A Complete Guide To Reverse Pyramid Training

Hi Tim, thanks for the comment.

Yes, this is something I no longer commonly recommend. But “RPT Training” is a popular search term so I have refrained from deleting it and have instead put my criticisms toward the end.

Anyway, let’s back up a moment.

I have attempted to classify the training programs on the site to help people choose one that suits their needs. So the only question to ask yourself is: It this working?

If so, don’t change things. The fact that you need less training volume currently than average to progress is a blessing. But bear in mind that 1) more volume may lead to faster progress (you may have a preference for shorter workouts, but your body might not), and 2) it may not be suited to you for long.

Yes, something like that. But it’s not so easy to classify as the training to failure muddies the waters of counting volume a bit. — I’ve seen it take some people far, others not so far.

If you’re having trouble with progressing, I have an article on that here: How to Break Training Plateaus [Decision Tree & Checklist]. Also bear in mind what I say here: What is Realistic Progress While Cutting?

Thank you, Dan.

Hi Mike, thank you for the question.

You’re thinking about this the wrong way. There is no “single best” routine, there’s are just examples of what may be appropriate for certain people at certain times in their training careers, given their preferences, equipment availability, and time constraints.

Here’s my guide to choosing a training program. Even better, here’s how I recommend going about building your own.

Hi Nathan, thank you for the comment.

While the latter has a better balance than the former, but by doing this you’ve added a whopping 50% to your training volume each week. Is that appropriate? Probably not. Seems like you’re guessing at this rather than planning carefully. Fortunately, this guide on building training programs, which includes volume guidelines, is here at your rescue.

Most welcome. Glad that was helpful, Nathan, and thank you for getting the book!

It’s possible, probable even, that the level of volume you’re using isn’t appropriate or your level of training experience.

If you built up to that level of training volume over time, because that is what has been required of you to progress, then fair enough. But if not, you’ll more than likely be fine on a lower volume level. (I am confident Mike would agree with this also.)

However, this doesn’t mean that it’s appropriate to go from extremely high volume to extremely low volume (like with this program above) just because the intensity will be high. You’re missing the middle. Consider our sample Intermediate Bodybuilding Program template.

Hi Alexis, choose that which has a level of volume you’re better adapted to.

It’s less about what you can handle, more about what you need in order to progress. Have a read of this article: How to Choose the Most Effective Training Program for YOU. I should have thought to link you to it yesterday.

Most welcome, Alexis.

Hi Andre, thank you for the question.

There are quite a few different points I need to unpack here so I’ve done so and will do my best to answer to each fully:

1. “Is the routine we do going to matter as long as strength is maintained?”
If you compare under the same circumstances, then strength maintenance is a good sign of muscle mass maintenance. (Which is what I assume you mean by this.) But when you drop total training volume your strength will go up. So you can’t compare your lifting numbers in a low volume program with a higher volume program and say anything about your relative muscle mass at each point.

What I mean is, if you are currently squatting twice per week, 5*5*280 lbs and 3*8*240 lbs for example, that’s 8 sets.

If you were to change to an RPT routine where you are doing just three sets of squats per week with one of those being in the 4–6 rep range, you can expect the load on the bar to shoot up for that first set. However, this is not an indication that you have suddenly gained muscle. Like needs to be compared for like.

2. Will this RPT routine maintain my muscle mass? (This wasn’t asked but implied.)
If it’s not a vast departure from your current training volume level, then yes. However, you probably have a good opportunity to gain some muscle mass as you lean out given that you have such a large amount of fat to lose. So it’s worth setting your sights higher…

3. …because fasting works easily with it too…”
It’s promoted as such, but fasting doesn’t have anything to do with routine choice in my experience working with 1000+ clients over the last 8 years. Choose the most appropriate routine for your goals and situation. Here’s my guide on that.

(*RPT + morning fasts are the combination popularized by Martin Berkhan’s Leangains method. This was then promoted/rebranded by others as a good combo, but this is everything to do with keeping things simple for branding reasons and nothing to do with the increased efficacy of one routine when fasting vs another.)

4. “…I can easily add cardio on rest days to burn additional calories.”
I wouldn’t recommend that. None of the guys you see on my client results page got shredded lean due to cardio.

If you sit on your arse all day, then sure. But as I said, cardio is not something I have found the need to get clients to do. A more detailed look at cardio in my article here.

Don’t bother with the additional “core” work. It won’t do anything of benefit.

There is no ‘should’. Get in. Get the work done. Leave.

Covered here (A Full Guide To Progressing With Chin-ups), Kierran.

Sure.

Yes. “The mechanisms furthering adaptations in one trait – AMPK for mitochondrial biogenesis for endurance, suppress those that would have allowed optimal adaptation in the latter case, mTOR for muscle protein synthesis – all things being equal – looking at concurrent endurance/strength training vs strength training sans endurance training.”

2-3 minutes.

One of the intermediate programs I have listed here.

In general, yes. However, if you have been doing a very low volume like this up until now, then you wouldn’t want to jump it up so far, but you can probably handle more, as long as you keep stay shy of failure to manage the fatigue.

Hi Emanual, thank you for your patience with my response. (Been doing website edits on a staging site which prevented me from doing so earlier.) I could argue this is not a bad thing in the short term.

However, if you dial back the intensity so that you have one more rep left in the tank for that first set unperformed, you’ll be less fatigued for the subsequent sets, which will allow you to do more and progress faster in those.

Now, considering that overall volume is the key driver of hypertrophy and this would enable you to do more volume, this could be more optimal. That’s kind of what I was referring to in the drawbacks of RPT section, but this is a way to partially hack it. 😉

Hi Danny, thank you for the comment and sorry for the delay in replying. (I had been unable to do so while the website went through a big update over August.)

Well, you’ll see at the end I have pointed out the limitations of the routine. This applies to both strength and size goals. Assuming you’ve read that, don’t worry about it. If you’re training, you’re enjoying it, and you are progressing then the job is being done.

Hi Carlos, thanks for the question.

With different muscle groups, yes. But with the inevitable overlap, you’ll probably find that training to failure as with RPT will cause too much soreness for you to be able to train effectively and you’d be better not using it with a 5-day routine. I have some very detailed progression guidelines in this article: A Detailed Guide To Training Progression.

“No, no, no, you don’t need mush volume and you don’t need to be at the gym for more than 30 minutes and 3 days per week.”

Everyone has their own genetic differences and responses to training. Some people will make half the gains from the same amount of work; some people will do double the work and never achieve the same physique.

This is just ‘The law of tough shit™’.

You can only work to be the best you. At some point, more will be needed to get more results. The only question is whether you are happy with your physique at that point in time. Clearly the gentlemen you follow on Youtube are happy with theirs, but to say that nobody needs to ever do more than that, to achieve the same results, is complete nonsense.

Hi Chris, depends entirewly on how you define ‘big.’ At some point, it will fail to be enough to drive growth. Have a read of this for more background on how volume fits in to the big picture:

• The Core Principles of Effective Strength Training

Hi Robert, thanks for the question.

I worry about that I would have too much muscle mass or I would be too stiff for aikido.
– It is a myth that muscle gain causes stiffness. It comes from the 70s and 80s but still lingers in Japan, especially in traditional dojos.

Now, you don’t want to set your training up so that you are so sore from workouts that you get stiff, but this is just a case of avoiding excessive volume and training to failure, generally speaking, There is no need to modify the training plans you see on the site in my opinion.

If you’re new to training you’ll feel sore as shit for a week or two as your body gets used to it, as with any new training stimulus. Just suck it up.

Just so you know, this isn’t a random unqualified opinion: I’m writing this as a man that trained 6-7 sessions a week of aikido concurrently with strength training for a couple of years (Shodokan, at the headquarters in Tennouji, south Osaka, Japan).

Most welcome, Robert.

Hi Karolis, thanks for the question. Raise your feet off the ground and do band resisted versions. Will add that to the article for clarity.

Most welcome, Karolis.

A plate on the back will provide a constant resistance but is hard to place and balance. The bands will work the lock out portion of the push up more, with more of a focus on the triceps.

Hi Rocky, thanks for the questions.

Couldn’t you do RPT without pushing yourself to failure on each set?
– Certainly.

Is the point that your RPE is inherently going to be less for the first few sets when doing 5×5? Or is it that 5×5 is simply easier for beginners to manage fatigue?
– The point is that volume is the key driver of adaptations long term. Training to failure will compromise the total recoverable volume that can be performed, so as a trainee advances they may find better results by using failure sparingly, instead of every workout and exercise. A beginner trainee shouldn’t be training to failure, they want to work on their form.

Two articles you may find useful, the first for the former and the latter for the latter.
• The Core Principles of Effective Training
• A Guide to Exercise Selection When You Don’t Have Access to a Coach