Pyramid UP or pyramid DOWN?

[bigger99]

I usually decrease the weights and start off heavy as i can (after warm up set) so that I can lift as much as possible. However i hear most ppl pyramid up to their max for the workout :s surely you will be fatigued and not be able to max as much as you would if you started heaviest at beginning?

your thoughts...

[UberEvan]

Well after lifintg morel ighter weights you start to get the pump and the blood pumping through the muscle will help you lift more wont it?

[Mpjjk89]

I usually decrease the weights and start off heavy as i can (after warm up set) so that I can lift as much as possible. However i hear most ppl pyramid up to their max for the workout :s surely you will be fatigued and not be able to max as much as you would if you started heaviest at beginning?

your thoughts...

If your just going to go strait to your max then your going to struggle more.

And wouldn't you just hit a plateau quicker?

[bigger99]

wel not max, i meant your highest weight/lowest rep set. eg. x 4
Surely by starting heavy you can lift more coz your hitting the weight fresh.

Another example is pull ups. I can do weighted wide grip pull ups addind 1 or 2 10kg plates, however if I were to do do them towards the end of my back workout I would be too fatigued to do the same weight.

surely im not the only one who thinks this?

or maybe im making a big mistake, any experienced lifters no which way is best and why?

[Grezlar]

You do a semi light weight and slowly increase. it has to be light enough not to fatigue you, but it also has to be heavy enough to get the blood pumping.

If you just start off fresh at your max, you are limiting your lifting ability because your muscles are not ready to lift that much all of the sudden

Its like running long distance. Its better to start slow and get faster than sprint for the first 10 seconds and then go slow the rest of the way

[browow]

I like to do both. starting with a light weight and pyramid up to my max, then going back down to a lighter weight/higher reps at the end. I find that this works best for me.

[bigger99]

what if im already doing a warm up set with about 40-50% of my 1rm surely that is getting the blood pumping. why not warm up with that weight so blood is pumped and then hit heavy and reduce weight/increase reps as fatigue kicks in?

[foxshox]

Who cares how much weight you get to? All that matters it that you get a good workout. The reason you pyramid up is so you build up endurance.

You really got to stop thinking about what people around you think. Who gives a **** if you can do less when you pyramid.

[tehk]

I started doing both, and I love it .

eg. Bench Press (Controlled reps as fast as possible)
135lbs x 10
185lbs x 5
205lbs x 5
220lbs x 3
(maybe) 225lbs x 1-3
185lbs x 5-7
135lbs x 10-15

It's a great pump, and the low reps/heavy weight is great for strength training. I do the reps fast because of an interesting article on T-Nation that was mentioned here a while ago. I can't remember the name, but I do remember that Big Fuzzy was excited as hell about it, lol.

I will be using this method whtin 4-5 months. I played around with it for this week, and I love it. I'm currently doing 5x5, and I'll be using the theories of that style of training, with my past experience, combined with any other well-thought theories out there when I work on size/shaping.

But, in the end, do what works for you.

[OutsideCenter]

Personally I go up then down.... like a pyramid
*rolls eyes*

[Delgadido]

Personally I go up then down.... like a pyramid
*rolls eyes*

lol.


i dont use pyramaids anymore. i feel they are too ineffective now. even when i first started they sucked. just like burnouts. idk. w/e works for yall

[Will96]

I do reverse pyramids when I workout, I seen better gains in my bench press. I'm on that 300lbs in 12 weeks and it's a reverse pyramid and I must say doing things in reverse has up my gains a lot in these couple of weeks I've been on this program.

[ChubbyCrusader]

lol.


i dont use pyramaids anymore. i feel they are too ineffective now. even when i first started they sucked. just like burnouts. idk. w/e works for yall

This. Never felt anything but a huge pump from pyramids, kinda hard to progress on it FOR ME.
Do what works, if you're getting gains from the way you're doing it, why change?

[Lifter269]

Don't just start out heavy. Work up to heavy then back down, if you choose to pyramid.