all posts post new thread

Other/Mixed all-or-nothing is stupid and I am a stupid, stupid man

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
This is an interesting point and I think there is a big bifurcation between those who want to build up training capacity (that takes more time out of the rest of your life, after all) vs those who would prefer to be minimalist for life balance reasons.
I'm not arguing and I'm not sure how @Antti meant it, but can't one build their training capacity in different aspects?

That is, you can build work capacity, loosely stated as "volume," AND/OR you can also build the capacity to withstand/manage greater loads. PTTP would be an example of the latter; you never increase the volume, just the load.
 
Yeah, but it takes longer to go that route.

I find it easier / faster to have a hypertrophy block, put on the mass, then have a strength block to potentiate that newly added mass.

Then again, I'm the opposite of a hard gainer and can get hypertrophy in some of my muscles (e.g. chest) with as little as 1 direct session / 3-4 sets a week.

As a genuine hardgainer, my thoughts are still that phase potentiation is the way, the truth, and the life.
 
I'm not arguing and I'm not sure how @Antti meant it, but can't one build their training capacity in different aspects?

That is, you can build work capacity, loosely stated as "volume," AND/OR you can also build the capacity to withstand/manage greater loads. PTTP would be an example of the latter; you never increase the volume, just the load.

And then there will eventually come a day when linear progression stops working.

That’s often cited as one of the hallmarks of being an ‘intermediate Lifter’

Example:

I can no longer increase my BSQ just by adding weight.

It has stubbornly stayed at about 150kg 5 RM for years if my hard sets per week is any less than 15.

If I want my squat to go up at this point, I have to do more sets, modulate the volume and intensity, and spend more time squatting.

Pretty standard periodization, nothing unusual.
 
Last edited:
And then there will eventually come a day when linear progression stops working.

That’s often cited as one of the hallmarks of being an ‘intermediate Lifter’

Example:

I can no longer increase my BSQ just by adding weight.

It has stubbornly stayed at about 150kg 5 RM for years if my hard sets per week is any less than 15.

If I want my squat to go up at this point, I have to do more sets, modulate the volume and intensity, and spend more time squatting.

Pretty standard periodization, nothing unusual.
Sure, I get that. Maybe I'm mistaken but the way @Antti worded it: "before we jump into the deep end of the pool," made it seem like he was referring to beginner-intermediate lifters. Wouldn't the "deep end" be the advanced stuff?

Semantics, I guess.
 
Sure, I get that. Maybe I'm mistaken but the way @Antti worded it: "before we jump into the deep end of the pool," made it seem like he was referring to beginner-intermediate lifters. Wouldn't the "deep end" be the advanced stuff?

Semantics, I guess.

You'll have to ask him.
 
As a genuine hardgainer, my thoughts are still that phase potentiation is the way, the truth, and the life.

I'm glad you've found the way. ;)

Most of the hardgainers I've met can actually put on mass if they fully embrace the process.
 
This is an interesting point and I think there is a big bifurcation between those who want to build up training capacity (that takes more time out of the rest of your life, after all) vs those who would prefer to be minimalist for life balance reasons.
True....and maintaining takes alot less time then building...
 
True....and maintaining takes alot less time then building...

I heard some crazy stat that it takes 1/7th of the volume.

I don't know if it's *that* low but it's definitely much less.

And it also takes a lot less work to regain it than to gain it.
 
I heard some crazy stat that it takes 1/7th of the volume.

I don't know if it's *that* low but it's definitely much less.

And it also takes a lot less work to regain it than to gain it.
I actually can attest to both of those things....
I spent a year just doing 1 max set of pushups,pullups and chinups 3 times a week...never pushed myself at all...
took 5 min.
I also once laid off everything for six weeks for a surgery recovery.....when I came back it took me a week to be back to normal....
 
I'm not arguing and I'm not sure how @Antti meant it, but can't one build their training capacity in different aspects?

That is, you can build work capacity, loosely stated as "volume," AND/OR you can also build the capacity to withstand/manage greater loads. PTTP would be an example of the latter; you never increase the volume, just the load.
Sure, I get that. Maybe I'm mistaken but the way @Antti worded it: "before we jump into the deep end of the pool," made it seem like he was referring to beginner-intermediate lifters. Wouldn't the "deep end" be the advanced stuff?

Semantics, I guess.

In this context, I was mainly talking about overall volume of all kinds of exercise.

It seems some times I see posts where someone says " I just started PTTP, rucking and Norwegian Kung Pow. I do all five times for two hours each a week. I'm really tired, my lifts go down, I can only ruck downhill and my marital arts performance has made me sleep on the couch. Training history? None, really."

Taken we are originally stable, we should add more stress in manageable doses. Build up our capacity so we are stable again, before adding more. And after a certain point increasing stress means the recovery may have to increase even more.

When it comes to lifting specifically, sure, there are differences to handling volume and intensity. In a sense they're individual, in a sense universal. However, on the context of strength training, load is key. There is only so strong you can get if you avoid heavy loads. So you have to lift heavy if you want to get really strong. Of course, muscles move the load, so it makes sense to develop hypertrophy to be able to lift more. However, in most short term studies I've seen, hypertrophy development doesn't seem to correlate with strength development that well, or at least when compared to pure strength training. Then again, strength sports have weight classes. Last, to an unquantifiable extent it seems that force can take place of the load when it comes to strength training.

So, when we look at overall lifting planning, heavy loads should take preference, but not in volume. Just a little bit carries far. Then add some repeated/submaximal effort for hypertrophy and some DE/CAT/force training. Switch priorities in blocks, but never leave one off the table altogether. The heavy load training volume may not increase that much during our training years, or it is relatively so little, for example 5%, that it doesn't make that big of a dent when we evaluate the overall volume.
 
During the past two years I have found ways that work for me to balance different activities.

However, what is the most difficult part is to get back to this state of relative balance when coming back from an injury or sickness.

For example, I am currently running an ROP version and was close to 5x5 ladders. However, a strange sickness hit my family (might have been a new Covid-variant) and now my power has diminished significantly and my workouts feel very different. So I wonder how far back I should go. This is really difficult for me.

So far I have gone to 5x4 ladders and repeat this until it feels kinda comfortable again. But it's hard for me to get the right stimulus for the ballistic ATM, as I want to get back to my prior levels as quick as possible, but I actually don't know where I am at and I don't know what my body needs right now. More rest? Lighter weights? Shorter sessions? I do my best to work around it, but it always leaves me guessing.
 
Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
Back
Top Bottom