A lot of times I will see routines in a periodical like M&F, etc. and it will have a set/rep structure something like this:
BENCH PRESS 4 sets X 12, 10, 8, 6 reps
Other times it will be exactly opposite:
BENCH PRESS 4 sets X 6, 8, 10, 12 reps
It seems pretty common to see routines structured like this but I don't really see any great explanation in any of the periodicals when I see it. Came up with some questions:
BENCH PRESS 4 sets X 12, 10, 8, 6 reps
Other times it will be exactly opposite:
BENCH PRESS 4 sets X 6, 8, 10, 12 reps
It seems pretty common to see routines structured like this but I don't really see any great explanation in any of the periodicals when I see it. Came up with some questions:
- What is the main purpose/strategy of doing this?
- Does a descending or ascending rep structure accomplish different things?
- With a routine like this do you look at the rep counts as more of a guideline or a hard structure?
- For ascending sets am I supposed to progressively decrease the weight to complete the rep number or use the same weight I started with and just "try" (I hate that word) for the prescribed reps?
- Same question as above for the descending sets. Do I use progressively heavier weights as the reps decrease?