Varying Increments?

Discussion in 'Basic Training Principles and Methods' started by tocamjapan, Dec 20, 2005.

  1. tocamjapan

    tocamjapan New Member

    I was reading the articles and FAQ, and they mentioned increasing the weight by 10-20 pounds for legs, and 5 pounds for smaller muscle groups.

    As a beginner are larger increments per workout "better"? My rep maxes aren't very high, so if I use 10-20 pound increments for legs my starting weights for a cycle aren't very high. In this case is it better to use smaller weight increments when starting out, or better to go with the larger increments?

    For example - Trap Bar Squats are 150lb for 10 reps.
    Is a 50, 70, 90, 110, 130, 150 pound cycle more effective than a
    100, 110,120,130, 140,150lb progression?

    2) Does it matter if for the 15s, if you increase the weight by 10 pounds per workout, and then for the 10s increase them by 20 pounds - or is it a good idea to keep the increments steady for each phase?

    Thankyou.
     
  2. Bryan Haycock

    Bryan Haycock Administrator Staff Member

    No. Wait until your maxes go up and then start with the same weiht at the begining of each 2 week block, but use larger increments to reach your new maxes by the end of the two weeks. This isn't magic or anything, its just a suggestion.

    You can use whatever increments work for you. However, in my experience, the larger the muscle group, the larger the increment that is required to create a "new" stimulus each workout. Adding 5 pounds to the leg press each workout will not do much. However, adding 5 pounds for lateral raises each workout is appropriate.
     
  3. tocamjapan

    tocamjapan New Member

    Thank you for your reply Brian.

    I'm sorry, but I'm a little confused by your reply.
    Do you mean, wait until I start my next cycle of HST, and then begin each 2 week phase with the same weight?

    for e.g. new trap bar squat max = 200lbs for 10 reps
    15s - start at 100lbs and work up to new max
    10s - start at 100lbs and work up to new max
    5s - start at 100lbs and work up to new max
     
  4. Downward Spiral

    Downward Spiral New Member

    No. What Bryan is suggesting is this:

    If your first cycle you start with 95 lbs. and end at 115 lbs. during the 15's on the squat (5 lb. jumps, real weak), then when you run your second HST cycle, you bump up your RM for the 15's. At the same time, you keep your starting weight the same. Let's say you were now able to do 135x15. You gained 20 lbs. to your RM, right?

    Well, you would still use 95 lbs. your first workout. You can make larger jumps this way.

    95 -> 100 -> 110 -> 115 -> 125 -> 135

    See? You make some 5 lb. jumps, but you have larger ones as well.

    You can also repeat weights to make your jumps slightly larger. Example: 95 lb. squat first workout, 115 the last.

    95 -> 95 -> 105 -> 105 -> 115 -> 115

    Get it? You're then making 10 lb. jumps, just less frequently.
     

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