Minimum submax

  • Thread starter Thread starter imported_electric
  • Start date Start date
I

imported_electric

Guest
Is there any (at least approximate) minimum submax weight that will induce some hypertrophic response?
When I started HST with my 15s, the first days felt really, really light one most exercises, I might have exaggerated in the progression, so the question is, how light should I go while still getting some hypertrophic respose (probably a % of the RM)?
 
what's your bodyweight, what kind of weight are you using, what's your rep max, and what's the exercise?
 
FF, well, it is more of a general question since all weights felt very, very light in the early 15s and I felt like those workouts were not doing anything hypertrophy wise. I am afraid I used a weight increment too large for most or all exercises. I am just checking if there is some sort of rule of thumb for this such as "bellow 60% of your RM is just aerobics" (for example).
 
Well, that would be true. It differs for us because we're not all in the same shape, or coming off of the same training. But generally the consensus seems to range somewhere between 70-80% of 1rm. I think 80% is a lot myself. It sounds like your increments were too large, or your larger muscle group increments were too small. I like to use 20lbs. for legs, traps, 10lbs. for arms, chest and tri's, 5 to 10 lbs. for bi's.
 
quad, you mean I should start the 15s block with at least 70% of my 1 RM? Either I am doing something terribly wrong or I misunderstood. In some exercises (most?) my 15RM is lower then 70% of my 1RM. Should I be clustering my 15s to be able to use at least 70% of 1RM?
 
60% of 1 rm is the minimum threshold for many people.

But as Bryan Haycock would say... It all depends on your conditioning!

The more conditioned you are to a particular load, the less that load will be able to stimulate growth. Thus Progressive Load is king.
 
What Sci said and what I mean is that I DON'T use percentages. I just pick increments I know I can handle (the ones I posted) and set up the cycle backing off of max day for the six workouts by that particular amount chosen for that particular muscle or muscle group. It comes out to whatever it comes out to, percentage-wise, the numbers be damned. I've also done a lot of other things my way, but that's just me. 5'11", 210lbs., 54 yrs. old, and reasonably shaped, save for my ghut!
Uh, that'd be me on the right...
 
I find my starting poundages vary from exercise to exercise.

A pretty good rule of thumb is to start at 75% of your RM load for a particular exercise. eg. If your 15RM for a particular exercise was 100lb, start your 15s with 75lb.

You could start with a %age of your 1RM if you know it but that doesn't always pan out well due to the nature of 15s, the effects of creatine etc. My 15RM for front squats is about 187lb whereas my 1RM is about 308lb. That makes my 15RM about 60% of my 1RM. So, for front squats, I'm certainly not going to start my 15s with anything over 60% of my 1RM; as I only do front squats two or three times during 15s I'll start at around 50 to 55% of 1RM.

So, personally, I think you need to get a bit of experience with what works for you for different exercises. However, if you start a mesocycle with 75% of your RMs for that rep range you won't go far wrong.
 
Hey, Quad, the fact that you felt the need to point yourself out in your attached pic is rather amusing. I mean, I know you look heaps younger than 54 but did you think we might not figure it out?
biggrin.gif
 
quad, you are looking great, must be doing something right.
Lol, thanks, that's what I was looking for. I'm sure now that I went too far with the increments and ended up with weights too light for the initial workouts of the cycle. I am almost done with the 15s, will adjust the 10s and 5s to follow that.
I think that I am too susceptible to fatigue as my weights are reasonably lighter in increased reps.
 
<div>
(Lol @ Apr. 14 2008,10:21)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Hey, Quad, the fact that you felt the need to point yourself out in your attached pic is rather amusing. I mean, I know you look heaps younger than 54 but did you think we might not figure it out?  
biggrin.gif
</div>
Uh, yeah, just didn't want to be mistaken for my son in law Andrew over there...
biggrin.gif
 
Andrew look like he has a hole from a deer slug in his right ear! What's up with that Quad?    
laugh.gif



BTW, where's the ghut?
 
Weird combo...it's those big ear holes with a ring in it; Andrew even colors his hair punk colors sometimes, always does really weird crap, like once he painted himself black and went out with his wife (my wife's daughter, next to him) and went goofing on the black folk around south Georgia. Despite the game playing (and he's one of those computer game nuts too) they're actually devout Christians. I give him credit for guts; lacking style.
I sucked it in I think: my pic was being taken!
laugh.gif
 
For clarification, I was speaking of 70% of the RM for that rep range you are working in, not 70% of the 1 RM.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top