Hi BBM Team,
I took Jordan’s advice from my last thread here and started the Powerbuilding I program, which I enjoy a lot.
Progress was particularly satisfactory during phase 1.
However, things changed once I entered into the second phase:
- Being in week 8 now, the e1RMs of all four lifts are still significantly below where I was in phase 1.
- Especially the heavy singles on squats and deadlifts are not progressing or are partly even regressing, even though I started with rather conservative weights.
- If I had to take a guess, I feel like I may not be recovering well from the singles.
- The volume / back-off sets on the other hand seem to be doing ok.
Have you made similar observations in the past, and any advice on how to promote progress on the heavy singles?
Is it just a recovery issue that could be solved by lowering RPE, or is there something you would change about programming in such situations?
Thanks in advance,
Toby
Toby,
I think that comparing an e1Rm from a single to e1RM from a multi-rep set can create some issues that may not really be there. That said, if your single performance has regressed week-to-week, that’s somewhat concerning. What have you squatted for 1 @ 8 the last three weeks and do you have any video?
I don’t think it’s likely that you’re not recovering from the singles but are doing just fine with the volume, as the volume makes up a far greater proportion of the program.
-Jordan
Hi Jordan,
Thank you for taking the time to respond.
My recent top sets for the competition lifts were:
Week 5:
- Squat: 122.5 kg x 6 @RPE 8 (e1RM 155.9 kg)
- Bench: 102.5 kg x 6 @RPE 8 (e1RM 130.4 kg)
- DL: 157.5 kg x 6 @RPE 8 (e1RM 200.4 kg)
Week 6:
Week 7:
- Squat: 145 kg x 1 @RPE 9; 125 kg x 6 @RPE 8.5 (e1RM 151.8 kg)
- Bench: 117.5 kg x 1 @RPE 8; 105 kg x 6 @RPE 9.5 (e1RM 127.4 kg)
- DL: 185 kg x 1 @RPE 8.5; 162.5 kg x 6 @ 9 (e1RM 197 kg)
Week 8:
- Squat: 145 kg x 1 @RPE 9; 127.5 kg x 6 @RPE 9 (e1RM 151.8 kg)
- Bench: 120 kg x 1 @RPE 8; 107.5 kg x 6 @RPE 9.5 (e1RM 130.5 kg)
- DL: 185 kg x 1 FAILED (could not get the bar off the floor - last warm-up was 172.5 kg x 1 @RPE 7); 160 kg x 6 @ 9 (e1RM 190.2 kg)
As you can see, I’m not so concerned about the Bench, but more about the Squat and the DL.
The Week 6 Squat felt good, so I hoped that 145 kg would work well, but the singles in Weeks 7 and 8 moved significantly slower (even though the volume sets did feel good).
What bothers me most is the DL. While I was hoping to repeat my Week 7 weight at RPE 8, for some reason I could not get the weight off the floor.
Does this make sense to you?
Best,
Toby
Love the head nod of peace on the deadlift 
On the squat, it looks to me like week 6 was probably more of an @ 9 or higher to me. I also think this was a little high and I’m not certain you would’ve hit it had it been 2" lower or so. I can see how adding 2.5kg might make it feel a whole lot harder too. Had I been there, I would’ve made you take 135 and bury it on week 6. If that was @ 8, I would’ve planned for 137.5 on week 7, provided your last warm up of 127.5-130 x1 felt like < 7.
On the deadlift, 182.5 looks pretty good. However, it may be that that that 185 just wasn’t there on week 8. Sounds like you did the right think warm-up wise and so I’d be curious to know if there was a significant technique breakdown or mental issue when 185 was loaded. Looks like you were able to do some decently heavy back off work, so it doesn’t really look like you were significantly weaker.
Overall, I’d plan on continuing the program with a deeper squat, which likely will require you to take some kg off the bar. For the deadlift, I’d plan on limiting yourself to 175 next week. If it’s <7, you can pull it for two singles. Restart from there. You can add some to your back-off set based on your e1RM. I’d just try and make sure not much changes technique wise and that you don’t psyche yourself out.
It’s fairly normal for singles to need a bit of “run-in” to get efficient with, as they’re much different than repetition-effort sets IMO.
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Awesome, thanks a lot for the advice! Will take a few kilos off for the singles and rebuild from there.
On squats, this was the 145 kg squat I tried last night, but that was probably also too heavy for a 1@8: https://youtu.be/aeHiSrbxCq4
On the deadlifts, I do get rather psyched up on the heavier singles, and when I fail it’s usually the same pattern, i.e. I can’t keep my lower back tight enough to get the bar off the floor. That was also what happened in week 8.
Both for the Squat and the Deadlift, it seems like the heavy singles are not fully in proportion to my volume / back off sets; i.e., judging by my 6@9 numbers, I would expect my 1@8s to be higher (at least if you calculate them by usual RPE charts).
I guess that’s just as you said, that I need more “run-in” to get more comfortable with the heavy singles, and I understand that’s exactly what the 1@8s are for.
Does it help further to train more in the lower rep ranges in general (e.g. sets of 3 or 4 reps instead of 6)?
PS: Yeah, the “nod of peace” was the “RPE 8 approved nod” 
Yea, I think that’s just too heavy for the day and likely driving some extra fatigue for the potential stimulus. It was still a bit high too.
I think avoiding the hype for regular 1 @ 8 exposure is good practice. Less variability in performance IMO.
I’m think that lower rep efforts are likely better for getting good at singles, but how much is pretty variable and, doing singles probably has more carry over anyway.
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