Yes. At one point I increased my calories to 3500/day and I gained 32 pounds over a period of 6 months, but I didn’t seem to get stronger. Some of my numbers went DOWN because of my increased weight, such as squats and pullups. Because there was no increase in performance, I’m guessing it was all fat weight that I gained. Since then I’ve cut 15 pounds.
You also made a point about the pump. I gathered it was just fluid buildup, vessels dilated, and stuff like that. The effects seem to fade away completely after 3 days or so. Is there a long-term benefit to those?
Yes. At one point I increased my calories to 3500/day and I gained 32 pounds over a period of 6 months, but I didn’t seem to get stronger. Some of my numbers went DOWN because of my increased weight, such as squats and pullups. Because there was no increase in performance, I’m guessing it was all fat weight that I gained. Since then I’ve cut 15 pounds.
You also made a point about the pump. I gathered it was just fluid buildup, vessels dilated, and stuff like that. The effects seem to fade away completely after 3 days or so. Is there a long-term benefit to those?
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well, I think that warrants further investigation as per your training and recovery.
as for the pump, even if the effect of driving extra nutrients into the muscle only last 3 days, how does that not have a long-term cumulative benefit when done repeatedly over the course of years?
Some here have mentioned that when doing a set to failure, you should stop when form is compromised. No one follows the cheating principle? Do as many as you can with good form, then cheat to do a few more?
[quote]its_just_me wrote:
Why talk about intensity techniques if your numbers look something like 150/200/300? [/quote]
150/200/300? I wish my numbers were that awesome! …Although your characterization of me is somewhat accurate, I was honestly curious about how most people did the failure rep, and if there was a benefit to a struggled rep. Progression IS something I’ve struggled with through the years. I stall and there’s nothing I can do to get over the plateau. I thought forcing reps might help, but sounds like it could be detrimental.[/quote]
Sounds like you need to go back to the drawing board
Get a competitive streak inside you, unleash the inner beast and focus on simple strength progression. Stop reading articles for some time, de-stress yourself and beat the log book.
When things get sloppy, reduce the load a little and get focussed again. The whole intensity methods/forced/cheat reps etc are just things you do after you’ve built more of a foundation (it’s like a way of over-loading the muscle more…something you don’t really need to do as a beginner/intermediate).
I find it amazing you didn’t add much strength from all that weight gain - did you eat nothing but carbs? lol
[quote]its_just_me wrote:
I find it amazing you didn’t add much strength from all that weight gain - did you eat nothing but carbs? lol[/quote]
During the 6 months I gained weight, I tried 40p/40c/20f, 30p/50c/20f, and 30p/45c/25f.
I seemed to hit plateaus in the 5x5s - that’s why I’m trying RPT and maybe forced reps to see if a more intense workout can help me through the plateau.
…Although your characterization of me is somewhat accurate, I was honestly curious about how most people did the failure rep, and if there was a benefit to a struggled rep. Progression IS something I’ve struggled with through the years. I stall and there’s nothing I can do to get over the plateau. I thought forcing reps might help, but sounds like it could be detrimental.[/quote]