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alternating reps?
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IrishHandGrenade
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I think your reps should be determined by your goals. What are you training for? Size, strength, or a combination of both?
im going for size. yea the same thing is happening to me ill keep going up in strength but i wont gain mass. so i guess il start off with a 4x10 workout and then alternate from there. also i have chicken legs and im trying to get rid of them. what can i do. i've been doing deadlift and squats and leg press. and again im going up in strength but not size. will alternating reps work?
Since you're going for size, you might want to think about going up in reps for your squats. 5x5 is a good range for increasing your strength which will pay dividends in the long run. 4x10 would be an intermediate range. Then you could do several sessions of 3x20. There's a decent amount of research that shows that legs grow better with higher reps.
In general, I think working in a broad range of reps in better for long term growth though this is just IMO. The important thing to remember when you do this is to stick within a range long enough for repetition and progressive overload to have an effect. Changing up too often will result in negative gains. You have the right idea in listening to what you body seems to be saying. Just make sure you stay in the game mentally and give yourself honest feedback about what actually happens after you make an adjustment.
You could also consider working in front squats as a second or even primary exercise. Some people just respond better to these.
In general, I think working in a broad range of reps in better for long term growth though this is just IMO. The important thing to remember when you do this is to stick within a range long enough for repetition and progressive overload to have an effect. Changing up too often will result in negative gains. You have the right idea in listening to what you body seems to be saying. Just make sure you stay in the game mentally and give yourself honest feedback about what actually happens after you make an adjustment.
You could also consider working in front squats as a second or even primary exercise. Some people just respond better to these.
What about 3 weeks 3x15, then 3 weeks 4x10, then 3 weeks 5x5-6? After all the 9 weeks take a week off and start over. The week off it's called strategical deconditioning, which is something like by staying away from the weights your body will "forget" about the stimulus and once you attack again with the weights it will react and grow!
B
Big_BK
Guest
I started doing high reps still with heavy weight and i am ALOT more sore because i am not used to it. Its good to switch things up every now and then but not that soon. I change routines maybe every 3-4 months.
saibot your workout seems very interesting. im still deciding what to do, because i have done 5x5 for 4 months and then i did 4x10 for 4 months. i only gained about 8 pounds. i have a solid diet and i get about 8 hours of sleep every night so its def the workout. like, i weigh 142 and my bench max is 250. also 3 weeks does seem kind of short, have you tried it? im thinking of doing saibots suggestion but over a 2 month period. is that logical? any other suggestions. thank you
That workout is for hypertrophy purposes, you have to train the same bodypart twice a week, after 6 workouts which is exactely 3 weeks your body will have adjusted to the 3x15 stimulus already so it's time to pass to 4x10 rep range and so on. All sets to failure, you might have to decrease the weight a bit between sets to complete the same reps. Give it a try for 10 weeks you won't be disapointed!!! Make sure you eat more too.
that actually sounds pretty good. i think im going to give it a shot. should i increase the weight every week or should i just go for reps. also how long should i wait in between sets, 30 seconds to a min? also im currently on a workout that requires me to do one body part per week, like legs monday, chest tuesday, upper back wed, lower back thurs, and shoulders friday. how can i incorporate each body part twice a week? should i only do core exercises? like right now for legs in doing squats, leg press, leg curls, and calf raises.
Like this:
Workout A
Pecs Low inclined and bench
Shoulder Military and lateral raises
Triceps Dips and seated french press
Workout B
Back Chins and rows
Bis Barbell curl
Legs Squats, curls and calves
Workout A monday and thursday Workout B tuesday and friday always leave one day rest or two after doing the two workouts.
rest about one minute between sets, yes you must increase the weights every workout even if it means a couple of pounds only.
You can pick other exercises if you want as long as they are core exercises.
For rep-range of 4x10 you should rest along the lines of 90-120 secs and for 5x5-6 around 3 minutes or more if needed. Enjoy
Workout A
Pecs Low inclined and bench
Shoulder Military and lateral raises
Triceps Dips and seated french press
Workout B
Back Chins and rows
Bis Barbell curl
Legs Squats, curls and calves
Workout A monday and thursday Workout B tuesday and friday always leave one day rest or two after doing the two workouts.
rest about one minute between sets, yes you must increase the weights every workout even if it means a couple of pounds only.
You can pick other exercises if you want as long as they are core exercises.
For rep-range of 4x10 you should rest along the lines of 90-120 secs and for 5x5-6 around 3 minutes or more if needed. Enjoy
