Pyramid Sets

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tempest501
tempest501 Posts: 329 Member
Hi Guys,

I am thinking i want to switch up a bit and add pyramid sets but I am unsure exactly how they work and rep ranges etc. Would someone be able to give me some examples. Currently , I am using a system where I do 8 in week one and work up to 12 reps and then up my weight and start again. I would like to mix things up a bit so was thinking of doing 8-10 reps and then 2 weeks of pyramid sets or something.

What do you think ? could this work or should i just do one or the other.

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  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    As far as "could this work" the answer is pretty much anything will work if you are lifting with enough volume and intensity, and if it's allowing you get stronger over time.

    So whether you do pyramids, or reverse pyramids, or straight sets, or drop sets -- it can work if you're using a reasonable amount of training volume and you're able to make progress over time in your lifts.

    What's the reason behind switching and how has your progress been over the past 2 months or so?

    It's not that I think switching is bad necessarily, but I think the question is important.
  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
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    Just my 2 cents on pyramid sets

    They can be challenging but you would basically work your way up in weight (or down if your reversing) while lowering reps (to just about failure) each weight increase..

    So just an example, lets say your benching 195, you can do this 10-12 reps.. then you would say add 5-10lbs and do 10 reps (or 8), then you would add 5-10 more lbs and do 6-8 reps.. This is all in 1 gym session.
  • tempest501
    tempest501 Posts: 329 Member
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    As far as "could this work" the answer is pretty much anything will work if you are lifting with enough volume and intensity, and if it's allowing you get stronger over time.

    So whether you do pyramids, or reverse pyramids, or straight sets, or drop sets -- it can work if you're using a reasonable amount of training volume and you're able to make progress over time in your lifts.

    What's the reason behind switching and how has your progress been over the past 2 months or so?

    It's not that I think switching is bad necessarily, but I think the question is important.

    Couple of reasons. First is because i quite like the 6-10 rep range so was thinking of working up to that then doing two weeks of pyramid sets before moving weight up. Second reason is I fancy a change and I am noticing it is getting harder to get those strength gains now. For example, at the moment im on 9 rep week and its feeling really hard to the point where i am not sure i will be able to get the weight out with proper form etc. Thought a change my trick my body into getting stronger again.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Tagging
  • tempest501
    tempest501 Posts: 329 Member
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    I wonder if i can ask another question that is kind of related to this also.

    I have notice on some excercises at the moment my performance is all over the place especially with back day and some times with my tricep dips.

    On pullups for example i was making progress and one week ill go in and manage to do 8-10 reps but other days i get to 5 and im really struggling. On dips i got up to 3 sets 12 reps but now i cant see to do more than 8 reps for 3 sets its weird.
  • danimalkeys
    danimalkeys Posts: 982 Member
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    There's no reason not to use pyramids if you want to change things up. 10/8/6 reps, add 5lbs for upper body and 10 for lower body to each set. Pick a weight you can get 10 reps of fairly easily, that'll give you room to grow over the course of a few weeks. Each week add 5lbs to your starting weight.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    There's no reason not to use pyramids if you want to change things up. 10/8/6 reps, add 5lbs for upper body and 10 for lower body to each set. Pick a weight you can get 10 reps of fairly easily, that'll give you room to grow over the course of a few weeks. Each week add 5lbs to your starting weight.

    The only thing I'd add/interject here is that you should pay attention to overall training performance if you're going to do something like this. Just for one example, I have better overall training performance when I pyramid in reverse (after warming up and doing some ramp-up singles, doing the heavy set first, and following with the drop sets rather than starting at the light set and working up). My belief is that this difference in performance taken over the course of a long training cycle can make a significant difference.

    That's not to say that it won't work for the OP, but it's something to pay attention to.
  • Will_Thrust_For_Candy
    Will_Thrust_For_Candy Posts: 6,109 Member
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    I wonder if i can ask another question that is kind of related to this also.

    I have notice on some excercises at the moment my performance is all over the place especially with back day and some times with my tricep dips.

    On pullups for example i was making progress and one week ill go in and manage to do 8-10 reps but other days i get to 5 and im really struggling. On dips i got up to 3 sets 12 reps but now i cant see to do more than 8 reps for 3 sets its weird.

    Could there be any correlation with your diet in regards to performance?
  • tempest501
    tempest501 Posts: 329 Member
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    I dont think so as my diet is more or less the same usually.
  • danimalkeys
    danimalkeys Posts: 982 Member
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    How much weight have you lost? Losing weight totally affects my lifts. The more I lose the weaker I get. My chinups are better as I get lighter but everything else suffers. Today I only hit 5 reps of a weight I did 7 of last month. .