This is a two question post one question I am sure of which has been asked before but I am struggling to find the answer.
First, I am struggling to find the answer to why I am doing things the way I am doing them. What I mean is I was doing 5/3/1 before and it was straightforward. Now I understand RPE but what I do not understand is why the training is setup the way it is. For example, why do you do the 5x5@8 sets then move to 1@8 sets? What is the purpose of each? I am sure that has been asked so if you just want to point me in the right direction that is cool.
Second, I have been doing the Hypertrophy template now going on 5 weeks and it seems to be setup similar to the HLM template with some obvious differences in accessory work. The main lifts seem to be similar in the way they are treated with a slight change to the rep scheme. Does the Hypertrophy template also work for some strength increase as well as muscle?
I’m not sure but I don’t think any of the templates have 5x5@8, I think the bridge might but that’s just on bench. But repeated sets at @8 are for volume and singles @8 are to practice heavy singles without accumulating too much fatigue. 4-10@8 puts you in that 68-84% Goldilocks zone for volume where it’s not so heavy it interferes with recovery and not so light it takes forever to build up enough volume to do anything.
As for the Hypertrophy template, you should probably get stronger doing it but not as fast as you would on a strength template and even if you don’t if you got bigger (or if you’re cutting improved your ability to recover between sets from the shorter rest times and higher reps) then it did its job.
Yes, you are correct there is no 5x5@8 I was just throwing something out to go along with the 1@8 to give an example of the difference. Should have been 5@8
Thanks for the answer though. I think I do a pretty good job of the RPE now for the most part but I struggle with what to do week to week. Meaning should I try and raise it up like 5 lbs every week (which is tougher for press and bench) or just go with what it feels like. So far, I am just chose to push it at times but not sure, I am making the progress I want.
I am older so I know that is a factor and I eat like crap which I know doesn’t help either but I enjoy this more than I did 5/3/1 so far and I really like the hypertrophy template because it seems to move faster than the HLM one did. I plan to do another round of Hypertrophy after this and then switch back to the HLM to help try and get strength up a bit. I do not compete but I have considered it and I would just like to keep progressing never the less. I still have goals I would like to reach even if I do not do a competition.
I would aim to increase the weight by 1% when your rpe goal. For example say 8 begins to feel more like a 7 or 7.5.
i personally look at it wieght over a three week trend and try to increase each lift by 1% end of the three weeks . I find different lifts increase in different way. My press and bench is slow and steady .5lb increases every session but my squat and deadlift take a couple weeks to go up 1%.
The idea is that you go into each session with an idea of what weight you will be using, ideally increasing each week. However, at each session you are going to adjust weights to stay within the recommended RPE. If this is your first time with this much volume, you will need to adjust your work capacity to this, so the weights may not increase week to week as the volume increases. Getting in the proper volume at the recommended RPE (and therefore the recommended level of stress), is the priority.
Yeah i thinking the same thing roughly. I wasn’t sure on the week to week thing but every three sounds better. It’s kind of worked like that for squats but upper body hasn’t moved much. I’m kind of stuck on deadlift and was thinking of switching to sumo.