Reverse Pyramid Training in Foundation

For the past 8 months, I've been planning my workouts based on the Foundation series. Currently I'm on Foundation 2 and 3, and I was wondering if I could implement Reverse Pyramid Training methods in my progressions.

I've used the principles on the bent arm strength exercises for about 3 weeks and has worked wonderfully for me, but will it be safe for me to implement Reverse Pyramid principles on straight arm strength work (planche, side lever, etc)? 

How specifically were you thinking of implementing this?

For beginner the first 6-12 months should be used to train basic work capacity. if you follow foundations linear programming you will achieve this. I suggest different and personalized protocol if you stall or if you loss too much strength.

linear progression is more suitable if you do not know the % of 1RM you are working with different progressions. (e.g do you know how much is the BHbodyhold compared to straddle hollowbodyhold?), if you cannot answer properly then it is impossible a method that works under % of 1RM. if you are progressing now it is because everyone, and I say again everyone at the beginning can make progress, independently on the program used. period. this is how body works.

This is a great question. I use reverse pyramid training with my heavy lift movements when I was weight training to great success. Most successful natural bodybuilders do too.

Ring rows have been the bane of my existence and I wondered if they might be a good candidate for this. Doing a set of elevated ring rows to failure, and then moving the feet lower and lower over subsequent sets. For whatever reason, I didn't get the same benefit using this approach as I would have with RPT in weight lifting. 

From my narrow experience, I just don't think it applies to GST as well, although I would love to be proved wrong as I think the simple mastery template programming doesn't adequately address weakness beyond doing the movements over and over for weeks, even months, until mastery can be achieved.

Maybe the use of things like weighted vests combined with lower volume weeks on the 12-week template would be beneficial here

IcedDante said:

 

Maybe the use of things like weighted vests combined with lower volume weeks on the 12-week template would be beneficial here

Tried it. No result.

I've been using a weighted vest for my sPl/PE1 work with positive results. I achieved 5x15 in the PE, but I will be working on the iM for some time yet so I started working through the template with a weighted vest. I occasionally test the 5x15 at body weight and my efficiency/capacity are increasing.

BrettCross said:

I've been using a weighted vest for my sPl/PE1 work with positive results. I achieved 5x15 in the PE, but I will be working on the iM for some time yet so I started working through the template with a weighted vest. I occasionally test the 5x15 at body weight and my efficiency/capacity are increasing.

This is interesting.

Please report back with your findings and how they improve sPL PE 2-3.

This seems like a great thing to do if you are stuck on iM 1.

Alexander Egebak said:

This is interesting.

 

Please report back with your findings and how they improve sPL PE 2-3.

 

This seems like a great thing to do if you are stuck on iM 1.

Will do! I'm hoping it will also better prepare me for when I get back to HBP/PE3.

I can see that working. Whatever you need to make one step up achievable

I'll pick up a weighted vest and try it with elevated ring rows as well.

IcedDante said:

I'll pick up a weighted vest and try it with elevated ring rows as well.

Better make sure to have mastered ring rows + have a good capacity of pulling already. If you are not deep into pull up progressions with a surplus of strength there is no reason to do rings rows outside the basic conditioning aspect of including them in the warm up.

Doing ring rows, weighted, prematurely to mastery of normal rows, prematurely to having a good pulling capacity as well - is a bad idea.

Alexander Egebak said:

Better make sure to have mastered ring rows + have a good capacity of pulling already... Doing ring rows, weighted, prematurely to mastery of normal rows, prematurely to having a good pulling capacity as well - is a bad idea.

Thanks for the feedback, but why is it a bad idea? If I had achieved mastery of normal rows I would be moving onto harder progressions, not moving onto weighted rows.

Maybe I didn't specify, but I would be doing this as a technique to breaking through a plateau as I tend not to progress on rows past the 4x8/4x10 repetition mark.