Im on week 10 of low ISF 4-day. On bench it has been working great. I’ve seen steady progress and I am very happy with it. But there has been 0 progress on my squat and deadlift.
Since bench press is progressing I figure that the problem might be with how I train squat and deadlift.
I have been having annoying DOMS on my hips and legs. I figure this is due to training too heavy. But it might also be due to sitting in awkward position for hours daily (office work).
I find it hard to believe that I am overshooting my 1@7 constantly. But then again I could be wrong.
There has also been times in my life when I have undershot RPE:s after some injury for weeks on end. Then I have asked someone to spot for me one set and what was supposed to be 5@9 has turned in to 9@8 or something.
And regarding the DOMS I know from past experience that I often experience life stress via psychosomatic symptoms.
Would it be a good idea to testy my evaluation of RPE by doing ie. AMRAP with weight that is supposed to be 5@10?
If I end up getting 7+ reps it would indicate that I am undershooting my weights and I need to focus more on my mental game.
If I end up getting 4- reps it would indicate that I truly am just using too heavy weights week after week.
Rymlol,
I think there are a few important ideas here that I’ll tackle.
Is the RPE too high for strength gains?
I think this is possible if there are signs of high levels of fatigue, e.g. soreness, tired, reduced motivation, lingering injury or pain, etc. People overshoot all the time and do so consistently if predisposed to that. If someone can do all of the volume prescribed without these signs of fatigue, this is less likely.
Is the RPE too low for strength gains?
I think that this is far less likely, provided most of the work is done is greater than about 65%. To me, it seems more likely that someone is overshooting compared to undershooting to a level that reduces adaptation. The range of loading that “works” to drive adaptation is so wide, I find this less plausible. From a hypertrophy standpoint, this is more possible, though even then… it’d have to be way off.
As far as what to do, you’ve already been running the program for 10 weeks despite “0 progress to your squat and deadlift”. Why not just test your 1RM’s vs RPE accuracy? If the point is to know whether a particular program is working for you/has worked for you as it is currently designed, I think properly evaluating that outcome is more important than improving accuracy to a small degree. Pending the results of the test, you could then do an RPE audit starting your next program, though I don’t think that’s necessary.
-Jordan
Thank you for your reply Jordan, I really appreciate it.
Everything you say above makes perfect sense. It’s just really hard being objective with own training when frustration starts to kick in.
Doing some adjutments or changes start to feel so very tempting.
I will finish this program as it is written and test my 1RM’s at the end.