Minimal Pain, Incremental Gain
Volume = Weight x Reps, but increasing volume can be done without increasing fatigue.
The graph covers the last year and the three 16wk Low Fatigue Training cycles I've done. Each cycle starts at low volume, and slowly ramps up, before dropping the volume again in preparation for testing, so you get peaks and troughs.
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- Dec 2021: 73,634kg
- Apr 2022: 91,019kg (+23.6%) (also a palindrome!)
- Sep 2022: 118,789kg (+30.5%) - woohoo, new monthly volume PR!
As you get stronger and the weight used increases, then so too does volume, even if the rep scheme remains the same. But, the latest jump in peaks is much bigger than expected, and that's down to a difference in my overall approach.
I'm making a very conscious choice to avoid fatigue. The aim is to "undershoot" more than "overshoot" the work for the day - the fatigue from overshooting is generally a bigger hit than the lost stimulus from undershooting.
I warm up in a 5->3->1 pattern. As the warmup weight increases, the reps decrease so as to avoid an effect on the work sets. But, this can be very inaccurate for judging capacity, if it doesn't match the top set pattern. The final warmup rep would typically be ~10% off the top set, so instead of jumping straight to the top set, I'm now stepping-up to it with a mirror set that's 5% lower. If that goes well, then it's on to the top set as planned, or this now takes the place of the top set and the drop-sets are all reduced by 5%.
For example, working up to a top set of 100kg x 3 with some drop-off sets would look like this:
| Set | Plan A | Plan B |
|---|---|---|
| Warmup | 20kg x 5 (empty bar) | |
| Warmup | 40kg x 5 | |
| Warmup | 60kg x 5 | |
| Warmup | 80kg x 3 | |
| Warmup | 90kg x 1 (not ideal for judging if 100kg x 3 will go to plan) | |
| Step-up | 95kg x 3 (5% off top set - better match for 100kg x 3) | ----> felt heavy enough, time for Plan B |
| ----> or felt good so continue) | ||
| Top | 100kg x 3 (top set) | --- skip --- |
| Drop 1 | 75kg x 5 | 71kg x 5 |
| Drop 2 | 75kg x 5 | 71kg x 5 |
| Drop 3 | 75kg x 5 | 71kg x 5 |
Next week progress to a target of 100.5kg, even if the 5% lower set was used as the requisite stimulus should still have been acquired.
Warmups are not recorded - 930kg may have been moved in this example, but it's of low enough intensity to not count. But, the 5% lower set is counted, and that's what's contributing to the peak increase this cycle.
I've probably gone with the 5% lower set about 10 times in this cycle, and I feel fresher than at the same point in the last 2 cycles. Even though the overall volume has increased, some impactful fatigue has been avoided.
Beating yourself up in a workout can reduce the appeal of the next workout. But, managing the fatigue can avoid the "torture" of going to the gym, leading to better adherence and longer-term results - minimal pain, incremental gain.