Slow and Heavy: 2 sets?

J

junemom

Cathlete
I know cathe's busy so if anyone has an opinion, I'd love to hear it!

I have started a slow and heavy rotation this week that I plan on following for 4 weeks, until the new DVD's come (drool, pant). But I am doing only 2 sets instead of three of each exercise, and in some cases where Cathe does 2 sets, I do only 1. This way I have created a 2 day split (tris, bis, and chest, plus abs from tris and bis, this is an hour approx, and legs, shoulders, back and planks, 70 minutes approx).

I plan on doing this 2 day split each week, plus a circuit style workout as well, with lighter weights (cmax, maybe RAW, maybe some karen voight or mindy strength express). For a couple of weeks later on, I've put the 2 day split twice, just to blast the muscles before a rest week at xmas (no circuit these weeks!).

I am lifting heavier than if I was doing 3 sets, and right now I'm pretty sore (did the leg one this morning). How does this sound to the educated crowd? Will it be effective? I'm going for strength and mass here. Will 2 sets only challenge enough fibres to build mass?

Christine
 
Sounds like an educated choice to me! Esp. with the circuit thrown in. It will prob. build mass the second go-round too if you feed yourself right.
 
Looks good, as long as you keep a day in between the two workouts. Shoulders are worked when doing chest exercises as well, so you don't want to do them two days in a row.
 
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Nov-29-02 AT 09:23AM (Est)[/font][p]Christine,

This sounds good. Although it is only 2 sets per exercise, it is the total sets per body part that is important. For example, for chest you would be doing 8 heavy sets (not including the optional pushups at the end). As long as you are going heavy and taking enough rests between workouts, this is plenty for stimulating muscle growth.

The good thing about the Slow and Heavy tapes is that, when you need variety, you can change the count, eg 6 counts negative/2 counts positive, or 4 negative/4 positive.

Sharon.
 
Just checking in to say thanks for the input, and I will check in periodically with progress reports. In general, I find that I build strength very quickly, so this should be interesting, esp. interested to see if there is any noticeable size increase. I was able to make it through Circuitmax MUCH more easily than I did the last time it was in my rotation, which was in July. A testament to how well PS and MIS work, I guess, cause I've been doing mainly those since July!

I do have these two day splits back to back, and I am a little concerned about working the chest and shoulders in a row like that...I will see if I can tweak a bit to allow cardio or other days in between. I think this will be hard to do in the weeks where I complete the 2 day split twice...

Also to note: I am doing the bodyRX eating plan, I'm in the middle of cycle 2, so I'm eating very clean, with alot of protein (150 g minimum these days)

Christine
 
Hi Cathe,

I noticed you have been popping in lately and wanted to bump this in case you might have an opinion on whether doing slow and heavy in this fashion will help me to add some bulk...(note: I am definitely noticing some size increase in my shoulders and biceps...looking for some better chest and back size though!)

thanks for any input,

Christine
 
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