[quote]LoRez wrote:
CT,
Just wondering if you had any rules of thumb as far as how much to increase the weights in various double progression rep ranges.
I was looking at some of the Doug Hepburn routines floating out on the web, and I’ve seen as little as 2.5lbs for upper body lifts (in Hepburn’s Law: 8x2-3 + 6,5,4,4,4,3) to 5-10lbs for things like his “A” and “B” routines.
Charlie Smith had a press routine that went 10x3, to 10x4, to 8x5 then increased by 10lbs.
I can’t remember what you had suggested with something like 5x3-5.
Have you found any patterns as far as when when a weight increase is “too aggressive”, or vice versa?[/quote]
I prefer to progress slower… because worst case scenario you will still be able to complete all your sets and thus will have to increase the weight at the next session.
For example if on the bench press you do:
Week 1
225lbs x 5, 225lbs x 5, 225lbs x 5, 225lbs x 4, 225lbs x 3
Week 2
You get all 5 sets for 5 reps with 225 (thus you can increase the weight)
Week 3
You move to 230lbs and once again are able to complete 5 x 5
In that situation you will once again bump it up (to 235) for week 4… whereas if you increased it to 235 you might have succeeded only in doing 5,5,5,4,3 again. So ultimately it will take you about the same time to reach the same weight BUT with a slower progression you develop better form and efficiency.
10lbs for deadlift and squat variations
5lbs for upper body lifts