increase or decrease weight during sets

[dsteele]

In a bulking routine, do you guys increase the weight as you move through sets of a given exercise, or do you start with the heaviest first and then decrease as necessary? Any opinions are appreciated.

[Bignbuff]

I use the same weight.

Some people like to pyramid though, where you bump up the weight and lower the reps every set.

[dsteele]

Bignbuff;

Thanks for the reply. I usually pyramid, but another guy said it would make more sense to start heavy first, when you're strongest, and work from there, decreasing if you have to.

Thanks again.

[jc587]

I like to pyramid up in weight and lower the reps. I treat the first sets somewhat like warmups.

[RippedGuitarist]

I stay at the same weight but pyramid the reps down. Usually 10, 8 , 6, 4.

[Fanatikk]

Originally posted by dsteele
Bignbuff;

Thanks for the reply. I usually pyramid, but another guy said it would make more sense to start heavy first, when you're strongest, and work from there, decreasing if you have to.

Thanks again.

I use the same weight also...but as far as pyramid goes..i believe in the pyramiding down philosophy. Lift the heaviest you can early while the muscle is fresh...since you'll be able to lift more on the first set..then you could on the 3rd set(after pyramiding up)..you're recruiting more muscle fibers..hence every set you're lifting the heaviest you can..and recruiting the most muscle fibers you can. By pyramiding up..you're not lifting the heaviest you can on the first few sets..hence it doesn't seem optimal to me.

[jc587]

Originally posted by Fanatikk
I use the same weight also...but as far as pyramid goes..i believe in the pyramiding down philosophy. Lift the heaviest you can early while the muscle is fresh...since you'll be able to lift more on the first set..then you could on the 3rd set(after pyramiding up)..you're recruiting more muscle fibers..hence every set you're lifting the heaviest you can..and recruiting the most muscle fibers you can. By pyramiding up..you're not lifting the heaviest you can on the first few sets..hence it doesn't seem optimal to me.

hmm interesting..makes sense to me, i might have to try that. How come lots of bodybuilders chose to go up in weight? I don't understand because this seems more beneficial in a way.

[Intense1]

What has worked best for me is after one or two warm-up sets I go to the heaviest poundage I want to use for the exercise and decrease the weight by 5-10% each successive set to be able to get the same amount of reps as the previouse set(s).
I agree with Fanatikk about using the heaviest weight first when the muscle is fresh and strong, which will increase growth and strength.
If you do this type of training, make sure you properly warm-up with one, two, or even three sets. Dorian Yates, Lee Labrada, and many others have had great success with this type of reverse pyramid training.

[Bignbuff]

Originally posted by dsteele
Bignbuff;

Thanks for the reply. I usually pyramid, but another guy said it would make more sense to start heavy first, when you're strongest, and work from there, decreasing if you have to.

Thanks again.

Yea that's called reverse pyramiding. You can give it a try if you like.

[Fanatikk]

Like I said..it's just my opinion...others might find pyramiding works better for them. Also, some guys might be dropping the weight too much when they reverse pyramid.
I like to keep the weight heavy..to where I can only do around 8-10 reps each set..If I change the weight..i try to keep the reps constant..if I use the same weight..then my reps are what never stays the same...for instance I might do 200lbs sets of 8, 6, 5(doing it every week until I get to 8 8 8, then up the weight)...but on rev. pyramiding i'll do 200 then whatever weight i can do 8 reps on the second set..same with third(yes, this is tricky to get down...but after a couple of workouts, you'll get it)

[7000rpmisheaven]

personally I like to switch between pyramiding up and keeping it the same. Usually one of the things I change when a workout gets to be too routine.

[scott_donald]

Originally posted by RippedGuitarist
I stay at the same weight but pyramid the reps down. Usually 10, 8 , 6, 4.

why why not increase the weight, you should easily be able too...

[blinkboy99]

but if he is benching per say and he does 185 10 times and fails...that would be when hes he strongest...how could he possibly do more reps than 10 with 185 after failing? i find if i go all out high intensity i cant get the same amount of reps with the same weight

[Fanatikk]

Originally posted by scott_donald
why why not increase the weight, you should easily be able too...

If you could lift more than on the first set..then you probably weren't lifting heavy enough the first set.

[blinkboy99]

Originally posted by Fanatikk
If you could lift more than on the first set..then you probably weren't lifting heavy enough the first set.

my point exactly....i agree 100 %