If Your Intermediate Trainee Wanted to Adapt to More Volume

[ColoWayno]

Would you add a work set or two, or a high rep back off set?
Or something completely different?

I'm currently doing something TM'ish (so, yes, I'm my own trainee in this scenario).

[JC]

What do you want to achieve by adding the volume?

[Callador]

It would really depend on the lifter, but here are some things that I have done to add volume to my upper body: dropsets (1 or 2 at higher reps), extra sets with different techniques (closegrip, boards, etc), and assistance work that is similar to the lift (db bench, etc).

I think the dropsets can work, just be careful to not overdo it. I think on a few occasions that my volume day was too hard. Remember, try to do the least amount possible on volume day to keep your intenisty day moving. You may have to add a little work, but just be careful not to add too much. Same goes for changing up techniques, but I do think that I got more out of this than just doing the dropsets.

[ColoWayno]

What do you want to achieve by adding the volume?

I'm trying to do TM with just enough volume to drive up intensity day (like Callador says to), so I've been doing 3x5's. It doesn't always seem like enough so I was just wondering if additional sets across are the best way to increase volume or if I'm better off keeping a little more weight on the bar for work sets. Also, when I was coming back from surgery I started doing 5x5's for all of my work sets since the weight was light. I continued to use as much volume as I could manage until I took a month to train at an Oly gym then went on vacation... I feel like I lost a little sumpin' work capacity wise in there.

[veryhrm]

For the past 2 weeks i've been doing a drop set thing to get from 3x3 (which i have been doing for a few months) back to 3x5(x315 so not HUGE weights here or anything).
i have been doing
1x3 at what had been my 3x3 weight followed by
2x5 which i started at about 85% and i've been increasing that by 5 lbs a workout LP style. My plan is that once i get the 2x5 weight to the 1x3 weight (which i'm not incrementing) i'll just do 3x5 the next time.

This may not be the most effective use of time, but it's going ok so far (and it doesn't seem overly easy either).

To add sets you could do something similar... but with 3x5x-current-weight- and 2x5x80% and just increment that 2nd number until you get to 5x5x-current-weight-.

[Tamara Reynolds]

I would squat every day for a few weeks. Up to a heavy single and then back off doubles.

[veryhrm]

I would squat every day for a few weeks. Up to a heavy single and then back off doubles.

1. squat 3x5 for volume day on TM
2. squat every day for a few weeks. Up to a heavy single and then back off doubles.
3. squat 5x5 for volume day on TM

??
i'm not saying it wouldn't work as i wouldn't have anything to base that on, but it is certainly not intuitive that the path from 1 to 3 leads through 2...

[JC]

I don't have any specific advice on this topic, but two observations.

1 - volume day, the volume of work drives the adaptation.
2 - towards the end of my linear progression run, i was dropping sets to achieve the load. Eventually, i was only doing 1 set and i just stopped advancing. So i guess my point is load alone will not spur enough overload, which if i recall correctly was the point of TM as a program - the volume day drives progression, and intensity day shows it. With regard as to which way to increase volume Wayne, i'd say try a few out for a month or so each and see what feels better for you?