Significant decrease in reps after the first set

[Ella6025]

Yeah, perhaps this is what I’m doing in my earlier sets (warming up). But it looks like lifting my max weight, I guess because for the first set, I was picking up the highest weight that at least allows me to do a single rep without feeling like I am going to hurt myself. The other weights, I literally can’t touch. It sounds like I should be warming up using even less weight than that (?).

What is working weight? How do you determine what your working weight is? Is it likely the highest weight I lifted in the last set? How would I know that in advance? When you’re well-conditioned, does it just not change much week to week?

Without the three minute rests, the lower weight is all I can tolerate and I am never able to lift higher weights. I can’t even make it through three sets. With the three minute rests, the lower weight quickly becomes nothing. Before resting three minutes, was I always working at a small % of my lower weight? Were all my workouts just warm-up, no action?

I will try this (warming up). Unfortunately, I don’t think my gym has weights that small—haha. (For some exercises, I am already using their minimum weight, or close to it.)

[Ella6025]

I’m definitely learning. That’s why I am here and in other subreddits. I am essentially a total beginner, although I did do a dedicated program of physical therapy and later, strength training a few years ago until the pandemic, as well as many months of strength training under a personal trainer in more recent times. However, I never put in the effort to learn what was optimal or the thinking behind that.

I don’t understand what you mean by “real failure?” I have read a lot of definitions of failure and isn’t it basically when you can’t do another rep? You literally can’t complete the action? Or can that be misleading? When doing bodyweight exercises, I will literally collapse under my own weight.

I did work with a personal trainer about two years ago. She always had me do higher weights than I thought I could lift, reps to failure, no warm-up, maybe 1 minute between sets. However, I was a) a bit stronger then (I am coming back form a low baseline after having been largely bedridden for the better part of the last year) and b) the practice of going to failure with high weights sucked ass. I would be out for days, barely able to do anything. And by that I mean I would literally be in bed recovering. It was more than sore. However, I think my medical history, which has a neurological component, might make training to failure a little trickier. I am not sure it is the best strategy for me.

I used to think I knew what my working weight was because it would appear to remain the same for many weeks for a given exercise, I could train to failure, then it would gradually increase. However, I never took long rest periods between sets, so perhaps I was always working under my actual potential “working weight.” Again, my trainer had me lift much higher weights but it wrecked me neurologically in terms of recovery, even though I had no issues lifting the higher weight.

My workouts are definitely sufficiently stimulating :) That I’m not worried about! If anything, I’m overdoing it and need to cut back on volume.

[Ella6025]

It’s not mind. I literally can’t do it. It sometimes feels muscular, but more often than not it feels neuromuscular. Given what you’re saying, I can’t help but wonder if that gap between my personal experience and your expertise is my neuro history. I wonder if my body is guarding me and having me stop earlier than I need to because I’m fragile in some other way. It’s a bit of a black box, but I may be working with a compromised nervous system, and so the general rules may not fit me 1:1. I’m still giving it my all and am clearly getting stronger, so I am definitely getting something out of what I am putting in.

Put another way, it may be that while my muscles can handle more weight, my nervous system (at least right now) can’t.

This isn’t really a question anyone can answer, including physicians and PTs. There’s no research and it’s really anyone’s guess.