I just changed my works from high rep stuff to low rep. When I was doing high reps I spaced my weight days out with cardio in between for recovery time. Now that I have changed my work out should I still do this? Would it be better to not worry with the cardio for a recovery break in between day, or was it a lame idea all together?
Running I for a couple weeks and see how it goes. So long as your nutrition is on point and your sleeping well you should be able to tell if your recovering well enough or not.
Is your total volume the same? IE 10 reps @50lbs is equivalent to 5 reps @ 100lbs.
I don’t know off the top of my head if the total volume is the same. My log book is in my work locker. I don’t believe it is equal, But I am still getting sore. This the first time I have really made drastic changes in my routine. I have change exercises before but I have never changed weight and reps around. Hoping it gives me some better results.
I go about 4 times a week when doing high weight/low rep, such as in the 5/3/1 method
I use low weight (60 lb barbell) and high reps, as many as 120 at a time.
Depends on what I’m doing. Shoulder Shrugs high rep (120), Behind the Neck Press high rep (120), Bicep Curls low rep (30) Military Press low rep (30) and so on…Oh, I add mucho more weight for Bench Press High Rep (120) plus (60)
Less chance of injury and greater stamina building with low weight.
I do this every other day.
On off day, I cycle 28 miles per day on my 29er mountain bike - sometimes more. I used to do 25 miles a day, but upped it recently.
Recovery: low weight, high rep. No cardio.
If you’re doing high rep exercises than you should be doing each major body part once a week( if you are new to weight training). Rest is extremely important and most likely the most important aspect of strength gains behind proper FORM!! If you are benching 135lbs 15 times than you should be doing 185lbs on your heavy days. This 5-3-1 bullsh#$ is not going to cut it. Lifting heavy would consist of reps within the 6-8 range for moderate strength and muscle gains. Also, I can NOT stress enough the importance of pull-ups and push-ups!! DO THEM!! I have seen many men and women who can not do one pull-up within three month be able to do 10 straight. Strength and muscle gains will go through the roof. For example, when I was deployed I performed a strict workout of 10 pull-ups immediately(superset) followed by 25 pull-ups. Than, I would continue this routine going down from 10-1 for the pull-ups and keeping the push-ups at 25. By month number 2 I was doing this exact routine with two 45lb plates during the pull-up portion. I was exhausted and only performed this routine three times a week while resting the other four. If you are game than I would consider this workout the best strength/muscle building routine for those who have never accomplished this routine.
If you come in stating that 5-3-1 is bullshit. I’m going to immediately assume you don’t know what you’re talking about.
Dude, I have done every workout possible and the only gain I have ever achieve from the 5-3-1 is…nothing!!! With proper nutrition and sleep that routine is useless. You would have to consume massive amounts o calories to sustain a level of development on that routine that you would gain enough fat to reder your goals unachievable. Other routines like the 5x5 would suit you better. That routine is bogus and horsesh!t. The only gain is possibly one rep max efficiency…that’s it!!!
I more than likely know a hell of a lot more about working out than the above average workout person. Now, you may be in extreme physical condition or have tons of more knowledge than I do. What do I know? Most people who life to achieve excellent physical fitness do not even consider that sh%t routine as an option.
Fan of conjugate right here, but I digress.
The only gain is possibly one rep max efficiency…that’s it!!!
Sweet! I love gaining strength w/o gaining heavy muscle to have to lug around, sounds perfect!
The biggest mistake I see people make in their fitness programs is not clearly defining for themselves exactly what their goals are and what attributes they are trying to emphasize and improve.
First to address the recovery. It all depends on how much load you are applying each workout. I would recommend going every other day. 72 hours between working the same muscle group (squatting and squatting, deadlifting and deadlifting, benching and benching). Secondly, 5x5 is not superior to 5,3,1 or similar. Building strength requires working with maximal load and getting your cns used to it. If you do something like 315 5x5 for bench, consider you are really just doing 25 reps of 315. You’ll get really good at benching 315, but working with greater loads there will be a loss in performance.
5/3/1 (I tried and wasn’t a huge fan due to slow progress) is far superior in terms of building strength. You work with weight over 90% of your 1rm on a regular basis which is key to building strength. As well the weights never drop below 5 reps a set. Still going every other day is key.
If you truly wanna build strength like a mofo check out a conjugate method template. In the last 4 months I added 50 pounds to my bench (last week hit 335) 90 pounds to my squat (410 2 weeks ago) and 85 lbs to my deadlift (500 lbs last week). This was all tested with competition pause. So a 1245 total at a 174 lb bodyweight. For what its worth prior to switching to the conjugate system I was doing a 5x5 type template.
This is a nice write up on it http://www.exrx.net/WeightTraining/Powerlifting/Westside.html
You just defined strength gain…