Drop sets, 3 sets of 10, 15-5-5-failure?

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building strength

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There's multiple ways to build strength. When first beginning strength training, pretty much any type of sets and rep ranges will work because those strength gains will be mostly due to nervous system adaptations as opposed to actual gains in muscular strength.

If you are already conditioned, then I would default to conjugate system practices and alternate between dynamic effort days and maximum effort days. Dynamic effort days (speed days) is all about acceleration. How fast you can move a submaximal load. Usually something like that would look like 10 sets of 3 reps at 45% of your 1RM for that lift. With 60 seconds or so between sets. Moving the weight as fast as you possibly can.

You can always refer to physics equation for Force. F=ma. With Force roughly being strength, mass being weight, and acceleration as speed. Of course mass isn't weight and acceleration isn't speed in this instance, but that is all semantics and it will work all the same.

The other way to build strength would be to manipulate the m in that equation. You will increase the weight on the bar. It's pretty accepted that the rep ranges to increase strength fall somewhere between 1-6 reps.

Conjugate system will alternate between those Dynamic and Maximum Effort days. I usually give myself a good 72 hours between my Dynamic Day and Maximum Effort Day to let my nervous system recover in order to get as good as a lift as possible on my max effort lift.

TLDR;
F=(mass)(acceleration)
Increase acceleration by decreasing weight and increasing speed to improve strength. See above for % and rep range example
Increase mass by increasing weight and decreasing speed to improve strength. See above for % and rep range example.

Hope this helps.

I swear by reverse pyramid training. I've lifted for years in high school and college football programs with different systems, be the 10,5,3,1 or sets of 5 or sets of 3 and etc. And it's by far my favorite fwiw.

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I swear by reverse pyramid training.

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I've never tried it but have thought about it. I spoke with the wrestler Lex Luger about this once as its how he trained. I assume like anything else it will work for some people better than others.

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I've never tried it but have thought about it. I spoke with the wrestler Lex Luger about this once as its how he trained. I assume like anything else it will work for some people better than others.

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have you read Martin Berkhams write ups on it?

essentially you are doing your heaviest set first once warm. This is great for strength gains

if you do the dependent version, you are constantly striving for rep records on sets 2 and 3

overall though its just a double progression. set you first set up with a rep range...keep pushing until you hit top of range, add enough weight to put you around the bottom of the range and repeat

on 2nd and 3rd set...you remove 10-15% on each and just keep pushing to failure, trying to set rep records on each. they only go up in weight if the top set does


on the independent version, you set rep ranges for each set and you move them up independently once you get to the top of the rep range. so if you still cant do first set to the top of range, but can the 3rd, you move only the third up in range

if first does but the 2nd or 3rd doesnt, they all stay the same and push rep records until all three can at once.

the lean gains site explains both pretty well.


i really like the system but i also appreciate a system like meadows had where you are pump the muscle fill of blood and stretch it first before hitting heavy sets. this is mainly done for health.

here is martins guide to it
LINK


original article
LINK


this kind of breaks down original independent system and then his updated dependent system.

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if you are a beginner than follow a beginner linear progression program so one of the following 5x5 3x5 2x5,1x5+ or reverse pyramid training

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Second this. Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe is a great read with great beginner plan

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I've never tried it but have thought about it. I spoke with the wrestler Lex Luger about this once as its how he trained. I assume like anything else it will work for some people better than others.

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It allows you to lift heavy while fresh and go to failure, hit a good bit of reps and it's easy to track. So it worked for me.