Diagnostic weight training can be used to determine the type of training that your body responds to best. In the previous article, I emphasized the point that some lifters will experience a positive response to the type of training in which a lot of fatigue is produced within each set. Other lifters suffer a loss of strength when pushing each set to the point of fatigue. How can you tell whether you respond well to sets that produce a lot of fatigue or not? You can run a simple diagnostic training test for your basic strength building exercises such as bench press, overhead press, some form of rows, deadlifts, squats, and leg presses. You don’t have to do all of those exercises, just the ones you want to include in your own training. When implementing diagnostic training to evaluate whether you respond well to fatigue or not, each exercise selected should be done two to three times per week, using 70% of your single rep max. Thirty reps are performed for each exercise, but the thirty reps are divided up into different combinations of sets and reps. The sets with more reps will obviously produce more fatigue. The diagnostic training is performed by using the sets and reps listed below for each exercise within a three-week block:
Week 1-2-3: High Fatigue Sets
Do 3 sets x 10 reps = 30 reps with 70% of your single rep max.
Test your single rep max strength for each exercise at the end of the 3rd week.
Week 4-5-6: Medium Fatigue Sets
Do 5 sets x 6 reps = 30 reps with 70% of your single rep max.
Test your single rep max strength for each exercise at the end of the 6th week
Week 7-8-9: Minimum Fatigue Sets
Do 10 sets x 3 reps = 30 reps with 70% of your single rep max.
Test your single rep max strength for each exercise at the end of the 9th week
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Evaluate The Results
After completing this nine-week diagnostic training phase, simply compare the results of your single rep max strength at the end of each three-week training period. What type of training made you the strongest? Did you respond best during weeks one through three; weeks four through six; or weeks seven through nine? The results are a good indicator of the amount of intra-set fatigue that your body responds to best. If your body responds well to a lot of fatigue at the end of each set, you will respond best to the training that was performed during the first three weeks. If your body responds best to a medium amount of fatigue within each set, you will be strongest after the 6th week. If your body responds best to a low amount of fatigue within each set, you will be strongest after the 9th week.
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A Mix of Different Levels of Fatigue From Week to Week
Some lifters prefer a mixture in terms of the amount of fatigue they experience from week to week. For example, a lifter may learn that he does best when he starts a three-week training block with sets that produce a significant amount of fatigue during the first week, but during the second and third weeks, the amount of fatigue that is produced from each set decreases. The following is an example of this:
Week 1:3 sets x 10 reps with 70%
Week 2: 5 sets x 6 reps with 70%
Week 3: 10 sets x 3 reps with 70%
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If a lifter responds well to this mix of fatigue levels across three weeks, he can incorporate it into a longer training cycle that lasts 12 weeks, while increasing the weight every three weeks. The following 12 week cycle is an example of how to do this:
BLOCK 1: WEEKS 1-2-3 WITH 70%
Week 1: 3 sets x 10 reps with 70%
Week 2: 5 sets x 6 reps with 70%
Week 3: 10 sets x 3 reps with 70%
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BLOCK 2: WEEKS 4-5-6 WITH 75%
Week 4: 3 sets x 8 reps with 75%
Week 5: 5 sets x 5 reps with 75%
Week 6: 8 sets x 3 reps with 75%
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BLOCK 3: WEEKS 7-8-9 WITH 80%
Week 7: 3 sets x 6 reps with 80%
Week 8: 6 sets x 3 reps with 80%
Week 9: 9 sets x 2 reps with 80%
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BLOCK 4: WEEKS 10-11-12 WITH 85%
Week 10: 3 sets x 5 reps with 85%
Week 11: 5 sets x 3 reps with 85%
Week 12: 7 sets x 2 reps with 85%
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It may be that a lifter responds better to a mix that starts with a low amount of fatigue the first week and ends with a high amount of fatigue at the end of every three weeks. This is demonstrated in the training sample below which starts each three-week period with sets consisting of low fatigue and ends with sets consisting of high fatigue.
BLOCK 1: WEEKS 1-2-3 WITH 70%
Week 1: 10 sets x 3 reps with 70%
Week 2: 5 sets x 6 reps with 70%
Week 3: 3 sets x 10 reps with 70%
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BLOCK 2: WEEKS 4-5-6 WITH 75%
Week 4: 8 sets x 3 reps with 75%
Week 5: 5 sets x 5 reps with 75%
Week 6: 3 sets x 8 reps with 75%
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BLOCK 3: WEEKS 7-8-9 WITH 80%
Week 7: 9 sets x 2 reps with 80%
Week 8: 6 sets x 3 reps with 80%
Week 9: 3 sets x 6 reps with 80%
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BLOCK 4: WEEKS 10-11-12 WITH 85%
Week 10: 7 sets x 2 reps with 85%
Week 11: 5 sets x 3 reps with 85%
Week 12: 3 sets x 5 reps with 85%
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Many people assume that the hardest sets should always come at the end of a three-week training block, which means that the sets that consist of the most reps and most fatigue should be done at the end of every three week block. I don’t make this assumption as some may do better when starting with more fatigue at the start of a three-week block, followed by a progressive taper in fatigue while progressing through the rest of the three week block. The only way to find out which works better for you is to try it both ways to see which system works best. The systematic changing of variables to see which works best for your physiology is the basis behind diagnostic training.
If you test your strength for each exercise with a single rep max at the end of every three week training block, you may also find that training with a certain percentage of your single rep max will produce better results than other percentages. The whole point is that you can design your training in a systematic manner to diagnose the type of training that you respond to best. Think about doing this if you truly want to understand the type of training that is best for your own physiology. Best of training to you.