Honestly, once I got beyond the intermediate stage the best decision I made was to lose the log book and stop “chasing numbers.” You can’t keep getting stronger forever, and a muscle has no clue how much it’s lifting, just how hard you’re making it work. So my approach was to always know that I trained hard as hell, giving every set all I had (but not being stupid in an attempt to get an extra rep or two), and then rely on spot on nutrition and recovery to do it’s work. I know that doesn’t sell articles or e-books, but it’s the truth.
Over the years, training with plenty of pro competitors, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone writing down their weights while training unless they were trying to peak for a powerlifting event. Bodybuilders don’t need to do that. Beginners should, because there should be some type of measurement to ascertain progress, but after a point, it’s not the actual goal of a bodybuilder to move more weight, the goal is to grow, and no matter what countless powerlifters tell you, strength does not always equate to size (at least not muscular size).
S
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This is huge…for me at least. I’ve been tossing this idea around in my head for awhile now - there are so many ways to stress a muscle, that focusing solely on more weight is limiting, at least in a bodybuilding context. Lately, I’ve been throwing in some 1.5 reps, slower reps, holding a stretch/contraction, different rep ranges, etc, here and there, which makes comparing numbers week to week almost irrelevant. The numbers have become sort of a starting point and I can adjust up or down a bit depending on how I’m planning to do the set.
Now that you mention it, of the big/advanced guys I’ve seen over the years, not many, if any, had log books with them. Neither do the small guys. It seems more common with those in the middle, though, so like you said it does seem to have benefit for beginners, but at some point becomes unnecessary.
I’m going to have to try leaving it in my locker for a month or two and see what happens. I’ll have to take some pictures/measurements to gauge progress, but I’m interested to see what happens.
-Ben
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Thats Bernie Cooper. its definitely not Lee’s dad. Not sure about if that’s his mum though.
Yeah, this was a big realization for me when it finally clicked as well. I spent so many years trying to continually get stronger, and still I looked nothing like a bodybuilder -lol
Its a sobering moment!
S
Every link I find refers to Bernie Cooper as Lee Priest’s dad.
Just been reading through this thread and there is some gold in here but quick question. I have never heard that resting for less than 2 minutes would be detrimental to hypertrophy. Is that correct and is there any evidence of this?
Edit: just read an article quoting Schofields study (comparing 3 minutes rest to 1 minute).
I’ve nearly always done 2 minutes on the big lifts and 1 minute or less or isolation movements. But is the rest just linked to actually performing the set better, so achieving more hypertrophy. Just thinking about how this works when super setting two different muscle groups, am I short changing myself or not.
There are benefits to longer rest periods (and working heavy, with lower rep ranges), as well as using shorter rest periods (and using moderate weights for moderate rep ranges).
This comes down to the different pathways that are available to stimulate muscle growth. Ideally, you would find a way to incorporate both into your routine.
I used to do similar, having a couple of big movements, where I would take longer rests, and really push for heavy weights, averaging 5-8 reps per set, but also including some more isolation type movements where I would rest less, let the weights drop a bit, and push for higher ranges.
If you’re doing, lets say, a chest and back day, you might do something like this to incorporate both pathways:
Flat Bench - Sets of 5-8 reps, rest 3 mins between sets
Pulldowns - "
Incline Bench - "
Barbell Rows - "
Cable Crossovers - Sets of 10-15 reps, rest 90 seconds between sets
Straight Arm Pressdowns - "
S
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Thank you, always appreciate your knowledge and input.
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