Weight Lifting

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spennato
spennato Posts: 360 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
When lifting weights and lets just say you are on your third set and you are really struggling to get the last 3 reps of your set done. are you supposed to stop or just push through it, or should you lower your total lbs being lifted?

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  • Tomhusker
    Tomhusker Posts: 346 Member
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    You should do as many of your third set as you possibly can. It's ok if you can't get them all, just don't sell yourself short. You will be able to do more as you continue the regimen. Once you are able to get all of your 3rd set up it is time to increase the weight of your reps.
  • beetahh
    beetahh Posts: 1
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    I like to take a break from that muscle group completely for about 15 mins, you work on a different exercise meanwhile i suppose. Afterwards, come back and try the reps again. Different things work for different people. hope this helps
  • gargust
    gargust Posts: 12
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    Well there are a lot of factors at play here, but, in general, if you can push through safely then you probably should. Challenging your muscles often (and in different ways) is the only way to see improvement.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    If the goal is to use the intensity load to reach muscle failure, then the number of reps is not as important. Let's say you were doing sets of 10. To me, it is better to keep the load the same and just go to failure, even if that means you stop at 7 reps. It's the load intensity that is the prime stimulus, not the number of reps. The number of reps is just a gauge of intensity.

    Now there are other routines that call for a tapering off after you reach a peak. Normally these require more than 3 sets. It might be something where you go 12-10-8-12. In that case, you would definitely lower the weights, but only because the routine called for a lower intensity in the last set.
  • boltzmeanbiznez
    boltzmeanbiznez Posts: 4
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    If you can push through it, then do so.... but remember, never sacrifice form/ technique for quantity. You lose the efficacy of the exercise and you put yourself at risk of injury. Happy lifting!
  • mideon_696
    mideon_696 Posts: 770 Member
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    yeah agree with the above.

    nothing wrong with not being able to finish.

    come back next time you work that muscle group and try and beat it. thats progression. If you get 8 or 9 reps on the 2nd week, but only 6 or 7 the week before, then you "win"

    :)

    Keep that weight until you can do more than your target for the 3rd set. then up the weight the following week.
  • pyro13g
    pyro13g Posts: 1,127 Member
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    That's high volume and you always push through no matter which set you are on. Your face should be calm. It should look like it does just standing in front of a mirror.

    How about one set, face calm, and 7 seconds per repetition. 3 secs positive motion, 1 second pause at full contraction, then 3 seconds negative motion. Then do your next exercise immediately after. You should feel like puking at that pace and your heart rate should be hovering around max. 20 minutes or less and you get your lifting and cardio done.

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