RPE Megathread: The Sweet Smell of Easy.

[Hanley]

Hope this helps.

Yeah, man, that's awesome. Thanks!

The 606 x 5 from the prior block was somewhere around RPE 9-10, though, yeah?

I'm devastated by the lack of magic and/or complication.

[alek]

Hope this helps.

Yeah, man, that's awesome. Thanks!

The 606 x 5 from the prior block was somewhere around RPE 9-10, though, yeah?

I'm devastated by the lack of magic and/or complication.

DTFP...

[Austin]

The 606 x 5 from the prior block was somewhere around RPE 9-10, though, yeah?

Yeah it was @9.

I'm devastated by the lack of magic and/or complication.

Simple. Not that hard. Apparently Effective.

[Hanley]

Simple. Not that hard. Apparently Effective.

I like it. Catchy. Almost as catchy as "strong people are harder to kill, but probably not as hard to kill as people with elite levels of cardiorespiratory fitness"

[quikky]

Day 1: Comp SQ

Day 2: Comp DL 2 @ 7, 75% x 3 reps x 1-2 sets, 70% x 4-5 reps x 2-4 sets. This worked from 280 kg x 2 up through 295 kg x 2, then in the last two weeks I pulled 300 kg x 1, then 312.5 kg x 1 prior to the PR.

Day 3: Supp SQ (pin/paused)

Day 4: Supp DL (paused or deficit): 1 @ 6-7, then backoffs. These started at 4-5 sets of 6 @ 6-7, then gradually decreased to the last week, which was 5 sets of 3 @ <6

There are still some things I'd like to experiment with here, though.

Hope this helps.

Austin, if you wouldn't mind sharing, what does your squat programming look like within a cycle like this?

[quikky]

Simple. Not that hard. Apparently Effective.

I like it. Catchy. Almost as catchy as "strong people are harder to kill, but probably not as hard to kill as people with elite levels of cardiorespiratory fitness (which can be attained in 2-3 weeks since conditioning is gained quickly)"

Ftfy.

[Hanley]

Simple. Not that hard. Apparently Effective.

I like it. Catchy. Almost as catchy as "strong people are harder to kill, but probably not as hard to kill as people with elite levels of cardiorespiratory fitness (which can be attained in 2-3 weeks since conditioning is gained quickly)"

Ftfy.

Thank you, yes!

I'm in "game shape" in 3 weeks when it comes to almost any cardio-intensive activity.

Gotta row a 1:25 500m?...3 weeks (of course, it's easier if you avoid any performance metric).

[Austin]

Austin, if you wouldn't mind sharing, what does your squat programming look like within a cycle like this?

Things were a bit more variable since I was dealing with an adductor tendinopathy for part of this time, but if things were feeling normal it'd look essentially the same.

[Testiclaw]

One of the things that I chatted with Helton about was the lower intensity work probably being more useful for lifters with some experience under their belt. When it's time to push on a gas a bit we "know how" to resurrect that skill in a way newbies might struggle with.

And after you get some miles the trick seems to be to keep your engine running and warm, so to speak.

[DPriest442]

Austin, if you wouldn't mind sharing, what does your squat programming look like within a cycle like this?

Things were a bit more variable since I was dealing with an adductor tendinopathy for part of this time, but if things were feeling normal it'd look essentially the same.

Benching the same? Also, does you training following the typically BBM format of

Mon
Squat
Press
Press

Tue
Pull
Press
Squat

Thur
Squat
Press
Press

Fri
Pull
Press
Pull
?

[DCR]

One of the things that I chatted with Helton about was the lower intensity work probably being more useful for lifters with some experience under their belt. When it's time to push on a gas a bit we "know how" to resurrect that skill in a way newbies might struggle with.

And after you get some miles the trick seems to be to keep your engine running and warm, so to speak.

Someone who understands the science more can correct me, but I’m inclined to think that the higher intensity also plays a role. If you can squat 500, I can see how lots of sets with 350 for reps, with the requisite form/concentration required even to do so relatively “easily,” still is a worthwhile stimulus in trying to increase your max. On the other hand, if you can squat 200 and are trying to get up to two plates, sets of 140 for reps are gonna be a total waste of time. Again, or so I’d be inclined to think (and somewhat based on personal experience). Would be interesting to know how to figure one’s personal line of demarcation in that regard.

ETA: More to your point, I’d think in the example above, the dude with the 200 squat would substantially regress.

[JohnHelton]

I think it has less to do with the number on the bar and more to do with the degree to which one has awaken their muscles to the task of lifting heavy weights. That awakening is basically what accounts for most novice gains. Well, at least that is my understanding.

[anelson]

Simple. Not that hard. Apparently Effective.

I like it. Catchy. Almost as catchy as "strong people are harder to kill, but probably not as hard to kill as people with elite levels of cardiorespiratory fitness"

"Circulating oxygenated blood around the body is the most important thing in life. This is true whether we want it to be or not."

[ChasingCurls69]

Simple. Not that hard. Apparently Effective.

I like it. Catchy. Almost as catchy as "strong people are harder to kill, but probably not as hard to kill as people with elite levels of cardiorespiratory fitness (which can be attained in 2-3 weeks since conditioning is gained quickly)"

Ftfy.

Thank you, yes!

I'm in "game shape" in 3 weeks when it comes to almost any cardio-intensive activity.

Gotta row a 1:25 500m?...3 weeks (of course, it's easier if you avoid any performance metric).

I'm almost tempted to test my 500m row tonight to see if I can get 1:25 in 3 weeks.

[Hanley]

Simple. Not that hard. Apparently Effective.

I like it. Catchy. Almost as catchy as "strong people are harder to kill, but probably not as hard to kill as people with elite levels of cardiorespiratory fitness (which can be attained in 2-3 weeks since conditioning is gained quickly)"

Ftfy.

Thank you, yes!

I'm in "game shape" in 3 weeks when it comes to almost any cardio-intensive activity.

Gotta row a 1:25 500m?...3 weeks (of course, it's easier if you avoid any performance metric).

I'm almost tempted to test my 500m row tonight to see if I can get 1:25 in 3 weeks.

You're tall as fuck. Which helps.

If you have a decent conditioning base, it's doable.

But it's not going to happen in 3 weeks if all you've been doing is barbell shit.

[ChasingCurls69]

Simple. Not that hard. Apparently Effective.

I like it. Catchy. Almost as catchy as "strong people are harder to kill, but probably not as hard to kill as people with elite levels of cardiorespiratory fitness (which can be attained in 2-3 weeks since conditioning is gained quickly)"

Ftfy.

Thank you, yes!

I'm in "game shape" in 3 weeks when it comes to almost any cardio-intensive activity.

Gotta row a 1:25 500m?...3 weeks (of course, it's easier if you avoid any performance metric).

I'm almost tempted to test my 500m row tonight to see if I can get 1:25 in 3 weeks.

You're tall as fuck. Which helps.

If you have a decent conditioning base, it's doable.

But it's not going to happen in 3 weeks if all you've been doing is barbell shit.

Do you think it would be possible if the baseline is ~1:30? Like 5 seconds of novice conditioning gains in 3 weeks.

[Hanley]

Do you think it would be possible if the baseline is ~1:30?

Yeah, I think so. Hard, but doable. 1:25 is fucking moving, man. That'd be a pretty awesome milestone.

[MattimusMaximus]

I love this whole thread and really like the concepts. I’ve noticed with my own training that lower intensities were working to bring maxes up.

Having said that, I never seem to know when to throttle back, put on the gas, or just hold steady when it comes to the progression aspect of programming. Everything will be going smooth/great and then I’ll hit a wall I can’t seem to recover from for months...

Anything over 85% seems to fry me. Any volume above 70% seems to also fry me. It makes RPE difficult to use outside of a top single. How the heck do you progress with so much sensitivity? Lol

[augeleven]

Do you think it would be possible if the baseline is ~1:30?

Yeah, I think so. Hard, but doable. 1:25 is fucking moving, man. That'd be a pretty awesome milestone.

What does a 1:25 500m row roughly translate into as a run?
Also is a 90 second event really a show of developed cardio, or is there sarcasm here that I’m missing because I don’t speak rower?

[Hanley]

Do you think it would be possible if the baseline is ~1:30?

Yeah, I think so. Hard, but doable. 1:25 is fucking moving, man. That'd be a pretty awesome milestone.

What does a 1:25 500m row roughly translate into as a run?
Also is a 90 second event really a show of developed cardio, or is there sarcasm here that I’m missing because I don’t speak rower?

Pulling from ass, I'd say 1:25 500m maybe equals 60-62 second 400 meter run? Ballparking that based on prep-time & general suffering. Kinda fast for genpop.

Depends what "cardio" means. 500m is extremely taxing from a bio-energetic perspective. Maintaining high power output is brutal. And in the long sprints you definitely start to push into aerobic systems. But, you're not really taxing or refining aerobic systems all that much.