Hey guys, for the other lifts, I can do reps consecutively, but with deads, I seem to need to reset between each one, or form suffers. Is this ok? On + sets, the last few I need to take a few deep breaths, then go again. By doing this, I can get more reps out, easily 3 or 4 on 5 week.
Managed 15 today in my 5 week + set. Last cycle for the same weight in the 5 week + set I did 10 ( I’ve kept the DL tm the same this cycle ). Dropped the FSL to 3x5 rather than the normal 5x5, as I was beaten, bloody shin with a big egg on it . Am I better off going for more reps on the + set and reducing FSL volume? Goal is strength. I usually aim for reps, 10-12 in 5 week, 6-8 in 3 week, then 3-6 in the 1 week, but today I felt great and just kept going for more reps and did less FSL
If it helps, I’ve dropped my tm in the last few cycles and worked on higher bar speed, as before I was grinding them out slowly.
The main sets are where you want to be getting most of your work in my man. So dropping the FSL sets to 3x5 is perfectly fine, in fact I always found only doing 3 sets was prefferable for me to prevent overdoing it, especially for deadlifts where I have a dodgy lower back. So if it feels right then do it! You might find the quality of the reps is better just doing the 3 sets anyway.
In regards to resetting between every rep that is perfectly fine also. You’ll see a lot of pro’s do this aswell to ensure quality reps. The reason you find this better is because the deadlift is the only lift of the big 3 that starts with the concentric portion and begins from a dead stop, where as the OH press can still use some elastic potential. But be sure to not take too long.
For what it’s worth I did a degree in Exercise and Sports Science and when we learnt about standardizing testing protocols to ensure consistency in testing athletes a general rule was when doing a rep test that if the athlete starts using more than 3 seconds between reps they are done. That’s how a lot of professional institutes run it for consistency, do what works for you but it is good to have simple rules like that in mind.
. Am I better off going for more reps on the + set and reducing FSL volume? Goal is strength. I usually aim for reps, 10-12 in 5 week, 6-8 in 3 week, then 3-6 in the 1 week, but today I felt great and just kept going for more reps and did less FSL