These pics was taken when I was exclusively weights
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These ones after a regime that was mostly conditioning based
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Amazing sessions - as always. Do you ever monitor your max and average heart rates during your bodyweight sessions ?
Having watched this thread and read Herschel Walker I am starting to use this protocol for my light training days. It is helping with muscular recovery from sprints/weights but I am not sure if I am getting enough conditioning benefits from it yet.
I find I cant get my typical sustained values in circuit type sessions at a local gym (110-130bpm) close to those when running hard (145-165) or even steady (130-135). Is this because I am not bodyweight good enough to reach the high values. I am not flaking out just cant get the numbers up. Gym sessions are the typical 30 secs on 30 off, 40/20 etc.
Do I just need to do enough bodyweight work to get my skills up to achieve a higher HR ?
My resting HR is pretty low and my max high, which is supposed to be a good thing.
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Do you have some links or videos on 350 method? I looked it up and i found the idea - 50 reps in 3 sets but id like to understand the science if there is such. But i cant seem to find much about this.
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I rarely use a HR monitor however I have a video where I used one exclusively to try and keep my HR between 130-150
Tbh I found it a tad cumbersome as Iām so burpee hardened that I had to go like the clappers to get my HR up. I was actually shocked at this.
It all comes down to the exercise selection re circuits
I recommend you try a ācardiovascular punishmentā routine. I have a couple of videos as does the Iron Wolf. These sessions will knock you on your back
Thereās an article on here somewhere about it.
I donāt know the science but what I do know is thisā¦
If Iām trying to get 50 In 3 sets then you can be rest assured that the first 2 sets will be to or very close to failure. Thatās all I need to know because ultimately it comes down to busting ass.
But why do you feel like its better than just 3x10 with those sets being just as close to failure? If you do 20 rep sets the first 15 reps technically do nothing, no?
P.s - if you feel like im making your log a mess with my questions, you can respond in my log. Thank you.
In some of these sets I feel like failing at the first 10 however burpee training has hardened the mind and allowed me to push through pain more effectively. Thatās my take on it
I donāt care much for set and Rep schemes when it comes to muscle building. Once bar speed slows down involuntarily then I know the magic is happening.
350 is a fun way to structure training as it provides to motivation to hit Rep Prs on some of these lifts as well so I guess thatās a factor
Feel free to ask any question @hankthetank89 mate.
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Hank I believe the 3-50 method was used for assistance work for powerlifting as a good way to get lots of reps in fairly quickly. It was found to have benefits both in pressing strength and also muscle growth. Itās an easy way to program assistance work. Just pick a weight and do as many reps as you can, then do a second and third set. If the total reps is more than 50 add some weight, if not then beat the rep total next week. I think the original article on here is called āguaranteed muscle massā check it out.
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From the very inventor of 350 :
This is exactly what i toughtā¦ if you do 22 rep sets, it means that the first 20 reps do nothing. Technically you can just do heavier sets.
Im not an expert - im just thinking/guessing/debating
I donāt tend to worry too much about what studies say and just go with what works for me at the time.
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Think less, do more. There is no spoon 
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Not only that but you have to take into account what you can do at any given time
My gym sessions are seriously time limited. I can rep out a 350 workout in 20 mins flat.
All these studies are performed in lab conditions. I operate with dad conditions. Iād love them to do a study on me.
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Thanks for the advice. Have started looking at Iron Wolf workouts and I see what you mean. The exercises selected are more dynamic, more weightbearing and the duration per exercise longer.
In comparison, commercial gyms mix up dynamic exercises with ābreaksā of DB curls, resistance bands etc. Hercshel Walker workouts are heavily based on press up, sit ups and squats. If done in a controlled manner with good form I can see the benfits for strength and mobility but not the intensity for conditioning.
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Whilst Iām no expert either - I donāt by into the whole āthe only reps that count are the 2 - 3 before failureā. If there were true - there would be no need to ever go about 4 reps.
I was always under the impression why you are failing is important. If you pump out your 3 rep max - the failure is strength which is as much about nerves and muscular activation as it is anything else. So your body responds by improving these aspects. Which lead to only a slight size change.
Where as if you are failing at 10 reps itās down to lack of energy in the cells. So your body increases the number of muscle cells, the size (so they can house more energy) and the blood supply. All making you look massive.
As an fyi I used 350 for incline bench some time back. I found it to be REALLY good. I took my 350 from 60kg to 66kg. It lead to noticeable size gains. So either way it works. And works well.
I agree about the idea that it matters why you are failing, but its still the last reps that matter.
With very heavy sets the problem is that even tho you fail at 3rd rep you might have gotten like 90% of the tonnage on the 4th rep. On a 10 rep set its split more evenly.
Just for the sake of math lets round it up stupidly but it will ilustrate the point :
Hypertrophy is stimulated when your body feels that it is hard to do the rep. Thats why it is believed that only last 1-2 reps actually stimulate most growth.
If we look at a 10 rep set, each rep is around 10% of total tonnage. Lets say you need to get to 85% to stimulate growth, so 8 reps get you to 80% and the last two are the ones that stimulate growth. So 2 reps worth of stimulus.
If we do the same with a 3 rep max, each rep is around 33% so we can do 2 reps which do nothing, and we fail on the 3rd so we either got nothing or 1 rep worth of stimulus. Also its super taxing on the body in general so its just not optimal.
As far as i understand, and its actually what Paul Carter says in most of his stuff, is that the only reps that stimulate growth are the ones that feel hard.
If i use a 10 rep max, then doing first 8 reps do nothing as i can already do 10 reps, so why would an 8 rep set do anything?
Techincally, Carter says that everything taken to failure is good. My question is just - why do 22 reps and 18 reps, to get to those last 2-3 good reps instead of just 8-10 rep range.
Whats weird is that when i looked into 350, the author - Paul Carter, on this very forum and lots of podcasts actually talks about 2 sets of 6 being just as good. Saying Wendlers 5x10 is a waste of time, etc.
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This in an interesting discussion that has been debated and studies many times with lots of different ideas and conclusions. If I use myself as an example, I started back in the gym 5 years ago and have added 16kg of weight during that time. I would say from body comp that a bit over 50% of that is muscle. I had no desire to build muscle from the start and only to get a little stronger and recapture some of my youth. I have trained for strength across that time and have done no training that involves reps to failure like those sets you describe above. The last 2.5 years I have been training for powerlifting with all lifts programmed to stay away from failure and all accessory work is basic pump rep work but no failure or forced reps or any other optimal bodybuilding training ! So based on your description above I have done very few if any reps that cause the muscles to grow. But my clothes tell a different story. I would say to counter my own point though that over that time I have progressively added weight to the bar so there is a stimulus for the body to grow, it just wasnāt through sets to failure. I think that people need to stop thinking about this in terms of optimal and just work hard, consistently over time. Find a style of training that you like or where you can see the results and just keep working hard.
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Nah, they talk about it here :
The idea is that 1)a beginner gets enough stimulus no matter what he doesā¦ 2)high volume does work because of the high volumeā¦ when you put a muscle under sub-optimal stress for long enough period, the damage does accumulateā¦
lets say you get like 25% of 1 rep worth of stimulusā¦ do 10 sets like these and you do get 2-3 reps worth of stimulusā¦
What Carter and Stevenson say in this podcast is that you could have gotten the same stimulus just by taking ONE set of 10-12 reps to actual failure.
i agree with this. Its still a very interesting topic and i do love to think about stuff. And discuss it.