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Thread: Why so Sore!?!

  1. #1
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    Default Why so Sore!?!

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    So how come when you do 10-12 range on lifts the soreness comes on like a MFer? But 3x5 doesn't kill me? Just a curious question for you coaches.

  2. #2
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    Th short answer: you are accustomed to sets of five and you are not accustomed to sets of 10 or 12. The long answer: sliding filament theory of muscular contraction, eccentric muscle actions, and total volume.

  3. #3
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    Some of us have more midichlorians than others.

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    Quote Originally Posted by marcf View Post
    Some of us have more midichlorians than others.
    This, too.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by marcf View Post
    Some of us have more midichlorians than others.


    It's also worth noting that, in my experience, almost everyone I've ever coached who
    a) Hasn't trained before
    or
    b) Has not done near-correct SS model squats before (either because they've only been front or high bar squatting or because their own attempt at correct SS model squats was woefully off the mark)

    has been sore after our first session, primarily in the hamstrings and adductors, even though I typically only work them up to a single set of 5 per the usual guidelines (just starts to get hard, but light enough they can still think their way through the set and respond to cues/make corrections). I used to do 3x5 but this led to serious soreness in both of the aforementioned groups, which tends to be the vast majority of people I'm seeing for the first time, so now the first session is only one set of five at the top weight, even though the top weight is significantly submax.

    tl;dr - what Tom said in the short answer. What you're already adapted to, +5lbs, doesn't make you sore. But it does make you stronger.

  6. #6
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    Wolf,

    With regards to your 1x5 vs 3x5 for first workout squats, does workout 2 consist of +5lbs and + a set, or do you just add sets until 3x5 is achieved, and then weight?

    My last reset on LP, due to travel, I used a similar process to this, by doing a set of 5 Monday, 2 sets of 5 Wed, and 3 sets of 5 Friday. Other lifts don't seem to need this babying after short reset, just LBBS. Must be lots of muscle mass or something...

  7. #7
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    Second workout is, after empty bar sets, 5 total sets of 5 ramping in weight each set, with the last set being 5-10lbs more than the previous workout. So two empty bar sets and five total weighted sets. The third workout is 5x5 ramping again, with another 5 lbs on the top set, then repeat the top set for one more set of five. So two empty bar sets and six sets of five reps with weight, two of those six being at the new heavier weight.

    The third workout is empty bar, then three warm-up sets (5, 4, 2 reps), then 3x5 work sets across with another 5 lbs.

    For example, if the initial working weight on the first workout is found to be 155, the sequence would go like this:

    Workout 1: establish WW as 155x5.
    Workout 2: 45x5x2, 75x5, 105x5, 125x5, 145x5, 160x5
    Workout 3: 45x5x2, 80x5, 110x5, 135x5, 150x5, 165x5x2
    Workout 4: 45x5x2, 85x5, 115x4, 145x2, 170x5x3
    Last edited by Michael Wolf; 03-25-2017 at 03:51 PM.

  8. #8
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    Makes perfect sense, Thanks for your time.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by murklurker View Post
    Makes perfect sense, Thanks for your time.
    Since
    everyone is throwing in their two cents, I'd say that YOU doing this would be a waste of time. A person who has been actively training and then takes time away from training, even for a month or two, is a VASTLY different thing than an untrained novice.

  10. #10
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    starting strength coach development program
    Thanks Steve,

    I'll save this strategy for the reckless fools volunteering to do a first workout with me.

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