
If you’re tackling a tough 7 set pyramid, try smaller increments, to begin with, and build these up over time. Pyramid training covers all bases, strength, hypertrophy and muscular endurance, so picking a weight that is too heavy from the start will result in early fatigue and a loss of form.Įxperiment with a starting weight of approximately 60% of your 1RM for that exercise, and increase the weight for each set by increments that fit your goals. Tips for successful pyramid training.ĭon’t be overzealous with your starting weight. If you’ve noticed your progress is slowing, pyramid training is a great way of shocking your muscles with a new stimulus, to promote growth and development. Pyramid training is also perfect if you’ve hit a plateau in the gym. This keeps the muscles active and under tension for longer, causing more micro-tears in the muscle fibres – just what you need to promote muscle protein synthesis – the rebuilding process for new, stronger muscle. Keep intensity high by limiting the rest time between sets. You know you’ve just worked hard – you can feel and hear your muscles screaming. The upside of longer sets is that you fatigue the target muscle group through a variety of rep and weight ranges, forcing your muscles to adapt and grow. Pyramid training is quite time-efficient, dependent on the number of sets you choose to complete in a workout. Set 5 – 12 reps OR to failure / 60% What are the benefits of pyramid training? Set 3 – 8 reps / 80% (peak – heaviest set) Starting at approximately 60% of your 1RM

Here is an example of an intermediate level. A beginner might start with a basic 3 set pyramid, an intermediate level athlete might opt for 5 sets, and an advanced gym goer may tackle an ambitious 7 sets.
Rest time for endurance training full#
In this instance, we’ll cover full pyramid sets: building up from a lightweight/high reps to a peak weight / low reps, and then reducing the weight and increasing reps again on the way down.ĭifferent set ranges work for different people. Sometimes pyramid training only accounts for the upward sets. A full pyramid training set is an extension of this, reducing the weight after you have reached the peak until you complete the pyramid.

Pyramid training is a collection of sets, of the same exercise, that start with lightweight and higher reps, building up to a heavier weight and fewer reps.
