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Makes sense, cheers - had more of a read about drop sets & they sound deeply unpleasant but also pretty much unsustainable over several days, i was probably thinking descending sets - so the top set is still "heavy" but after that it reduces maybe with more reps, will have a look at that.
I only really get a chance to use the gym when at work (Mon-Thur) & only for 45mins / 1 hour in the morning, it's not really ideal but it was working reasonably well for a while alternating light / heavy sets eg. Day 1 - Light squat / heavy bench, 2 - heavy row / light press, 3 - heavy squat / light bench, 4 - light row / heavy press.
I think progressively adding weight onto the "light" sets has tripped me up a bit & they've gone from being easy to knock out in 10 mins to needing a good rest in between & struggling on the last couple of reps... combined with reaching a stage where the heavy sets are a struggle it needs changing up a bit.
I'll maybe try a descending pyramid set for the "heavy" days & knock back the weight on the light days 10% or so & see how that goes.
mcJ78-
Sounds like a plan. Let us know how it goes!
Edit: I’ve recently joined the work gym in the am squad so completely feel your pain on the time limits.
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sounds like you've got a good plan + the stuff @Ptown said is all legit.
if you want your 3*10 sets to keep progressing but not progress as quickly to keep them at around the same level of effort you could do them as a percentage of whatever your 5*5 weight is. That way they will steadily increase but not in a way that may end up being unmanageable. Around 60% of whatever you've done for you 5*5 should be a good place to start.
Ptown
zooeyzooey
So for recovery, a key metric is basically how many ‘hard sets’ you’re doing. If 5x100 feels as hard as 10x80, both will have an equal(ish) knock on recovery.
Traditionally, a drop set would be just taking weight off the bar through a long set so you can keep eking out reps. They are (should be) brutal. What you’ve described would be more like descending sets.
A couple of ideas:
That said, if you’re lifting hard four days in a row then that’s a deep hole you’re digging in the first place. Is there no way to get a rest day between the two pairs?