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Author Topic: Changing rep ranges every couple weeks?  (Read 407 times)
Sbaker34
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« on: November 29, 2011, 02:50:04 PM »

Ive always done 5x5 or 3x5, except when I went to 3x8 and it broke a plateau, and recently I did a bench program involving a wide rep range and now max probably 195 on a good day, 190 confirmed.

I have been thinking, could it possibly be that the fact I stick to 5x5 or 3x5 for months on end the reason I stall so much on bench? Should I perhaps switch from 5 reps, to 8 reps, to 3 reps, and back again every couple weeks?
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King Neptune
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    « Reply #1 on: November 29, 2011, 02:51:47 PM »

    That's one way to do it, but I prefer varying the loads across the week.
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    MercNil
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    « Reply #2 on: November 30, 2011, 12:36:04 AM »

    Ive always done 5x5 or 3x5, except when I went to 3x8 and it broke a plateau, and recently I did a bench program involving a wide rep range and now max probably 195 on a good day, 190 confirmed.

    I have been thinking, could it possibly be that the fact I stick to 5x5 or 3x5 for months on end the reason I stall so much on bench? Should I perhaps switch from 5 reps, to 8 reps, to 3 reps, and back again every couple weeks?

    You've intuitively learned what periodization and progression is. Smiley
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    Alsavier
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    « Reply #3 on: November 30, 2011, 01:37:15 PM »

    It really depends, how long were you plateued for?
    A month plateu, or even 2month plateu isn't that long. Theres only so much you can mix it up.

    Also 3x5/5x5 isn't that much of a mix up, in my opinion, a better option would be 5x3 / 3x3 or something similiar.
    With 3x5/5x5 it's the same rep range being used, your just changing the sets.

    How long have you been training? If it's over a year, in my experience of talking to people, they seem to be okay  with more or less the same stuff for a year, and after that, may need a complete rehaul, provided the first year was a good progressive overload based routine.

    Summary;
    Try triples instead.
    However, be sure to warm up, alot! Get some blood in those shoulders, dislocations/band pull aparts etc.
    For me, I find triples alot easier to tweak something in my shoulders if they aren't properly warm, where as 5's have little consequence.

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    « Reply #4 on: November 30, 2011, 01:41:36 PM »

    If you do 3 sets of 3, you can focus on really heavy weights, with almost a true 3RM. On the other hand, if you do more sets, you're probably using a 4 - 6RM, which means it isn't that different from 5 x 5. The OP's idea to use sets of 8 makes sense, though periodization might also include super heavy sessions (with a true 3RM).
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    breunor
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    « Reply #5 on: December 01, 2011, 07:29:11 AM »

    Certainly mixing up rep ranges is beneficial for hypertrophy, for example the HST program is based around that. Not sure for pure strength programs, but it can also be a break for your CNS to recover which might be the limiter right now if you've been at it for a while. Is your goal maximum strength with little regard to size, or are size and strength equally important? If it's the latter, I would give a cycle like HST a try.
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    Paralysisxiii
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    « Reply #6 on: December 15, 2011, 10:12:52 AM »

    Possibly, but I'd give this a read and think about it..
    http://www.ericcressey.com/strength-training-programs-adaptation
    Arbitrary periodization can counter-intuitive to progress, so just make sure you're making changes for a reason (and hopefully a good one at that)
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