Lighter weights, higher reps?

i lean towards higher reps lower weight for arms and rear delts. like 20 - 35 reps just pump the shit out of them. Everything else 8 - 12 reps maybe 15 max.
 
DeviousD said:
I think its fantastic that you've changed your life & got more active and continuing to get more fit! I am pretty sure you would benefit from having different equipment available to you... you need to be able to some pulling exercises as well. You also need to change things up and do different things to keep from getting bored or sick of doing the same things over and over with just a couple of dumbbells.
May I ask why you're only using a powered chair? Maybe now that you're considerably lighter why not move to a manual chair, that will increase your strength and stamina as well and make your progress even better!
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Thanks for your encouragement, I think I might go back to using the manual next spring/summer and get a summer gym membership.... Good idea. As to your pulling advice I started doing some chainsaw rows, and I intend to try flys next.
 
Sorbate said:
How functionable are your arms and hands.
I have a nephew that is in a chair as well, arms are not the best, but he has a machine he uses to (or used) to help with his strength.
‘I could ask him for a picture so you can see it.
You never know he might even sell it?
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My arms and hands are pretty much fine, considering the abuse of years of a manual chair., I would love to see a picture of your nephews setup, if you Please.
 
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I cannot speak about his training when he was younger but Frank Zane won three Olympias training with moderate weights and higher reps. For him it was all about the form and feel of the exercise. The mind muscle connection can be hard to focus on when you are concerned about the weight on the bar crushing you...lol
 
I think there are a lot of varieties involved but, I can say that I personally, for sure start to low mass as soon as I lose strength, despite an increase in intensity or reps.
 
If you want another good example of what can be done with light weights check out Serge Nubret

Or maybe it was the 3 to 4kg of horse meat he ate every day :unsure:
 
This thread is great.

Have read (can’t find the source) that low reps high weight are better for strength gains long term, where the high reps low weight aren’t. But that hypertrophy in the end is not that much different.

Maybe it’s time to join my wife’s body pump class.


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I was taught that lighter weights do not recruit your type2 fibres which of course make up the larger percentage of your muscle mass. I do think it's worthwhile to do some lighter weights / higher reps for endurance https://enrgifitness.com/fitness-is-not-scary/ , to train the type1 fibres and especially as a warm up before your heavier sets or a pump set afterwards, but IMO you need to do some heavier stuff in the 8-12 range as well.
 
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I'll give you my exact experience with both because I've done both. I trained in the 12-15 rep range with moderate weight for a looooooooong time and build a very good physique. So, can it be done? Absolutely it can. And depending on your goals thats might beexactly what you should be doing.

If you want to get big and jacked up and strong and build dense quality muscle, leaving diet out of it this can not be achieved with lighter weight and higher reps.

And some may say we'll, Ronnie trained with high reps. Yes he did but he also trained super Fin heavy too so thats different.

You dont need to lift heavy to get in or stay in shape. To really grow though you do.
 
Hey

I think it depends on the person as well as the muscle group being worked

If we look at Milos's clients he pounds them with light weight and crazy volume and giant sets

I am for one that noticed for many of my athletes this style works amazing especially for bringing up shoulders for people who have lagging delts

Even Vince Gironda used to do these multiple set exercises with high reps before resting and he produced some amazing physiques including Carl Weathers (Apollo Creed) from Rocky

Even wiht the lighter dumbbells that you have you can make them feel heavier by changing the tempo, emphasizing the negatives, reduce rest periods, and perform giant set circuits

give this a try
 
Tom platz had the best legs in bodybuilding and he did sets of fifty all the time lol. I did CT fletchers arm workout for a year and saw some of the best gains I’ve had doing that, it was somewhere around 1000 reps on biceps and thousand reps on triceps.

I’ve also spent a year where I did 6-8 reps 4 sets 4 different exercises and took more rest days than workout days and seen incredible results

My opinion. Shock the muscle always keep it guessing. If In doubt go heavy or go home .

From a more scientist side body type is probably a huge factor ecto meso endo? Anyways yeha just my 2 cents


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ajfromab said:
Tom platz had the best legs in bodybuilding and he did sets of fifty all the time lol. I did CT fletchers arm workout for a year and saw some of the best gains I’ve had doing that, it was somewhere around 1000 reps on biceps and thousand reps on triceps.

I’ve also spent a year where I did 6-8 reps 4 sets 4 different exercises and took more rest days than workout days and seen incredible results

My opinion. Shock the muscle always keep it guessing. If In doubt go heavy or go home .

From a more scientist side body type is probably a huge factor ecto meso endo? Anyways yeha just my 2 cents


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For sure you need to adjust your training depending on your body type.
plus your job will be a factor on how you train.
Like my job is fairly intense, moving around quickly, so I find less sets and train harder works better for me than a ton of volume, likely because of the higher rep lower weight lifting I get at work.
 
Reps 20 light
Reps 15 heavier
Reps 12 heavier still
Reps 10 more heavy
Reps 8 heavy as eff

Good to get a bit of both but without some power lifting on your cns u may plateau a lot and not get supper supper huge that's my experience

Or high Reps all week and heavy low Reps on the weekend. What matters for hypertrophy is volume per say. So calculate ur max weight for example 5reps x 5 sets of 100lbs equals 2500lbs so always aim for that whether it's high wether it's 70lbs at 12x3 or Reps of 3 at 80lbs x 10 sets etc..I'm no pro but that's where I'm at now. In my own experience the only exercises I'll go crazy with light weight high Reps and sets are biceps and lateral raises on delts. Even then I do heavy bar work first then finish with light weight.
 
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I've done most of my training in the 5-8 rep range for complex barbell movements and 1-3 to peak getting close to a competition. For the more isolation stuff like rows, flys etc I would do 10-20 reps. I've never been a bodybuilder but I was pretty dang big and strong.
 
What do you guys do when you lift the stack and it's not enough?

For me this is usually what happens with triceps.

I often slow down a whole bunch to focus on the mind-muscle connection and make it harder, go for sets of up to 25 or stick another pin (or a screwdriver I keep in my bag) in the stack and add on a 25, 45 or maybe even plates on bother sides of the stack.

Pre-exhausting with another exercise first helps as well.

What do you guys do?

OD
 
OntarioDude said:
What do you guys do when you lift the stack and it's not enough?

For me this is usually what happens with triceps.

I often slow down a whole bunch to focus on the mind-muscle connection and make it harder, go for sets of up to 25 or stick another pin (or a screwdriver I keep in my bag) in the stack and add on a 25, 45 or maybe even plates on bother sides of the stack.

Pre-exhausting with another exercise first helps as well.

What do you guys do?

OD
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Super sets, more reps, slower reps, pause and hold top of lift, centre and bottom and lower rest time in between sets
 
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