Adding sets across or back-off sets?

[davidM]

Hi Coach,

I?m still making progress in a linear fashion but regarding my squats: I?ve adopted the new feet stance and it works (the pain is almost gone and I can move my 281 lb for my 3x5). Yesterday I had to do 286 but I woke up with one of those weird little pains in my back (wild sex is not to blame unfortunately) and the load felt damn heavy so I decided to drop the weight to 276 and do 5x5 instead. My question is :
Is this way to increase the workload (total tonnage) useful? I mean, increasing sets with the same load and then, after 2-3 weeks, increasing the load a bit? Or maybe is better to add back-off sets with a lighter load? Maybe it?s the same...
I ask you also because I think that (for example using DL) when one is capable to move big weights, since his bodyweight, this could be a better strategy than striving to add even small increments.

I thank you very much.

[Mark Rippetoe]

There are a lot of unproductive ways to increase workload. In general, adding reps to a set changes the nature of the stress and thus the nature of the adaptation, as would increasing the total tonnage by reducing the load to 70% of 5 RM and doing 20 sets across. It is possible to back off and get the volume up but reduce the intensity to uselessness in the process. Your back-off of 10 lbs. will affect the workout by interrupting the progression, so taken in the larger context of the month's training it might not be productive. But really and truly, I don't understand your question precisely because of the language problem.

[davidM]

There are a lot of unproductive ways to increase workload. In general, adding reps to a set changes the nature of the stress and thus the nature of the adaptation, as would increasing the total tonnage by reducing the load to 70% of 5 RM and doing 20 sets across. It is possible to back off and get the volume up but reduce the intensity to uselessness in the process. Your back-off of 10 lbs. will affect the workout by interrupting the progression, so taken in the larger context of the month's training it might not be productive. But really and truly, I don't understand your question precisely because of the language problem.


Hi,
You gave me the answer I needed anyway, despite my inability to express myself properly in your own language. I would like to ask you other things referred to this but really and truly I'm discouraged.

To you all: am I so hard to comprehend?

[Mark Rippetoe]

You express yourself better in my language that I do in yours. Just ask and I'll figure it out.