Reason behind Operator I/A percentages

[J-Madd]

Now I'm really battling with my decision to do an 8 day week. I was thinking about it and that's less than 3 days a week of lifting. As a guy with a heavy background in weightlifting that's a tough pill to swallow. That's very low frequency.

What if you did 3/8 days lifting, but still made good progress? Wouldn't that be a more efficient way of getting where you want to go? In the long run, less lifting/week means less wear and tear, which means more lifting over a lifetime, which may come to more overall progress. Remember also that you have another variable to toy with: the volume within your sessions. With slightly less frequency, you can get a little more liberal with the volume, which might amount to the same or even greater stimulus for adaptation over a given time. I say stick with this decision for a couple blocks, and see what it gets you.

[mikhou]

Now I'm really battling with my decision to do an 8 day week. I was thinking about it and that's less than 3 days a week of lifting. As a guy with a heavy background in weightlifting that's a tough pill to swallow. That's very low frequency.

What if you did 3/8 days lifting, but still made good progress? Wouldn't that be a more efficient way of getting where you want to go? In the long run, less lifting/week means less wear and tear, which means more lifting over a lifetime, which may come to more overall progress. Remember also that you have another variable to toy with: the volume within your sessions. With slightly less frequency, you can get a little more liberal with the volume, which might amount to the same or even greater stimulus for adaptation over a given time. I say stick with this decision for a couple blocks, and see what it gets you.

J-Madd, I had posted this response on G2B's log as well where this was being discussed, but I ran the numbers and if even if you use the same number of sets Op I/A still has more total volume than Op if you did a side-by-side comparison where you were lifting for the same number of days. This is because on Op I/A, you have a 75% week (as opposed to 70%) and also because you are keeping your 3-rep week to 1 week (or in this case 1 8-day week). It's actually hard to compare Op I/A and Op as a 1:1 comparison but the ideas is that you get more volume at a lower intensity. This is my first time running it, but I'm looking forward to it.

[J-Madd]

Now I'm really battling with my decision to do an 8 day week. I was thinking about it and that's less than 3 days a week of lifting. As a guy with a heavy background in weightlifting that's a tough pill to swallow. That's very low frequency.

What if you did 3/8 days lifting, but still made good progress? Wouldn't that be a more efficient way of getting where you want to go? In the long run, less lifting/week means less wear and tear, which means more lifting over a lifetime, which may come to more overall progress. Remember also that you have another variable to toy with: the volume within your sessions. With slightly less frequency, you can get a little more liberal with the volume, which might amount to the same or even greater stimulus for adaptation over a given time. I say stick with this decision for a couple blocks, and see what it gets you.

J-Madd, I had posted this response on G2B's log as well where this was being discussed, but I ran the numbers and if even if you use the same number of sets Op I/A still has more total volume than Op if you did a side-by-side comparison where you were lifting for the same number of days. This is because on Op I/A, you have a 75% week (as opposed to 70%) and also because you are keeping your 3-rep week to 1 week (or in this case 1 8-day week). It's actually hard to compare Op I/A and Op as a 1:1 comparison but the ideas is that you get more volume at a lower intensity. This is my first time running it, but I'm looking forward to it.

Mikhou, super cool analysis! I did something similar comparing Zulu and Operator a while ago, and came to the same conclusion. I never did the numbers on Op. vs. Op I/A. Notice also that you can play with the intensity while staying within the parameters of OP I/A: K. Black mentions that on the last three days (especially for a recreational guy/gal) you can push to 90%. In fact, in the last day of the block, I'll probably take it to 95%. A few singles at that weight are usually enough to tell me whether I'm ready to force progress.

[MuftiMike]

From what I understand, IA gives you the option to go high volume. And because of the high volume you get the option for an extra day in between sessions. The extra day isn't mandatory, so if you go lower volume or feel fine you can just take the one day between Op workouts instead of two.

[Maxrip13]

Now I'm really battling with my decision to do an 8 day week. I was thinking about it and that's less than 3 days a week of lifting. As a guy with a heavy background in weightlifting that's a tough pill to swallow. That's very low frequency.

What's you main goal ? Lift more frequently or get the best results possible ?

I come from a strength background and love to lift weights, but I get better results if I lift less.
It took a long time, but now I prioritize what works over what I want 99% of the time.
I thrive on lower volume programs because I am a naturally fit person. I strangely get better the less training I do just by allowing myself to recover better.

I need more E and HIC than I need to lift heavy weights for my future goals, so I am working towards prioritizing these attributes more than the heavy strength work that I love. It's painful but the long term results are worth it and I lift more with less work which is always a bonus.

EDIT- JMADD beat me to it haha.

[Adski]

After reading this thread, I'm tempted to run I/A when I start my next block in a few days, just for the optional rest day, (just started in another area at work, long days, early starts etc) it might actually fit well, I still feel regular op is tough to beat from an evenly spread mix of strength and conditioning though. I did like what J Madd mentioned earlier about less wear and tear for longer lifting life, something I think many don't consider. (Not within the TB community though ).

[Barkadion]

After reading this thread, I'm tempted to run I/A when I start my next block in a few days, just for the optional rest day, (just started in another area at work, long days, early starts etc) it might actually fit well, I still feel regular op is tough to beat from an evenly spread mix of strength and conditioning though. I did like what J Madd mentioned earlier about less wear and tear for longer lifting life, something I think many don't consider. (Not within the TB community though ).

Please share your experience if you go OP I/A road..

[J-Madd]

It took a long time, but now I prioritize what works over what I want 99% of the time.

That really distills one of the keys to getting your head right about a lot of things, beyond training too!


EDIT- JMADD beat me to it haha.

I think you said it better!

[Green2Blue]

It took a long time, but now I prioritize what works over what I want 99% of the time.

That really distills one of the keys to getting your head right about a lot of things, beyond training too!


EDIT- JMADD beat me to it haha.

I think you said it better!

Yep, you both said it well. As did others. As I mentioned in my log, I'm giving it a shot. Can't appreciate this community enough.

[Adski]

After reading this thread, I'm tempted to run I/A when I start my next block in a few days, just for the optional rest day, (just started in another area at work, long days, early starts etc) it might actually fit well, I still feel regular op is tough to beat from an evenly spread mix of strength and conditioning though. I did like what J Madd mentioned earlier about less wear and tear for longer lifting life, something I think many don't consider. (Not within the TB community though ).

Please share your experience if you go OP I/A road..

Will do. I mapped the plan out earlier, I'll let you know how it goes by the end of the block.
In some ways, after thinking about it a bit, op IA (among the other reasons as to why it would be useful) would be good for those that prefer or find beneficial to have 3-4 weeks of training before having a deload week as opposed to 6/12.