How do you set up with myo reps and have the progressive steps like HST has? I'm not super familiar with myoreps actually. It's like clusters?
Yes, here you can get a real discusion going in an intelligent manner, anywhere else you get the 'duhhhh just lift and eat'. Sure ok! We'll just quit doing hypertrophy research, lol
Hahaha so true!
Ah I highly highly recommend myoreps, it's pretty much what we've been talking about, using lighter loads to achieve the same activation as heavier loads. Like clusters but different, it's a way of getting in more effective reps by managing fatigue and doing more reps in the pointy zone of a set. It mimics occlusion by not have full ROM reps (maybe 10% cutoff, not fully extended or all the way to the bottom) and keeps constant tension on the muscle during the reps.
It's worth reading through this and there are plenty more places myoreps is detailed too, with outlines of progression etc:
http://borgefagerli.com/myo-reps-in-english/
(Even reading Borge's responses to all comments are quite insightful too!)
Here is a section from the page but yeah I recommend reading it for sure:
"Pick a load you can perform 9-20 reps with (depending on your programming and exercise selection). I will sometimes go even higher, to 25-40 reps. (Edit 2016: I will normally select 30% loads – of 1RM – for beginners, 40% loads for intermediates and more advanced lifters, 50% loads for advanced/elite).Go to failure or 1-2 reps short of failure, judged by when rep speed slows noticeably. This is your “activation set” where you achieve full fiber recruitment. Total failure isn’t an absolute requirement, and leaving a rep or two in the tank will allow you to do more total reps, as we shall see soon.By keeping constant tension on the muscle, i.e. shorten the ROM by 10% on top (avoid locking out the weight) and 10% in the bottom (resting the weight or overstretching the muscle), you will mimic the occlusion effect and reach higher fiber recruitment faster.Now the important part – rerack the weight and rest for (edit 2016: 3-5 deep breaths) – unrack the weight and keep going for up to 3-5 short mini-sets of 3-5 reps (staying close to failure on each mini-set). By keeping the rest period short you will maintain fatigue level, and hence – fiber recruitment at a high rate. All reps of the mini-set are now “effective” reps. I simplify the rest period prescription by counting deep breaths, similar to the DC method, where 3 deep breaths (in+out) is about 6-8 seconds, 5 is 10-15 seconds. You can get away with the higher end (30secs) with heavier loads, at lighter loads you should keep rest periods short (5-15secs) to maintain high fiber recruitment. It is also productive on the Myo-rep series to keep constant tension on the muscle by shortening the ROM. (edit 2016: I rarely use heavy Myo-rep training nowadays, it is far more productive as a metabolic/pump-type stimulus).End the Myo-rep set when you lose 1 rep from the initial or 5 mini-sets. Example (all correct):
20 +4+4+4+3
22 +3+3+3+3+3
18 +5+4
Incorrect:
20 +4+4+4+3+3
22 +3+3+3+3+3+3+3+3+3
18 +5+4+3+2"
I also started a thread about it recently too if interested:
thinkmuscle.com/community/threads/hst-myoreps.43425/
But yeah I'd definitely look into it, it's a really fun way of training and its easy to keep it in a HST cycle/format, many people here prefer myoreps instead of straight sets for their cycles. Cuts your workouts really short too!
In terms of progression you can either progress via increasing total reps done or %wise of load
Week 1: 60% 20-25 reps
Week 2: 65% 15-20 reps
Week 3: 70% 12-15 reps
I think what I did my first cycle was this (basically increasing loads every session where I could, and it didn't really matter about rep phases. The first numbers 20-25 etc was the activation set reps, and second was total reps in the minisets):
Week 0 (prep week, non-myoreps sets)
Week 1 20-25+20/25 (5rep minisets)
Week 2 15-20+15/20 (5rep)
Week 3 15-20+15 (5rep)
Week 4 10-15+15 (3-4rep)
Week 5 10-15+15 (3-4rep)
Week 6 5-10+10/15 (2-3rep)
Week 7 5-10+10 (2-3rep or cluster)
Week 8 cluster/max-stim
Week 9 cluster/max-stim
Deload
I do remember when I did this though I pushed myself too hard and got quite fatigued/injured/sick haha but I tend to do that, so in my current cycle of myoreps I'm doing I'm reeeeeally focusing on autoregulation and not pushing myself too hard, and using intuition as to when to stop, and not think 'I have to reach x amount of reps!!!' Feels so much more natural this way of training, because you're listening to the body's current capabilities and recovery which change from day to day.
Very true but much more difficult to achieve with high reps.