Originally Posted by
BenM
Yeah, for sure. Do that too. Heck, do that first before doing twenties. I'm not saying twenties is the first variant I'd recommend, just pushing back against the black and white statement that they don't produce anything of value.
Right, thanks Rip. Now we're getting towards a more productive and reasonable answer. I agree - they're psychologically taxing. So are heavy, max effort fives for session after session too - people can't do that forever either.
Really what I was taking issue with was your blanket statement that they are unproductive. I don't think that's necessarily the case. Even if you do them too light for a few weeks, they might improve your work capacity. To get stronger, or build muscle, you need to do them heavy enough for long enough and overload them and I agree, that's probably difficult for most people, but it does happen. The OP for example sounds like he has run them before so knows he's capable of it, and is suggesting doing them for 8-10 weeks. If he can do that, then I think it could be productive in some way, do you? If he can't, well, he had a few weeks of unproductive training. In the context of a lifetime of lifting, that's probably not the end of the world.
This is a kinda blanket statement to make too, I get where you're coming from, but consider that adding sets is a form of overload (for example) so if a lifter couldn't add weight to the bar, they could add sets over time. It also depends on the lifter. Some much prefer higher rep work with lighter weights, they find it easier on the joints, etc. Not me though.