I’m 6 foot,i weight 180pounds right now, i was about 165 pounds 3 months ago
I always recommend getting moderately strong before you try to get big. Do some strength training because bench pressing 110 lbs for 10 reps will only get you so far.
That’s a hefty weight gain. How have your lifts gone up in that time?
I posted di progress
You did, apologies, it’s a long thread.
I think this 3 months progress is pretty good at a skim read.
How strong should we get?
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Curious about this too.
Just get stronger there is not set number. I can tell you with confidence though that if you are stuck at 110 lb bench for 10 reps and never try to get stronger you are not going to get very big.
Gotta be at LEAST 11 reps at 110.
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It would be insane if somebody that could bench 210 lbs for 10 reps was bigger than a guy that only benches 110 lbs every workout. My advice to hop on a strength program is sound. You can’t progressively overload if you only do 10 rep schemes and never get stronger.
Sure but if your goal is maximum muscle there must be a moment when you shift to hypertrophy focused programs
Can you not progressively overload your 10 reps weight???
I think most on here could beat me in a 1 rep bench max. But my chest is pretty good.
If you cant add weight or reps to your 10 rep max and your stalling out then switching to lower reps and getting stronger will also stall out once the cns strength gains have maxed out. Next to 0 muscle will have been added despite being stronger.
Failure to progress your 10 rep is going to be down to many other factors like diet, effort, programming issues. All of which wont be fixed by getting stronger.
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Totally agree with @kd13 here. Why is it so “either/ or”?
I don’t get This assumption:
- Sets of 10? Obviously he intends to stay with exactly that weight forever.
- Sets of 5? He’s definitely adding weight every week.
I’m not coming down on your advice, specifically; that line of thinking just seems to be relatively common and I really don’t know why.
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Fixed for better accuracy.
I think we’re getting lost in the weeds with generic labels like “strength program” vs “hypertrophy program”, and with vague phrases like “get stronger”.
Would you consider a progression from 110x10 to 110x15 to be ‘getting stronger’?
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I’m just trying to see his point of view.
But obviously you’re most likely going to put more mass on a Meadows intensity based split and more strength on 5/3/1 even though you can gain both on both
I don’t think rep ranges matter. Pick a rep range to get strong in and you’ll get big and strong. Obviously each has it’s own benefits, but the number lifted is still all that matters.
If your bench 10RM goes from 225 to 405 your upper body is going to be much bigger.
If your bench 5RM goes from 225 to 405 your upper body is going to be much bigger.
Obviously a person with a 10RM of 405 is probably going to be a bit bigger, but if you are benching 405 for 3+ reps you are going to be big lol.
I think just pick two set/rep schemes you want to get good at and get after it. I think beginners should focus on 4x8 and 5x3-5. One a little higher and one lower rep just to keep form in check. Then hammer assistance work using 4x10+. Seems to be fool proof.
Would you rather be able to squat 500x20 or 700x5. Personally if you could do either you are going to be strong as fuck lol.
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Yes. Yes I would.
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I would consider 110 x15 to be progress but I don’t think he will have the ability to do 5 more reps if he only does 4 sets of 10 with the same weight (110lb) every week. He said he was stuck at that weight and rep range so he needs to drop the reps for a while get a little stronger, then he will be able to come back and smash sets of 10 with more weight.
All I am saying is if he sticks to 4 sets of 10 with the same weight every week he will not progress but so far. If he was to focus on strength for a while he could come back and smash sets of 10 with more weight and see more progress
Couldn’t he also get stronger by adding more sets rather than doing less reps?
I don’t find lower reps and higher intensity a recipe for getting stronger: it’s simply intensificaiton. It’s improving one’s skill at lifting heavier weights.
I concur that doing the same thing all the time will not result in progress, but I don’t think the sole solution is intensification. I find one can still keep the rep ranges the same and find other ways to progress. More sets, reduced rest times, intensity multipliers ala dropsets/strip sets/rest pauses, etc, added volume through new training movements, etc.
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