The Weekly Waved Pyramid (WWP)
Posted: Fri Mar 22, 2013 5:34 am
Wanted to share something for those of you looking to "experiment" a bit. I call it, "The Weekly Waved Pyramid".
What's known is that muscle growth needs 3 things to manifest:
1.) Mechanical tension
2.) Metabolic stress and,
3.) Muscle damage (to encourage remolding)
4.) De-Loading and Progressive Overload is ESSENTIAL
Given all of that, I looked to simplify the approach as follows for your big compound lifts. The lift in question (I'll use the squat as an example) - should be trained no more than twice a week, with at least 5 minutes of rest between sets:
THE FIX
WEEK 1: 5 sets of 7 reps (total, 35 reps)
WEEK 2: 4 sets 5 reps (total, 20 reps)
WEEK 3: 3 sets of 3 reps (total, 9 reps)
WEEK 4: Repeat week #1 with slightly heavier weights (ensuring the fundamental requirement of overload is present)
What this weekly waved pyramid accomplishes is as follows:
1.) The total volume/total tonnage of work is waved from week to week
2.) The rep ranges change every week (which is the variable your body accomodates the quickest to, IMO)
3.) Every 3rd week your CNS is put in touch with the 90th percentile of your 1RM, without spending too much time there - which results in CNS dis-inhibition
4.) There's built in de-load every 4th week, preventing you from over-training
BOTTOM LINE
Give this simplified weekly pyramid a shot. It's proven incredibly effective not just in my own training, but for many others....
What's known is that muscle growth needs 3 things to manifest:
1.) Mechanical tension
2.) Metabolic stress and,
3.) Muscle damage (to encourage remolding)
4.) De-Loading and Progressive Overload is ESSENTIAL
Given all of that, I looked to simplify the approach as follows for your big compound lifts. The lift in question (I'll use the squat as an example) - should be trained no more than twice a week, with at least 5 minutes of rest between sets:
THE FIX
WEEK 1: 5 sets of 7 reps (total, 35 reps)
WEEK 2: 4 sets 5 reps (total, 20 reps)
WEEK 3: 3 sets of 3 reps (total, 9 reps)
WEEK 4: Repeat week #1 with slightly heavier weights (ensuring the fundamental requirement of overload is present)
What this weekly waved pyramid accomplishes is as follows:
1.) The total volume/total tonnage of work is waved from week to week
2.) The rep ranges change every week (which is the variable your body accomodates the quickest to, IMO)
3.) Every 3rd week your CNS is put in touch with the 90th percentile of your 1RM, without spending too much time there - which results in CNS dis-inhibition
4.) There's built in de-load every 4th week, preventing you from over-training
BOTTOM LINE
Give this simplified weekly pyramid a shot. It's proven incredibly effective not just in my own training, but for many others....