Workout Programming Online Course

Class 6: Increasing Reps Per Set Instead of Intensity to Increase Volume Across Mesocycle

Although, we prefer to increase average intensity (percent of 1 RM) across our mesocycles to progressively adapt us to heavier and heavier weights, we also play around with holding intensity steady and increasing the number of reps to move ourselves towards hard week 3s and we even combining these strategies, especially in hypertrophy mesocycles. In this class, we’ll take a look at these two scenarios and how we may implement them.

Holding Intensity Steady Across a 3-Week Mesocycle

We don’t have to hit things right on the nose, so let’s use this opportunity to show that and pick an intensity of 70% to hold steady across a mesocycle to see what options we may have. At 70%, here’s what our MovementLink framework would produce:

Week 1

  • Above Minimum Effective Volume and Below Optimal Volume: 16-18 Total Reps

  • Below RTM: 8 RTM

Week 2

  • Above Week 1 and Around Optimal Volume: ~19-22 Total Reps

  • At or Below RTM: 8 RTM

Week 3

  • Above Week 2, Above Optimal Volume, and around Maximal Recoverable Volume: ~23-25 Total Reps

  • At or Above RTM: 8 RTM

  • Max of 1 Set at RM: 12 RM

We find it’s easiest to work start with what we want our hardest week, week 3, to look like and then build backwards. Thinking out loud:

Week 3
Based on the information we laid out above, we are looking for sets of 8-10 reps, totaling 23-25 total reps. A couple of potential ways to get there:

  • 8+8+8 = 24 Reps

  • 9+8+7 = 24 Reps (Keep in mind that we prefer our toughest sets first which is why we ordered this descendingly).

Although it is just superficial, the elegance of these are aesthetically pleasing and could potentially set-up a progression.

Week 2 - Assuming Week 3 was something like above and that for week 2 we are looking for sets of 8 or below with a total of 19-22 reps, let’s play around with simply reducing the reps each set by 1 and see what happens:

  • 7+7+7 = 21

  • 8+7+6 = 21

Both of these options would still work and follow what looks like a fun progression, so let’s keep going.

Week 1 - Assuming weeks 2 and 3 will be something like above and that for week 1 we are looking for sets below 8 reps and 16-18 total reps, let’s do the same thing and remove a rep from each set and see what happens:

  • 6+6+6 = 18

  • 7+6+5 = 18

These meet our requirements, but are at the high end, so if we did want to lower down closer to MEV, we could simply change some a couple sets:

  • 6+6+5 = 17 (MEV + 1 rep)

  • 7+5+5 = 17 (MEV + 1 rep)

This would lose the aesthetically pleasing nature of a potential progression, but that part is superficial, so make sure you are making choices for the right reasons.

There are more options than these two, but based on the thinking above, here are two scenarios that fit our programming goals:

  • Option1:

    • Week 1: 2 Sets of 6 (70%), 1 Set of 5 (70%)

    • Week 2: 3 Sets of 7 (70%)

    • Week 3: 3 Sets of 8 (70%)

  • Option 2:

    • Week 1: 1 Sets of 7 (70%), 2 Sets of 5 (70%)

    • Week 2: 1 Sets of 8 (70%), 1 Sets of 7 (70%), 1 Sets of 6 (70%)

    • Week 3: 1 Sets of 9 (70%), 1 Sets of 8 (70%), 1 Sets of 7 (70%)

Across the 3 weeks,even holding intensity steady, we move from around MEV to MRV simply by adjusting the total number of reps.

Reps in Reserve

Going off the script a bit from MovementLink’s Rep Table, for hypertrophy work, especially upper body, we love to use Reps in Reserve, abbreviated RIR, which also correlates to Relative Perceived Exersion (RPE). First, some definitions:

Reps in Reserve - RIR defines the number of reps to perform in a set as the number of reps away shy of failure for a particular exercise and moment in time. For example: 3 RIR can equate to multiple different reps per set, depending on our ability at that moment with the given exercise. If we could perform 15 total reps with a given exercise and weight, at 3 RIR we would stop our set after completing our 12th rep, leaving 3 reps in the tank. If instead we could only perform 10 reps, then we would stop after rep 7.

Relative Perceived Exertion - RPE refers to a similar aspect of selecting reps for a set, but puts it all in a base of 10. An RPE of 7 out of 10 would mean that if we could perform a maximum of 10 reps with the given exercise and weight, then we would stop your set after we perform the 7th rep. This would be the equivalent of 3 RIR. An RPE of 7 for a set of 15, again would be stopping after the 12th rep like the 3 RIR example above.

We will use both RIR and RPE in our programming in the following ways:

  • Reps in Reserve (RIR) simplifies how hard of sets we are asking for people to complete.

  • Relative Perceived Exertion (RPE) helps us when reps aren’t really part of the equation. For example, for a farmers carry or pacing on a rower, reps in reserve don’t make any sense, but if we said an RPE of 5 to pace your row, that would help you figure out the intensity we are looking for.

For this part of the discussion, we are focused on how we design 3-week mesocycles that increase in volume and intensity across the weeks. For that, we tend to use RIR over RPE. Sometimes, especially in hypertrophy work, and especially if we are doing hypertrophy work after a harder effort like a metcon, it is difficult to know how many reps to use in a set with specific exercises and what weight or scaling variation to use. This is where we need to go off script.

For primary lifts like back squats, bench press, etc., it is easier to know or estimate a 1 RM making it easier to work off of percentages. But what about a bulgarian split squat? What about a 1 RM double db incline bench press? There are a number of exercises that are well suited for hypertrophy work, but would make it difficult to be precise with a rep table. The strategy we like to get around this is simply to progress from 3-4 RIR in week 1 down towards 0-1 RIR in week 3. In general, we have found 3 hard sets to be a sufficient stimuli similar to what we would get from a rep table. For example:

  • Week 1: 3 Hard* Sets (*Hard = 3 RIR, with the first set being between 8 and 25 reps)

    • By starting with the guidelines of 3 RIR and a wide set range, between 8 and 25 reps, athletes can more easily guess and hone in on appropriate scaling, weights, etc. in week 1.

    • We start by suggesting a minimum of 8 reps, so that as people fatigue across sets or as RIR decreases across weeks, we can keep people’s reps per set from dropping below a hypertrophy rep range.

  • Week 2: 3 Hard* Sets (*Hard = 2 RIR)

    • Athletes can either increase the weight from week 1 or hold it steady. The 2 RIR will push effort beyond week 1.

  • Week 3: 3 Hard* Sets (*Hard = 1 RIR on Sets 1&2, 0 RIR on Set 3)

    • Athletes can either increase the weight from week 2 or hold it steady. The lower RIR will push effort beyond weeks 1 and 2.

As you can see, RIR provides us an additional method of controlling intensity and volume across a mesocycle, especially when there are more factors and unknowns making the rep tables less applicable to the scenario.

Additionally, we’ll talk about how we order different pieces of our workouts in a later class, but there are times when we prefer to do strength or hypertrophy work before metcons and times when we do the work afterwards. Our metcons are designed to support the strength or hypertrophy we are doing, but they are varied throughout the cycle, so if we are performing hypertrophy work after a metcon, we will be performing our hypertrophy work with different fatigue levels. RIR is a great equalizer because it's based on what is possible in each set at that moment, so we can still elicit a specific stimulus across weeks even if what we are doing right beforehand differs.

In the next class, we’ll help you design your own 3-week mesocycles.