repeating W/O (10RM block) Is it OK?

[imported_dunhoonK]

To try to avoid zig zagging, I've repeated a W/O twice. For instance, for incline bench during 15RM my increment scheme was: 75-75-85-85-95-95. Tomorow is the start of my 10RM and i'm having trouble figuring out how my increments will start from. I was thinking of doing: 95-95-105-105-115-115..But not really sure if it'll induce hypetrophy.
Is it better to zigzag the weights and start lower? (ex: 90-95-100-105-110-115)

Thanks in advance.

 

[skinnyman]

quote from Zig-Zagging FAQ

Quote[/b] ]epeating workouts isn't necessarily bad either. I recommend you repeat your 5RM for a couple additional weeks (6 workouts) at the end of the cycle (if you can't do negs) just to get as much growth out of that weight load as possible before you SD.

don't worry, it'll induce hypertrophy!

just make sure you eat big. i'm on a monster diet this cycle.

actually i do not know which will induce more hypertrophy, zig-zagging or repeating loads.

Quote[/b] ]I seriously doubt this answer is going to satisfy you. You’re simply going to have to try it both ways on two different cycles to see which way you prefer.

<--from the same link as above.

sometimes the rep maxes are just too close that you can't avoid repeating weights. my weights for inclined hammer curls are being repeated for as much as 4 days!

 

[Al and Hammer]

Yeah, thru my 10s and now into my 5s (2nd week) I've been zig-zagging. Gains have been noticable so I guess it works.

As for repeating 5s...how does that work? You just repeat the same increments for a further 2 weeks (eg 1-2-3 4-5-6 and then 1-2-3 4-5-6 again) or stick on the 5rm and do drops??

 

[skinnyman]

al and hammer - bryan says stick to the 5RM to maximize the gains you may get from that weight. you must do drops to get a burn and activate that erk1/2 something thing i don't really understand.

the burn will be more painful than in the 15s. read in the FAQ about dropsets Dropsets and high rep sets
have you tried repeating weights instead of zig-zagging? if so, which approach gained you more mass?

 

[Al and Hammer]

I actually meant to say repeating - not zig-zagging...
Actually...let me be more specific on my WO.

I initially was incrementing "properly" during 15s (1-2-3-4-5-6) and continued the trend into the 10s. However, I had to adjust for the 5s because I didnt want to zig-zag for those. So I ended up repeating during the 5s so I wouldnt have to reduce weight on the first WO of 5s below the the final WO of 10s (ie the 10rm).

So in the 5s I'm doing 7-7-8-8-9-9 carrying on from 1-2-3-4-5-6 in the 10s.

Gains started coming during 2nd half of 10s and are pretty noticeable now into 2nd half of 5s. I don't like the idea of zig-zagging personally - but thats only a psychological thing
Back in 2003 (ive had a 2 year WO gap), i DID do quite a bit of zig-zagging. However, my gains were still quite substantial. 1-1.5 inches gained for each body part.

I'd take it then, atleast from my experience, that zig-zagging and repeating have negligible differences.


For the ERK1/2...metabolic demands drop as volume is reduced (ie going from 10s to 5s). This then causes reduced activity of ERK1/2 which is involved in hypertrophy. So I take it that the dropsets makes up for the decreased volume and increases metabolic demand...hence increasing activity of ERK1/2 and hence hypertrophy.


And on 5s again... if muscles can adapt in as little as 48hrs, repeating 5rm for 2 weeks (eg 150lb) would be pointless? Well maybe not pointless but not a efficient as further loading?

 

[Totentanz]

Al, if you can't do negatives, you can continue to load. Just switch cluster sets instead of 5s, and push past your 5 RM. I did that last cycle and it worked really well. Cluster sets can take some extra time, and they get boring after a while, but it lets you use more than your 5 RM without dying.

 

[Al and Hammer]

Quote[/b] (Totentanz @ April 04 2005,1:55)]lets you use more than your 5 RM without dying.

Well...I've still got a week to work out what I'm gonna do after the 5s. Anything to keep working out!!!

I'm actually NOT looking forward to SD!

 

[Dood]

Your 5 RM is heavy enough that the RBE does not catch up for a while, that's why you can keep using it for a while. Just to be clear, you keep using your last 5 RM workout, your actual 5 Rep Max, for 2 weeks if you aren't doing negs.
Between zig-zagging and repeating during a cycle, I think repeating is a better way to go. I think of it this way, which way is more likely to stay ahead of RBE, using the same weight you used last workout, (repeating), or using less, (zig-zagging)? If your muscle has adapted to a certain weight, there is no way it's going to be challenged by a lesser weight.

 

[Al and Hammer]

Dood...very clear. Definately makes sense.