Nice that layout is very simple overall, I'm curious how it will work. If it goes well I might be interested in doing something similar, with a tweak to reduce volume for the lower lifts.
My question though is what do you hope to gain by increasing your volumes? Are you looking for more strength added by increasing muscle mass? And if so are you ok gaining or maintaining weight?
The increase in volume and frequency (basically nine sets a week per lift) is meant to magnify the training effect of doing higher intensity rep-counts or percentage of 1RM. Part of Sunday's reading, and again yesterday during lunch, was spent examining the whole volume/frequency parameter in more detail.
It seems pretty universally recognized that the strength stimulus lies in the 1-8 rep range, and the hypertrophy stimulus more in the 5-12/20 range. I'm not interested in hypertrophy per se, so it's clear that I should work with higher intensities, as I have been doing most of my life, whenever I've lifted. Then the idea behind our six lifts, 3x per week program was to increase training frequency, to see what that is like. Last summer I was working off a full-body split, of deadlift, row, and press one day, and squat, bench, and pulldown the other, using the 3x1/3x3/2x5 scheme. This allowed for greater intensity per lift per workout, and I got good results. But the overall frequency was either once or twice per week, which many people would say isn't enough. But the volume wasn't bad, at either eight or 16 sets per week, on the performance lifts anyway.
So then I tried the six lifts, ten reps (2x5, 3x3, 5x2) per workout idea. This increased frequency to 3x per week, but cut down on volume, to as low as six sets per week. But a lot of people seem to think volume is the single most important parameter, and that the danger of overtraining is exaggerated. So I decided to add at least one set to each lift per workout. If my tolerance for greater volume
and greater frequency increases, I may even add a fourth set to all of the lifts, but most likely I will settle in at three sets per lift per workout, and just continue varying the rep-counts for each workout.
I'm not really concerned about increasing muscle mass, in fact, I'm kind of liking the idea of coming off as a middle-aged meathead. I've always felt like a geek trapped in a jock's body, so mis' well go with it.
Of course, I would like to lose some fat, but almost everyone says it's hard to cut calories and gain strength at the same time, so I'm counting on running to do the trick, which it always has done in the past. In 2010 I weighed a little more than 240, by the fall of 2013, when I was running 25-30 miles a week, I had gotten down to 210, and my strength training wasn't as rigorous as it is now, because I wasn't doing the lower body lifts with any consistency. In fact, I don't think I was doing squats at all. So I'm just going to be patient about the fat loss, and trust that regaining my running fitness is all I need. I also expect that the increased muscle mass will boost my metabolism and aid in fat loss as well.
Yesterday I did a good job carb cycling, and had plenty of energy for the high volume st workout. Today I will cut out one meal, or one serving of sweet potato and protein, for my running day. Then tomorrow I'll add it back in for another st day. I briefly looked into the concept of carb cycling, and it gets pretty complicated, but I think my simple system should be enough. It's not like I'm trying to get down to 5% body fat or anything. I anticipate always being at least 10 pounds overweight, or 12-20% bodyfat. That's when I'm relatively fit but not having to make any dietary concessions, so feeling good in general. And of course, if the global financial system blows up for good, the extra fat stores might come in handy.
For running, my goals are pretty modest, so carrying extra weight, whether in fat or muscle, isn't really a concern for me. I'm not running ultras like you. In fact, I see myself becoming much more of a "running = conditioning" runner than a "running = mileage" runner. Tuesday and Thursday could become some kind of conditioning work on a permanent basis--hills/intervals/sprints/stairs/tempo--not just now as I'm rehabing this left toe tenderness. Then on Saturday I go on a nice, long aerobic run, something like 6-12 miles. I always liked those. Sunday I would rest with god and admire the fitness gains I made in the first six days.
I like the idea of RPE, but at the intermediate level, I think just going by feel is adequate. On my squat and press sets yesterday, for example, I'm pretty sure each set was done at about a 9. I think I have enough experience to instinctively train at 90% most of the time, and I don't really see why I shouldn't always train at about 90% effort-level. The RPE system for fatigue management probably works best for lifters who are seriously pushing their limits and competing. Plus, I'm allergic to introducing too much math into my fitness routine. I like the simplicity of using the 2:3:4:5 Iron Ratio, and three sets all the time, and a simple alternation of rep-counts. During my workouts I'm free to daydream, or get into a zone, which is a big part of the charm of working out or running.
I think Izzy makes a convincing argument for why Tschscherer's school of powerlifting is probably the best for drug-free, raw lifters. So I will return to that site to see if there's other useful stuff that can be adapted to a more purely strength routine like ours.
Thanks for remininding me about RTS these two charts are helpful for me to look at right now.
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It's interesting he puts 5RM at 80% and not 85%. Last summer when I was doing the 3x1/3x3/2x5 scheme, I think I had the five-rep sets at 80% too, but now I'm doing them at 85%. I supposed I could go with 80% and add sets, and decrease rest intervals, to make Monday more of a true high-volume workout. But I like keeping everything at a fairly high level of effort or intensity.
How were you thinking of using that chart?
One thing I was impressed by when reading through Izzy's review of all the strength training or powerlifting programs, is how exacting the programming is. I guess that's fine if they're intended as guidelines, or if they're for young guys just starting out with little idea of what to do, but I rarely do a workout exactly as written, and I'm constantly adjusting my routine on a weekly or sometimes daily basis as I accumulate feedback on what's working and what's not. I feel like I'm getting closer and closer to a fairly stable framework, but I wonder if I will ever do a whole cycle exactly as intended?