for "bigness": more reps(less weight) or more weight(less reps)?

[rollo]

i'm 24, been working about for about 6 months now, i've gained 20 pounds(i'm at 150lbs now, 5'7")

i always try to increase the weights i'm doing but often with the higher weights i can't do the 10 reps which is what i aim for

for now all i want is my muscles to get bigger, i'm not worried about gaining strength

lets say i can do 70lbs on each arm 10 times on a certain machine(sit down hammer-strength incline press in this case) should i perhaps lower teh weight to 50 maybe and do it 20 times or more? or should i keep trying to do heavier and hevier weights even if i can only do it 6 times(i try hard to do atleast 6 reps)

btw i'm bulking right now

thanks

[ShannonC_77]

I would say do a weight that your fatiguing at withing 8-12 reps. Usually, 4-8 reps is for power training, 8-12 for hypertrophy (muscle growth), and 12+ for endurance. Another factor that will affect the size of your muscle growth is your rest times. You want to take enough rest to recover but still try and keep it on the shorter end...I'd say 1 minute or so

[P.Hart]

It is said that when you do more weight, less reps, it will make your muscles larger. For example... On bench press do warm up...do a weight that you can do 10 times....then do a weight that you can only do 8 times..then go up to a weight that you can only do 4 times...and so on.

less weight and more reps will create more of a leaner look

[ReD3784]

ive heard both arguments i myself dont know what is better.. i usually do a warm up of 10 then do 3 sets of 10 8 6 and if i get that six easy i'll do another set

[johnsbod]

I wouldn't say that 4-8 reps is for strength training only. A lot of powerlifters use lower rep ranges than that. I would say stick to 6-8 reps in most movements. This is what has worked best for me. People's bodies all respond differently, so you'll have to experiment and see what works for you. I tried pyramiding and it didn't do anything for me at all. I will usually do a warm-up set on major lifts like squat, deadlift, and bench and then I start with my heaviest 8 rep weight for the first set. Above all, make sure you don't overtrain. You should not spend more than 45-60 minutes lifting. At this point, glycogen stores are depleted from your muscles and you will hinder your performance/gains by continuing. When I first started lifting I figured more was better. When I finally realized I was overtraining and cut back, my gains were much better. Again, everyone's body responds differently so you'll have to see what works for you. For me, training each body parts once a week works best.

[$AJ]

eat more.

in the long run it's not really going to matter; with a solid routine, regardless of rep range, you will gain - but to become 'huge' you have to step up your diet a notch. you want to be 200...eat like a 250pder.

it's a mistake to think 'oh, i'll train this way and get huge'....no, your diet will determine that. ****ty diet, no results, regardless of training. good diet, good results given a good routine (and you can get awaya w/ anything in the 4-12ish range)


edit: i'm not saying training isn't important (because osmebody is goign to want to pick it apart), i'm saying too many people focus on training and ignore diet, forgetting which is really responsible if you don't got the genetics.

[_Derek_]

Good post AJ....some good facts in their.

[Mother Goose]

i'm 24, been working about for about 6 months now, i've gained 20 pounds(i'm at 150lbs now, 5'7")

i always try to increase the weights i'm doing but often with the higher weights i can't do the 10 reps which is what i aim for

for now all i want is my muscles to get bigger, i'm not worried about gaining strength

lets say i can do 70lbs on each arm 10 times on a certain machine(sit down hammer-strength incline press in this case) should i perhaps lower teh weight to 50 maybe and do it 20 times or more? or should i keep trying to do heavier and hevier weights even if i can only do it 6 times(i try hard to do atleast 6 reps)

btw i'm bulking right now

thanks

this will be helpful
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=368360

[bigpump23]

like AJ said, eat more. IMo People want to agrue about higher volume, if you lift more just eat more carbs. In terms of training, you want to stay with heavy weight at low reps since it recruits the most muscle fibers, but change up your rep range now and then. What i usually do and what has worked for me if my first 2 exercises are what I deem as my main ones. I'll go with 4-5 sets 3-8 reps for those, everything else after is 3 reps and going to a 6-10 reps for those

[wiggles]

More reps will give you larger, softer muscles that aren't as strong. Less will give you smaller, denser, stonger muscles. At least that's my experience and understanding.

[BodySculpting]

High reps + low weights= longer, leaner, thinner muscles (in addition to a good diet/cardio program)

low reps + heavy weights=big muscles (bodybuilding)

stupid ass low reps with + inflated ego + too heavey weight=injury and no muscles

safe very low reps + heavy weight + proper form= powerlifting

dont let anyone tell you otherwise.

[Defiant1]

i'm 24, been working about for about 6 months now, i've gained 20 pounds(i'm at 150lbs now, 5'7")

i always try to increase the weights i'm doing but often with the higher weights i can't do the 10 reps which is what i aim for

for now all i want is my muscles to get bigger, i'm not worried about gaining strength

lets say i can do 70lbs on each arm 10 times on a certain machine(sit down hammer-strength incline press in this case) should i perhaps lower teh weight to 50 maybe and do it 20 times or more? or should i keep trying to do heavier and hevier weights even if i can only do it 6 times(i try hard to do atleast 6 reps)

btw i'm bulking right now

thanks

For the most part, the AVERAGE is 8-12 reps for size, that is, the average for the average persons average bodypart.

That being said, everyone is different and needs to experiment to see what rep range works for each of their bodyparts, then do the majority of your sets in that range, while including SOME of the other ranges. There is no doubt that for most people who don't have natural calves they will need to do high reps.

What causes problems here, is peoples desire to use heavy weights to impress others and/or themselves. Sometimes, the simple fact is that higher reps work better for some muscles.

Despite what you may hear, for BODYBUILDING purposes, weights are tools and a means to an end, not the end itself.

[rollo]

thanks for all the info guys

i'm lifting more and more pretty much every time i go to the gym(5ish times a week, 2-3 days gym then 1 day rest, repeat and never work the same muscles the next day) but when i weigh myself it sux to see that same number over and over again...

i guess i have been kinda lazy with my eating i must say and i also ran out of my weigh, finally got it from bb.com after a long 2 week wait

putting on weigh is a full time job :/

thanks again

[$AJ]

t) but when i weigh myself it sux to see that same number over and over again...
n

look at it this way - obviously what you're doing isn't working (diet and/or routine). time to change

[Mad_Dog_Divine]

High reps + low weights= longer, leaner, thinner muscles (in addition to a good diet/cardio program)

low reps + heavy weights=big muscles (bodybuilding)

stupid ass low reps with + inflated ego + too heavey weight=injury and no muscles

safe very low reps + heavy weight + proper form= powerlifting

dont let anyone tell you otherwise.

Im gonna say otherwise. How the hell do you make a muscle longer, leaner or thinner? Leaner, I guess yu could lose bodyfat and it would appear leaner but how are you going to lengthen a muscle?

[rollo]

look at it this way - obviously what you're doing isn't working (diet and/or routine). time to change

agreed....

but when i was at the 142 mark i didn't gain any weight for some time too... i hope this will pass like it did b4...

[Raider926]

agreed....

but when i was at the 142 mark i didn't gain any weight for some time too... i hope this will pass like it did b4...

Its not going to pass, If you do what you have always done you will get what you got. If changed before because you changed something to get where you are now, find your new thing to change and get to where you could be.

[$AJ]

agreed....

but when i was at the 142 mark i didn't gain any weight for some time too... i hope this will pass like it did b4...

well, u can either hope it will pass, or do something about it. me, i'd make changes rather than just go on blind hope.

[rollo]

you guys are right, i just can't hope this will go away :/

the lack of weight gain bothers me but what keeps me going is the fact that i am getting stronger so atleast there is some good coming from it atleast...

i don't think i'm getting enough carbs, i'm gonna start eating more bread and potatos

[$AJ]

i wouldnt' waste your time counting carbs; just focus on counting protein. (of course carbs are important, but i find it's a lot easier (and betteR) to just count protein and try to get 300-400g/day)

[Boridi]

400g of protein... yeah right :P

[izzm]

i wouldnt' waste your time counting carbs; just focus on counting protein. (of course carbs are important, but i find it's a lot easier (and betteR) to just count protein and try to get 300-400g/day)

I don't think he needs that much protein to bulk. That's pretty much just a waste. People tend to think that more protein is needed to bulk than to cut, and I just don't find this to be true.

I wouldn't worry about getting over 200 grams (of protein) at your body weight. I'd try to keep it close to there though. Anything more probably won't matter, or won't matter much. I'd keep a food log though and find your maintenance caloric intake and go over it a bit until you are gaining slowly. That's how you are going to get "bigness."

As for as lifts, I don't necessarily think that anything under 6 is ideal for someone who isn't on drugs. Typically the 8-12 rep range is better suited. With that being said, people are different and there is always the exception.

[$AJ]

it's not a waste, unless you have no desire to be like 250ish.

[rollo]

i've already upped my protein, i used to take about 100-150g a day in shakes alone and the rest from reg food

now i'm taking 200g in shake form + food...

i'll change my routines up some more aswell, out of the 4-5 exerices i do for a certain body part i change up the last 3( i always do incline press then flag bench first cause i like it and i am pretty consistently moving up even if it's only by 2.5lbs a week...)

[gymratluke]

I am 22 years old. This is my 8th year of wieght training, and my 2nd year of serious bodybuilding. The truth is, that you have to let your body adapt to a routine and then change it after a while to shock your muscles into some serious growth. If you have been doing sets with 10 reps, try sets with 6 reps for 6 weeks. Then switch to sets of 15 for 6 weeks. Then go back to your sets of 10. By doing this you will work both your fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibers. Some people will argue that there is only one type of muscle fiber, but they are wrong there are fast, slow and many types in between and by changing the amount of reps you do, it will hit all of them. Also make sure you take in at least 225 grams of protein if you are 150 lbs. P.S. high reps will help you lean out, if done over an extremely long time, but if you haven't been doing them, it will through you into a huge growth and strenth spurt. Its important that the 15th rep is the hardest and almost impossible to do. This is called failure. Having a partner to spot you is best, but if you don't have one just do you best. Good luck!

[rollo]

I wouldn't say that 4-8 reps is for strength training only. A lot of powerlifters use lower rep ranges than that. I would say stick to 6-8 reps in most movements. This is what has worked best for me. People's bodies all respond differently, so you'll have to experiment and see what works for you. I tried pyramiding and it didn't do anything for me at all. I will usually do a warm-up set on major lifts like squat, deadlift, and bench and then I start with my heaviest 8 rep weight for the first set. Above all, make sure you don't overtrain. You should not spend more than 45-60 minutes lifting. At this point, glycogen stores are depleted from your muscles and you will hinder your performance/gains by continuing. When I first started lifting I figured more was better. When I finally realized I was overtraining and cut back, my gains were much better. Again, everyone's body responds differently so you'll have to see what works for you. For me, training each body parts once a week works best.

is there any way to get more glycogen? sometimes my workings go to 1.5 hours, this is when i decide to do a little bit of another muscle group, like on chest day i'll add some arms aswell...

[$AJ]

is there any way to get more glycogen? sometimes my workings go to 1.5 hours, this is when i decide to do a little bit of another muscle group, like on chest day i'll add some arms aswell...

cut it down to around 40-50minutes instead.