the last set which doesn’t fill me with a lot of confidence that it’ll be smooth sailing without a reset.
After resetting my squat the other week I did 7x120lb on the last set (previous best at that weight was 5x120lb) so I’ll see how it goes all the way to 200lb and the calorie increase.
Thanks man that’s really good advice.
[quote]flipcollar wrote:
I honestly think the reason you’re not seeing the visible results you want to see yet is because you’re simply not strong enough yet. Nobody who’s squatting 135x5 is going to have great looking legs.[/quote]
Yeah this makes a whole lot of sense, and thanks for everything else you said. If I can’t do it right I won’t do it at all which is why I’m really dedicated and strict with everything (if only the results would come!).
[quote]JayPierce wrote:
You know… When I first looked at the GSLP program, I thought “novices doing AMRAP on every lift, every time??? Oh, well. If it works, it works.”
But looking into it further, and looking at the results, I see that a huge number of beginners stall very quickly. Telling a beginner to leave a rep in the tank is kinda like giving a teenager a car with a broken gas gauge and telling them not to run out.
The program itself looks solid. Focusing on the basics and using planned, linear progression is smart. But I think it would yield better results sticking to five reps on the last set. [/quote]
Hey I am a little confused by your post. I don’t think it said to leave a rep in the tank anywhere, or were you referring to another poster?
I think the main benefit of the last set benig AMRAP (according to his ebook) comes after resetting as you should be able to achieve more reps on the last set on previous weight (-10%) all the way up to the weight you stalled at, promoting hypertrophy and growth? I don’t know if this means that he expects there to be a lot of resets but lately most of the reps on my last set have just barely made it to 5 anyway!
I may have misunderstood him when he said “you’re supposed to stop when you’re sure the next rep will result in either dangerous technique or a failed rep.” Same concept, though. It’s hard for a beginner to tell.
Lifting to failure also isn’t a good idea for someone who hasn’t built up any recovery capacity.
I’ve found that especially when training beginners, lifting EXPLOSIVELY in the 5 rep range works best because it’s self-regulating. If you put the maximum force into every rep (force= mass x acceleration), with as perfect form as you possibly can, the actual weight on the bar doesn’t matter as long as it’s not too light or too heavy. Linear progression takes care of the rest. There’s no need for a novice to grind out reps.
Well, I think with the AMRAP – especially since it’s with a weight you’ve already done 2x5 with – is that it’s a good way to understand the difference between the types of failure. There’s legitimate failure, from fatigue or the muscles just give out, or even injury… and there’s “failure”, where your mind gives up even though you’re technically capable of it.
The recovery impact of a failed rep in the 6-8RM range is going to be minimal, compared to a failed rep in the 1-3RM range. (Obviously there’s a big difference between the 1RM and 3RM.)
It may not be ideal to fail a rep when you’re doing 1x5, 1x5, 1x5+… but it’s not really going to set you back too much. I think Greyskull’s 5+ set is great in allowing one to push themselves well beyond what they thought was their failure point.
I think as a learning tool, it’s actually a very good program.