I have read over it multiple times already and it seems to make alot of sense but I am having trouble putting it all together.
I am fairly advanced so I just cant see myself starting out at just the basic with fatigue stops. My conditioning and recovering ability is fairly good.
I am just finalizing my home gym and figuring out where I am going to get everything that way I can stop going to commercial gyms that drive me crazy.
I seem to get all the exercise selection but its the intensity and volume that is confusing me a little bit.
I dont plan on starting until after jan 10 because that is when my contest is so I have some time to figure it out.
Now I will start with a volume block and will be going with the 3 weeks of volume 3 of intensity to see how that works. But now on to the confusing part for me.
How do I decide what stress aka the time to alot to each exercise. And do I have to? I have never timed exercises because recovery has never been an issue to even if I take longer because lets say its not the greatest day and Im not in the mood to go fast. Plus do I have to cycle this and how do I decide hoe to cycle this.
Now as for the intensity. I am having trouble with this as well. How do I decide what intensity to go at. I have always gone balls to the wall. Obviosly I wouldnt want to be at very high stress in fatigue percentage aka 10% every week but what would the reason other than recovery to not stay at atleast medium (5%) all the time?
Another thing It seems alot easier to just track your or reaching your fatigue percentage is with the rep chart instead of having a calculator with you in the gym. Is their a difference which I use?
I am really sorrry if this makes no sense to anybody because even I am a little confused. I am just having trouble figuring out how to wave my training in terms of intensity and stress and figuring out the reasons for that?
One more thing. DO you keep the same exercises for more than 1 week or do you change each week? Would you cycle a certain number of them, like lets say 3, 1 for each week of whatever wave you are in (ie volume or intensity)
I'm just starting out with RTS as well. What I'm doing/would suggest is just to start off with the basic template, or any template of your choosing, and just pick from the set/rep combinations that Mike lays out according to whether you're in the volume block or the intensity block. I would keep exercises constant throughout an entire mesocycle (volume block and intensity block, 6 weeks total). Start off just recording RPE's, then once you're comfortable with that add in fatigue stops. This is all from my limited experience so far.
I was thinking of starting with the basic template but was unsure if the volume would be enough. One question about the basic template. Lets say you are doing volume AT 6x3 @ 8-9. What happens if you cant keep that pace and at set 5 I am now @ 9 on the RPE or even 10. Do i call it quits or do I lower the weight.
Also on the basic template do I set a time limit per exercise or is not necessary.
It just seems to me that if I were to follow the basic template than the control on volume and intensity would not be there.
I will be starting with the basic template when i do start I was just more looking ahead for when the time comes to progress.
The times are suggestions, but they keep you from resting all day and screwing up your fatigue percents. If they need modification, that's available. And if you're having a "slow" day, that's fine too. Just make sure it's not throwing off your FP's.
How do you decide what stress to allot... that's a very extensive question and it depends on what kind of training philosophy you subscribe to and what kind of periodization model you want to use. If you're really clueless, write "Medium" in the stress column from top to bottom, then tweak it here and there to have a "High" once in a while. Remember, High means incomplete recovery, so you'll have to compensate for that at some point in your cycle. The reason you wouldn't go medium all the time is because periods of increased stress / reduced stress has many benefits. It keeps things interesting, develops work capacity, develops fatigue tolerance, adds emphasis to a particular week, etc, etc. There is some artistry when planning this part of training, so keep these principles in mind and be imaginative.
You decide intensity by the training effect it produces. 80% work will have a different training effect than >90%.
Yes, using the rep chart is easier, but again, there are different training effects. Also, using the bar weight is more accurate. You don't necessarily need a calculator. If you put a percentage chart in the back of your training log, just put a column in there for 3%, 5%, and 7% and you're set.
As far as exercise rotation, you can do that a number of ways. I suggest keeping all exercises the same for the whole 6 weeks in the beginning, but then if you want to rotate them some more, you'll be able to. IMO some people rotate exercises too much, so they need to see the benefits of keeping them constant. But others don't rotate them enough, so they need to see the benefit of rotating exercises. 6 weeks is a good place to start. After that, you'll have to see what you're individual response is. Once you get the hang of things, feel free to rotate some, while not rotating others. It will be highly dependant on what you're responding to.
The times are suggestions, but they keep you from resting all day and screwing up your fatigue percents. If they need modification, that's available. And if you're having a "slow" day, that's fine too. Just make sure it's not throwing off your FP's.
How do you decide what stress to allot... that's a very extensive question and it depends on what kind of training philosophy you subscribe to and what kind of periodization model you want to use. If you're really clueless, write "Medium" in the stress column from top to bottom, then tweak it here and there to have a "High" once in a while. Remember, High means incomplete recovery, so you'll have to compensate for that at some point in your cycle. The reason you wouldn't go medium all the time is because periods of increased stress / reduced stress has many benefits. It keeps things interesting, develops work capacity, develops fatigue tolerance, adds emphasis to a particular week, etc, etc. There is some artistry when planning this part of training, so keep these principles in mind and be imaginative.
You decide intensity by the training effect it produces. 80% work will have a different training effect than >90%.
Yes, using the rep chart is easier, but again, there are different training effects. Also, using the bar weight is more accurate. You don't necessarily need a calculator. If you put a percentage chart in the back of your training log, just put a column in there for 3%, 5%, and 7% and you're set.
As far as exercise rotation, you can do that a number of ways. I suggest keeping all exercises the same for the whole 6 weeks in the beginning, but then if you want to rotate them some more, you'll be able to. IMO some people rotate exercises too much, so they need to see the benefits of keeping them constant. But others don't rotate them enough, so they need to see the benefit of rotating exercises. 6 weeks is a good place to start. After that, you'll have to see what you're individual response is. Once you get the hang of things, feel free to rotate some, while not rotating others. It will be highly dependant on what you're responding to.
thanks.
I will start with the basic template then add from there as things become more clear. Right now it seems like a lot to digest and make sense of evverything clearly.
Don't think that an advanced lifter won't make gains off of the basic template. You can be fairly advanced at lifting, but new to adapting training to your body, which is why the basic template is a good place for most folks to start.
As you have questions, PLEASE put them up. I'll do the best I can to help out!
Don't think that an advanced lifter won't make gains off of the basic template. You can be fairly advanced at lifting, but new to adapting training to your body, which is why the basic template is a good place for most folks to start.
As you have questions, PLEASE put them up. I'll do the best I can to help out!
Thanks. I will wait till I start in about 1.5 weeks then go from there.
Don't think that an advanced lifter won't make gains off of the basic template. You can be fairly advanced at lifting, but new to adapting training to your body, which is why the basic template is a good place for most folks to start.
As you have questions, PLEASE put them up. I'll do the best I can to help out!
Thanks. I will wait till I start in about 1.5 weeks then go from there.
thanks again for the help
Sorry all the anonymous replies in here are me, i keep forgeting to log in
I am doing a volume week very low intensity and just with fatigue stops. I was going to train squat and dead today but I was still a little sore from my contest on sat so I went with chest and shoulder workout (workout # 2) instead and will only do a 3 day workout week this week then go to 4 for next week just so that I get used to rpe's and the training then I can go all out next week.
Anyways here goes for today. volume block/ fatigue stops
Total workout time 65min
Paused ply press 3 rep sets/fatigue stops @8-9 rpe (30min) 245x3 @7 265 x3 @8 275x3 @8 280x3@8 285x3@8.5 (prob more like 8) 290x3@8.5 (prob more like 8 again) 295x3@9 295x2@9
stopped here if I would have went for 3 on the last set it would have been @10 so I stopped
CG +mmb (doubled mini band per side) 5 reps/ fatigue stops @ 8-9rpe (15min) 175x5@7 195x5@8 205x5@8.5 205x5@9
stopped here i was done and would only be going down from here
Military press 3-5 sets 5-8 reps (15 min) 175x6@8 (really easy here prob more like 7 here could have easily banged out 5 more and then some) 175 x7 175x5
went really easy here. Just taking the 3rd exercise easy this week and especially this exercise becasue i havent done it in ages.
SO how does this look for a start? Prob did to many sets on bench but I just kept adding weight and it still stayed easy so I just kept adding weight till I got out of my rpe range.
Am I suppose to add weight progressivelly like my first exercise or should I just pick a weight and go with it till I get out of my wanted rpe range for the exercise. I know my next session with the ply press I will add the weight much faster knowing what I can do so that will prob cut some sets down. Next week I up the stress to use a 5% fatigue drop.
Any suggestions on improvements or am I on the right track
No, it's not too many sets. You're on the right track for sure! All of your thought processes seem good to me, so run with it. Keep it going, man! And, yes, when you feel comfortable, put in Fatigue Percents.
No, it's not too many sets. You're on the right track for sure! All of your thought processes seem good to me, so run with it. Keep it going, man! And, yes, when you feel comfortable, put in Fatigue Percents.
Looks good!
Thanks. Today didnt go so well. I overshot my work set weight and that messed everything up but that is to be expected when I am just starting out. Atleast I know Im on the right track.
