Renaissance Periodization App Update

[cattat]

Hey y’all…

This is the end of week 8 on the RP hypertrophy app.

I don’t keep any measurements or anything, but I feel strong and the app is pretty smooth and easy to use.

I see some comments on RP and being ran into the ground.

I’d wager it’s because you’re either not eating or sleeping enough to get adequate recovery OR it’s because you’re out of shape and need to add more cardio

Even in my RIR 0 weeks… they’re tough, but they’re not unrecoverable.

I’ll continue to ignore the RIR 8 deload week and make it a 4.

Ask me anything about it.

 

[doks]

@cattat People being ran into the ground from the app programming could also be result of people not being honest in the user inputs. Like if a workout really pushed you hard, and you say “I felt great”, it’s just gonna add even more volume

 

[tri21mom]

@doks I agree. Mike is really big on this too. If you’re doing an exercise everyone thinks is an A tier exercise like squat or deadlift but for some reason even with good form it causes you pain he says just don’t do it. Find something comparable and do that instead. Risking injury or overtraining isn’t worth it because you think you have to do an exercise.

 

[cattat]

@doks That too. Gotta be honest with it.

 

[ingridls]

@doks It's kind of hard to use that kind of metric if you've been lifting for a long time though. I've been lifting for about 22 years now and I just rarely ever get sore. Using soreness as a benchmark didn't work for me on the RP program because the sets would just ramp up and up each week and I'd be completely burned out but still not sore.

And yeah you can use other clues like overall fatigue, mental clarity, sleep, etc. but those are often harder to gauge and you can't make those specific to any one muscle group.

 

[doks]

@ingridls I’m kinda confused, I made no mention of using soreness or lack thereof as a metric.

 

[ingridls]

@doks Isn’t that what the app wants you to use? That’s what their spreadsheet templates say to use to gauge recovery.

 

[jayb05]

@ingridls It uses pump, soreness (and/or weakness in target muscle in general) and workload rating. Workload basically works like a failsafe mechanism. It is a rating of how hard the workout felt set volume wise. So even if you get 0 pump, 0 soreness, if you rate the workout as "pushed my limits", it won't add any sets. The available ratings are "Felt easy", "Pretty good", "Pushed my limits" and "It was too much".

 

[ingridls]

@jayb05 The workload rating still didn't seem to work for me, maybe I just didn't get it. For me, on weeks where the sets are all RIR 3, how could you ever rate those as "hard" when going to RIR 3, by definition, wouldn't ever be hard? And conversely, on weeks where the sets are RIR 1, how could you ever rate those as "easy" when again, by definition, you're going until the reps are hard enough to only have 1 left in the tank?

 

[jayb05]

@ingridls Makes all kinda sense to me.

Firstly, I don't know how you are training, but RIR 2 or 3 is hardly easy when done to the actual RIR.

Secondly, the options are there for a reason. I don't understand your problem with the ratings? If it's easy you rate easy, if it's hard you rate hard. Why do you want to rate w1 3 sets at 3RIR as hard if it's not? Of course week 1 is easy or pretty good, you should start at MEV straight from deload. It probably never will feel hard SET VOLUME wise. If you rate it as easy, but you get a good pump and soreness, it will maybe add a set. Following weeks you rate it more or less always as pretty good (fyi, they have a more extensive description in the app what "pretty good" actually means), and while stimulus proxies are good, the volume stays the same or if not it will add a set. So either your proxies are good and the volume stays pretty static with some addition here or there OR your proxies aren't there for example people that just don't get sore ever and you will hit your workload limit as the app will want you to do more and more and that's when the pushed my limits/ it was too much rating come in.

 

[anon2424]

@cattat I am using JEFIT currently but I love Dr Mike’s YouTube videos. How does his app compare to a free app like JEFIT?

 

[cattat]

@anon2424 Honestly I’ve never even heard of JEFIT until now

 

[stevens86]

@cattat Correct me but it is not an app? But a web based url?

 

[christian99]

@stevens86 It is an app, it’s just not a mobile app.

 

[cattat]

@stevens86 Yeah it’s web based. I used to have quotes around it but now it just feels pedantic.

 

[stevens86]

@cattat Ok wasn’t sure and thanks

 

[ugr]

@cattat do you like it/feel it’d worth the money still?

 

[cattat]

@ugr Absolutely! It’s pretty spot on, the lifts are fun and don’t take too long either.

 

[holyhippie]

@cattat How is it with customization?? I wouldn't mind using it with John meadows r
Programs

 

[cattat]

@holyhippie You can add your own exercises to it if you want, but at that point you may as well just use a separate tracker.