Your muscles are at their greatest strength at the beginning or your workout, and their strength decreases during the course of your workout- this is the basic principle of Reverse Pyramid Training (RPT).
One of the beauties of RPT is that it requires only 3 training days per week. You should not repeat the same workout sooner then a week and you should have at least one rest day in between each training day.
It is useful both in the cutting and bulking phase as the program can be tailored according to your goals. This is done by adjusting the weight and/or repetitions performed each set, as long as high intensity is maintained and nutrition is adequate.
Set One: Your first set is when you utilise your greatest power and is the hardest, most intense set. Each set should be performed with maximum effort.
Rest for 2-3 min after each set, particularly after set one. Sets performed on major muscle groups require longer rest periods i.e. legs.
Set Two: Deload 10% total weight and try and get one more rep then you performed on your first set.
Set Three: Deload 7.5-10% total weight and try and get one more rep then performed on your second set.
i.e. Chin Ups (palm facing toward you)
Set One: body weight + 50kg x 5 *Rest 2-3 mins Set Two: body weight + 40kg x 6 *Rest 2-3 mins Set Three: body weight + 30kg x 7 *Rest 2-3 mins
Your first set should be your main focus, and which you should always strive to improve either by adding more weight (i.e. 2-5%) or another rep.
Add weight when you can lift in the upper rep range of the interval you want to work in. Sets two and three should increase independently.
RPT can be quite fatiguing and it is not necessary you perform all movements RPT style. You should monitor how your body responds to different training styles and go from there.
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