Jordan’s 297 back off weight for bench staying the same over 9 weeks brings up some questions I’m having as I return to the iron game in my 40s.
If you do the same weight for the duration of a block the volume will be consistent but the relative % of your ascending 1rm will be going down. Maybe that’s good because it accommodates higher percentage lifts over that duration?
Also, why 68%? I’m usually seeing 75-80% for back off but the drawback could be less volume or more fatigue?
I just wanted to pick something that was close to 70%. At the beginning of the block, my max (if tested) was probably ~ 410. At the end of the block, my max as tested was 440. Thus, my average intensity using this approach was between ~ 68-72%. I found this training load manageable. I could have gone higher on the percentage, but I personally wanted to be more conservative due to concerns of overreaching.
I think strength gains occur every few weeks, on average. Once people get stronger, they may need to adjust the weight to ensure it’s not too light.
Thanks for engaging Jordan. So, in effect, you applied a descending pattern of back-off work in the sense that at first the 297 was approximately 72% of your 1rm and as you got stronger it became closer to 68%. I like the idea of preemptively planning for fatigue and trying to mitigate it as to allow yourself more opportunities for better top sets without the stressors. I’m curious, If you don’t mind sharing, what your frequency was for bench and how you scheduled top sets for each session and generally over the term of the program?
Not really descending, more just static. I don’t think people will get stronger week to week most of the time. As strength improves, then yes, the selected load would be a reduced intensity. I think the viable range of intensity for volume work is ~ 70-80% (as an average) with error bars on both sides.
I think there are multiple ways to implement fatigue stops during a workout, e.g. “5 @ 7, repeat for sets of 5 until RPE 8” or “5 @ 8, repeat x 3 sets to RPE 7”, among many others. Our programs use these and others to manage fatigue. I would recommend one of those over a DIY approach for most folks.
I’m not sure what you mean re: top set “scheduling”, but I typically benched 4 days a week. I should also note that frequency is one of many programming variables that matters when it comes to total training load.
Yes that makes sense that strength isn’t a short turn around such as week-to-week.
Top Sets for each session; so if you’re doing 4x a week of bench then are you doing 1x1 @ 8 RPE for each session or do you vary it such as Mondays top set is 1x4, Wednesday 1,x3, Friday 1x2, Saturday 1x1 for top sets.
Edit: maybe I’m assuming you’re doing touch and go bench each session and there then would be a fallacy of composition - is it more likely that you’re rotating bench variations as your main lift each session (i.e. touch and go, 1ct pause, close grip, incline, etc.)
I do not organize my training how you mentioned. I am not doing touch and go bench at all in my training in order to dedicate more training resources the paused bench. My variants rotate between blocks, but usually include close grip bench, larsen press, floor press, incline bench, dips, and so on.