As the subject line indicates, I was wondering if anyone could shed some light as to why after higher frequency/volume, everything (i.e. working sets) feels heavy. To preface, I have (and am currently) running a higher frequency split and have found that every time I try to run a more sustainable program (something like 5/3/1), all of the weights feel heavy if I am not regularly dealing with heavy percentages.
As it relates to my personal style of training, I’ve found volume and frequency to move my squat, heavy singles to work for my pressing, and so long as my squat goes up, so does my dead.
Maybe you are just used to doing singles, doubles, triples and just deconditioned to higher reps.
maybe your GPP sucks
maybe you’ve spent too much time chasing women this week so you’re tired…
review your training log. Maybe you’ve added or taken something away to you aren’t used to yet.
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I would say yes and no. When I had run Smolov to peak for my last meet I found that I loved the higher rep sets and have since kept 1-2 of them in for back-off work in the 9-12 rep range.
This may sound redundant going along with the above but, with the higher rep sets, I don’t think so.
Ha, ha. Hardly. Started a new job and am pretty occupied with that.
Cool man. Yeah I saw what Jim wrote over in the 5/3/1 thread you posted as well. FWIW, when I switch from west-side ish type training to 5/3/1 I also experienced the “heavy” thing. I couldn’t really put my finger on it either. Stay the course tho, you’ll be fine.
Congrats on the job, tip from the ol Dawg, Never get your meat, where you get your bread… feel me?? lol
[quote]StrengthDawg wrote:
Cool man. Yeah I saw what Jim wrote over in the 5/3/1 thread you posted as well. FWIW, when I switch from west-side ish type training to 5/3/1 I also experienced the “heavy” thing. I couldn’t really put my finger on it either. Stay the course tho, you’ll be fine.
Congrats on the job, tip from the ol Dawg, Never get your meat, where you get your bread… feel me?? lol
Take care man[/quote]
Meat where I get my bread… Ha, ha. That’s good, man.
Every time I program in a high-frequency/high-volume training phase I notice a drop in my maximal strength performance. It’s almost inevitable that this will happen if you don’t drop some heavy singles, doubles or triples into your high-volume programming, but it’s also not necessarily a bad thing if hypertrophy, physical/neural recovery or improved work capacity are your goals. You’ll rebound quickly.
[quote]Jlabs wrote:
Do light days to stay fresh ya dig?[/quote]
Right. And I guess I didn’t explain it well but its actually the light days that feel heavy. I had tried Wendler’s and it is the working sets that kill me. The singles are easy if that makes any sense?
[quote]Jlabs wrote:
Do light days to stay fresh ya dig?[/quote]
Right. And I guess I didn’t explain it well but its actually the light days that feel heavy. I had tried Wendler’s and it is the working sets that kill me. The singles are easy if that makes any sense?[/quote]
Start off light for the first cycle and see how it goes in the second and third cycles once you acclimate to that style of program. Most people feel the same way when transitioning from low volume to high volume programs. It typically takes me a month to fully transition between the two so I wouldn’t be worried until then.
[quote]lift206 wrote:
Start off light for the first cycle and see how it goes in the second and third cycles once you acclimate to that style of program. Most people feel the same way when transitioning from low volume to high volume programs. It typically takes me a month to fully transition between the two so I wouldn’t be worried until then.[/quote]
Right. And the only reason I am so apprehensive is the fact that the only things that seem to move my lifts are the aforementioned. Any ideas on how to go about structuring volume and intensity?
Right. And the only reason I am so apprehensive is the fact that the only things that seem to move my lifts are the aforementioned. Any ideas on how to go about structuring volume and intensity?
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The most success I have had with 5/3/1 was when I did the BBB 3-month challenge and then continued doing the 5/3/1 BBB. After 7 months I put on 30 lbs on SQ and 70 lbs on DL (switched to sumo so probably only 40 lbs on conventional). After that I began to stall and made very slow progress - I put on 30 lbs on SQ and 40 lbs on DL after another 12 months. I then switched to Sheiko which I am currently on. I learned from the first 7 months that I respond best to high volume and moderate intensity. The final months of the 7-month block were more of a realization phase where I began to work with higher intensities and probably could have prepped for a PR. Looking back, I should have reset with 90% of my training max and went back to the BBB challenge after I first began to stall. If I ever go back to 5/3/1 that’s precisely what I would do - the 3-month BBB challenge followed by at least 3 months of the 5/3/1 BBB for a 6-7 month training cycle. If I were to prep for a meet then I would only add in singles for two months leading up to the meet. If you want to try 5/3/1 and respond best to volume, I would highly recommend doing the BBB challenge first. The best part about it was I usually spent only an hour at the gym.
I have only read the original and powerlifting 5/3/1 and don’t know much about the latest version. Regardless, if you respond best to volume then make sure you program for it during your accumulation phase.
[quote]lift206 wrote:
The most success I have had with 5/3/1 was when I did the BBB 3-month challenge and then continued doing the 5/3/1 BBB. After 7 months I put on 30 lbs on SQ and 70 lbs on DL (switched to sumo so probably only 40 lbs on conventional). After that I began to stall and made very slow progress - I put on 30 lbs on SQ and 40 lbs on DL after another 12 months. I then switched to Sheiko which I am currently on. I learned from the first 7 months that I respond best to high volume and moderate intensity. The final months of the 7-month block were more of a realization phase where I began to work with higher intensities and probably could have prepped for a PR. Looking back, I should have reset with 90% of my training max and went back to the BBB challenge after I first began to stall. If I ever go back to 5/3/1 that’s precisely what I would do - the 3-month BBB challenge followed by at least 3 months of the 5/3/1 BBB for a 6-7 month training cycle. If I were to prep for a meet then I would only add in singles for two months leading up to the meet. If you want to try 5/3/1 and respond best to volume, I would highly recommend doing the BBB challenge first. The best part about it was I usually spent only an hour at the gym.
I have only read the original and powerlifting 5/3/1 and don’t know much about the latest version. Regardless, if you respond best to volume then make sure you program for it during your accumulation phase.[/quote]
Interesting, man. Did you do the BBB on alternates for the Squats and Deads (i.e. 5/3/1 deads and BBB squats)? And as it relates to Sheiko, did you run the program with your acutual or projected max?
Interesting, man. Did you do the BBB on alternates for the Squats and Deads (i.e. 5/3/1 deads and BBB squats)? And as it relates to Sheiko, did you run the program with your acutual or projected max?
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Yeah the BBB Challenge calls for Heavy SQ/Volume DL one day and Heavy DL/Volume SQ on another. I am currently running the full Sheiko 29/30/31 for the first time (for SQ and DL) so I’m still testing the waters with the full program. When I first ran Sheiko I ran it with true maxes and now I add weight depending on how the overall cycle felt. My DL training max is generally less than my true max and it’s the opposite for SQ. I still have a lot of room for improvement on SQ form, especially when going heavy.