Reps and Weights
I've been trying to answer my own questions via Google, but I can't seem to find what I need, so I was wondering if you could help me out.
First of all, how do you determine progression for this program? At what intervals should I be upping the weight, and by how much? Do you change rep numbers at all or simply change the weight you are doing with the same 10-8-6-15 scheme?
Also, I was wondering at what weight I should be doing these sets at? Other sites say the Gironda 10-8-6-15 is supposed to be 60 seconds between sets, and recommend doing these exercises at 50% 6 rep max. Would this still hold the same given that we ectomorphs are taking 3-5 min rests imstead of 60 secs as outlined in the article by you, or should we be lifting heavier because of that? How do you recommend I determine what weight to use?
Thanks a lot for the great write-up and your time!
-O'Min
My Answer: You can start off with the recommended 50% of your 6 rep max, but over time you're going to find the weight to be far too light. You're going to get stronger and stronger on this program, so you have to adjust your weights accordingly.
Just so we are clear, when a program says "Do 10 reps" and doesn't give you a percentage of 1RM, then you do 10 reps with your 10RM weight. This should be self-explanatory, but people keep asking this question over and over.
So start with your 10RM, add the smallest increment of weight that you have available, do 8 reps, add the smallest increment of weight that you have available, do 6 reps, drop the weight to your 15RM and do 15 reps.
Stick with the target reps. For example, don't do 9 reps when the set calls for 8 reps. Your 10 rep set is your baseline, because it determines how your weights pyramid from set to set. You should strive to increase your baseline weight little by little from workout to workout. So if you can do more than 10 reps on your first set, then you should increase the weight for your 10 rep set on your next workout.
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