[Louis Schuler]

I also go by feel. If on my first set I managed to get 8 or 9 with a relatively heavy weight and feel good, I may go for a second set at that same weight and go for the same rep range. If on my first set I only managed to get 5, I will definitely lower the weight and go for higher reps.

[Louis Schuler]

It depends what you respond well to. I personally like the 5-9 rep range for my first set and then the 9-12 rep range for my back off. Although I am thinking of going to 12-15 at the moment to get drastically different rep ranges under my belt

[Louis Schuler]

I don’t see a problem in going to failure if it doesn’t hurt. Stretch well after your sessions and you should be back to heavy work in no time 😉

[Louis Schuler]

Hello,

I’ve had similar pain like you’re describing. I used to feel pain when doing underhand barbell rows, barbell curls, supinated chins etc… I just stopped doing the exercises that caused pain. Stretching the forearm and wrist also helped since they are for you too, most likely very tight. On what exercises do you particularly feel pain?

[Louis Schuler]

What really helped bring them up was relatively close stance at the bottom of the platform leg press and concentrating on the quad sweep, a good muscle connection. And also unilateral low stance leg press, it allows to focus even more on the quad sweep. Lunges also. I push the weight with the outside of my foot, I feel like this helps.

[Louis Schuler]

Make sure to post pictures every 4 weeks or something, interested on seeing the progress!

[Louis Schuler]

Sorry I took so long to get to you. Obviously there is some muscle there but I would take the risk of losing some and getting lean before you push up. Jordan refers to this as stubborn body fat, which takes a while to come off if you keep it there for too long. I would diet down, especially from where you’re at if you keep things strict and stay dedicated you can get there in 12-16 weeks. You’re not prepping for a contest or anything like this so you can afford to be quite agressive and lose some muscle. In the long run it will be better for you. Once you down, slowly reintroduce calories and push up and build some muscle! Hope this helps

[Louis Schuler]

Hey Callum,

Pictures would be good to evaluate where you’re at body fat wise. At your height and weight, you must be either a muscly guy or carrying a few extra kilos of fat. If you’re carrying a little too much fat, in your position, I would diet down to an acceptable body fat percentage (maybe some visible abs, a good amount of definition), and then gradually increase your calories. It’s a little bit of a process but I think it’s worth it in the long run.
Pictures would be great, you will get a more detailed answer from people who are more knowledgable than I am.

Good luck, Louis

[Louis Schuler]

Great question, interested in a reply to this as I would also like to know how others go about this

[Louis Schuler]

Sorry to hear about the injury. Try to keep your head up sir. Are your sessions written down exercise by exercise on paper beforehand or do you allow auto regulation?
Thanks for all the incredible info.

[Louis Schuler]

I personally used duct tape but it’s just very inconvenient to put on and off, especially in a gym that isn’t your own. If I was in your situation, like others have said I would just push the exercise back in the exercise order and slow the eccentric etc.. no matter how strong you are, you can improve on your contraction, slow down the eccentric etc… especially with 50’s, that’s still a good load.

[Louis Schuler]

Hey Stephen,
Thank you for taking the time to answer.

1) My weight has gone up 13 kilos since October. I’m thinking this could be it? In this case a mini cut is in order correct?
2) I usually add salt while cooking. Will add extra in my pre workout meal.
3) I have indeed but I’ve taken 4 days off last week and feel refreshed and eager to train. However I am picking up a few pains here and there
4) I try to get in 7 hours of sleep, however stress has been rather high lately.
5) No problems with digestion.

Thank you for your answer, I can now see areas I can improve on. Thinking of pursuing my mini cut, adding a bit of salt in meals, getting a good 8 hours if possible.

[Louis Schuler]

When I extend my arm in front of me, down or across my body. I’ve been icing it regularly.

[Louis Schuler]

Hey
Personally I like to use them in the second part of the session. As Jordan once said, and I really agree: using intensity techniques in the beginning of the workout takes a toll on the rest of the session. I incorporate them for my isolation work and for my pump work! Or if I feel that I’m not getting a good squeeze on that particular day I will do a drop or a rest pause. I go by feel on this. Muscle rounds same thing, I love using them for leg extensions, machine curls etc. They are a really good tool, since every mini set is very short, I like to concentrate on stretching and squeezing very hard for these.
This isn’t backed by any science, it’s just my personal experience!
Good luck

[Louis Schuler]

Thanks for your replies guys. From your pictures you both seem to know what you’re doing! Yes I was intending to do something for 4 weeks, very quick to get back into a muscle building phase as soon as possible. My fear was to off set my metabolism and lose muscle by dieting too hard. I’m new to this, I’ve been training for 2 and a half years but I’ve never committed to a bulk or a cut, I’ve always been kind of in between and stagnating. So the bulk/mini cut thing is new.
I was going to gradually decrease my food intake to not shock my metabolism. You guys advise against that? Quick 4/5 weeks hard cut?
Thanks guys appreciate it