In a super-set, with super strict form. The vertical space between the lines indicates the passage of time:
Pull/Chin-Ups Russian Push-Ups Squats Super-Set Total
1 2 2 = 5
2 4 4 = 10
3 6 6 = 15
4 8 8 = 20
5 10 10 = 25
6 12 12 = 30
6 12 12 = 30
6 12 12 = 30
---------------------------------------------------- -------------
33 Pull 66 Push 66 Squat 165 Total Strict Reps
I meant to travel back down the pyramid but I was too tired.
In the endless and frustrating discussions about the body-part splits and sets and reps, a refreshing conclusion can be that whatever scheme allows you to get the most reps per measure of time is the one that is best. I've discussed this here before. So on a one-body-part-a-day-once-a-week bodybuilder scheme, maybe you do four exercises and four or five sets of 12, 10, 8, 6, etc. Something like that. So that's around 36 reps spread across four sets for four exercises, which is about 150 or so reps for the week or 600 for the month. A whole body every day scheme that's something like the above would give you over 900 push reps a month. And a less intense, higher rep approach like I've done so many times before, would give you way more.
What I've also discussed here before is that the Quality of the rep far outweighs the quantity. So a set of 15 hard, squeezy, slow push-ups is very likely superior to a set of 50 fast degrading ones.
Combine the two ideas and you've got the notion that the best scheme is the one that allows the most Quality reps per unit of time.
How do you measure Quality? I think you'll know it when you feel it, but one idea I have is to see if I can make progress (get stronger) while keeping my rep totals constant or even decreasing, for a given exercise group. I've dabbled in this idea here before, and that has led me into slow reps and concentrated reps and so forth, but you can get lost in this and end up cheating yourself. I want to take another look at this.
