max weight every workout?

[moneyrich]

should i be doing my max every workout or do max 1 week and light the next week? these pass 3 months or so i have been going the heaviest i can go for every workout and noticed some good gains, but was curious after reading a couple of threads. so should i go my heaviest every workout or alternate heaviest and moderate every week?

[washedupwarrior]

should i be doing my max every workout or do max 1 week and light the next week? these pass 3 months or so i have been going the heaviest i can go for every workout and noticed some good gains, but was curious after reading a couple of threads. so should i go my heaviest every workout or alternate heaviest and moderate every week?

Do you mean a max single or a max set of reps?
How long have you been training?
How fast do you recover?

The short answer is you should go as heavy as you can as often as you can make gains. It's all about progression. If you can max out every week and your numbers are going up then you should max out every week. If you try and max out every week and you aren't going up then you should max out less often.

I posted a 9 week training routine in another thread that has worked wonders for many people I have trained in the past. I tried to put a link to it here but I havent posted enough for it to let me post a link I guess...

[MWheatley]

should i be doing my max every workout or do max 1 week and light the next week? these pass 3 months or so i have been going the heaviest i can go for every workout and noticed some good gains, but was curious after reading a couple of threads. so should i go my heaviest every workout or alternate heaviest and moderate every week?

If you are looking to increase strength, it seems you would be better off with a set program until you have the knowledge and experience to build your own.

Otherwise, increase your reps/set and no, dont max out every workout.

[washedupwarrior]

Monday
Bench
Curl

Tuesday
Squat
Glute/ham (if you dont have a glute/ham buy one-lol or do leg curls)

Thursday
Pushpress
Tris

Friday
Bent Over Row
calf

Week 1
Main exercise 5 sets of 5 with same weight
Second exercise 2 sets of 20

Week 2
Main exercise 3 sets of 3 with same weight
Second exercise 2 sets of 15

Week 3
Main exercise work up to a top set of 5 with the weight you did 3x3 with
Second exercise 2 sets of 12

Week 4
Main exercise work up to your max triple
second exercise 2 sets of 20 with the weight you did 2 sets of 15 with in week 2

Week 5
Main exercise 3 sets of 5 with the weight you did 1 set of 5 with in week 3
Second exercise 2 sets of 15 with the weight you did 12 with in week 3

Week 6
Main exercise 3 sets of 3 with the weight you did for max triple in week 4
Second exercise 2 sets of 12 with roughly 5% more weight than you did in week 3

Week 7
Main exercise work up to your best set of 5 ever
Second exercise 1 set of 20 with the weight you did 15 with in week 5

Week 8
Main exercise work up to your best triple ever
Second exercise 1 set of 15 with the weight you did 12 with in week 6

Week 9
Main exercise warm up then do one all out set of max reps with weight from week 1
Second exercise 1 all out set of max reps with weight from week 3

Week 10
Do some light pumping stuff and walk around with a big smile on your face because you are stronger than ever and prepared to kill your next routine!

Seriously though, if you try it and have any questions let me know. I wish you luck with your training.

-Mike

[Showstopper19]

Go heavy for a couple of months, then insert a deload week. In the deload week do all of your normal lifts at 50% of the weight you normally do, or you can take this week completely off from lifting weights.

[moneyrich]

forgot to clear up that by max i meant max weight of 6-8 reps. like i can easily do 50lbs deadlift 6-8 rep, but my max is 185lb deadlift 6-8 reps. i can't go any higher than that. every week i try to go as high as i can and i am asking if i should deload every other week?
my goal is definition/cut and some strength would be nice, but i am not going for bulk/mass.

[washedupwarrior]

forgot to clear up that by max i meant max weight of 6-8 reps. like i can easily do 50lbs deadlift 6-8 rep, but my max is 185lb deadlift 6-8 reps. i can't go any higher than that. every week i try to go as high as i can and i am asking if i should deload every other week?
my goal is definition/cut and some strength would be nice, but i am not going for bulk/mass.

Definition is percent bodyfat. Adding muscle as you lose fat will make you look more ripped. As a matter of fact if you keep your fat weight the same and add muscle your % goes down and you look leaner. To build muscle max out your 6-8's as often as you can get stronger. If you feel you arent at your best go a bit easier. When you are feeling like an animal kill it!

[moneyrich]

Definition is percent bodyfat. Adding muscle as you lose fat will make you look more ripped. As a matter of fact if you keep your fat weight the same and add muscle your % goes down and you look leaner. To build muscle max out your 6-8's as often as you can get stronger. If you feel you arent at your best go a bit easier. When you are feeling like an animal kill it!

cool. thx for the quick answer. my main question was if i should deload every other week, but i guess you answered that.

[Coach-C]

IMO I believe thats most of the lifters problems. They get caught up on lifting heavy weight and it hurts there tech. Focus on feeling the muscle work. Do 70-75% of your one rep max, and keep good tech and feel the muscle work. Every so often do the " Heavy Days". PUt it this way your going to get stronger if thats what your looking for. THe bigger the muscle gets the stronger you will get. It goes hand in hand.

[edseger]

IMO I believe thats most of the lifters problems. They get caught up on lifting heavy weight and it hurts there tech. Focus on feeling the muscle work. Do 70-75% of your one rep max, and keep good tech and feel the muscle work. Every so often do the " Heavy Days". PUt it this way your going to get stronger if thats what your looking for. THe bigger the muscle gets the stronger you will get. It goes hand in hand.

I agree with that. Max strength is improved most through 75-85% max (2-4 rep range). 8 rep is never bad, it is a good mix of muscular strength and muscular endurance. So improvement would be all dependent on what you want to do...Do you want to simply improve max? Lower the rep, increase the weight (people seem to love 5X5 workouts). Do you want to increase weight on an 8 rep range? Try lowering the weight slightly and going for 10-12 reps. With any program, its all about change, your body will adapt to the same program week after week.