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Four rules

How to progress

They replace guessing.

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  1. Never train to failure. Stop every set with 2–3 reps left in the tank, all block. This is the single biggest difference between lifting as a runner and lifting as a lifter. Failure buys a small amount of extra stimulus at a large cost in soreness and recovery, and you are spending that recovery on running.
  2. Double progression, on the top of the range. When you can hit every set at the prescribed reps with 2–3 in reserve, add the smallest available increment next week — 2.5 kg on the bar, 2 kg on a dumbbell — and expect the reps to feel hard again. That’s it. No percentages, no maxes.
  3. When the sets drop, the weight does not. Going from 4 × 6 to 3 × 5 to 2 × 5 is a volume reduction, not an intensity one. The weight on the bar should be the same or higher in week 11 than in week 4, on half the sets. This is what makes a maintenance dose actually maintain.
  4. Cut exercises, not rest. Short on time on a Wednesday? Drop the carry and the second calf variant. Do not compress the rest on the RDL and the pull-up — three heavy sets with full rest beats six rushed ones, and the rushed version also costs you more recovery.

Two ordering rules that are not negotiable

This explains The strength plan.