How many sets/reps should I do?

I do three sets to failure of every exercise.

Rep range, for me, is in between 5 and 12. If I can't do 5 of something, it's too heavy. If I can do more than a dozen, it's too light. Some people advocate doing less reps with heavier weights than 5 but I find I'm a lot more likely to injure myself and have bad form (they go together) with something that relatively heavy.

I'll also change the weight from set to set; that's called pyramiding. Some people increase the weight and decrease the reps from set to set. Or, you can decrease the weight and increase reps. Which variation is called a "reverse pyramid" seems to change depending on who's writing the article. If you're going to failure, it's not really an issue.

I've got my starting weights written down but that's just a guide. There are a zillion factors that affect how many reps you can do at a given time, so don't worry about it. Just put in the real effort and don't kid yourself.

feisty_bucket wrote: »

I do three sets to failure of every exercise.

Rep range, for me, is in between 5 and 12. If I can't do 5 of something, it's too heavy. If I can do more than a dozen, it's too light. Some people advocate doing less reps with heavier weights than 5 but I find I'm a lot more likely to injure myself and have bad form (they go together) with something that relatively heavy.

I'll also change the weight from set to set; that's called pyramiding. Some people increase the weight and decrease the reps from set to set. Or, you can decrease the weight and increase reps. Which variation is called a "reverse pyramid" seems to change depending on who's writing the article. If you're going to failure, it's not really an issue.

I've got my starting weights written down but that's just a guide. There are a zillion factors that affect how many reps you can do at a given time, so don't worry about it. Just put in the real effort and don't kid yourself.

I guess that is up to you. I like to be able to move weight heavy. I do the 5/3/1 program which well does not go above 5 reps unless the last set which is till failure. The risk is higher and form does become important but form should always be important.

kaitlynroyale wrote: »

Thanks for the advice!

The current routine I do is push/pull/legs but I'm open to changing it up.

And yeah I never go to failure on squats or bench press just because I go to a 24/7 gym since I'm a nanny and work til after staffed hours so there's almost never anyone there to spot me so I don't want to risk exhausting myself with those and then being stuck without help.

No power rack at the gym where you can set the safeties? If there's a Smith machine you could take the last few sets to failure or a rep shy in safety. Yes I said Smith. Nothing wrong with them.

I like your current routines of heavy followed by lighter burner sets. I always train to failure or beyond, and focus the work on the target muscles. Not as good for building strength, but better for growth. I might raise the rep range a bit for some exercises. Most upper body work I'll usually pyramid up in weight and do a 15/12/10 or 12/10/8, then sometimes finish with a lighter burner set or a drop set. For me glutes/hams/quads respond much better to higher reps. Something like leg press might pyramid up in weight with reps something like 22/18/14/12/6, then if really feeling masochistic do a drop set with the 6 rep weight and get spotters to pull off a pair of 45 at each failure till I can't move it anymore. Calves for some reason seem to like high weight lower reps for me at least. But I follow those sets with a light, long time under tension set to finish.

Lots of different paths to choose from, and everybody gets different results depending on their genetics and tolerance for exercise. Explore till you find what yields the best for you. Good luck.