Lets take the bench press for example. We will use an athlete with a 3 rep max of 225 on the bench press for our example. Session 1 would look like this:
Bench Press- 225 x 1, rack the weight, rest 45 seconds, 225x1, rack weight, rest 45 seconds, etc. etc.
So he will perform 1 rep with 225 (his 3 rep max) every 45 seconds, for 10 total sets. Session 2 would be the exact same 225 x 1 rep for 10 sets, but the rest period would be cut down to 30 seconds between rest-pause sets. So session 2 would look like this:
Bench Press- 225x1, rack weight, rest 30 seconds, 225x1, rack weight, rest 30 seconds, etc. etc.
Would this work at a higher bench like 300? Just plugging #'s in a one rep max calculator, when going from a 3 to 10 rep max, the est one rep max @ 225 only jumps 62lbs from 238 to 300, at 300 it jumps 82 from 318 to 400, which is a huge increase that I would think would take at least 12 months to achieve. Also, would you recommend the 15s jumps for that weight or smaller decrements like 5s? 45s to 30s seem doable but the jump from 30 to 15s seems impossible.
Thanks in advance.
It will work it just takes more sessions to complete the goal (timed rests) than it would for a beginner. For example, you may have to do the 30 second rest interval a few times to successfully complete the workout where a less experienced trainee may only need to perform it once. The thing is, youre still using progressive overload, still getting a solid amount of high intensity volume, so youre progressing still just not as quickly poundage wise. 15 seconds still works very well for progression, but if you dont hit your quota in those intervals, simply take a few minutes, and start back where you left off.
If you just completed 10 reps of 275 with 45 seconds rest and are scheduled for 275 x 10 w 30 secs, and you get 5 reps done but cant get 6, just stop for a minute, regroup, and come back for the final 5 reps. Do this as often as needed, but dont move on to the next interval until you complete the previous without the extended rests.
Those rep max calculators are very very hit or miss at anything over a 5rm, estimating 1rm from a 10rm is a crap shoot at best so I wouldnt read too much into those.