What are peoples thoughts on the following kind of periodization for hypertrophy (not strength) gains -

Phase one - rep progression
start with 3x8 for an exercise, and progress until you can do 3x12 with the same load

Phase two - set progression
stick with sets of 12 reps with the same load but increase the number of sets you do each session until you are doing 9x12

Phase three - transition to load progression
increase the load a small amount each session for two sessions and reduce the reps by two for each session until back to 8 reps a set

Phase four - load progression, volume reduction
each session increase the load a small amount but drop a set.

When back to a tough 3x8, take a week off then start over.

Too complex for me mate.

I go with 8 reps at a given weight for 5 sets, the 10, then 12 reps then increase weight and reduce reps down to 8 and start again.

Are you classing any of these as a strength phase ?

Building to 12 sets - per exercise ??

It's purely hypertrophy like HST - no specific emphasis on strength at all.

For exercise selection it would be kinda like GVT, with just a few compounds and maybe a few straight sets for small bodyparts. It's actually a routine that Orinoco was working on with me with years ago... I did it for legs only (squats) with normal training for the rest of my body and it put over an inch and on my thighs... just found the routine saved on my PC and thought about applying it properly, but wanted to know the thoughts of others.

I'll probably try it anyway at some point soon, as practise always trumps theory as way to tell if something works

As long as you kept a journal then this could work out and Pete knows his stuff.

Another approach I've found good is to hit reps of 10, 8 and 5 on successive weeks and then try to add a small amount of weight each time to start off the cycle.

As an example with Box Squats I'd be doing this:

Week 1: 10x150kg
Week 2: 8x165kg
Week 3: 5x185kg

The aim would be then to add say 2.5kg to 5kg on the next 3 week cycle for the same number on reps and so on.

With Upper Body I'm a little different but hit 10 reps and 8 reps in the same week but apply the same idea adding a little weight on each time so for Incline Bench:

Upper 1: 10x100kg
Upper 2: 8x110kg

For the following week I'd try and hit in the middle of the previous week so 10x105kg and 8x115kg.

Deload week would be my volume week where I'd hit 5 rep some movements each 3rd week although I'm stopping this at the moment due to time constraints.

Different play on your idea but shares some of the same principles.

I think it could be interesting to try if you could be bothered but its too much hassle for me and i wouldnt get the same enjoyment out of it.

Yeah it's a bit complex on paper, and I know that can be a bit off putting at times... I sometimes revel in the weird ways to train and other times just can't be arsed and just want straight sets without thinking about it.

Alex - I can see the sense of what you are talking about and can see that working. If I get up and running on it I'll break my online journal virginity and put one up. Putting a journal up will probably help me with my inconsistency issues atm (when I say 'inconsistency', what I really mean is not doing anything much at all!).