Pyramid Training

He’s probably juiced to the gills.

My best strength gains were with 9-12 total working sets per body part varying from 4-6 reps (compound lifts) to 6-8 reps (isolation lifts). This was usually 3-4 exercises with 3 working sets.

My working sets were all 85% of my max on the compound lifts and the isolation reps were there just to force a pump into the specific BP.

Each body part once every 7-10 days.

Seriously?

Everyone else here just says get strong using an LP like Greyskull.

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Everyone else here just says get strong using an LP like Greyskull

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Tell you one way you don't get strong is program hopping, that's for damn sure. There is nothing special about the rep schemes in greyskull, it's just that it allows one to set PRs, hits the major muscle groups and has built in progressions to bring you from a beginner to advanced.

Ok OP, there is nothing wrong with doing pyramid training. It's a preference between ramping sets like that and a rpt style. With traditional pyramid training, you are essentially warming the muscles and joints for the heavy sets to come. You are ramping the weight.

As far as how to progress, same way you would on rpt independent. Set your rep ranges for each set, when you can hit the top of the rep range or over it, you increase the weight.

As far as rest, it's been scientifically proven that to fully recover between sets, almost everyone is going to need 120s at a min. But what the guy you speak about is just doing more density training. He is fine with the decrease in strength to start and is just staying consistent adding weight when he can.

Key to any program is consistency and progression. If you want to try and see if you like pyramid training, do it for 8 weeks. Keep your rest consistent set to set, workout to workout and progress as you reach the top of rep rangesm set a bunch of rep PRs and have fun. If after 8 weeks you decide you hate it, then switch to a different rep scheme.

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Everyone else here just says get strong using an LP like Greyskull.

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You can do a pyramid LP. Pyramid training is about weight and rep progression in a single workout.

Linear progression is about weight progression workout to workout.

For instance, if you do 4 sets of bench 2x a week with 12, 8, 5 and 3 reps and ascending weight, you're doing pyramid training. If you try to add 5 pounds to the bar each week, you're now doing both pyramid and linear progression.

Linear progression is just a consistent measurement of progressive overload. It doesn't prohibit you from utilizing other programming approaches in the workout. It only affects how you progress over time.

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If size/hypertrophy is the goal for a regular natural lifter, is high volume/density training better, or lower volume 'chase the numbers' type training

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Depends on where they are at in progression but either way it's chasing the number. It's the increase in strength over time in ANY GIVEN REP RANGE that is going to drive hypertrophy so long as you are in a caloric surplus, positive nitrogen balance, and are meeting minimum effective volume marks

Stop over thinking it. Just eat 300g of protein, lift to get stronger in the 5-10 rep range, increased frequency and the results will come.

There is nothing magical about any rep range, it's the progression over time. It's funny the volume guys scream about volume yet DC training just plain fricking works and is super low volume.


Where you personally are at, you just need to eat 300g of protein and lift hard as frick 3 days a week.