Advice on individual modification for Hypertrophy I

Training Q&A [Moderated]
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Hello,

I just completed week 2 of the Hypertrophy I template in a ~500 calorie deficit, and I’m feeling absolutely trashed after the workouts. I ran PB I twice prior to this, but I was starting to feel beat up from the heavier weights and wanted to go lighter for awhile until my joints calm down.

I am having 2 main issues with this template:

  1. My RPE creeps significantly on these higher rep sets. On squats and deadlifts, if I keep the same weight of my 8 reps @ rpe 8 set, the next set will be rpe 9-9.5. On Bench and OHP, I am not even able to complete another set if I keep the same weight of the rpe 8 set. The creep is even worse on sets of 10 and 12.

  2. After an AMRAP at 70% 1rm, I am not able to complete 12 reps at 63% on any exercise. Some days I have to go as low as 50% to get a other 2-3 sets in.

Is it normal for some individuals to respond this way to higher rep ranges, or is this a problem? I had the same issues with the AMRAPs in PB I even in a calorie surplus. If it is normal, how would you suggest I modify the intensity or volume to deal with the fatigue I’m experiencing? Thanks in advance.

1 Like
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Hey Tyler,

I think both of these things are fairly normal for folks with limited development in the higher rep ranges. My advice would be to reduce the weight for your back off sets to keep the RPE in check. You can build from there, but you gotta do what you’re not good at in order to get better at it.

-Jordan

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Thanks for the quick response. I figured the best thing for me would be to reduce the weight after the first rpe 8 sets, I just wanted to make sure this isn’t an abnormal response. I do have lots of exposure to sets of 8 on OHP however, and I have never seen improvement. My RPE tends to jump as much as 2 points with the same weight on OHP and incline bench. I guess I just have to accept it and take weight off every set.

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Hey Tyler,

Thanks for the reply. I do think it would be relatively unlikely to see no improvement in a think you have regular exposure to, though there may be more to the story here.

A few other questions. How much weight are you lifting these days on the Big Four, how long are you resting between sets, and what’s your height/weight/waist circumference?

-Jordan