MissHolidayGolightly wrote: »

I'm trying the add reps before volume method and I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand it does help show that I can lift the weight for real before adding more but on the other hand, it beats me up mentally. I feel like I'm taking forever and I start dreading having to do even more reps of a challenging weight. I start struggling with the volume of reps rather than the actual weight I'm lifting. Does anyone else ever feel this way?

We're straying a good bit from SL at this point, but if you have access to a timer of sorts there's another method which you could try that might work better for you. I do it all the time and I actually love it because, while it's still challenging, it's a different kind of challenge, and goes by REAL fast.

Every Minute on the Minute (EMOTM work). The way this works is, you're actually going to be doing smaller sets, but reducing the rest. The point is to be as explosive as possible, so if you're using your 5x5 weight, you might even start out with just singles or doubles. When the minute hits, you do your prescribed reps, then you rest until the next minute for however many sets you're going for that day. It'll obviously start kind of easy, but as you get closer to the end it'll get harder and hopefully the last 2-3 sets are challenging. But since you're doing lower reps, your body is able to contract the muscles better and you're getting cleaner reps in because you're not working to the point of grinding.

It'll take a little guess work as to how much weight, sets and reps you should use, but it might very well get you through a plateau to switch it up this way, There are many ways this could be programmed, but I'll give a few examples here with what I'd go for with your OHP @ 50:

Option A) Go up in weight to get used to a heavier load
3 reps @ 55 EMOTM x 8 (24 total reps)
1 or 2 reps @ 60 EMOTM x 10 (You can start with 2 and as you fatigue and form breaks down, settle with 1. It'll give you anywhere between 10-20 reps. Shoot for quality, not quantity)

Option Down in weight, more reps, actually shorter work time
6 reps @ 40 EMOTM x 6 (while that is less weight than what you're used to, the shorter rest periods might just be what the doctor ordered!)
4-5 reps @ 45 EMOTM x 6 (bit more explosive here, you want to make sure everything is crisp for the entire duration.)
2-3 reps @ 50 EMOTM x 8 (you're working close enough here that you might need to drop the reps towards the end)

There are also multiple ways you can progress this: add a minute or 2 (I wouldn't go anywhere above 12 minutes though) add 2.5-5lbs, add a rep every minute...

I'm more of a heavier weight, lesser reps, more sets type of gal, but the endurance build up can also be very beneficial. If you ever want to switch it up, this might end up being more fun for you than 5x6, 7x7 or whatever. As I said, it might take some experimentation to find exactly what works best for you, but you might very well get some gainz even from doing lighter work than you need to be just because of the time constraint and the fact most reps will be "fresher".

I know it's one of my favorite type of work sets when I do my strength and power work.
If you wanna read up a little more on it from an actual strength coach: http://www.travisstoetzel.com/e-m-o-t-m-for-more-strength-power-and-endurance/

Hopefully that can help some of you perhaps plateaued and bored ladies out a little We all know that OHP is a b****