You recommend doing multiple sets per exercise on multiple days a week. This seems to contradict what Tim Ferriss and others have said, but maybe that doesn’t transfer to bodyweight exercises.
Right now, I’ve been doing exercise similar to what you describe (following Convict Conditioning), but only about 3 sets per exercise per week (as the book recommends for beginners). I feel I stagnated somewhat and don’t really transition to full push-up and pull-ups (legs and abs are doing fine). Do you think it would be beneficial to move to, say 3-5 sets on 3 days a week for those exercises? Or do I just have to wait it out, given that I’m fairly skinny and never had any serious strength?
I’m also trying to be more consistent about my protein intake. Constantly forget to eat enough. I aim at ~150g at 85kg/185cm, but often just get 50-100 because I accidentally skip meals.
The linked Tim Ferriss article mentions one-set-to-failure, and if you’re really truly maxing out you probably only need to do it a few times a week. But it’s harder to max out with bodyweight than with weights. I was also trying to suggest sets that would accommodate Alicorn’s desire not to sweat, which requirement would likely be violated by a true high intensity workout.
For workouts that don’t leave you feeling totally spent, which is generally the case with bodyweight exercises, you should take into account the total load in a day as well, and the brain-training effect of greasing the groove, for which there is substantial anecdotal evidence. It’s a non-trivial skill to be able to be able to use your true maximum strength, we’re designed to hold back in normal situations.
There is also a difference between training for muscle volume and training for strength. Obviously the two are strongly correlated, but they are not entirely the same thing. My understanding is that you want fewer, more intense reps at a time if you’re training for strength.
EDIT: Though to be honest, I only do 1-2 sets of high intensity kettlebells and 1 set of the 1-arm pushups in a week. But I’ve decided that it’s worth my time to maintain, but not to materially improve, my level of fitness at this point.
You recommend doing multiple sets per exercise on multiple days a week. This seems to contradict what Tim Ferriss and others have said, but maybe that doesn’t transfer to bodyweight exercises.
Right now, I’ve been doing exercise similar to what you describe (following Convict Conditioning), but only about 3 sets per exercise per week (as the book recommends for beginners). I feel I stagnated somewhat and don’t really transition to full push-up and pull-ups (legs and abs are doing fine). Do you think it would be beneficial to move to, say 3-5 sets on 3 days a week for those exercises? Or do I just have to wait it out, given that I’m fairly skinny and never had any serious strength?
I’m also trying to be more consistent about my protein intake. Constantly forget to eat enough. I aim at ~150g at 85kg/185cm, but often just get 50-100 because I accidentally skip meals.
The linked Tim Ferriss article mentions one-set-to-failure, and if you’re really truly maxing out you probably only need to do it a few times a week. But it’s harder to max out with bodyweight than with weights. I was also trying to suggest sets that would accommodate Alicorn’s desire not to sweat, which requirement would likely be violated by a true high intensity workout.
For workouts that don’t leave you feeling totally spent, which is generally the case with bodyweight exercises, you should take into account the total load in a day as well, and the brain-training effect of greasing the groove, for which there is substantial anecdotal evidence. It’s a non-trivial skill to be able to be able to use your true maximum strength, we’re designed to hold back in normal situations.
There is also a difference between training for muscle volume and training for strength. Obviously the two are strongly correlated, but they are not entirely the same thing. My understanding is that you want fewer, more intense reps at a time if you’re training for strength.
EDIT: Though to be honest, I only do 1-2 sets of high intensity kettlebells and 1 set of the 1-arm pushups in a week. But I’ve decided that it’s worth my time to maintain, but not to materially improve, my level of fitness at this point.