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Question about reps

U

username0

New member
Hi guys,
ive been enjoying reading others' training logs and am wondering why your reps are as example:
20 then 15 then 5 then 2 etc in an exercise such as bench

I have been only going by sets of 6 or 8.
My goal is to build size, is there an advantage to starting at a really high rep then adding weight and doing less reps. I was told once to have a warm up set then do low reps but keep the weight the same to build mass?

Any advice welcome.
 
In your warm up sets you'll normally do whatever i.e might be 20 reps 1 set, 12 reps 2nd set, then 8 reps, then you may do 2-3 working sets of the rep range you work in...i.e 6-8...

Not sure what you mean about doing a warm up set then keeping it the same weight but dropping the reps....I would never suggest this....as you warm up increase the weight and lower the reps...

If you goal is size I wouldnt go below 4 reps...and I would work in the 4-8 rep range for your working sets...and for your warm up sets just go by feel...
 
so im benching today so would i go
20 of light weight
then 12 of a bit heavier
then my set range of 5-6 for 2-3 sets (at my high weight - keeping it the same for 3 sets)
 
username0 said:
so im benching today so would i go
20 of light weight
then 12 of a bit heavier
then my set range of 5-6 for 2-3 sets (at my high weight - keeping it the same for 3 sets)
Click to expand...

Dont get caught up in this so much...train by feeling....have an idea in your head of what working sets/reps you want to do but then just go by feel...

I.e this is what id normally do:

Bench:

1 x 15-20 warm up
1 x 10-12 warm up
1 x 8 - warm up/close to working
1-2 x 4-6 working set

If I feel I need more or less warm ups on the day I feel do them...

With my working sets sometimes I'll only do 1 coz my last warm up may of been fairly heavy, sometimes i'll feel the weight I did for my 1st working set could of been abit heavier so i'll do another....

Its best to just go by feel because every single session you have will be slightly different, u might of had a huge day at work with hardly no food so energy levels will be down, you have of been chillin all day and eating heaps so you'll feel stronger and might skip 1-2 warm ups, you might not of drunk much water, you might be training at a diff time of day etc etc...

But if you have a idea of the working sets/reps you wanna do then thats all you have to worrry about...i.e I always stick with 1-2 x 4-6 working sets/reps...the warm up could be made up of anything on any given day...
 
one last q-

I usually do Bicep / back and Tricep / chest days together,
So if I warmup for my first bench set should I then ill do 1 chest exercise then ill do another tricep ex - ie skull crushers, should I warm up for that as well or only use 1 warm up per muscle?

Or should I not be breaking up my tricep exs with chest work in between?
 
username0 said:
one last q-

I usually do Bicep / back and Tricep / chest days together,
So if I warmup for my first bench set should I then ill do 1 chest exercise then ill do another tricep ex - ie skull crushers, should I warm up for that as well or only use 1 warm up per muscle?

Or should I not be breaking up my tricep exs with chest work in between?
Click to expand...

I'll assume you mean breaking up your chest exercises with tricep work in between.
As said above, just train by feel, do what works for you and experiment a bit.
I personally do chest and tri's on the same days, same with back and bi's, because the bigger muscles (chest and back) use the smaller ones too, but saying that I'll do all my chest work then finish with tri's so that I can exhaust my chest, then my tri's, I find if I smash my tri's first or do them in between, I either can't go as hard, or my chest exercises suffer because I don't have the strength in my tri's to support it.
And you can warm up for each exercise if you want to, it's not really gonna hurt, just gives you a chance to get the motion and technique right with a lighter weight before you try to go heavier...
 
Id never suggest doing a smaller muscle between your bigger muscle groupds when training...i.e

Chest:

Bench
tricep pressdown
incline bench
tricep extension

etc etc....thats not a good idea...

Train your bigger muscle group then finish with the smaller muscle group...
 
YEAAABUDDDY said:
Id never suggest doing a smaller muscle between your bigger muscle groupds when training...i.e

Chest:

Bench
tricep pressdown
incline bench
tricep extension

etc etc....thats not a good idea...

Train your bigger muscle group then finish with the smaller muscle group...
Click to expand...

I've found that if I do all big muscle exercises first I really die in the arse quick so I started alternating big and small muscle groups and found that I could lift heavier and for longer. This is similar to how i used to do my full body workouts e.g squat > bench > dead > MP. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this more Joel as split routines are pretty new to me
 
hyjak said:
I've found that if I do all big muscle exercises first I really die in the arse quick so I started alternating big and small muscle groups and found that I could lift heavier and for longer. This is similar to how i used to do my full body workouts e.g squat > bench > dead > MP. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this more Joel as split routines are pretty new to me
Click to expand...

Mate if it works for you and your big muscle group exercises dont suffer then do it....but its not suggested....

Everyone is diff though and everything works a little diff for everyone....
 
I just like to put my focus into one muscle group at a time...

I have now even seperated my arms into a workout on there own...so I can put total focus onto chest and onto back when I am doing them....plus you have more energy to lift more weight when everything is sep...
 
Yeah I just found mainly on chest and shoulder days I struggled with multiple pressing movements in a row, it seemed to be easier if I broke them up with something in between
 
hyjak said:
Yeah I just found mainly on chest and shoulder days I struggled with multiple pressing movements in a row, it seemed to be easier if I broke them up with something in between
Click to expand...

Yea mate for sure...thats ok...as I said whatever is working for you and if your getting results then stick with it for the time being...
 
I think im so used to training for strength and concentrating on how much weight I'm lifting my ego gets a bit bruised when the weight drops so rapidly after the 1st or 2nd exercise lol
 
hyjak said:
I think im so used to training for strength and concentrating on how much weight I'm lifting my ego gets a bit bruised when the weight drops so rapidly after the 1st or 2nd exercise lol
Click to expand...

Im sorta the same mate...I am always looking to increase the weight and sometimes i'll be doing 3-4 reps of exercises and within acouple weeks the CNS is burnt out and i'll be forced to drop back lol
 
If you're wanting to work something else in between I'd be changing the split, I did chest/bi's, back/tri's, shoulders/abs/legs for that reason. I just find using the "supporting" muscle in between affects how much you can work the bigger muscle group.
 
Lucifer said:
If you're wanting to work something else in between I'd be changing the split, I did chest/bi's, back/tri's, shoulders/abs/legs for that reason. I just find using the "supporting" muscle in between affects how much you can work the bigger muscle group.
Click to expand...

silly routine IMO.

What are your goals ?
 
jchen said:
silly routine IMO.

What are your goals ?
Click to expand...

Get bigger, get ripped. Not my routine anymore, I've gone back to chest/shoulder press/tri's, back/shoulders/bi's. Throw in abs when I feel like it. No legs at the moment, had a motorbike crash and knee surgery 8 weeks ago, so doing light work, but mostly just walking and playing sport to strengthen it again, don't wanna be putting weight on it.
 
Number of reps doesn't matter. 1 rep sets, 20 rep sets, whatever.
Just stress the muscle and increase your volume over 80%.
 
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