Set and Rep Schemes – Part 3: Progression Models and 12 Set and Rep Archetypes
In case you missed any part of this video series you can find it here: Part 1 | Part 2
Let’s imagine the following set and rep schemes:
Scheme 1
Week #1: 2 x (46% x 12, 52% x 10, 59% x 8)
Week #2: 2 x (57% x 10, 63% x 8, 68% x 6)
Week #3: 2 x (67% x 8, 72% x 6, 78% x 4)
Week #4: 2 x (76% x 6, 82% x 4, 89% x 2)
Scheme 2
Week #1: 5 x (69% x 5)
Week #2: 5 x (72% x 5)
Week #3: 5 x (76% x 5)
Week #4: 5 x (79% x 5)
How did I come up with a particular %1RMs for a designated number of reps? Why this progression across weeks?
In this video, I am explaining two ‘Small World’ models that I have used to create a rich catalog of set and rep schemes: Perc Drop and RIR Increment.
These two represent two similar, yet distinct, ways of surfing the load-exertion tables which I covered in the previous video.
The guiding heuristics are:
- The more extensive the set and rep schemes (i.e., more sets performed) the lower the %1RM that should be used
- The higher the number of reps per set, the lower the %1RM that should be used
- The higher the number of reps per set, the bigger the %1RM progression step used over the weeks
These concepts are explained further in the video.
Besides explaining RIR Inc and Perc Drop methods, I am providing a list of 12 archetypal set and rep schemes:
- Plateau
- Step
- Reverse Step
- Ascending Wave
- Descending Wave
- Ascending Ladder
- Descending Ladder
- Traditional Pyramid
- Reverse Pyramid
- Light-Heavy
- Cluster
- Cluster Wave
Combining these 12 archetypes with 10 vertical planning archetypes discussed in the previous video, we get 120 combinations. These can be combined with two progression approaches (RIR Inc and Perc Drop), and two load-exertion tables (grinding and ballistic) to get 480 combinations without considering variants within each. These will be further explained in the next videos and the download material.
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