What you posted is a very poor example, especially for stronker folks. Jumping from a single at 85% to a new 1RM could be like a hundred pounds or more. It's also probable that neither your muscles nor your joints are properly warmed up after that, especially if you didn't wear support gear into the gym (most people don't). We mighta just low-key discovered why your body be going on strike so often on you.
No, you should start with the bar (or a plate for deads) and jump up roughly 10% until you hit 75-85%, then jump up by about 5% of your current PR, especially if you don't max out very often. Nobody said you had to use singles to jump up either.
If your PR was 405 on squats, your pyramid might look like this:
- Bar x 5-10 reps
- 85 x 8
- 126 x 6
- 166 x 5
- 207 x 4
- 247 x 4
- 288 x 3
- 328x 2
- 369x 1
- 410 x1 (new PR)
I usually jump up by the half plate, so I'd do something like:
- Bar x 5 reps
- Bar x 5 reps
- 95 x 5
- 135 x 5
- 185 x 3
- 225 x 3
- 275 x 2
- 315 x 1
- 365x 1
- 410 x1 (new PR)
I'm glad you like it. I didn't see anything on the label that suggests it's any better than #Powdas we've already discussed ITT.