Started the Beginners Template on 2/14/22. I’m on B1/Wk7/D1. on Wk5 I missed D2 & D3 due to being sick. Around Wk4 was when I started to question my work capacity for the higher rep sets in the program along with having a stagnant bench press (work capacity and 1% - 5% increases. My press is still going up along w my squat and rows. my deadlifts are turning into grinders more than half the time (work capacity?) and i can feel them coming to an end soon. Diet has been between 1900 - 2100 cal a day, aiming for 2000. weighed 231lb when i started and pretty much stayed at 228 - 230 the entire time til I got sick and dropped some weight. starting waist was 45 inches and im down to aprox 41 inches in 6 wks. weighed 226.8 this morning. not gonna lying the cardio is boring af and I haven’t been 100% on the 30min 2x/wk but I make my steps.
due to possible mental boredom, work capacity, stagnant bench, a slowing down deadlift - should I switch to Block 2?
Aura,
Thanks for the post.
I have no problem with you switching to block 2. That said, I think a few things need to be addressed here:
- I do not think the sets should be getting harder week to week. Rather, the exertion should stay the same while the weight goes up…maybe not every week (weight may go down or stay the same), but over time. If the sets are getting harder each week, I think the habit of adding weight each week no matter what needs to be broken.
- Work capacity has more to do with energy availability for a session, not adaptive rate. 1% of either per week is a lot btw.
- I think doing the conditioning work is important from both a health and performance standpoint, both being independent of weight. Finding conditioning you will do should be priority [NODE=“1”]Home[/NODE] IMO.
-Jordan
Jordan,
thanks for the reply!
- I do agree with you that the habit of adding weight each week does need to be broken. Old habits
I’m sure I need to work on RPE a bit more. With that being said, I would typically use the E1RM from the prior week multiply by 5% and lay out my opening working sets for all my exercises. I realize it’s not as cut and dry as I once thought. I’ll work on autoregulation for that. Also I figured developmental protocol would be better than a deload protocol.
-
Let’s say I end up nailing my first two working sets and during my 3rd set I lose steam or the RPE feels higher than a 8, would you recommend i back down to my first working set weight or my second working set weight?
-
Also another issue that I ran into was that on my last working set, I’d fail (typically on anything above 4 reps) and finish the set as a rest-pause set. Thoughts on rest-pauses to complete the final working set? I’d normally miss 1 or 2 reps, get pissed and rest-pause the last reps.
- Im not sure if its a mental thing or not with finishing out the workout or not, but the last exercise of the day can get rough. I’m thinking that maybe I’m just overshooting my weight selection for the day as well? There have been a couple times where Ive just done straight sets with the same weight. Some days I just feel like I’m outta gas and other times I gas myself up and rip right thru it.
- I’m guessing the only way to build up that last part of my work out is just “time under the bar”? if not, are there any other options?
- Copy that. Ill get to it. are there any objections to walking stairs at the prescribed RPE & time?
So I’ll finiah out this wk in B1 and move to B2 on Monday. Are there any objections to starting the GPP this wk thou?
TIA
Aura,
Thanks for the reply. I would not just add 5%, as I do not think that rate of adaptation is likely to occur reliably for most folks at any point in their training. Each set should ideally hit the prescribed RPE unless otherwise stated. I would absolutely not use rest pause unless the exercise is programmed that way. Lifting more weight, but changing the context- e.g using rest pause, shortening ROM, taking more rest, etc. do not represent you getting stronger or sending a larger signal to get stronger to the body. It’s just more weight lifted differently, no more, no less.
I think you’re overshooting your weight selection. It is perfectly fine to repeat weights week-to-week. And yes, work capacity tends to increase with training, including conditioning.
If you have not been doing much conditioning, I don’t think I’d start on the stairs. I would start with brisk walks or similar intensity cycling if I could pick.
-Jordan
Jordan,
Thanks for the reply! I was more so using the 5% weekly jumps as a starting point and know they aren’t realistically a longterm solution. I’ve scaled back from 5% on some lift and have implemented your suggestion of repeating weights wk to wk on some exercise. Copy that on running the program as prescribed.
Stairs honestly dont beat me up that much. i was doing cardio prior to getting back into the gym. i worked my way up to 100 flights of stairs(real stairs, not the cardio stepper) in about 3 wks? I’ll just stay in the RPE.
Anything else I should work on or be mindful of?
If your activity puts the HR at 115 to 130 (tops) for LISS and > 150-160 for HIIT, doesn’t beat the sh*t out of you, is something you enjoy, and helps you meet or exceed the current guidelines…I’m cool with it.