The heavy day

[flow]

Originally Posted by Fazc

Hi Flow,



I think you have to rid yourself of the idea that you need to steadfastedly stick to one repetition scheme forever. You really don't. You're an intelligent guy who has his head screwed on right, so allow yourself the freedom to interchange reps. As long as your focus is on 'progression', all you need to do is to keep a rough idea of what weight you have used with any particular rep scheme.

This relieves the mental pressure of always having to perform the same repetition scheme and also relieves the pressure of having to justify changing things around.

Me personally, I change things around all the time. But I always have at least a rough idea and usually a complete idea of what to beat from last time. That way progress still trickles in. You have to admit that at some stage you won't see linear progress, so don't pressure yourself! Allow yourself the freedom of multiple rep schemes you choose from depending on what you feel like on the way.

Hi Fazc,
Thank you too for your decent and always kind reply.
Well your talking bout intuitive training or you are even givin a cue for autoregulative training which has its merit even more for intermediate or advanced trainees.
I prefer a mixture of both to not fall into chaos and being without a plan.
But also try to avoid beeing too rigid wit a plan which doesn´t fit well.

So setting up a template and deciding on my numbers and feel of the day if i should go heavy or light is a good compromise.
90%of the time a HLHLHL... approached always worked well. Thats why I liked to stick with it as a template.
Feeling if a weight is too heavy or too light for the day works well. But i have problems in "feeling" how much volume to do.

Also i have your last advice regarding the texas method in my mind, which led me into thinking if the heavy day is too les stressfull to progress.
Thats why my question of a increase in volume is still stated: like 5x5.

[flow]

Originally Posted by Ryano

On my heavy days, I go heavy. Several sets of HEAVY singles. Just my way and it's worked for me.

Hm okay. Thanks.
thats why i think if my heavy day is too less stressfull and I should change sth.
Be it more intensity or more volume.

[flow]

Originally Posted by Ryano

cool pic!

[flow]

Originally Posted by TitanCT

^that

Not really. my question was not related to failure training but for a cue regarding the right amount of stress needed.

[Fazc]

Originally Posted by flow

So setting up a template and deciding on my numbers and feel of the day if i should go heavy or light is a good compromise.
90%of the time a HLHLHL... approached always worked well. Thats why I liked to stick with it as a template.
Feeling if a weight is too heavy or too light for the day works well. But i have problems in "feeling" how much volume to do.

Flow,

Ultimately you want to move away from 'templates' and 'programs'. That is not how the greats train. They have a rough idea when they get to the gym, then when they arrive they may change things throughout the session based on how they feel. The ability to 'coach' yourself on the fly is vitally important. Being intuitive has nothing to do with HLHLHL and it is also nothing to do with being chaotic.

Let me pose this to you. Did Ed Coan print off his famous 'Deadift Routine', take it to the gym with him every day and follow it to a tee?

Or was it rather a representation which people pieced together, of what he did on average?

Please give yourself time to think about that a little, rather than answer straight away. If you can figure that out, you will be making good strides into understanding how to train yourself.

[flow]

Originally Posted by Fazc

Flow,

Ultimately you want to move away from 'templates' and 'programs'. That is not how the greats train. They have a rough idea when they get to the gym, then when they arrive they may change things throughout the session based on how they feel. The ability to 'coach' yourself on the fly is vitally important. Being intuitive has nothing to do with HLHLHL and it is also nothing to do with being chaotic.

Let me pose this to you. Did Ed Coan print off his famous 'Deadift Routine', take it to the gym with him every day and follow it to a tee?

Or was it rather a representation which people pieced together, of what he did on average?

Please give yourself time to think about that a little, rather than answer straight away. If you can figure that out, you will be making good strides into understanding how to train yourself.

Fazc, thank you for your words-I was in Berlin on holiday so I couldn´t reply.

i don´t get the sentence in bold. You mean that its not a good idea to move away from templates but then you state that the greats just have a rough idea (so no "programm" in that sense) what to do and change things around by feel.

Could you clarify this and give a example of this self coaching day on a H/L frame? I think you need to develop a "clear" inner voice here which is the main challenge and can be blurred by many factors.

[Fazc]

Originally Posted by flow

i don´t get the sentence in bold. You mean that its not a good idea to move away from templates but then you state that the greats just have a rough idea (so no "programm" in that sense) what to do and change things around by feel.

I said 'you want to move away from templates and routines'. No 'program' is correct, to a certain point.

Originally Posted by flow

Could you clarify this and give a example of this self coaching day on a H/L frame? I think you need to develop a "clear" inner voice here which is the main challenge and can be blurred by many factors.

Sure, let's take two examples. The first of a general strength trainee who chooses to get stronger in the basic exercises with little variation. His plan is to complete Squats, Benches and Rows on this day as he does 3 full body's a week and this is one of them. On the day he is feeling a little sore in the hamstrings and lower back as he worked SLDL very hard a few days ago. So his planned 6 triples on the Squat is looking daunting. Especially considering he smoked a very nice PR in them just a week ago and every rep was on the bone. So instead of triples he decides to drop down to sets of 10. He completes 3 sets of 10. He uses less weight than his triples, sets a new PR on the 10's while still managing to work Squats. Next week he goes back to triples and completes more PRs.

Another example is of a powerlifter who has his intent of the day. He knows he must Bench but he also know's he is deficient in triceps. So he begins with 9 sets of triples for speed work in the Bench. After that he must pick an exercise for the triceps. He feels pretty good so he chooses heavy board lockouts for triples. He smokes these. If he didn't feel too good he might go with something lighter. Or if his chest felt great but triceps were beat up he may go full range CGBP.

The possibilities are endless I'm sure you know what I mean by now.

[WilldBill88]

T NATION | Reg Park Way To Serious Size And Strength

From Reg Park.

Rule 4: Confidence is critical for increased size and strength

According to Reg, an effective training program focuses on increasing confidence. You should feel strong, empowered, and ready to take on the world after each workout. If you feel weak and defeated, then you're doing something wrong.

Imagine having a job in which you progressively work harder each month to make the same amount of money. Most people would find this absurd, and change jobs. Working smart means making more money for the same amount of effort, or better yet, working less and making more.

Training is no different. Rather than going overboard and burning out, focus on the minimum training dose that'll produce the maximum result. You can always add more if necessary.

Reg also believed that training to failure too often is a big mistake. If you train to failure too often, and miss a lot of lifts, your confidence will plummet, and so will your strength and size. Gradual progression is the way to go rather than having the illusion that strength and size will come in leaps and bounds. Have a long-term approach and enjoy the process.

[flow]

Originally Posted by WilldBill'88

T NATION | Reg Park Way To Serious Size And Strength

From Reg Park.

Thanks i also found this one:
http://startingstrength.com/articles...ning_starr.pdf

good read!

[flow]

Originally Posted by Fazc

I said 'you want to move away from templates and routines'. No 'program' is correct, to a certain point.



Sure, let's take two examples. The first of a general strength trainee who chooses to get stronger in the basic exercises with little variation. His plan is to complete Squats, Benches and Rows on this day as he does 3 full body's a week and this is one of them. On the day he is feeling a little sore in the hamstrings and lower back as he worked SLDL very hard a few days ago. So his planned 6 triples on the Squat is looking daunting. Especially considering he smoked a very nice PR in them just a week ago and every rep was on the bone. So instead of triples he decides to drop down to sets of 10. He completes 3 sets of 10. He uses less weight than his triples, sets a new PR on the 10's while still managing to work Squats. Next week he goes back to triples and completes more PRs.

Another example is of a powerlifter who has his intent of the day. He knows he must Bench but he also know's he is deficient in triceps. So he begins with 9 sets of triples for speed work in the Bench. After that he must pick an exercise for the triceps. He feels pretty good so he chooses heavy board lockouts for triples. He smokes these. If he didn't feel too good he might go with something lighter. Or if his chest felt great but triceps were beat up he may go full range CGBP.

The possibilities are endless I'm sure you know what I mean by now.

thank you fazc for the reply and the examples. i started to think about it.

I like that you brought that up and i also think that its a worth thing to try.
there is so much happening in the body, that if you want a extern coach to tune your programm he need a 2 hours assesment (cortisol,lactat...) on which base he could determine what you should do.
You know yourself best and you should learn to know you best.

But i need still some guidelines which get clear out of my example below.

I can feel how much weight is "right" for the session and adjust it. But how you gauge the volume you do on that day or what kind of other option you want to do?

Example:

1. A PL squated 400 pounds for 3 reps and got a PR.
Next session he wants to go for a new one, but recognizes that he is still sore.
So he could do Speed work or submax (hypertrophy) work. He could even shoot for a PR in the higher rep range.
Out of which "feeling" you can decide which is right? Both are lighter than the max effort day. How does the trainee determine volume?

2.Lets take another athlete who is concerned in gaining mass (diet is in check)

The athlete does a upper body and lower body split.
He did 3x10 for benches,presses and rows. The bench and row improved.

Next session he still improves on 3x10 in the row but the weight for bench and presses doesn´t feels right.

So there could be 2 possibilites:
The trainee can go ligher or heavier. He can shoot for reps of 20 or for reps of 5 or even lower.
How can the trainee determine which way is the right way? He could either over or understimulate.
Also again the question of volume rises. Perhaps he needs to bump up to 5x10 to increase the work capacity to handle the load.

So how do i overcome this points especially in the long term?