10-03-2021, 12:25 AM
My experience
Micro loading works great in isolation movements, esp upper body
And sometimes on compound movements
Now the fine print
In my experience using fractional plates IE 0.25kg, 0.5kg, 0.75kg, etc. worked very well on curls, lateral raises, etc. but if and only if I was on a progression spree - if I was trying to force progression with micro loading I’ve generally been better served by switching movements - or - changing rep ranges
However if you’re getting stronger week to week micro loading really allows you to squeeze every ounce out of your set, because you’ll likely beat reps and by virtue of the additional half or 3/4 kilo add volume as well
In effect it forces conservative progression that ends up being more sustainable - in some ways it allows the body to catch up to the demands placed on it - because let’s be honest the superlative workouts where you’re crushing everything in your path are generally (for nattys) the exception not the norm - hence in my books being able to consistently operate towards the upper end of your rep range (or beyond) makes the AMRAP (assuming you’re taking the set to failure) a richer stimulus
If I’m stuck on a rep count two sessions in a row - time to drop the movement - micro loading isn’t going to do anything magical
Not sure if that makes sense to anyone else than me, but there you go
Micro loading works great in isolation movements, esp upper body
And sometimes on compound movements
Now the fine print
In my experience using fractional plates IE 0.25kg, 0.5kg, 0.75kg, etc. worked very well on curls, lateral raises, etc. but if and only if I was on a progression spree - if I was trying to force progression with micro loading I’ve generally been better served by switching movements - or - changing rep ranges
However if you’re getting stronger week to week micro loading really allows you to squeeze every ounce out of your set, because you’ll likely beat reps and by virtue of the additional half or 3/4 kilo add volume as well
In effect it forces conservative progression that ends up being more sustainable - in some ways it allows the body to catch up to the demands placed on it - because let’s be honest the superlative workouts where you’re crushing everything in your path are generally (for nattys) the exception not the norm - hence in my books being able to consistently operate towards the upper end of your rep range (or beyond) makes the AMRAP (assuming you’re taking the set to failure) a richer stimulus
If I’m stuck on a rep count two sessions in a row - time to drop the movement - micro loading isn’t going to do anything magical
Not sure if that makes sense to anyone else than me, but there you go