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Old 01-14-2007, 09:20 PM
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_Wolf_ _Wolf_ is offline
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Location: Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas
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III. Programming
**A. The basics
**B. Stalling and Resetting, Part 2
**C. What to do after Rippetoe
**D. General Questions
*****1. How much weight should I use?
*****2. What about sets and reps?

Stalling and Resetting, Part 2

I stalled on an exercise, what should I do? How do I "reset"?

First, if you haven't read "My bench is stuck now" as well as "How do I know if I'm officially stalled" then do so before proceeding.

Okay, assuming you read the above, and you are in "class #4" and you have 'officially stalled', then proceed as follows.

We'll use our stalled squat example:

Squat:
135 x 5/5/5 (bar speed good)
145 x 5/5/5 (bar speed good)
155 x 5/5/5 (bar speed good)
165 x 5/5/5 (bar speed very slow)
175 x 5/4/4 (bar speed slow) - note missed reps workout after "bar speed very slow"
180 x 5/5/5 (bar speed good) - note 5lb jump = no missed reps + good bar speed, therefore, try a 10-lb jump again
190 x 5/5/5 (bar speed very slow)
195 x 5/5/5 (bar speed good) - note slow bar speed = 5lb jump = no missed reps + good bar speed
200 x 5/5/5 (bar speed slow)
205 x 5/4/4 (bar speed slow) - note attempt to correct bar speed and missed reps by very small incremental jump
207.5 x 5/4/4 (bar speed slow) - missed reps, small jump, bar speed slow
210 x 5/4/3 (bar speed very slow) - more missed reps, very small jump, very slow bar speed, keep weight the same
210 x 5/3/3 (bar speed very slow) - again, missed reps with NO boost in weight used, attempt one more time
210 x 4/4/3 - time for a reset

Again, note that we started with 10-lb jumps. We started missing reps shortly after bar speed slowed down. This isn't so much causitive as it is indiciative. Finally, we obviously hit the wall because we could not reach the 5/5/5 requirement despite using the same weight for 3 consecutive workouts.

How to proceed? Proceed by dropping 10% from your stalled weight, or as follows:

~~~~~
210 x 5/4/3 (bar speed very slow) - more missed reps, very small jump, very slow bar speed, keep weight the same
210 x 5/3/3 (bar speed very slow) - again, missed reps with NO boost in weight used, attempt one more time
210 x 4/4/3 - time for a reset

170 x 5/5/5
180 x 5/5/5
190 x 5/5/5
200 x 5/5/5
210 x 5/5/5 - back to previous missed weight during 2nd week
215 x 5/5/5 - note reduced weight advancement, only 5 lbs instead of 10 per workout
220 x 5/5/5 - etc.

Question - What happens if I've gotten a lot weaker in a couple of my lifts? Should I just reset?

Chances are good that a basic reset won't work. If you've actually regressed in your training for a few workouts, i.e. something like the following:

165 x 5/5/5 (bar speed very slow)
170 x 5/4/4 (bar speed very slow)
172.5 x 5/4/4 (bar speed very slow)
175 x 4/3/2 (bar speed very slow)
175 x 4/2/2 (technique breakdown)
175 x 3/2/1 (bar weighed "a ton")

then a simple 10% drop won't cut the mustard. You will need a more intensive "reset"". If it only happens on one exercise, while your other exercises are progressing along, then no biggie. We can just do a bigger reset. If it is happening on a few of your exercises, or if you have already reset once or twice, then you probably need to do a deload and make a switch to your training planning and progression. That's right Willie, you're no longer a newb!

Anyway, the 'more intensive reset' would look something like the following:

175 x 4/3/2 (bar speed very slow)
175 x 4/2/2 (technique breakdown)
175 x 3/2/1 (bar weighed "a ton")

Do only warmups
160 x 5 (weight felt kinda heavy)
160 x 5/5 (weight felt a bit heavy on 2nd set)
160 x 5/5/5 weight felt pretty light
165 x 5/5/5 weight felt pretty light
170 x 5/5/5 weight felt pretty light
172.5 x 5/5/5 weight felt a bit heavy
175 x 5/5/5 weight felt properly challenging
177.5 x 5/5/5 weight felt properly challenging

A few points of note.

1) Do not skip a workout (yet). Just do the exercise, but stop at the warmups. Don't do a full "work set" yet.
2) The first workout will be 1 set of 5 with ~10% less weight than the previous stall point.
3) The second workout will add a 2nd and 3rd work set, but only if the weight feels pretty light.
4) Once 3 work sets @ ~10% less than previous PR are established, move upward in normal increments, workout-by-workout, until you get back to the previous stall point
5) Proceed with the smallest weight increments beyond the stall point

This is an obviously more intense backoff period than a basic reset, and will usually only be done once before a full-on deload and "upgrade" to the programming is necessary.

How often can I reset before I know it's time to move on?

Generally only 2 resets for the squat and perhaps 1 for the deadlift will be done before it's time to move on. As long as these 2 exercises are still moving up, however, there is no need to change programming. If you need to do a "bigtime reset" as described above, or if you are stalling on multiple exercises at once, then it is time to move on as well.
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