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Sets and Reps

WalmartSecurit Posts: 32 Joined: 2005/10/29	2006/02/10, 01:56 PM Hello everyone, its been a few months since i have last checked in. I have a question... I've heard that high reps (14-20)doesnt build size, but it builds endurance, and low reps (6-10) builds size but not too much endurance. I wanted both, so I would do 4 sets per exercise, first 2 sets are high reps and last 2 sets are low reps, example: Bench Press (medium-grip) Set 1: 20 reps w/55lbs set 2: 16 reps w/60lbs set 3: 10 reps w/70lbs set 4: 8 reps w/75lbs Thats what I do for my chest, also along with another exercise (either machine flyes or machine bench press) would that work out okay or is it too many reps and will I build much muscle at all from that or not?
WalmartSecurit Posts: 32 Joined: 2005/10/29	2006/02/13, 01:39 PM err... can anyone help please?
wrestler125 Posts: 4,619 Joined: 2004/01/27	2006/02/13, 06:27 PM Your glycogen and creatine stores will be spent from your 20 rep set before you ever reach heavy weight. Seperate them on different days. -------------- Iron and chalk. Pain is only temporary, it is in your mind. If you can still walk, then you can still run.
WalmartSecurit Posts: 32 Joined: 2005/10/29	2006/02/14, 02:03 PM So should I ditch the high rep/low rep combo and instead, just go with 4 low rep/high weight sets instead?
wrestler125 Posts: 4,619 Joined: 2004/01/27	2006/02/14, 05:03 PM If you want to build endurance simultaneously, I would recommend and exagerrated undulating template. Do more sets of low rep heavy work 2 days a week, and the other two go low set, high rep, light weight. -------------- Iron and chalk. Pain is only temporary, it is in your mind. If you can still walk, then you can still run.
WalmartSecurit Posts: 32 Joined: 2005/10/29	2006/02/15, 08:54 PM Nah, i want to just increase muscle mass, so I want to go low rep. I want to do 3-4 sets per exercise, so how many reps should I do per set?
wrestler125 Posts: 4,619 Joined: 2004/01/27	2006/02/15, 09:55 PM I would still undulate it, as undulating periodization as I and researchers have experianced it has been one of the most effective ways of achieveing hypertrophy. It is not the only hypertrophy template I recommend, but it will prevent stagnation and increase your strength right up with muscle mass. I would aim for a total volume of 24 reps per set with heavy work, but this is a guideline. 30 is another common guideline. I tend to go higher with volume when intensity is lower. In other words, if I'm doing triples, I may only do 15-21 repetitions, but if I am doing high rep work with sets of 10-12, I may aim for 30-36. -------------- Iron and chalk. Pain is only temporary, it is in your mind. If you can still walk, then you can still run.
WalmartSecurit Posts: 32 Joined: 2005/10/29	2006/02/16, 10:51 AM Sorry man, I dont know half of what you just said. I dont know what undulate means, hypertrophy, ect... and I got kinda confused with the second part of your post, am i okay with 4 sets or is that too much, and should I lower the amount of reps per set? example: (with 30 reps total) Set 1: 10 reps set 2: 8 reps set 3: 7 reps set 4: 5 reps
sstump1 Posts: 1,227 Joined: 2005/03/20	2006/02/16, 11:25 AM Try this...http://www.m-w.com/
bigandrew Posts: 5,146 Joined: 2002/10/21	2006/02/16, 12:43 PM I think you need to cycle it... do high rep training....for 4 weeks....then low rep trianing. Your not gonna increse much muscle mass by doing 20 reps of anything. get more fluid into the muscle. But type II fibers are bigber and have a great potential for growth. -------------- Get your bicep curling, cut off shirt, matching workout outfit wearing,flexing in mirror "toned" wanna-be ass , out of my squat rack! People don't reach thier true potental, only those who seek it.
wrestler125 Posts: 4,619 Joined: 2004/01/27	2006/02/16, 12:45 PM simple definitions; undulate means to change your rep range every workout. Basicly, do one workout where you are working in the 1-5 rep range, your next workout in the 12-15 rep range, your third in the 6-12, etc. Hypertrophy is mass gain. By total volume, I mean the total number of reps you do. In other words, aim for 30 total reps regardless of the rep range you are working in. Examples would be 8*4, 3*12, etc, anything that adds up to be close to 30 repetitions. This is a guideline. -------------- Iron and chalk. Pain is only temporary, it is in your mind. If you can still walk, then you can still run.
bigandrew Posts: 5,146 Joined: 2002/10/21	2006/02/16, 01:25 PM would you not wanna stay with a workout for about 4 weeks...so your body can adapt Somewhat? changing it every workout, I don't think the body could do anything with it? I just ask this, cause I used to always change stuff when I 1st worked out, doing somthing different everyweek. But when I started writing it down, and following somthing for 3-4 weeks I got the results I wanted or goal. -------------- Get your bicep curling, cut off shirt, matching workout outfit wearing,flexing in mirror "toned" wanna-be ass , out of my squat rack! People don't reach thier true potental, only those who seek it.
	2006/02/16, 01:47 PM I like to do high intensity, low volume, low rep work up front of my workout and then do high rep work at the end of the workout....however you can't do this workout too often since it wears you out and you need longer rest periods in between the heavy sets.... e.g. 2-3 warm up sets 95%: 2 reps 90%: 3 reps 85%: 5 reps 60%:20-25 reps 55%:15-20 reps I would rotate this workout with low rep, high volume workouts that wrestler suggested....maybe use this type workout every few weeks...
	2006/02/16, 01:52 PM you can flip the high intensity sets as well, 85,90,95 to pyramid it....
bigandrew Posts: 5,146 Joined: 2002/10/21	2006/02/16, 03:05 PM Lol no way, i'd be able to do 55% of my max 15+ reps after the heavy stuff. -------------- Get your bicep curling, cut off shirt, matching workout outfit wearing,flexing in mirror "toned" wanna-be ass , out of my squat rack! People don't reach thier true potental, only those who seek it.
WalmartSecurit Posts: 32 Joined: 2005/10/29	2006/02/18, 11:06 PM Alright, so does this example look okay, or am I not doing something right? example: (with 30 reps total) Set 1: 10 reps set 2: 8 reps set 3: 7 reps set 4: 5 reps
	2006/02/19, 04:13 AM heh, I do some high rep work regularly, so i squeeze out 20 reps with 55-60% after my heavy sets, although it trails off fast on 2nd and 3rd sets of high rep stuff......for bench with relatively short ROM it might be alright...bad idea for squats or other very demanding exercises with longer ROM...
bigandrew Posts: 5,146 Joined: 2002/10/21	2006/02/19, 10:06 AM cycle it walmart...you tring for endurance as well as strength is like trying to add mass but be cut.....very hard. Pick somthing do those reps for 4 to 5 weeks, then switch it to the opposite style....JMO -------------- Get your bicep curling, cut off shirt, matching workout outfit wearing,flexing in mirror "toned" wanna-be ass , out of my squat rack! People don't reach thier true potental, only those who seek it.
WalmartSecurit Posts: 32 Joined: 2005/10/29	2006/02/19, 10:55 AM Nah, i just want to go gain muscle, NOT endurance. Sorry for the confusion. So im just gonna go with low rep most of the time and maybe once every 4-6 weeks i'll throw in higher rep exercises for a week. So would that example posted above work alright?
bigandrew Posts: 5,146 Joined: 2002/10/21	2006/02/19, 11:46 AM ============ Quoting from walmartsecurit: I wanted both, so I would do 4 sets per exercise, first 2 sets are high reps and last 2 sets are low reps, ??? best size gains come from 12-6 reps -------------- Get your bicep curling, cut off shirt, matching workout outfit wearing,flexing in mirror "toned" wanna-be ass , out of my squat rack! People don't reach thier true potental, only those who seek it.
	2006/02/19, 09:46 PM problem with doing one type of training at a time is that while you're training one you're losing in another...this is why I like to do both...maybe vary your workouts every week if you don't want to include both in one workout...but changing things every couple of months is going to produce losses in the area you're not training....
WalmartSecurit Posts: 32 Joined: 2005/10/29	2006/02/19, 10:07 PM Thanks bigandrew, thats exactly what i needed to know. Oh, and thanks to everyone else. I'll get lifting again tomorrow.
sstjacques Posts: 1 Joined: 2010/03/06	2010/03/07, 04:27 AM if um just starting out how long should i rest between each of the sets? and do u do all 4 sets on your training day?
johndewindt Posts: 1 Joined: 2010/05/26	2010/05/26, 11:21 AM Speaking of reps, when your doing your reps for example on my upper boddy day and i am planning on doing 4 diffrent lifts, do you A. do all the reps for one workout with taking short breaks in between each set. or B. do one set of reps for each exercise alternating exercises like one set of bench one set of shoulder press, bisepts, tris etcccc or just work one at a time, then my second round of bench shoulder bis and tris
bb1fit Posts: 11,105 Joined: 2001/06/30	2010/05/27, 11:23 PM Depends on your goals. Normal protocol is do a set of reps for one body part, then the next, and the next however many sets you have for that bodypart. Then move on to the next bodypart. This is normally geared to building more muscle mass. However, there is a thing called circuit training that you would do one set of reps for one bodypart, then move to a different bodypart and do reps, and so on in a circuit type manner. Finish the circuit, then rest and then do another circuit. This type of training is wonderful for endurance, will not build much muscle, but will definitely burn fat and get you in condition. So, the choice depends on your goals. -------------- Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer
bamaman Posts: 11 Joined: 2010/07/08	2010/07/16, 11:12 PM Do 2 sets of twelve and then 2 sets of 10 with comfortable weight for two weeks. After 2 weeks start doing 2 sets of 8 and 2 sets of five. After those 2 weeks start doing 2 sets of five 1 set of 3 them a 1 rep max. After this you will have become much stronger and then you would start the cycle over with high reps but you should have more weight this time. I play football and this is the program we go by. We have also won many state championships in weight training -------------- Bamaman