Strange fifth rep phenomenon

[IndividualThoughtPatterns]

Pardon the math geekery, but geometric sequences do grow or shrink exponentially.

Doesn't geometrical sequence contains a factor AND exponential part and exponential sequence does not? :-)

[Scrofula]

Doesn't geometrical sequence contains a factor AND exponential part and exponential sequence does not? :-)

No; geometric sequences and exponentially increasing (or decreasing) functions are both of the form ar^x. The difference is that in geometric sequences, x is a (non-negative) integer. In exponential functions, x can be any real number. (Which is why it doesn't really make sense to call exponential functions 'sequences' -- they aren't discrete.)

In other words: an exponential function is a line. A geometric sequence is a set of points on that line, unit distance apart.

[IndividualThoughtPatterns]

Thanks a lot.. :-)

[Tao]

Today was another bench day and I just wanted to follow up. Resetting the valsalva after every rep made the overall set mildly more diffucult for me, mainly because I couldn't do it as quickly, however the fifth rep was no longer a monumental struggle and went up as easily as the first four. I guess Ripptoe knows his shit, who woulda thunk it? Thanks, Mark.