Disscusion on sets and rest

What is your views on:

1. The normal approach of 2-4 min rest between sets, vs

2. The alternative approach of multiple short workouts/sets thoughtout the day with more rest between sets/workouts.

I was reading about the training methodes of what some people believe was the stongest man is history, Paul Anderson. One article says:

Bob Peoples and the weight lifting aficionados who read IronMan magazine now knew that Paul Anderson was a man to watch. But how did he get so strong so fast? According to Peoples' article, he did it by squatting all day, every other day... "Paul combined short, intense workouts throughout the day, with periods of rest," Strossen writes. For example, he would do 10 reps in the squat with 600, rest for about 30 minutes, and then do a second set of 10. After another 30 minutes rest, he would increase the weight to 825 and do three reps, rest again and do two more reps with 845. Then he would rest again and conclude by doing half squats with 1200 for 2 or 3 reps and quarter squats with 1800. The whole routine took three hours or more. He would sip milk during the rest periods, consuming a gallon or more throughout the course of the day.

http://www.cbass.com/ANDERSON.HTM

I saw an another similar methode was called GTG

Razz said:

GTG is a system popularized by Pavel where you do sets all troughout the day so you can have a high frequency with a medium intensity.

In a nutshell the guidelines for GTG are:

-Keep sets at 5 or less reps

-Don't train to failure. Stop 1 or 2 reps before muscle fatigue

-Do as many sets throughout the day as possible without being fatigued

-Focus on quality reps not quantity

Wanna here your thoughts and experiences are on this alternative method of training "all day". Pro, cons? etc.

Simply put, the fastest gains are on programs with high frequency.

I have made the most gain by doing high intensity work 5-6 days in a row in a week. Similarly, in olympic lifting most athletes use Bulgarian style programming where they're hitting up heavy lifts 2-3 times a day 5-6 days a week. Low volume.

The big problem with this method is that its VERY easy to put yourself in a state over significant overreaching/overtraining, and you develop overuse injuries very quickly especially with high intensity work.

If you're using them for lower intensity work or endurance the potential for injury isn't as high which is a big plus. But yeah.. high intensity work (aka hard bodyweight progressions or heavy weights) the tradeoffs are what I stated. But you do get really fast progress if you can structure a program well.

braindx said:

Simply put, the fastest gains are on programs with high frequency.

I have made the most gain by doing high intensity work 5-6 days in a row in a week. Similarly, in olympic lifting most athletes use Bulgarian style programming where they're hitting up heavy lifts 2-3 times a day 5-6 days a week. Low volume.

The big problem with this method is that its VERY easy to put yourself in a state over significant overreaching/overtraining, and you develop overuse injuries very quickly especially with high intensity work.

If you're using them for lower intensity work or endurance the potential for injury isn't as high which is a big plus. But yeah.. high intensity work (aka hard bodyweight progressions or heavy weights) the tradeoffs are what I stated. But you do get really fast progress if you can structure a program well.

I feel the same way. It is so easy to redline it. I've found that I can feel good for 3-15 workouts in a row, not adding too much in reps and resistance, maybe even doing steady state, and then finding myself in a state of cumulative fatigue. You learn things along the way, though. Like, don't be so rigid. Meaning, listen to your body, which is easier said than done when you are trying to optimize work vs. recovery. I started to learn when I had super compensated before even doing a rep in pistols by the way my hamstrings felt. I read the same thing about a top powerlifter who would use a broomstick to squat with, and by that he would determine whether to lift or rest. When my goal was to work it as often as possible, this paid off. However, I got sick of always having to worry, and just chose to work M->F, and rest the weekend. Still good results and less mental stress.