[K-Antoni]

Me in January at 192lbs

[K-Antoni]

I’ll also add back and legs are very lean and tend to stay lean throughout my bulks as I store the majority of my body fat on my stomach,chest and lower back

[K-Antoni]

Sorry this was in my notes saved as I had tried to post previously I am doing cardio at 7 sessions for 30 minuets a week now as my weight loss had stalled

[K-Antoni]

This is my current condition

[K-Antoni]

Can I ask for advice here as i can’t make a post for some reason I have tried 12-15 times not over the last 4 days lol I’ll post below if anyone can help me out that would be great.

I’ve been dropping weight since around January where I was 192lbs with fatloss and maintenance phases I am currently in a fat loss phase again
Where I am sitting at 172lbs currently
I was hoping to get some advice as I wanted to drop body fat a little more before I look to put on some more muscle and was wondering if this is the right idea due to my age and training experience as l’m aware the majority of time should be spent in a small surplus aiming to gain around 0.1-0.2kg per week.

previously been in a cutting phase for 5 weeks now since my last maintenance phase I started at 180lbs and I’m now at 172lbs so I have dropped roughly 1.6lbs per week close to 1% of my body weight l’m wondering do I keep pushing or put the idea of being leaner aside for now and focus on putting on some more muscle and increasing my metabolism or do I continue to drop body fat another couple weeks or go to maintenance then into a gradual surplus.

More info/current stats:
– 2000-2200 calories per day
– macros p:180 f:60 c:185-235
– 15k steps everyday
– incline walk 4 x 30 minuets per week
– maintenance I believe is around 2500-2700
calories
– age:21
– training for 2 years
– height 6,1
I will post a photo below
If it allows me to

[K-Antoni]

Is there any reason I can’t post on forums ?

[K-Antoni]

Hi Kian,

I think if you’re leaning toward an upper/lower split, then getting it mapped out and understanding how you progress and recover is a smart approach.

It might be worth considering that if you’re going to adopt an RIR approach with 4 sets per movement, it could take you quite some time to work through an upper/lower split. You’ll get a sense of how workable that is as you try it.

Re educational videos , you can find Jordan’s take on upper/lower set up on YouTube

Thank you for the response I’ll give that video a watch now so would you recommend me follow the RIR approach or the top set back of set I want to follow the one that will give me the best results of course I don’t struggle to train to failure and honestly prefer it I went back to trying RIR system yesterday for the first Time in a few months felt

My analysis of the two are

RIR

-better pump

-definitely got more sore

-last set to failure felt better as I had more blood in the muscle and had already performed the movement 3 times so form and setup was perfected by the last set

-took longer to complete the session

Top set back of set

-feel more efficient as just causing stimulus then recovering

-I don’t really get sore from this training even though I’m taking both sets to failure (might be due to lower volume)

-sets later on in the workout are more efficient as I am more fresh

-makes tracking progression easier as you just have one set to beat in a set rep range per exercise

-you can’t really miss and it is easy to see how your performing as you cant get training to failure wrong but it is easy for a lot of people to miss judge RIR sets (but even with RIR I take last set to failure) so with failure you know 100% if your progressing platued or regressing but RIR also offers more chances to progress as you can increase one variable across more sets have

what is your experience with the two and what would you recommend thanks [/quote]

But why won’t you just try both and see which one yields the most results and go with that ?[/quote]
I have and I’ve seen results from both but I think that might be down to the fact I have only been training for 2 years so would see results as long as intensity is there

[K-Antoni]

No, load and back off set let’s you work on the same piece without adjusting the profile , as your working in diff rep ranges .

Yes, focus on total volume , and driving your body weight and strength up

@Jordan_peters What’s a good range to start with for volume

[K-Antoni]

@Jordan_peters sorry to be a pain I just want to make sure I understand as I am young and at some point want to become a online coach so I’m trying to learn as much as possible so I can be the best coach I can be

okay so top set back of set was a way of getting different resistance profiles into a workout whilst also managing volume and the amount of sets i do on an exercise is pretty much irrelevant and the key factor I should be focusing on is weekly volume and total working sets per muscle group? So the questions I should be asking instead is what I’m doing allowing me to recover And progress within the gym?

[K-Antoni]

I think rir is absurd and makes no sense at all. But play with both and come to your own decision

@Jordan_peters okay thanks I will see what works best for me but I value your knowledge and if you prefer top set back if set I’ll probably go with that

[K-Antoni]

As Robert already said that to you, yes 🙂

Okay thank you @Jordan_peters so as I am not crazy strong and when i have performed the top set back of set feel like I could of done more as I don’t really get sore even though I’m taking both sets to failure I see positives in both approaches I know it isn’t something that’s going to make a huge deal but what should I go with RIR or 2 sets to failure top set back off thanks

[K-Antoni]

Hi Kian,

I think if you’re leaning toward an upper/lower split, then getting it mapped out and understanding how you progress and recover is a smart approach.

It might be worth considering that if you’re going to adopt an RIR approach with 4 sets per movement, it could take you quite some time to work through an upper/lower split. You’ll get a sense of how workable that is as you try it.

Re educational videos , you can find Jordan’s take on upper/lower set up on YouTube

Thank you for the response I’ll give that video a watch now so would you recommend me follow the RIR approach or the top set back of set I want to follow the one that will give me the best results of course I don’t struggle to train to failure and honestly prefer it I went back to trying RIR system yesterday for the first Time in a few months felt
My analysis of the two are

RIR

-better pump
-definitely got more sore
-last set to failure felt better as I had more blood in the muscle and had already performed the movement 3 times so form and setup was perfected by the last set
-took longer to complete the session

Top set back of set

-feel more efficient as just causing stimulus then recovering
-I don’t really get sore from this training even though I’m taking both sets to failure (might be due to lower volume)
-sets later on in the workout are more efficient as I am more fresh
-makes tracking progression easier as you just have one set to beat in a set rep range per exercise
-you can’t really miss and it is easy to see how your performing as you cant get training to failure wrong but it is easy for a lot of people to miss judge RIR sets (but even with RIR I take last set to failure) so with failure you know 100% if your progressing platued or regressing but RIR also offers more chances to progress as you can increase one variable across more sets have

what is your experience with the two and what would you recommend thanks

[K-Antoni]

Whether it’s RIR or top set back off set it’s really just down to what’s the appropriate amount of volume that you can do that you can still recover from. This will vary depending on how strong you are and how far along you are. Someone like Jordan doing 5 plate smith presses is going to need less amount of sets than someone doing 2 or 2.5 plates on the same exercise. Start with 3 sets following your RIR if you choose with the last set to failure, see how long it takes you to recover. Adjust up or down as needed with your own recovery capabilities.

You don’t have to taper as the meso goes on if you are staying at or around what your maximum recoverable volume is, you’re just always on that line until a deload is necessary. But keep in mind your volume may fluctuate depending on how your recovery stays in play. (Sleep, stress, nutrition, etc)

Personally on deloads I keep calories the same often, the point of a Deload is to try and get rid of fatigue and keep just enough stimulus to stay primed for the following push again.

Best of luck, get massive 👊

So would you say do as much volume as possible as long as I can recover from it so do my MRV if that’s 2 sets or 4 sets stick with it until I stall and need a deload ? @Jordan_peters

[K-Antoni]

I figured I’m going to put stiff leg deadlifts in lower 2 and re arrange the layout of exercises to fit the deadlift

[K-Antoni]

Choosing an Upper/Lower split here would be a good idea if you want more frequency all round. Run it while you can still get some progress from it and recover well.

I like the top set and back off approach with varying rep ranges and taken to failure. There’s no need for multiple sets using the RIR approach before reaching the top set in my opinion, as you’re just accumulating more fatigue before reaching your actual failure set, which will likely result in a less productive set.

I can’t watch the upper/lower programming section just yet but what is your opinion on me doing 2 different variations on upper and the middle one more arms focused starting with heaving dips and shoulder presses

So this is the plan I have so far

Upper 1
-BB bench press
-Chest supported row
-INCLINE CHEST PRESS
-SINGLE ARM LAT PULLDOWN
-OVERHEAD CABLE TRICEP EXTENSION
-INCLINE DB CURL
-LYING CABLE LATERAL RAISE

LOWER 1
-CABLE ROPE CRUNCH
-SEATED CALVE RAISE
-ADDUCTOR MACHINE
-SEATED HAMSTRING CURL
-LEG EXTENSION
-SMITH SQUAT
-LEG PRESS
-LYING HAMSTRING CURL

ARMS & shoulders
-WEIGHTED DIPS
-HAMMER CURLS
-CABLE TRICEP CROSS OVER
-PREACHER CURL
-MACHINE LATERAL RAISE
-LYING CABLE LATERAL RAISE
-REVERSE PEC DECK FLY
-SHRUGS

Rest

Lower
-CABLE ROPE CRUNCH
-SEATED CALVE RAISE
-ADDUCTOR MACHINE
-SEATED HAMSTRING CURL
-LEG EXTENSION
-HACK SQUAT
-LEG PRESS
-LYING HAMSTRING CURL

Upper
-INCLINE SMITH PRESS
-NEUTRAL GRIP LAT PULLDOWN
-PEC DECK FLY
-SINGLE ARM CABLE ROW
-CABLE PULL OVER
-KATANAS
-INCLINE DB CURL
-LYING CABLE LATERAL RAISE

Rest