Question For Gurus.....

[HevyMetal]

Have been experimenting as of late.

For bench ,deads,squats,chins and dips:-

When I reach max weight I can do one rep to failure.
However....two or three minutes later I can do that max again for one rep.

I can keep doing this for single reps for 8 or 10 reps before I reach a point where I have to start dropping the weight to make a rep.

I figure I would rather do this because there is more muscle fiber stimulation at heavy weight, as opposed to doing a set of ,say, 8 reps or 5 reps at lower weight.

I usually warm up with higher rep sets at lower weight first though.

What can I expect from the routine I describe in terms of strength gains and/or hypertrophy?

I work out currently upper bod and lower bod once a week.


Volume training and 8rep sets at lower weights doesn't seem to do much for me except burn up a few calories these days.

So I thought I'd go 'Mike Mentzer' on myself sort of, and see what happens.

Having some trouble determining what is "muscle failure" and what is "ATP failure".

If I wait 2 or 3 minutes after a max rep on bench ( I know it's max because if I add more weight I can't lift it).....I can do same again.....so the muscle hasn't really failed because after the ATP replenishes I'm good to go.

So I have to perform numerous single reps to reach where I can't do it again at that weight.

I realize there are some CNS concerns here......but I only lift once a week for bodyparts.

[madamert]

I have never had a similar experience. If I go to failure on a single max attempt I have to start decreasing the weight. I've never been able to wait a few minutes and then make the lift. I have to recover for several days to a week after a failure on a 1 rep max attempt.

My only thought would be that you might not be really maxing out and are holding back a bit, perhaps even subconsciously.

One way to test this would be to try to prep your CNS. To do this, load the bar with ~50 lbs over your expected 1 rep max. Now, lift off and hold it for a couple of seconds and then set it back down. Do not try to perform a rep. Now, remove ~40 lbs so that you're at least 10 lbs over your expected max. Perform 1 rep. Did you make the rep? If yes, your body is lying to you. You can actually lift substantially more than you think. If no, okay, that is your true 1 rep max.

This trick works wonders for CNS development.

[JoeSchmo]

I think it could be good for adding some strength and getting accommodated to heavier weights, but I wouldn't do that every week for a long period of time. The reason is that going with max weight every week can put you at risk for injury -- as well as create some stalls down the road. But, as part of a periodized program, I think doing things that way can have some benefits.