8x3 for strength/some hypertrophy?

[mattarama]

I got it from Chad Waterbury's set/rep bible, says that 8x3 is good for strength with some hypertrophy. I'm looking to transition from 3x10 into 8x3, doing an upper/lower split for strength. I don't want to go into 3x3 or 3x5 because I feel like the volume is too low.

Is 8x3 practical for strength gains, with a small amount of hypertrophy? To be honest, I don't mind if I make no mass gains. I just want strength, but as stated before, I don't like the low volume workouts...I'm just more comfortable with higher volumes
was planning on doing the following:

day 1: upper
day 2: lower
day 3: rest
day 4: upper
day 5 rest
day 6: lower
day 7 rest

Lower:
Squats
Deadlift
Stiff-Leg Deadlifts

Upper:
Bench Press
Bent-over Rows
Overhead Press

[pumplikecuming]

For everyone wondering what op is talking about:

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...e_setrep_bible

Op, his recommendation is also that you work out that muscle group 2-4 times a week. If your going to take his advice, do it in its entirety. Increasing volume will sacrifice recovery.

[zephed56]

It's hard to give advice if the program you are using isn't all laid out. Sets/reps/exercises/etc pls.

If you want to do low rep strength work, but also want to be able to do some things with higher reps and/or get more volume in, 5/3/1 might be your ticket. It is also essentially an upper/lower split so probably not too different from what you were considering doing anyways.

[pumplikecuming]

It's hard to give advice if the program you are using isn't all laid out. Sets/reps/exercises/etc pls.

If you want to do low rep strength work, but also want to be able to do some things with higher reps, 5/3/1 might be your ticket. It is also essentially an upper/lower split so probably not too different from what you were considering doing anyways.

It not a program he is using, he is making his own using the recommendations given by Chad Waterbury. And I wouldn't recommend 5/3/1 to anyone who is not advanced or nearing advanced.

[mattarama]

For everyone wondering what op is talking about:

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...e_setrep_bible

Op, his recommendation is also that you work out that muscle group 2-4 times a week. If your going to take his advice, do it in its entirety. Increasing volume will sacrifice recovery.

I am doing an upper/lower split that is going to be:

day 1: upper
day 2: lower
day 3: rest
day 4: upper
day 5 rest
day 6: lower
day 7 rest

Each muscle worked out twice a week. Is that too little?

And the workouts I was thinking I could do were:

Lower:
Squats
Deadlift
Stiff-Leg Deadlifts

Upper:
Bench Press
Bent-over Rows
Overhead Press

will edit main post with this info.

[DanielBeauchamp]

I'd listen to Waterbury.

[pumplikecuming]

I am doing an upper/lower split that is going to be:

day 1: upper
day 2: lower
day 3: rest
day 4: upper
day 5 rest
day 6: lower
day 7 rest

Each muscle worked out twice a week. Is that too little?

And the workouts I was thinking I could do were:

Lower:
Squats
Deadlift
Stiff-Leg Deadlifts

Upper:
Bench Press
Bent-over Rows
Overhead Press

will edit main post with this info.

Two days is good, your recovery will be better, so if you want you can bump the volume up a little. And I would say little very sparingly.

[mattarama]

Two days is good, your recovery will be better, so if you want you can bump the volume up a little. And I would say little very sparingly.

Oh maybe I wasn't clear in my first post. I was planning on choosing 8x3 over 3x3 or 3x5 because of the higher volume of 8x3. I was simply wondering if 8x3 was useful for my goals and if anyone had any experience with them. If 8x3 is good for strength I have no intentions of changing anything whatsoever. I was just hoping it was just as effective as the lower volume parameters.

[pumplikecuming]

Oh maybe I wasn't clear in my first post. I was planning on choosing 8x3 over 3x3 or 3x5 because of the higher volume of 8x3. I was simply wondering if 8x3 was useful for my goals and if anyone had any experience with them. If 8x3 is good for strength I have no intentions of changing anything whatsoever. I was just hoping it was just as effective as the lower volume parameters.

Well you want to get strong so if you want to get strong, of course your going to build some mass. I know your goal is to mainly get strong, but getting strong without gaining muscle will cut your gains short. 8x3 will be more effective due to the mass gains. Strength in a nutshell is: neurogenic tone + the size of the muscle fiber. You can build an imbalance of the two by not training with enough volume which will give you your neurogenic tone (the strength of signals which your brain can send via your cns) but your muscle mass will not increase much if at all (don't forget bigger muscle=more strength). There are some freaks of natures out there that have sick control over the muscles they have, but regular folks like us don't have the ability to gain the degree of neurogenic tone they do. So by doing 3x3, its good if your going into a powerlifting competition to maximize the signals you can send to your muscle, but if your training for max strength overall (not just going into competition), its not very good at all. So your goal is to build as much neural capabilities with muscle to create as much force as possible, 8x3 is a much...much better route since it will build more muscle mass, while increasing your neural capabilities. Its also good sometime to take a break from your normal training and train for muscle mass, since a bigger muscle can be just as important as its neural capability.

[mattarama]

Well you want to get strong so if you want to get strong, of course your going to build some mass. I know your goal is to mainly get strong, but getting strong without gaining muscle will cut your gains short. 8x3 will be more effective due to the mass gains. Strength in a nutshell is: neurogenic tone + the size of the muscle fiber. You can build an imbalance of the two by not training with enough volume which will give you your neurogenic tone (the strength of signals which your brain can send via your cns) but your muscle mass will not increase much if at all (don't forget bigger muscle=more strength). There are some freaks of natures out there that have sick control over the muscles they have, but regular folks like us don't have the ability to gain the degree of neurogenic tone they do. So by doing 3x3, its good if your going into a powerlifting competition to maximize the signals you can send to your muscle, but if your training for max strength overall (not just going into competition), its not very good at all. So your goal is to build as much neural capabilities with muscle to create as much force as possible, 8x3 is a much...much better route since it will build more muscle mass, while increasing your neural capabilities. Its also good sometime to take a break from your normal training and train for muscle mass, since a bigger muscle can be just as important as its neural capability.

Okay, thank you very much for your help.

[zephed56]

It not a program he is using, he is making his own using the recommendations given by Chad Waterbury. And I wouldn't recommend 5/3/1 to anyone who is not advanced or nearing advanced.

Right, I understand that. Except for it is nearly impossible to give him help if we don't know exactly what he is doing for 8x3.

[mattarama]

Right, I understand that. Except for it is nearly impossible to give him help if we don't know exactly what he is doing for 8x3.

I edited my post and provided that info.

[mattarama]

I edited my post and provided that info.

I decided today that I would start this, did upper today. Thanks for all the help everyone.