Hi Coach,
Based on your courses and the training programs (BTA BW 1-2, Men’s physique, Maximum muscle) that I’ve purchased, it is my understanding that you have a preference for constant loading instead of step loading.
Now I also understand that the main objective of these programs is either hypertrophy or improved body composition.
Generally speaking one could say that constant loading is a superior form of loading for these specific goals because you can more easily reach the effective rep treshold without having to significantly increase the weight.
However, looking at your double and triple progression models, the same constant loading rules apply. You only go up in weight once you’ve reached the high end of the rep range on all sets.
This leads me to believe that you are not a huge fan of step loading. Can I ask you why? Is it due to the fact that inexperienced lifters have a tendency to increase the weight to fast with this form of loading? Or is it because you’re using a weight spread that has too many garbage sets in it leading to a suboptimal training effect and extended recovery times?
I would like to know your point of view on the matter.
Lou
I literally just wrote an article on step loading and sent it to the editors earlier this week.
That is absolutely false. In fact that’s how I’m training right now.
It depends on the goal and person. You’ll see my article on the topic soon enough
I sure will. I like the fact that you’ve found the concept interesting enough to write an article about it. It has good learning value for lifters of all training ages.
Having tried both forms of loading, I personally find it easier to stick with constant loading because in the past I tended to overshoot the weights and tried to increase the load too fast from week to week using a step loading protocol, especially when working with standard rep ranges (4-6) instead of fixed reps (6).
It seems a bit easier to estimate your RPE with constant loading because with step loading initially you run the risk of using a spread that’s too big, making the first week of that phase ineffective. Perhaps it’s also my inexperience in properly estimating my RM percentages with more advanced rep schemes. I won’t deny that.
By the way, I am purely talking about the A series here. I’m sure you automatically understood that, but I’m mentioning it for the readers who do not.
I’ll read the article and see if it can shed some new light on my current way of training. Thanks CT