To all the meat heads...men and ladies alike!!!

jenluvsushi

I have a question and I am hoping one of you can help me. There is so much information to sift through out there that I thought I would ask you for your opinions. First off, I lift heavy and I love it. Although I am getting stronger and stronger, lifting is really more about aesthetics for me more than just getting stronger. Basically, I am not trying to be a competitive weight lifter. What I don't understand is this...everywhere I read that in order to make gains, you have to increase weight or intensity. I can see this being possible to a certain point but where does it stop? I mean, it's not like body builders are out there carrying houses around, right? How do you continue to make gains if you simply cannot add more weight continuously? I know I have a ways to go to get to this point but as a woman, I think it will come sooner for me than for a man. Your thoughts? Thanks!

SocWkrBee

Bumping for you!

ADHDentrepreneur

The answer is weight is just one of the variables that must be manipulated to attain an awesome physique. Other variables regarding weight training include, volume, rest time, program structure, bodyparts worked, intensity, reps, etc.. Bodybuilders (men and women) use weights to stretch and contract weight against. The amount of weight is secondary to how the movement is performed. If an amount of weight is used properly, it can stimulate growth. Bodybuilders really don't care how much weight they are lifting. Powerlifters and Weightlifters do.

Determinednoob

There's also food and eating plenty of it.

jacksonpt

Weight/intensity is part of it, volume is another. Strength and size are connected - you can get stronger to a point, but without new muscle tissue (more mass/size), you're gains will slow/stop. Alternatively, you can get bigger to a point, but without getting stronger you'll level out.

Volume and weight go hand in hand.

ZeroWoIf

The most important part when you visit the gym is that you are performing your reps with full control and understanding the principles of muscle building.

1. Positive (when you push the weight away from you when you bench for example, or when you pull during a back exercise such as bent over rows)
2. Neutral (when you get to your holding point such as when the weight is pushes all the way with bench press, or pulled all the way with bent over rows)
3. Negative (when you lower the weight and provide resistance by bringing it back to your chest slowly, or when you lower the weight slowly down to bring it back to the starting position with bent over rows)

The first mistake people do in the gym is do a bunch of sets and ignore the principles above. Just like when they curl the weight they don't lower it slowly and just bring it down by providing no resistance. The part where you get stronger is the negative portion of it, and the weakest is the positive. The neutral is stronger than the positive. Good rule is to do a 2 second pause and 2 second down.

Without throwing any programs out there what I am trying to get to is that you are not going anywhere if the weight you are lifting is not being manipulated properly. Strength is important but it is secondary to form and the quality of your set. With that in mind, one should lift the heaviest that they can while they are able to manipulate the weight properly. So one must adjust to the changes in strength if they are able to. If you can do 9-10 reps controlled properly with the most weight that you can and your muscle is exhausting in this range then that is perfect. If you do 9-10 crappy reps with weight that you can't even control then you are just wasting your time. A good workout shouldn't have you complete a crap load of sets and shouldn't last for anymore than 45 minutes. To give you an example, Dorian Yates ate the same thing, and took the same things that his competitors did but he achieved results by working out a total of 3 hours a week. Some of his competitors spent that much amount of time in 2 days. Lastly, nutrition is the king above everything else, in fact 85% of your nutrition, and 15% training in my opinion is how I view how the goals are achieved.

FemininGuns

The most important part when you visit the gym is that you are performing your reps with full control and understanding the principles of muscle building.

1. Positive (when you push the weight away from you when you bench for example, or when you pull during a back exercise such as bent over rows)
2. Neutral (when you get to your holding point such as when the weight is pushes all the way with bench press, or pulled all the way with bent over rows)
3. Negative (when you lower the weight and provide resistance by bringing it back to your chest slowly, or when you lower the weight slowly down to bring it back to the starting position with bent over rows)

The first mistake people do in the gym is do a bunch of sets and ignore the principles above. Just like when they curl the weight they don't lower it slowly and just bring it down by providing no resistance. The part where you get stronger is the negative portion of it, and the weakest is the positive. The neutral is stronger than the positive. Good rule is to do a 2 second pause and 2 second down.

Without throwing any programs out there what I am trying to get to is that you are not going anywhere if the weight you are lifting is not being manipulated properly. Strength is important but it is secondary to form and the quality of your set. With that in mind, one should lift the heaviest that they can while they are able to manipulate the weight properly. So one must adjust to the changes in strength if they are able to. If you can do 9-10 reps controlled properly with the most weight that you can and your muscle is exhausting in this range then that is perfect. If you do 9-10 crappy reps with weight that you can't even control then you are just wasting your time. A good workout shouldn't have you complete a crap load of sets and shouldn't last for anymore than 45 minutes. To give you an example, Dorian Yates ate the same thing, and took the same things that his competitors did but he achieved results by working out a total of 3 hours a week. Some of his competitors spent that much amount of time in 2 days. Lastly, nutrition is the king above everything else, in fact 85% of your nutrition, and 15% training in my opinion is how I view how the goals are achieved.

Love this post and it is very true with positive/negative/neutral weight training. I know for me this made a HUGE difference in building the muscle and 'shocking' my muscles

cbrrabbit25

The most important part when you visit the gym is that you are performing your reps with full control and understanding the principles of muscle building.

1. Positive (when you push the weight away from you when you bench for example, or when you pull during a back exercise such as bent over rows)
2. Neutral (when you get to your holding point such as when the weight is pushes all the way with bench press, or pulled all the way with bent over rows)
3. Negative (when you lower the weight and provide resistance by bringing it back to your chest slowly, or when you lower the weight slowly down to bring it back to the starting position with bent over rows)

The first mistake people do in the gym is do a bunch of sets and ignore the principles above. Just like when they curl the weight they don't lower it slowly and just bring it down by providing no resistance. The part where you get stronger is the negative portion of it, and the weakest is the positive. The neutral is stronger than the positive. Good rule is to do a 2 second pause and 2 second down.

Without throwing any programs out there what I am trying to get to is that you are not going anywhere if the weight you are lifting is not being manipulated properly. Strength is important but it is secondary to form and the quality of your set. With that in mind, one should lift the heaviest that they can while they are able to manipulate the weight properly. So one must adjust to the changes in strength if they are able to. If you can do 9-10 reps controlled properly with the most weight that you can and your muscle is exhausting in this range then that is perfect. If you do 9-10 crappy reps with weight that you can't even control then you are just wasting your time. A good workout shouldn't have you complete a crap load of sets and shouldn't last for anymore than 45 minutes. To give you an example, Dorian Yates ate the same thing, and took the same things that his competitors did but he achieved results by working out a total of 3 hours a week. Some of his competitors spent that much amount of time in 2 days. Lastly, nutrition is the king above everything else, in fact 85% of your nutrition, and 15% training in my opinion is how I view how the goals are achieved.

Love this post and it is very true with positive/negative/neutral weight training. I know for me this made a HUGE difference in building the muscle and 'shocking' my muscles

i like this post also. i try to focus more on the proper form and the above, rather than the weight l am lifting.

ixap

.everywhere I read that in order to make gains, you have to increase weight or intensity. I can see this being possible to a certain point but where does it stop? I mean, it's not like body builders are out there carrying houses around, right? How do you continue to make gains if you simply cannot add more weight continuously?

You are right. All sports are like this. Biking, swimming, running -- athletes will train harder and longer, getting faster and faster and faster -- until they peak, and then they will start to slow down. Weightlifters will train harder, getting stronger and stronger and stronger -- until they peak, and then they will start to lose strength bit by bit. Ball players will practice and train, getting better and better at their sport -- until they peak, and then they will start to lose their edge.

Age obviously plays a big role in this. Injuries can precipitate the fall from peak as well of course. And likely we all have some inherent biological limit to our performance in any given area that we could never exceed, even given ideal training/lifestyle/diet/etc. and all the luck in the world to escape injury.

For most sports, you'll enjoy many many years of improvement before hitting that peak, so for now, happily, you can just keep pushing yourself and reaping the benefits.

FullOfWin

A simple consideration would be increasing volume (adding sets) along with other more advanced items like time under tension, rest pause, etc. Also growth isn't just a product of strength increase but also the amount of fatigue placed on the muscle during training which ca nbe manipulated with the aforementioned. Eventually though someone who trains properly will reach their genetic limit. The only option to improve beyond that point is chemical assistance. Most men and even women aren't actually looking to be THAT big though.

n0ob

don't question it...shut up and squat.

Chief_Rocka

I'll worry about that when I get there

ZeroWoIf

A simple consideration would be increasing volume (adding sets) along with other more advanced items like time under tension, rest pause, etc. Also growth isn't just a product of strength increase but also the amount of fatigue placed on the muscle during training which ca nbe manipulated with the aforementioned. Eventually though someone who trains properly will reach their genetic limit. The only option to improve beyond that point is chemical assistance. Most men and even women aren't actually looking to be THAT big though.

Our muscles are usually resting depending on the amount of work that they do. The time spent resting in between sets should be minimal. 60-90 seconds for example is a good rest time. Fatigue is a big factor as you mentioned which is why I try not to rest a lot. I do about 2-3 warm up sets and the next set is a set done to failure. Some other people may do all of them to failure. Some will just lift the weight for strength but that is they are going to gain.

sgthaggard

don't question it...shut up and squat.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I need this on a t-shirt!