Q: In your article The Russian Approach to Size and Strength T-Nation Archive, you mention “decrease the load by 5% each set” in one section, but in others, no percentage is specified. When it’s left blank, does that mean the weight stays the same?

A: It depends on the sequencing method used.

• Maximum Size Method #1 follows horizontal sequencing, meaning all four sets of one exercise (A) are completed before moving to the next (B), and so on. Because fatigue accumulates with minimal rest between sets, the load must decrease each set to maintain repetition performance.
  
  For example, if you start with 25 pounds for weighted close-neutral-grip chin-ups and manage 10 reps on the first set, hitting the same number in subsequent sets with just a minute of rest will be tough. Without reducing the load, reps will likely drop to 8 or 9 on set two, and even fewer on the third and fourth sets. In some cases, a load reduction of up to 15% per set may be necessary to maintain consistent reps (Willardson et al., 2010 PubMed).
  
• Other methods, like Size and Strength Method #1, use vertical sequencing—alternating between paired exercises (A1 and A2, B1 and B2, etc.). This allows more recovery time before returning to the same exercise. For example, if you rest 2 minutes after A1, perform A2 for 30 seconds, then rest another 2 minutes, you’ve had approximately 4.5 minutes of recovery before hitting A1 again.
  
  With this approach, you can typically maintain the load across sets or even increase it due to postactivation potentiation, where prior heavy loading enhances performance in subsequent sets.