Training 100% Every Week?

[BulkingIsHard]

Always used to go right till failure on the last rep of my compounds. I was under the impression that your face should be red and about to explode or you weren’t making gains. Recently a friend has told me to not go so heavy every workout so I can make faster progress. Is this legit and I’m retarded?

[air2fakie]

It's legit that you can make better progress by not going to failure on every single set of every workout. Doing otherwise doesn't necessarily mean you're mentally challenged though.

Track your gains by muscle growth and increasing your lifts, not how red your face is.

[lolhey]

Your friend said that because most people cannot do multiple sets at the same weight/reps if they are going to failure. Chances are if you are almost failing the 5th rep of your first set you'll likely get even less the next set.
So if you don't train to failure you can program your routine better and hit the weights you're aiming to hit. Not hitting failure also usually means a lot less soreness and faster recovery.

[SuffolkPunch]

Yes, I think exertion levels should be modulated to avoid premature burnout and losing momentum

Example: Leave 3 reps in reserve in every set early in the mesocycle and steadily increase this to 1 or 0 RIR towards the end.

[jk202]

Different ways to go about it. One end of the spectrum is Mike Isreatel and the RIR crew. The other end you have Hypertrophy Coach / Jordan Peters and a lot of other low volume HIT advocates.

I personally couldn't stand the RIR stuff, but that doesn't mean I think it's wrong or dumb

[BulkingIsHard]

It's legit that you can make better progress by not going to failure on every single set of every workout. Doing otherwise doesn't necessarily mean you're mentally challenged though.

Track your gains by muscle growth and increasing your lifts, not how red your face is.

Yea, obviously I do this, I was just basically saying that my face is completely red from holding my breathe and giving it 100% exertion

Your friend said that because most people cannot do multiple sets at the same weight/reps if they are going to failure. Chances are if you are almost failing the 5th rep of your first set you'll likely get even less the next set.
So if you don't train to failure you can program your routine better and hit the weights you're aiming to hit. Not hitting failure also usually means a lot less soreness and faster recovery.

Yes, I think exertion levels should be modulated to avoid premature burnout and losing momentum

Example: Leave 3 reps in reserve in every set early in the mesocycle and steadily increase this to 1 or 0 RIR towards the end.

I do 5 reps minimum. If I can only hit 4 reps, or I know I won't have energy for 5 reps on the next set, I start to pyramid down, but I'm still maxing out my exertion (0, maybe 1, RIR every set basically).

Part of the reason I do this is to keep track of my progress. If I'm doing 5 lbs more on this workout, then I know I'm eating and sleeping right, but now I'm told I shouldn't push myself so often. Just feels odd to finish a set and still have energy for more reps.

[WolfRose7]

For strength its definitely counter productive.
For hypertrophy it might not matter

[George2100]

I take most of my sets to failure. I train high volume, high intensity, low frequency though. Which I understand is not very common on here. Works fine for me though! I just have trouble holding back.

[BulkingIsHard]

For strength its definitely counter productive.
For hypertrophy it might not matter

How would it be counter productive for strength? CNS fatigue? My volume isn't super crazy, usually 3x5 to at most 3x8 per compound lift on a pull/push/legs split with a dedicated rest day.

[SuffolkPunch]

How would it be counter productive for strength? CNS fatigue? My volume isn't super crazy, usually 3x5 to at most 3x8 per compound lift on a pull/push/legs split with a dedicated rest day.

Submaximal low reps works to improve strength. A progression of loading also works. You can't have that progression if you hit a wall after 1 session.

BTW, for the benefit of the high intensity guys - there is a school of thought (check Doug McGuff) that suggests that certain people do benefit from this rather than a higher volume approach and he addresses the evidence in a systematic manner. He is claiming that the higher volume guys tend to dominate the aggregate results because they have the highest overall potential and impact the results the most - but looking at the "mid table" guys, they seem to respond better to higher exertion and lower volume. So it's possible it fits observations and is not a simple case of more is best for volume.

As we all know, gotta find what works for you.

[WolfRose7]

How would it be counter productive for strength? CNS fatigue? My volume isn't super crazy, usually 3x5 to at most 3x8 per compound lift on a pull/push/legs split with a dedicated rest day.

Not CNS but general and peripheral fatigue and doms likely a lot higher hitting rpe 10 than 6-8, and we have evidence to believe rpe 6-8 works just as well if not potentially slightly better for strength blocks.

https://mennohenselmans.com/skeletal...ive-intensity/

https://myojournal.com/rethinking-pr...trength-gains/

[faithbrah]

i do compounds with 0-2 reps in the tank, but rarely actually fail them (have failed squat maybe three times in two years and my legs are the strongest)

accessories feel difficult, but not to the point where i'd ever go to failure

like george said, it feels hard to hold back

[blue9steel]

Going to failure (or beyond) gets you the highest amount of stimulus, however it also gets you the highest amount of fatigue. Stimulus seems to be roughly linear while fatigue seems to grow geometrically or exponentially the closer you go to failure. What you want for a mesocycle is the highest amount of stimulus possible while staying under your systemic fatigue cap. This emphasizes local fatigue as the limiting factor (which is hypertrophic) rather than systemic fatigue (which isn't). For anyone but raw beginners this is going to mean that your best stimulus to fatigue ratio is not going to be going to failure every microcycle. Example, try programming 3x week deadlifts with five sets @65% 1RM to failure per session and let me know how that goes for you.

[Garage Rat]

It depends what your goal is with that type of training.
Going balls out every training session will eventually lead to burning out or an injury.
You need to train hard enough to stimulate muscle growth but not over train.
There is a fine line for sure.
Many have the idea that more is better.
If your trying to gain muscle heavy weight sessions for reps with moderate weight sessions.
You can make moderate weight training sessions harder by doing things like pre exhaust say leg extensions for a set then squat for a set.It can be done with other areas as well.
A back off week after some hard sessions is also a good idea.
Back off where lighter weight for reps to get blood in the muscle but not fatigue the muscle can help recovery.
Good luck.

[jaxqen]

Different ways to go about it. One end of the spectrum is Mike Isreatel and the RIR crew. The other end you have Hypertrophy Coach / Jordan Peters and a lot of other low volume HIT advocates.

I personally couldn't stand the RIR stuff, but that doesn't mean I think it's wrong or dumb

A nice and diplomatic way of saying this?!

https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...post1618673601

[Ironface]

This is part of the game. You have advocates of HIT - high intensity but limited volume, and people who advocate higher volume with lower intensity.

To be honest, I think I’d be better off not going balls to the wall all the time and instead leaving a rep or two in the tank. But once I’m in the zone for a heavy bench or deadlift, there’s little chance of that happening.

[BeginnerGainz]

For compounds, I do 3 sets.
1 warm up set at light intensity 8-10 reps
1 warm up set at moderate intensity 8-10 reps
1 work set at high intensity 6-8 reps

For assistance work, since the muscles are already warmed up, get 2 sets.
1 warm up at moderate intensity 8-14 reps
1 work set at high intensity 6-12 reps

On the work sets, the last rep or 2 are always the hardest, positive failure if you will. I’ve found that I get a good mix of volume and intensity this way, I never get burned out and I’m always excited to get back in the gym. Seen some pretty damn good gains with this as well.

[SmashinYoungVag]

I feel like there are way too many factors to say what’s best. But I’m not a fan of having reps in reserve on your top set.

In fact the best gains of my life where when I was going beyond failure with forced reps multiple sets a workout.

[jk202]

A nice and diplomatic way of saying this?!

https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...post1618673601

Haha pretty much. Just couldn't be bothered to train to a spreadsheet personally. Keeping volume low allows plenty of opportunity for progression imo.

[faithbrah]

For compounds, I do 3 sets.
1 warm up set at light intensity 8-10 reps
1 warm up set at moderate intensity 8-10 reps
1 work set at high intensity 6-8 reps

For assistance work, since the muscles are already warmed up, get 2 sets.
1 warm up at moderate intensity 8-14 reps
1 work set at high intensity 6-12 reps

On the work sets, the last rep or 2 are always the hardest, positive failure if you will. I’ve found that I get a good mix of volume and intensity this way, I never get burned out and I’m always excited to get back in the gym. Seen some pretty damn good gains with this as well.

does everyone warm up this much or am i warming up too little?

i literally do 5-8 reps with just the bar (compounds), then ~5 reps 50% 1RM and start doing my working sets

also 3-5 light warm up reps for accessories

[BeginnerGainz]

does everyone warm up this much or am i warming up too little?

i literally do 5-8 reps with just the bar (compounds), then ~5 reps 50% 1RM and start doing my working sets

also 3-5 light warm up reps for accessories

My second warm up set IS a work set

For instance, DB chest press. My light warm up would be 50 lbs dumbbells, then my moderate warm up set would be 70-75 dumbbells then my hard set would be 90-100 dumbbells.

I just think sets of 5 are overrated and prefer one balls out hard work set.

[WolfRose7]

does everyone warm up this much or am i warming up too little?

i literally do 5-8 reps with just the bar (compounds), then ~5 reps 50% 1RM and start doing my working sets

also 3-5 light warm up reps for accessories

Would probably leave my first work set pretty bad most the time for squats or deads. Prefer a few more jumps on those, usually multiple sets with the empty bar.

[jk202]

does everyone warm up this much or am i warming up too little?

i literally do 5-8 reps with just the bar (compounds), then ~5 reps 50% 1RM and start doing my working sets

also 3-5 light warm up reps for accessories

Depends how strong you are. Stronger = more warmups to safely get there.

Something like an incline DB press.
40x6-8
60x2-3
80x1-2
95x1
110x1
Working set 125

Something like a hack will be 6-7 warmups to get to 8 plates, the last 3 all being singles.

Big jumps in weight and lots of reps in warmups are both counterintuitive to optimal output on the sets that matter

[hardyboysare]

does everyone warm up this much or am i warming up too little?

i literally do 5-8 reps with just the bar (compounds), then ~5 reps 50% 1RM and start doing my working sets

also 3-5 light warm up reps for accessories

You do more of a warm up then me.

Usually do one set of easy weight then just go straight to my workout weight so bench for example:-

Warm up 1x8 155lbs

Working weight 220lb 3x5-8

For the rest of the lifts after my major compound lift for that day (bench, squat, deadlift & OHP) I don't do any warm up just straight onto my working weight.

[TolerantLactose]

does everyone warm up this much or am i warming up too little?

i literally do 5-8 reps with just the bar (compounds), then ~5 reps 50% 1RM and start doing my working sets

also 3-5 light warm up reps for accessories

Depends on the work weight. A lot of times, 50% to working weights is too big a jump to make without ramping up.

[faithbrah]

Depends on the work weight. A lot of times, 50% to working weights is too big a jump to make without ramping up.

why is that? does it have real benefits? don't your working sets suffer making it harder to track progress?

my lifts aren't really good post-cut, here's an example of pendlay row (60 kg working sets):
- 6 reps with the bar
- 6 reps with 40 kg (so more like 60% 1RM)
- working sets

maybe with a 100 kg row it would make more sense to go like 40 --> 60 --> 80 --> 100, but right now i don't see the point

[jk202]

why is that? does it have real benefits? don't your working sets suffer making it harder to track progress?

my lifts aren't really good post-cut, here's an example of pendlay row (60 kg working sets):
- 6 reps with the bar
- 6 reps with 40 kg (so more like 60% 1RM)
- working sets

maybe with a 100 kg row it would make more sense to go like 40 --> 60 --> 80 --> 100, but right now i don't see the point

Imo you can’t really expect your brain/ body to just turn on at the flip of a switch and recruit maximal muscle fibers with one warmup set

[GeneralSerpant]

Jeff Nippard did a cool video on this.

[BeginnerGainz]

You do more of a warm up then me.

Usually do one set of easy weight then just go straight to my workout weight so bench for example:-

Warm up 1x8 155lbs

Working weight 220lb 3x5-8

For the rest of the lifts after my major compound lift for that day (bench, squat, deadlift & OHP) I don't do any warm up just straight onto my working weight.

This is pretty much what I do, never had a problem making big jumps.

DB press 50s to 75s to 100s

Cable rows 120 to 180 to 220

Hack squats 1 plate to 2.5 plate to 4-4.5 plate

Leg press 500 to 700 to 900

So on and so forth.....

Imo you can’t really expect your brain/ body to just turn on at the flip of a switch and recruit maximal muscle fibers with one warmup set

I guess a lot depends on your lifestyle. Working in a labor intensive field like I do, I always have to go from sitting to hauling ass with 100s of pounds back and forth then back to sitting and repeat.

[TolerantLactose]

why is that? does it have real benefits? don't your working sets suffer making it harder to track progress?

my lifts aren't really good post-cut, here's an example of pendlay row (60 kg working sets):
- 6 reps with the bar
- 6 reps with 40 kg (so more like 60% 1RM)
- working sets

maybe with a 100 kg row it would make more sense to go like 40 --> 60 --> 80 --> 100, but right now i don't see the point

If I'm doing RDLs, 50% is 230lbs. If my work sets are 75%, that's a 115lb jump from one set to the next without ramping. I definitely feel that.