7 week hypertrophy 4-day programming

[Trevormernitz]

hi docs - quick question on the programming for the 7 week hypertrophy template. On week 1 / day 1 / exercise 3 it says DB flat bench press or bench press touch and go. The rep scheme is confusing: in bullet one it says 14-16 reps at rpe 8 and in bullet two it say 3-5 reps? Is is suppose to be 3-5 “sets” vs “reps” or am I missing something?

[llaffin]

They're supposed to be done myorep style, you can find a description of them in the help tab, or on a few other threads around here

In short, you do a set of 14-16 @ RPE 8, rest ~20 seconds, do a set of 5, rest 20 seconds, do another set, keep going 'til you get a set of only 3 reps, or 5 total back off sets. Ex. 15, 5, 4, 3 - done, or 14, 5, 5, 5, 4, 4 - done, etc

[mdelvecchio]

They're supposed to be done myorep style, you can find a description of them in the help tab, or on a few other threads around here

In short, you do a set of 14-16 @ RPE 8, rest ~20 seconds, do a set of 5, rest 20 seconds, do another set, keep going 'til you get a set of only 3 reps, or 5 total back off sets. Ex. 15, 5, 4, 3 - done, or 14, 5, 5, 5, 4, 4 - done, etc

That isn’t quite right, at least as Austin explained it. Do the activation set, rest for 5 breaths, go for a set of 5, rest five breaths, and repeat until you drop a rep and can only do one-less. Then you’re done. Note that the first set can be less then 5, but whatever it is repeat until you can only do one less.

He explains it in last lost (#11) here:

https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/fo...rophy-template

[llaffin]

That isn’t quite right, at least as Austin explained it. Do the activation set, rest for 5 breaths, go for a set of 5, rest five breaths, and repeat until you drop a rep and can only do 4. Then you’re done. Note that the first set can be less then 5, but whatever it is repeat until you can only do one less.

He explains it in last lost (#11) here:

https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/fo...rophy-template

The way I described it is the way Leah wrote about them in detail in the September Newsletter:

We generally prescribe 12-14 reps @8, followed by 20 seconds of rest. The main goal of the activation set is to hit the RPE 8 set or in other words, go to near failure (but don't fail).

Myo-Reps "Back-offs"

Then do a set of 3-5 reps with the same bar weight, the goal for set 1 being 5 reps. Rest 20 seconds and do another set of 5 reps (or less if that’s all you have left in you).. Continue this cycle of rest/reps until you can only do 3 reps in a set. At this point, this myo-rep set is done.

What might this actually look like-

Activation set: 14 reps @RPE 8

Rest 20 seconds

5 reps (RPE doesn’t factor in now)

Rest 20 seconds

5 reps

Rest 20 ssecondsc

4 reps

Rest 20 seconds

4 reps

Rest 20 seconds

3 reps

Done

If you hit 4-4-3, you're done after the set of 3, you're done with this myo-rep set.

If you hit 5-5-5-5-5, end the myo-rep set after 5 sets and make note to adjust the activation set up for your next session. The goal is to find the weight that get you to failure with no more than 5 sets.

She also mentioned in an Instagram Live Q&A that the activations set should always be RPE 8ish which may mean having to do 17+ reps if you picked a weight that's too light.

[mdelvecchio]

The way I described it is the way Leah wrote about them in detail in the September Newsletter:

She also mentioned in an Instagram Live Q&A that the activations set should always be RPE 8ish which may mean having to do 17+ reps if you picked a weight that's too light.

Interesting, because that is definitely a different explanation than Austin’s in April (also amusingly says he doesn’t understand why there’s confusion):

Guys, I am really not sure how the instructions given in the template are unclear. I've pasted them here with a bit more editing and spacing for ease of reading:

How to do myoreps:
The first set is called the "activation set"- which is just working up to the prescribed rep range @ RPE 8.
10-12 reps is likely 62-68% of 1RM
12-15 is likely 58-62%, and all bets are off for 14-16 reps (and the exercises are weird).

After doing this activation set, rack the bar for 5 deep breaths (in and out).

Then do a set of 3-5 reps, aiming for 5 reps.

Re-rack the weight, rest for 5 breaths, then repeat a set of the same number of reps you just did (whether 3, 4, or 5 reps).

Repeat this process (set of 3-5, rack, 5 breaths) until the FIRST TIME you hit 1 rep less than the first set of 3-5.

In other words, if you hit 4 reps on the first set and you hit 3 on the 2nd set, you're done.
If you hit 4-4-3, you're done after the set of 3.
If you hit 3-3-3-2, you're done after the double.

...Sounds like a case where BBM needs clarity and consistency. Hopefully when they put their thoughts to words in the book(s) they will iron this stuff out.

[t_angeiras]

I agree that this is a bit confusing. But after a bit of experiencing, I think the trainee would realize that between these two there would be virtually no difference in the outcomes.

[llaffin]

It may just be a case where BBM updated how they believe myoreps should be done, or Leah and Austin have different ideas on how to implement them (I think Leah has more personal experience doing them herself, going by training logs), or that in the long run, it probably just doesn't matter that much exactly how you do them. They didn't invent them, and there's many interpretations to the original myorep.