Set, Reps, Lifting, keeping it going

[ndombko1]

I want to be able to do more reps when I'm lifting weights. I feel like there fatiguing really too fast....... Will doing cardio help with this? I've been lifting for a while. But this year I've been steady and I've shown some great improvements. But I think if I could push out more reps with any body part. I think that could push me over the top..

You know how Arnold talks about getting past the pain barrier... Well I can get passed that its just that I get tired fast and I simple can’t get the weight back up with proper form.

Any suggestions????

[Heisman]

Lower the weight.

How many reps do you normally do?

[KGarnett21]

Also check your nutrition, especially pre-workout.

[ndombko1]

I'm a clean eater. But what do you suggest you eat before a workout?

I warm up with about 15 reps, and then I go to about 10 to 12. Then 8-10. And then the last is 6-8. But I'm having a problem getting the 6-8 and the 8-10. I want to keep the set range like this. My body responds very well to this setup.

Any suggestions?

[MuscleGainer]

I have the same problem with lat pulldowns. One week later I went down 1 rep. Most other exercises have been improving in terms of reps. I am stuck at 120 lbs 7-8 reps and can't improve in terms of reps and if I increase the weight I'll end up doing less reps. I do cardio but that doesn't have any effect on my reps but do cardio anyways for cardiovascular health. I had an operation done on me that one of the side effects was lower heart rate and reduced endurance but I don't know if that is the cause. I'm now cutting back on the weight by 40 lbs and doing more reps and taking it easy in lat pulldowns and going to build up on the weight slowly as if I were a beginner and see what happens since I'm getting nowhere with it straining myself to near failure or failure with the heavier weight. When you started out did you start out with a light weight and take it easy or did you strain yourself? Are you going to failure? I read in newsgroups that going to failure is bad because it burns out the CNS and as a result can eventually halt further progress.

[ndombko1]

The warmup is not that heavy. But I think it might be my rest in between sets. I hardly rest at all. But I thought it was good not to take a long rest? My rest is about 30 seconds sometimes less.

[Melkor]

Rest longer between sets. If you don't you are going to limit how much weight you can lift, period. There is no reason to rest less than 1-2 minutes a set if you are looking to gain strength/size.

[MuscleGainer]

Originally posted by ndombko1
The warmup is not that heavy. But I think it might be my rest in between sets. I hardly rest at all. But I thought it was good not to take a long rest? My rest is about 30 seconds sometimes less.

I didn't mean the warmup, I meant when you were new to lifting did you lift light and take it easy?

[ndombko1]

I did the mistake and went heavy to an extent..