how long to carry on a cycle for, + general whine

[jmm]

At the end of 2 weeks of 5 rep exercises... Somehow managed to lose some weight again - sodding stress - and last workout a couple of exercises were actually down on what I've done before

That said, I'm already slightly over the max I could do last cycle..

A bit torn between stopping now and relaxing for a week or so, or sticking at the 5s and seeing what I can do in the next couple of weeks. Actually, the temptation's to have a fortnight eating as much as possible, training every other day, and up the weights if at all possible (though may need to stick with current weights on some exercises). Pretty knackered from (non-physical) work at the moment, but then part of me's thinking I may as well put that stress to good use...

 

[bgates1654]

get more sleep, eat more food, and max-stim it if you cannot do a 5 rep set.

Some say stick to the prescribed cycle, while others say stick with it until your joints start complaining. I am with the latter group. Your 5rm should be an effective stimulus for about two weeks. Doing negatives or max-stim can prolong the cycle even further.

 

[jmm]

thanks - pushed for time last workout, so just did one set of everything, but was surprised that I managed to up the weight on most things. The benefits of aggression

 

[jmm]

Right, managed to get the weights up a reasonable amount, and trying to figure out how long to keep going before SD...

Have got to the point where I don't think I'll be able to add much more weight to the bar (well, aside from squats, and maybe a little on deads) and volume's down (one warm-up set and one 'work' set, and a third set seems like torture...) Then again, I'm not hurting much yet, and joints feel fine...

 

[Fausto]

jmm

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Have got to the point where I don't think I'll be able to add much more weight to the bar </div>

Milk that cycle for what its worth! You should be able to get growth from keeping the same weight for at least another two weeks.

1 set is ok, if you are near or at your max.

 

[Lol]

While, as Fausto says, 1 set is OK if you are near or at your 5RM I think it would be better to try to do a work-set of 5 reps, then 3 reps, then 2 reps. I think any less than 10 reps even with your heaviest load is going to be too much of a drop in overall work compared with earlier in the cycle. Clustering reps like this is a good way to manage fatigue and get a decent amount of work done with your top loads. If you really can't get 3 reps for your second set then just do a set of 2 followed by a further 2 and then a single or another 2. Clustering like this should also help you to keep your form really good as fatigue is what causes it to degenerate.

 

[Fausto]

Agreed Lol, volume is king when one can do it

The clustering option is a very good way to get some volume in, after all it is important to get a minimum work done even if the weight is dropped somewhat for the sake of an extra set or even two.

Remember 3 x 5 x 100 = 1500 whereas 1 x 5 x 100 is only 500, sometimes one has to look at things rather holistically!

If not at all possible, try pre-exhausting the area a little, for example a nice low fly before bench pressing 1 set of each in a superset format.

Again you may have to drop your work set weight some, but if you can do 2 sets in this format, you'd have stimulated the area pretty well, which will translate into growth if the pother vectors are in place (FOOD for example and REST)

 

[jmm]

ah, will try to include a 2nd set, then. A couple of exercises where the second set feels like someone's glued the bar down but will see what I can do... Is it worth doing a 1st work set at pretty much max weight, then taking a couple of kilos off for the second?

 

[Fausto]

Ideally no, you'd rather keep the weight and try to get another set by clustering it.

What it does not really matter is not really hitting target reps on teh second set, but you will if you cluster things. Sounds like you are very close to RM,what you can also do is to stay at that weight until you can do two sets well then increase and repeat and keep doing this till the end of the cycle.

 

[jmm]

Yeah, working at or pretty near the max I can lift.

Actually, forced myself to do at least two work sets, and was pleasantly surprised - for the first three exercises could do 2*5, for the last three had to cluster the 2nd set. Certainly feeling those 2nd sets, though