All sounds good to me Wad. My only nagging doubt is that there may be such a thing as too much load, even when well within tensile capacity if considering maximum potential. The a high degree of trauma that may affect the remodelling result and cause premature strengthening of tissues.If I could have my time over again, to maximise potential I would stay with low(ish) tension levels until progress stalled, and only then increment it a little at a time. If I wanted as fast progress as possible then I would instead increase the time under tension as much as possible. I expect the tissue quality could be dramatically different that way. This is of course pure speculation on my part.
I did have my best length gains from low-level stretching but, hey, that was newbie gains - which can skew the equation.
But I’ve always been a proponent of “less is more.” When I was a trainee & a trainer, I used to urge guys to start with a base routine & increase gradually - as needed. If sets with 83% 1RM are affecting gains in absolute strength, why use 92% 1RM? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
I agree that guys should start low, but more force WILL be needed eventually, unless you plan to pull at low force for 4-6 hours per day to achieve creep.
As per lig stregthening, that can be sidetracked by strategic breaks. As I’ve said, I gained 0.22” EL in 3 weeks after a couple month break. By the way, the first week I pulled easy-moderate, the 2nd week moderate-forceful, and the 3rd week very forcefully. So….not sure which approach actually created the increase - or if it was the combination, or simply the break itself. :)
