I guess my scale will only tell me my weight with any reliability: https://muscleevo.net/body-fat-scales/ https://www.consumerreports.org/body-fat-scales/body-fat-scale-review/
Why did you decide on 3 sets for each exercise? (And this after everything Ellington Darden taught you! ) P.S. What does your new scale tell you?
I just started a new thread about my journey moving forward. https://www.elitetrader.com/et/threads/barons-journal-to-single-digit-bodyfat.329163/
I derived my system from a Russian bodybuilding coach. Don't ask me his name because I forgot it and I can't find the information I originally used online. Basically the way the system works is this: Set #1: Do as many reps as you can until failure and use a weight that will allow you to fail in the 8 - 12 rep range. Rest while taking 10 deep breaths... (around 15 - 20 seconds) Set #2: Do as many reps as you can using the same weight until failure. (If you did 10 reps on set 1, you'll probably do 6-7 on set 2) Rest again while taking 10 deep breaths Set #3: Do as many reps as you can using the same weight until failure. (If you did 6 - 7 reps on set 2, you'll probably do 2 - 4 on set 3. That's it. That exercise is done. The system is not based on number of sets. It's based on this simple rule: After you complete set 1 of 8 -12 reps to failure, you continue with additional sets to failure with a rest period of 10 deep breaths between each set, and each set uses the same weight as set 1. You stop the exercise when the last set you did resulted in a rep count that was less than half the reps of your original set. Most exercises stop at set #3, because that's when you end up doing less than 50% of the reps you achieved in set #1. Most exercises require 3 sets, but not all exercises work out like that though. Some exercises will require additional sets to get below the 50% threshold, and will vary from person to person. For example, it takes me about 7 sets of leg extensions to get below 50% of what I did on set 1 for that particular exercise.
Interesting. Thanks for the clarification. I wonder how or why the Russian coach arrived at the 50% rule. If you recall, please advise. And do you actually do 7 sets of leg extensions?! In my own case, I mentioned on the first page of this thread that I did a drop set for a few of my exercises. But since recently going to a distinctly slower rep speed, I decided to just do a "finisher" rep for each upper body exercise. So I would do a slow (8-10 seconds per rep) set to positive failure, and then immediately do another rep after taking a quick breath or two (within ~5 seconds of completion of the set), squeeze at the top for a static hold of 5-10 seconds (but not locking the elbows for pushing movements), and then finish with an exaggeratedly slow negative. So while I don't quite understand the rationale for the 50% rule prescribed by the Russian coach, mine is quite simple: to make sure that my failure on the set is fairly airtight.
Because you're basically fried after that. For example, if 3 sets of dumbbell presses get you below your 50%, if you try another set after that, you won't even be able to get 1 rep. It's that hard. Yes. The only other body part that seems to recover quickly and requires quite a few sets is calves.
Interesting, thanks. I'd be curious to know how you progress over time with this routine and if it is sustainable. Please keep us posted.
Considering how we evolved and how we use them, I would imagine that, on average, the upper legs are also fairly rich in slow twitch fibers, compared to upper body. Perhaps that's why a lot of people do higher reps for legs than they do for upper body muscle groups. Just guessing, though. But if that were indeed the case, then I would imagine that people would recover more quickly from intense squats, which I have not found to be the case. Ah, I don't know.
It's no coincidence that the hardest muscle group to enlarge are the calves. Slow twitch muscle fibers resist getting all swolled up, as compared to the bicep for example. Which are about half composed of fast twitch