Low Reps; Heavy Weights

2

Replies

  • jesusGuerrero12
    jesusGuerrero12 Posts: 3
    5x5 is for strength more than likely ppl use it when theyre bulkin, but 8-12 is more for deffinition i guess you can call it?
  • ravihira1892
    ravihira1892 Posts: 149 Member
    surely even by doing say 3 sets of 5 reps & having your diet in surplus your bound to pack on muscle?
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    surely even by doing say 3 sets of 5 reps & having your diet in surplus your bound to pack on muscle?

    You will increase strength and some muscle with that routine, but you need a lot more volume to "pack on muscle".
  • Taylerr88
    Taylerr88 Posts: 320 Member
    5x5 is for strength more than likely ppl use it when theyre bulkin, but 8-12 is more for deffinition i guess you can call it?

    first half is right.. but doing high reps does not give you definition. cutting bf gives you definition and nothing else.
  • mandypooh2103
    mandypooh2103 Posts: 289 Member
    bump
  • ravihira1892
    ravihira1892 Posts: 149 Member
    surely even by doing say 3 sets of 5 reps & having your diet in surplus your bound to pack on muscle?

    You will increase strength and some muscle with that routine, but you need a lot more volume to "pack on muscle".

    How much volume are we talking about?

    So you saying in essence that...

    surplus diet + low reps and 90% strength for weights = gaining in strength + some muscle + fat gain

    and

    surplus diet + moderate reps say 8 reps + 70-80% strength for weights = muscle + fat gain?
  • Monkee_Magic
    Monkee_Magic Posts: 32 Member
    Thanks for the good useable info.:happy:
  • auditorz
    auditorz Posts: 15
    When you're a beginner do big compound lifts such as Squats, Deadlift, Bench, Overhead Press, Pullups. Only do a few of these moves each workout but add weight every workout. When you can't add weight switch up your routine. This may take a beginner 6 months or more on a proper program to stall. Or many people in the gym lift for years without progressive increases and never gain anything. Work smarter not harder.
  • blandrick
    blandrick Posts: 8
    IMO to bulk up, first focus on getting strong. Do something like SL 5x5 or Westside 4SB until you gain some strength, IE at least 3 or 4 months solid of the program. Also, make sure your diet is in check. Once you can actually lift a fair amount of weight, you can focus on cutting or bulking or whatever it is that you want to do.

    The key is progressive loading, so like for Stronglifts your goal for squatting is to do 5 pounds more each workout than the last. When you stall you can deload and build back up, etc. When you start stalling, you'll have to start eating more, and my guess is that you'll bulk up just as a side effect of trying to get stronger. It's much harder to keep loading on more weight workout after workout if you're not eating enough.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,990 Member
    surely even by doing say 3 sets of 5 reps & having your diet in surplus your bound to pack on muscle?

    You will increase strength and some muscle with that routine, but you need a lot more volume to "pack on muscle".
    This. Volume training in the 8-12 rep range has been the medium for the average person to pack on muscle. You have an incorporation of fast and slow twitch activation at medium levels for both. You are shooting for sarcoplasmic hypertrophy here and not myofibrillar.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    Westside For Skinny *kitten* III - This is pretty awesome and simple. Do this with a calorie surplus and you'll get to where you want to be.
  • jaymek92
    jaymek92 Posts: 309 Member
    asked my boyfriend, a former competitive bodybuilder on this.
    he says that he uses heavy weights with lower reps to bulk. 4-6 reps at the most. he also does a lot of sets per muscle group. 15-20 for his arms and 20-25 for everything else, split among 4 or 5 different exercises.
    like today, he did 23 sets for biceps (hammer curls, bicep curls, preacher curls, and spider curls) and 16 for triceps (because he also did chest, so they were fatigued already).

    op, you don't really need to bother with specifically working your abs. working with free weights will engage your core to keep you stable, and a good diet will show them off, if that's what you're after.
  • LovesGG
    LovesGG Posts: 241 Member
    Here's what works for ME:
    I do 5-7 reps with pretty heavy weights. My sets depend on failure; I aim for failure by the 4th set.

    I found this e-book about gaining mass and it has a whole bunch of diet and exercise stuff. I can e-mail it to you if you want.
  • kchabby76
    kchabby76 Posts: 65
    You will gain muscle EITHER way. I've seen both, those who lift heavy less reps, less often and those who lift lighter, more reps more often. If you are looking to gain "strength" then lifting heavy is the way to go. You can find lots of info to back this up simply by research. It really doesn't matter.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    surely even by doing say 3 sets of 5 reps & having your diet in surplus your bound to pack on muscle?

    You will increase strength and some muscle with that routine, but you need a lot more volume to "pack on muscle".

    How much volume are we talking about?

    So you saying in essence that...

    surplus diet + low reps and 90% strength for weights = gaining in strength + some muscle + fat gain

    and

    surplus diet + moderate reps say 8 reps + 70-80% strength for weights = muscle + fat gain?

    Strength = density, not size. When you use low reps and high weights, you increase strength due to tendon and ligament adaptation, central nervous system training, and increased muscle fiber density (myofibrillar hypertrophy.) You get stronger, but you don't look bigger. More moderate weight, and higher reps causes muscle tissue to swell with sarcoplasmic fluid (sarcoplasmic hypertrophy.) In this case, you look bigger, but you aren't actually stronger.
  • StartingAnewDay
    StartingAnewDay Posts: 319 Member
    bump
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,990 Member
    You will gain muscle EITHER way. I've seen both, those who lift heavy less reps, less often and those who lift lighter, more reps more often. If you are looking to gain "strength" then lifting heavy is the way to go. You can find lots of info to back this up simply by research. It really doesn't matter.
    You don't build muscle on light weights with more reps more often. You're building muscle endurance on this regimen. Muscle needs OVERLOAD in order for hypertrophy to happen.
    So yes it does matter.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    Did I walk into a "should I eat my exercise calories" thread again... oh wait... nope. LOL. Seriously people, go do some real reading on MASS gain. Your muscles can still get stronger while on a deficit and to get stronger they must grow but we're not talking REAL hypertrophy. The best way to look at this is, bodybuilders go through a bulk cycle to add muscle and when they go into a cut (calorie deficit) cycle they LOSE muscle mass not gain.
  • Spamee
    Spamee Posts: 148 Member
    bump
  • kirkemorgan
    kirkemorgan Posts: 88 Member
    What's all this muscle building about? Would I get too bulky?
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    What's all this muscle building about? Would I get too bulky?

    Meh, just do Pilates to make your muscles longer instead of bulkier. lmao
  • kchabby76
    kchabby76 Posts: 65
    You CAN build muscle with low weights, more reps. Muscle needs to be fatigued, NOT overloaded. You do reps until muscle fatigue sets in sets in with low weights... maybe you need to have a refresher course in your certification?
  • kchabby76
    kchabby76 Posts: 65
    You will gain muscle EITHER way. I've seen both, those who lift heavy less reps, less often and those who lift lighter, more reps more often. If you are looking to gain "strength" then lifting heavy is the way to go. You can find lots of info to back this up simply by research. It really doesn't matter.
    You don't build muscle on light weights with more reps more often. You're building muscle endurance on this regimen. Muscle needs OVERLOAD in order for hypertrophy to happen.
    So yes it does matter.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition



    You CAN build muscle with low weights, more reps. Muscle needs to be fatigued, NOT overloaded. You do reps until muscle fatigue sets in sets in with low weights... maybe you need to have a refresher course in your certification?
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,990 Member
    You CAN build muscle with low weights, more reps. Muscle needs to be fatigued, NOT overloaded. You do reps until muscle fatigue sets in sets in with low weights... maybe you need to have a refresher course in your certification?
    Nope. Professionally doing it for over 29 years now and having research from Journals of Medicine, Sport Conditioning, Endocrinology and Metabolism, etc. to back what I've stated should be enough.
    Anecdotals aren't evidence.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    You CAN build muscle with low weights, more reps. Muscle needs to be fatigued, NOT overloaded. You do reps until muscle fatigue sets in sets in with low weights... maybe you need to have a refresher course in your certification?

    Confusing bulk with strength gains? Cuz they're not the same thing. Bodybuilders don't go through the rigor of bulking and adding fat and muscle to go through a cut phase and lose all of the fat gain and a small percentage of the muscle gain because they'd rather do it that way.
  • thefuzz1290
    thefuzz1290 Posts: 777 Member
    You CAN build muscle with low weights, more reps. Muscle needs to be fatigued, NOT overloaded. You do reps until muscle fatigue sets in sets in with low weights... maybe you need to have a refresher course in your certification?
    Nope. Professionally doing it for over 29 years now and having research from Journals of Medicine, Sport Conditioning, Endocrinology and Metabolism, etc. to back what I've stated should be enough.
    Anecdotals aren't evidence.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    What do the kiddies these days say? PWNED!
  • tyroneadams
    tyroneadams Posts: 55
    bump!
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    bump!

    No don't bump, this is getting stupid. Dammit, I bumped it. LOL
  • ncates00
    ncates00 Posts: 51
    It may be a good idea to mix it up on some days. Perhaps you could do your 5x5 routine for raw strength, and mix in some 10 or 12x4 for some endurance. In either case, go to failure. Just a thought!
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    It may be a good idea to mix it up on some days. Perhaps you could do your 5x5 routine for raw strength, and mix in some 10 or 12x4 for some endurance. In either case, go to failure. Just a thought!

    The Westside method is similar to that. Two days are dedicated to Max Effort and two days are dedicated to Dynamic Effort. I just started the Westside Skinny *kitten* 3 method by John DeFranco, I may start a thread about it.
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