Question for Debaser

[Synpax]

You mentioned the following in another thread but it's a concept I wanted to bring out into another thread because the initial thread was on a different topic and was getting bogged down into ad hominem attacks.

You're missing the point. PROGRESSIVE LOAD IS WHAT BUILDS MUSCLE. PERIOD. If you're doing a dropset every week, as long as you're doing a bigger dropset the next week you're doing okay. Now of course, there's really no point to do the dropset because you can easily add weight without it. And who cares if a bodybuilder showed you that? I know 250-300 lb lean guys who do 1 set per bodypart. What does it matter? Just about anything will work to a degree if you use steroids and/or have good genetics.



It's NOT beneficial to switch up your routine monthly. In fact it's counterproductive. Your muscles do not “adapt” to a certain routine, thereby requiring that you “change it up” constantly (the result of slow or nonexistent progress for many). Muscles don't know what the hell you're doing to them, only that they're experiencing tension. They adapt to a certain load, requiring that you increase said load next time around, but that’s all. Muscles are not intelligent.

If you stuck to one basic routine for the past year, you'd probably have at least 20 more lbs of muscle than you do now. You need to forget about shocking muscles (BECAUSE THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE), and worry about adding some damn weight to the bar, because THAT is what builds muscle. When you can bench 350, squat 500 and deadlift 600+ you will be a much bigger guy than you are now.

Before I ask my question, first some background. I have as one of my goals being able to do 20 chinups. My method of getting to this has been do to 4 sets of 10 with a weight belt. the first set with 30 lbs, the second with 20, the third with 10, and the final set free. The load here is not progressive. Should I use a different approach?

Also, with other exercises, I normally do 3 or 4 sets of 8 and sometimes 12. EG - when I bench, I can do my first set without a spotter, then I grab a spotter for my second set. Then I reduce the weight and do a set withut a spotter, and then I grab a spotter for my last set. Point is, I can do an exercise for a few sets with X weight, and then do a final set with less weight because my muscles can no longer use the higher weight.

Are you suggesting there is no point in doing an additional set with less weight when your muscles are no longer capable of lifting the initial weight anymore?

Thanks. This isn't meant to provoke you, and while we may have bumped horns in previous threads, the time you spend addressing these questions will be appreciated. Ditto for anyone else who wants to throw in their $0.02.

 

[casualbb]

Before I ask my question, first some background. I have as one of my goals being able to do 20 chinups. My method of getting to this has been do to 4 sets of 10 with a weight belt. the first set with 30 lbs, the second with 20, the third with 10, and the final set free. The load here is not progressive. Should I use a different approach?

I'd alternate training heavy with pullups with training for reps. Essentially, day 1 would be low rep/high weight. See how much you can do 5 reps with, and do maybe 3 sets of that. Try to increase the weight.

The other day is totally unweighted. The goal of this day is to build strength endurance in the 20 rep range. Do 3-4 sets of a few reps below your unweighted max, stopping short of failure. Try to reduce the rest periods. So if you can do 16 pullups, try 3-4 sets of 12 without much rest. Avoid failure.

This is based on the idea of training different energy pathways. If a person lifts in a certain rep range continuously they will become better at lifting in that rep range. Since 20 reps is pretty high, we want to tax the long-term energy pathways, hence the many sets and low rest periods.

I'll let debaser answer the rest... he likes to talk,

 

[bignate73]

just off the top of my head. "progressive" meaning, ever increasing challenge. though your sets are "regressive" in weight, im sure you didnt start out at 30lbs from the beginning, you worked up to it. progressive overload means working up to a new weight, setting a PR from time to time (so to speak).

 

[Synpax]

Actually, 6 months ago I started off with 60 lbs of assistance and that gradually became 30 lbs of extra weight.

Ok, thanks. I was thinking of diong an unassisted day.

 

[Debaser]

You could do the same thing that I do with dips sometimes. My set/rep scheme looks like this:

2 sets of 5
then 1 set of bodyweight to failure

You could try that for chinups, it's proved effective for me. Someday I might do the same thing for chins, but right now my focus is more on rowing.