Rotating Rep Range

[Elephant]

Which of these would you think is better, or is it purely a matter of experimenting and personal taste? If it matters, I'm 60 yo.

200x5x3
210x3x3
220x1x3

205x5x3
215x3x3
etc.

or

200x5x3
205x3x3
210x1x3

205x5x3
210x3x3
etc.

[Nate7out]

#1 is better.

The increment between rep range should be larger than the progression increment.

Alternating Rung Method - Baker Strength Coaching

[Elephant]

Nice article, thanks! I'll have to spend more time with Andy's blog.

I wonder if adding a 6-4-2 mini-cycle when you can't progress on 5-3-1 is better than doing smaller jumps (e.g., 5 and 2.5 instead of 10 and 5 as in my #1 ).

[Sean Stangl]

Which of these would you think is better, or is it purely a matter of experimenting and personal taste? If it matters, I'm 60 yo.

Probably the first would be better if you're male, regardless of age, but it depends on neuromuscular efficiency. Luckily, you can figure this out for yourself by using RPE to check that the triples are about the same difficulty as the 5s and adjust as you see fit.

[Elephant]

Probably the first would be better if you're male, regardless of age, but it depends on neuromuscular efficiency. Luckily, you can figure this out for yourself by using RPE to check that the triples are about the same difficulty as the 5s and adjust as you see fit.

Are you saying compare 200x5 to both 205x3 and 210x3 and pick the triple that's harder but not too much harder?

[Sean Stangl]

Are you saying compare 200x5 to both 205x3 and 210x3 and pick the triple that's harder but not too much harder?

Difficulty is measured by the RPE system of "how many more reps could I have done." It counts backwards from 10, so RPE 10 = no more reps, RPE 9 = 1 more rep, @8 = 2 more reps, @7 = 3 more reps, @6 = 4 more reps, and anything below @6 is way too light to be productive.

So you would do 200x5 and observe an RPE of maybe @7. So if you really tried, you could have done 200x8@10.

You would then try 210x3, hoping also for an RPE of @7, so if you really tried, you could have done 210x6@10.

If the RPE is too high (@9) or too low (@6) on the triples, you can adjust the weight so that it's in the productive training range for the rep scheme you have chosen.

[Elephant]

In this case, is RPE doing more than just providing a way to compare exertion on one day to another?

EDIT: Current thread on RPE in Rip's forum: Is RPE a valuable training tool or a load of shit?

[Elephant]

Here's another Andy Baker article on rotating rep ranges: Strategy: Rotating Rep Ranges - Baker Strength Coaching

[Fiddler]

I just use this:Rep Max Calculator - All Things Gym

I base the reps on whatever I'm doing for 5s across. Seems to work OK. Missed the singles on DL by 5 lbs, but I think that was mental, more than anything, since I was trying to lift 20 lbs more than I had ever lifted before.