Switching from RP style training

[ackmack78]

Im 40 and i've been training just over 4 years. I jumped in with RP style and have stuck with it this whole time. Start with lower volume and 3 rir week 1, reduce rir and increase volume each week till every set on week 5 is a failure set then deload week 6. I'm tired of it by week 4 I'm not looking forward to going to the gym and dreading it by week 5 where I feel like I'm just trying to survive. On cycle I feel like my body is recovering but mentally I'm drained. I've made pretty good progress though which makes it hard to switch.

40 years old, 200-210lbs. Started this at 145-150 lbs 4 years ago. I'm mid cycle doing a quick 3 week cleanup before hitting the last 13 weeks of this cycle. If I were to move to a higher intensity training with a more constant volume where would be a good jumping in point? My priority is chest, back & I could definitely use some more arms. I don't compete but my goal is body building and just to get bigger.

I was thinking take every set to 1 rir with the last set going to failure. Something like
DAY 1 Upper
Chest & back: 2 exercises 4 sets 2 to failure
Bis/Tris: 1 exercise 3 sets 1 to failure

Day 2 Lower
Quads, Hams, calves, side delts: 1 exercise 3 sets 1 to failure

Day 3 Arms
Bis/tris 1 exercise 4 sets 1 to failure
Side delts 1 exercise 3 sets 1 to failure

Day 4 Lower
Quads, Hams, calves, side delts: 1 exercise 3 sets 1 to failure

Day 5 Upper
Chest & back: 2 exercises 4 sets 2 to failure
Bis/Tris: 1 exercise 3 sets 1 to failure

Works out weekly to 8 sets chest & back, 10 bis & tris, 6 quads & hams, 9 side delts.
I'm not sure if this is too low of volume to start or if I should start higher? I'm not opposed to adding volume based on recovery. I'm just not looking to be doing 18 sets of everything to failure by week 5

 

[hellerhiwater]

try to take a couple weeks off of all the planning and plotting. have a set routine, of course, but just go with vibes for a week or two.

use 80% movements you like or love, and pick 20% movements you hate (i always feel like a bitch if i completely remove all the lifts i dont "enjoy" from my programs)

then just go and work as hard as you want, tracked however you want, and commit to doing this for a week or two.

in my opinion, it seems like you might be burnt out on either the style of training you're doing, or the mental effort behind all the micromanaging. i think by taking a step back like that, you'll get a load off your back and be better able to see what you like and want out of your sessions and then you can choose a direction to go in with the more analytical slant.

i know next to nothing concrete. ive lifted for a collective 10 years, but with many long breaks in between them. this past year, I was "getting back into it," and had very specific regimens and mesocycles. then around september I was just kinda burnt tf out on all of it, so I went back to my base--a 4 day bro split. ran that for 4 weeks to function as a kind of working deload and mental break and it worked WONDERS. felt really refreshed and recentered an was able to reinvigorate that drive that persisted for the first 8 months of the year.

 

[ackmack78]

try to take a couple weeks off of all the planning and plotting. have a set routine, of course, but just go with vibes for a week or two.

use 80% movements you like or love, and pick 20% movements you hate (i always feel like a bitch if i completely remove all the lifts i dont "enjoy" from my programs)

then just go and work as hard as you want, tracked however you want, and commit to doing this for a week or two.

in my opinion, it seems like you might be burnt out on either the style of training you're doing, or the mental effort behind all the micromanaging. i think by taking a step back like that, you'll get a load off your back and be better able to see what you like and want out of your sessions and then you can choose a direction to go in with the more analytical slant.

i know next to nothing concrete. ive lifted for a collective 10 years, but with many long breaks in between them. this past year, I was "getting back into it," and had very specific regimens and mesocycles. then around september I was just kinda burnt tf out on all of it, so I went back to my base--a 4 day bro split. ran that for 4 weeks to function as a kind of working deload and mental break and it worked WONDERS. felt really refreshed and recentered an was able to reinvigorate that drive that persisted for the first 8 months of the year.

I think you're right this rp training style has burnt me out. The idea is pretty much to run yourself into the ground after 5 weeks spending 2.5 hours in the gym each time, rinse and repeat and I'm kinda over it.

I like your idea but at the same time being on cycle I don't wanna waste these last 13 weeks I have coming up. This idea of failure training and keeping volume mostly constant has me excited. I'm thinking I'll try this idea I have and see where it goes I mean failure training has worked for tons of guys. I'm just worried about the volume being too low and wasting the rest of this cycle but I can always bring volume up after a week or 2

 

[hellerhiwater]

I think you're right this rp training style has burnt me out. The idea is pretty much to run yourself into the ground after 5 weeks spending 2.5 hours in the gym each time, rinse and repeat and I'm kinda over it.

I like your idea but at the same time being on cycle I don't wanna waste these last 13 weeks I have coming up. This idea of failure training and keeping volume mostly constant has me excited. I'm thinking I'll try this idea I have and see where it goes I mean failure training has worked for tons of guys. I'm just worried about the volume being too low and wasting the rest of this cycle but I can always bring volume up after a week or 2

in my reet-hearted opinion, i think you're on the right track. basically do whatever you can to give yourself a mental break, while still feeling good about what you're doing, and then you reassess.

also give yourself some credit. you've built a solid amount of muscle, and 4 years of (even only relatively) consistent training is nothing to scoff at.

you are not only genuinely experienced by this point, but you are the world's preeminent expert on ackmack78's training styles, training personality, and everything else ackmack. so you should leverage that expertise to reward yourself with the routine YOU think fits best. worst that can happen, is you "waste" a cycle (but lets be real, you put on 50lbs in 4 years, if even only a little bit--you know what you're doing--and almost certainly wont "waste" anything)

 

[hellerhiwater]

sorry forgot to mention. i settled on an 8 day "bro" split after hearing about it from cbum on YT.

its a brosplit at heart, but you hit everything twice in 8 days instead of 7.

idk anything about this website (generation iron), but this is basically the skeleton of what im doing: cbum 8 day split