Death Set

Good Morning,

     I'm currently following GB foundation strictly, but with 6 days on. M/W/F being the Upper Body portion and T/W/S being the Lower Body Portion. It's working out great. I am thinking of adding additional reps(until technical failure) for the last set of the last day(s) per exercise. This is for slightly greater hypertrophy(flush the muscles with new blood and fresh nutrients), endurance, and increased stimulus for an increased adaptive response(make next weeks lower reps slightly easier). I'm not looking to progress faster, just mainly gain extra muscle and increase stamina. The "death" sets are not for mobility exercises and not on deload weeks. I understand that GB Foundation is already very rock solid and does not need "tweaking'. However, would adding extra repetitions is such a way actually harm (my) overall progress; if not aid it?

Any thoughts? Discussion is open for debate, criticism is very welcome. 

I'd say go for it.  5/3/1 employs the same technique in regards to the final set, except it's with only one exercise a workout, rather than every exercise.

I think that would be very individual - you just have to try it out.
That being said, I find the volume to be very high as it is and struggle hard when I get to week 11.

Also, there could be an issue with overuse/too little rest over time if you add a lot of stuff to F workouts, that could prevent you from progressing. But you'll notice that. I'd just do it as prescribed.

Edit: But if you have extra gas in the tank, why don't you just go for mastery?

Kage said:

... But if you have extra gas in the tank, why don't you just go for mastery? ...

Excellent question.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Dylan Kampman said:

Good Morning,

 

     I'm currently following GB foundation strictly, but with 6 days on. M/W/F being the Upper Body portion and T/W/S being the Lower Body Portion. It's working out great. I am thinking of adding additional reps(until technical failure) for the last set of the last day(s) per exercise. This is for slightly greater hypertrophy(flush the muscles with new blood and fresh nutrients), endurance, and increased stimulus for an increased adaptive response(make next weeks lower reps slightly easier). I'm not looking to progress faster, just mainly gain extra muscle and increase stamina. The "death" sets are not for mobility exercises and not on deload weeks. I understand that GB Foundation is already very rock solid and does not need "tweaking'. However, would adding extra repetitions is such a way actually harm (my) overall progress; if not aid it?

 

Any thoughts? Discussion is open for debate, criticism is very welcome. 

1. What made you come to the conclusion that working 6 days a week would lead to the fastest progression? Being able to handle very high volume is not the same thing as making the fastest progress at very high volume. Remember, recovery days are the period during which you actually get stronger - working out is just a way of setting yourself up for a payoff. If you work the same muscles too frequently, you start spinning your wheels and progressing more slowly than you would with lower volume. My biggest recommendation would be to drop down to 4 Foundation workouts per week (if you want more overall exercise, do some light or medium cardio on your off days - e.g. running or sprints). Keep a good workout journal, paying particular attention to your recovery and energy levels. Ideally, you'll feel refreshed, recharged and ready to go on the day of your next workout. If after a few mini-cycles of 4x/week, you find that you consistently felt ready to go the day *before* your next workout, then try experimenting with higher weekly volume. 

2. As Kage said, if you have a significant amount of extra energy in the tank after your last set, you should be doing more reps anyways. Also, working to failure every day can significantly impede your recovery and therefore progression. It can be a good technique for busting through plateaus, but it's generally counter-productive to do it every workout. 

Dylan Kampman said:

Good Morning,

 

     I'm currently following GB foundation strictly, but with 6 days on.

Doesn't sound very strict to me...

Oh, and to quote one of Coaches Essays: Avoid regular training to failure.

Hmm, helpful comments all around. I figured the topic would lean more toward anti-failure. I do now see that if I went to failure on each exercise, it would be slightly unfair to my last exercises well; especially on week 11. Thank you all for your comments. I guess I'll hurry up and wait!

On another similar topic, regarding frequency. What are your views on 4 vs 5 vs 6 days on weekly? From my personal experience, I like 6 days on. No matter what topic or field one studies, a greater amount of frequency implies a greater neuromuscular advantage aka time-in. Granted of course the individual is not over-fatigued; perfect practice makes perfect. I've experienced this first hand on multiple occasions in my life, outside of fitness(movement) as well. Maybe the frequency would be to much during advanced weeks, however, I believe on could get away with it on the beginner and intermediate weeks. After that, the individual "should" have the required neuromuscular advantage for the skill as to lower the frequency(days) and the work more towards recovery, while finishing toward mastery. Personally(OCD tick), I don't really like the 5 day cycle because its uneven. 

I switched from f7 3 days a week to the 4 day split and have found much better gains but I like to train and if an sit still so I've got climbing in there as well and some running so I'm kept busy. But definitely 4 day split seems to be the overall best for me after trying a few different styles. I don't feel wasted at the end and sometimes I don't feel I've worked that hard by the end even thoughh I might fail during. Once I reach f2 with everything though I think the lower volume will be easier for me and I will try doing f7 again on a 2 day split then maybe try a 3 day split but I think 2 day will end up being ideal for me. Then I can throw in some more climbing practice as I find the only part of my body that tires in climbing is my grip.

I think if you want those extra days do handstand work and some metabolic conditioning or cardio.  6 days a week may feel good for a while, but I agree with others that it is counterproductive.  That is for most people.  there are some who need very little recovery time and perhaps you're one of those.  However, keep in mind the difference between skill work and strength training.  more frequency is good for skill work.  (playing soccer skills, handstand work, gymnastics routines, batting practice, etc.).  that is very different than strength training which is by definition creating muscle damage to allow the body to rebuild it stronger.  Most people need that extra few days a week to do that rebuilding.  

Dylan Kampman said:

Personally(OCD tick), I don't really like the 5 day cycle because its uneven. 

True, but it is symmetrical....

Like Nordic said, high frequencies are better for skills - or if you are doing grease-the-groove style workouts where the overall volume and intensity is kept low.

I think you will find with F1 that if you are training at the correct level for you, it will be a strong muscular effort, a lot of strength endurance on the lower levels. And you will be glad for the recovery days. I struggle a lot with plateaus around the final weeks and minor things like sleep or what kind of food I have been eating lately actually matter quite a bit as to how close I will be to breaking the plateaus.

So as Joshua said, 4 days should likely be your max. But you can just try it out and see, if it doesn't work, you'll find out. Right?

Thanks Kage and Nordic. Solid advice. I agree, it's usually better to not over complicate things; simplicity is key. If I really do have "extra gas in the tank", I'll just work on less intense skills on my off days. Thanks again!