when I referred to higher rep ranges I thought it was obvious to challenge yourself. I never understood how can some people “train” for 3-4 hours a day with no results at all. Then I learned that they just spend that time around the weight.
As I said for example: a 20-rep squat-set for me is almost an eternity. Above the 10th rep I need to pause for deep breaths after every rep, and pretty much spent so much that I barely manage to re-rack the weight without difficulty. I never believed in easy reps, they won’t help me in reaching my goals.
[quote]Sarev0k wrote:
But then you have people like Tom Platz who swore by 20 rep squats, which just happened not to do shit for me.
[/quote]
ROLLING ON FLOOR LAUGHING COPTER!!
Platz managed to do over 20 reps with 500lbs. Think the sheer weight he was using might have something to do with it?[/quote]
Exactly. Once again, the REPS are not so much the issue as the WEIGHT used when doing them.
Doing 20 reps with a 15lbs dumbbell is NOT going to build 20" arms on anyone.[/quote]
But doesn’t it depend on whats heavy for you, rather that what is heavy in general? Personally I do a low rep set and then widowaker on the leg press and see growth from it, and I’m by no means strong.
Of course I don’t expect to get huge legs by continually doing 20 reps of my current weight, but if I keep progressing in the weight I use then surely I can keep growing? It would only be a problem if I couldnt progress the weight due to the high number of reps but so far thats not happened.[/quote]
You’re missing the point. No one is saying that doing “high reps” is useless, but when talking about Ronnie Coleman etc it’s irrelevant and silly to think that the high number of reps is (as PX said) what’s important.
What do widowmakers have to do with this? They’re normally done with your 6-8 rep max so yes of course it’ll be a weight that’s heavy for you. Aint nothing “light” or easy about blasting through that for 20 reps. Not sure what your point was. Very odd response to someone talking about 15lb dumbbells.
[quote]Vejne wrote:
I never believed in easy reps[/quote]
Same, also don’t understand the mentality that anyone doing 12 reps is using a “light” weight. That video of Ronnie Coleman pressing 200lb dumbbells for 10-12 reps or something… no one can say that’s a light weight, not even him (other than when he’s actually shouting “LIGHT WEIGHT BABY”) I really doubt he actually thinks of them as light weights.
[quote]MODOK wrote:
Yes, higher rep ranges can lead to tremendous growth- but here’s the kicker: you have to challenge yourself in that rep range. Most people don’t venture out there because its so fucking physically taxing. But you will definitely get NEW growth if you dare to do high reps with heavy ass weight.[/quote]
Agreed.
The point is ‘does the lifter actually challenge themselves’. High rep work with serious weight is ulta demanding. I am not talking about ‘century sets’ for leg extensions, drop sets for bicep, or high rep side lateral raises. We’re talking ‘money’ moves that leave you feeling like your drowning and make you nauseous.
seated barbell presses with 135lbs for 6 reps, and came back to it week after week trying to get more reps until finally I got 15, then I went to 185lbs (able to get about 6 reps) and did the same thing (up to 15) in order to get to 225lbs…
… what reps were making my muscles grow?
My answer: the reps that made me grow were the extra ones I squeezed out every time I went to the gym. Do you think your body really cares if those happened to be your 7th and 8th rep, or your 12th, or your 15th?[/quote]
DING! DING! DING!
Yes, higher rep ranges can lead to tremendous growth- but here’s the kicker: you have to challenge yourself in that rep range. Most people don’t venture out there because its so fucking physically taxing. But you will definitely get NEW growth if you dare to do high reps with heavy ass weight.[/quote]
I completely agree with this statement, MODOK. People often associate high reps with light weights and “getting a pump,” so in that case, yea, it ain’t gonna do a whole lot for growth. If you take a pretty heavy weight (relative to your strength of course) and grind it out though, I think the high reps can do wonders for growth. Of course, you can’t do it all the time, but I like to do as a shock every month or so.
Here is a PR I hit last Friday on the leg press, 60 reps with 6 plates a side. I have worked up to doing this from 3 plates a side, and my legs respond very well to it (also less taxing on the joints that the heavier weights).
And here is another high repper I did on the V-Squat a couple months ago. This weight is only one less plate per side from what I used to hit 20 reps the week before this, and that to me is the key to the high rep stuff.
Another benefit to this stuff is it really teaches you to grind out reps and push through pain, which can pay dividends when you go back to the standard rep ranges with heavier weights. My heavier numbers have gone up a lot as a result of learning to push myself harder via high reps.
Yes, higher rep ranges can lead to tremendous growth- but here’s the kicker: you have to challenge yourself in that rep range. Most people don’t venture out there because its so fucking physically taxing. But you will definitely get NEW growth if you dare to do high reps with heavy ass weight.[/quote]
I completely agree with this statement, MODOK. People often associate high reps with light weights and “getting a pump,” so in that case, yea, it ain’t gonna do a whole lot for growth. If you take a pretty heavy weight (relative to your strength of course) and grind it out though, I think the high reps can do wonders for growth. Of course, you can’t do it all the time, but I like to do as a shock every month or so.
Here is a PR I hit last Friday on the leg press, 60 reps with 6 plates a side. I have worked up to doing this from 3 plates a side, and my legs respond very well to it (also less taxing on the joints that the heavier weights).
And here is another high repper I did on the V-Squat a couple months ago. This weight is only one less plate per side from what I used to hit 20 reps the week before this, and that to me is the key to the high rep stuff.
Another benefit to this stuff is it really teaches you to grind out reps and push through pain, which can pay dividends when you go back to the standard rep ranges with heavier weights. My heavier numbers have gone up a lot as a result of learning to push myself harder via high reps. [/quote]
Yes, higher rep ranges can lead to tremendous growth- but here’s the kicker: you have to challenge yourself in that rep range. Most people don’t venture out there because its so fucking physically taxing. But you will definitely get NEW growth if you dare to do high reps with heavy ass weight.[/quote]
I completely agree with this statement, MODOK. People often associate high reps with light weights and “getting a pump,” so in that case, yea, it ain’t gonna do a whole lot for growth. If you take a pretty heavy weight (relative to your strength of course) and grind it out though, I think the high reps can do wonders for growth. Of course, you can’t do it all the time, but I like to do as a shock every month or so.
Here is a PR I hit last Friday on the leg press, 60 reps with 6 plates a side. I have worked up to doing this from 3 plates a side, and my legs respond very well to it (also less taxing on the joints that the heavier weights).
And here is another high repper I did on the V-Squat a couple months ago. This weight is only one less plate per side from what I used to hit 20 reps the week before this, and that to me is the key to the high rep stuff.
Another benefit to this stuff is it really teaches you to grind out reps and push through pain, which can pay dividends when you go back to the standard rep ranges with heavier weights. My heavier numbers have gone up a lot as a result of learning to push myself harder via high reps. [/quote]
LOL. That’s why he’s in the T-Cell. We do have some serious guys here, they just don’t speak up much.[/quote]
I have been reading here more recently, just not posting. I will try to post more. It seems to be that the threads in the T-Cell tend to be more focused on training with fewer sidetracks and unnecessary posts so I’ve tended to read and post more there.
I just want to be clear with what I said before that I personally do not think really high rep stuff is the way to go ALL the time. For some it could work well, but personally, I think it is best to use every once and awhile basically to shock the body. There is no way I could progress every week doing 50-60 reppers like I posted above and still make progress with my other workouts. That sort of stuff causes extreme soreness and I find that when I do it, the next workouts in the week sometimes suffer a little bit. I think the foundation needs to be built with heavier weights, but the high rep stuff can provide a good shock, and can teach mental toughness, which translate well into the heavier weights.
With that said, I usually use a little higher rep range for legs for two reasons. 1) I think legs respond well to higher reps and 2) I have had a knee surgery and a back surgery, and heavier weights tend to give me problems. I typically stay around 12-20 reps for legs, and throw in the really high rep stuff on occasion when I’m feel frisky.
