Sets/Reps for Power and Size?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

hi guys,
so ive been training with a 5x5 typ workout for the past 6 weeks but couldnt get my self to comit to a split training workout. my main goal is power cuz i’m a running back but i also want some emphasis on size since summer is aproching, ya know for the ladies…
my main exersizes are dead lifts squats and bench presses.

i read an article about boosting t and it said 5x5 or even up to ten reps is beast for t production and power( mixed with high prot and fat and low carb diet)… so i’m doing that every other day. dose any one have a good idea of an efective split cuz i got all the time in the world now. my emphasis is still gonna be on power and t boosting but i also wanna work my shoulders and and upper back including arms more(army presses best for shoulder width?)…after i add some mass and density i’ma start cutting for that six pack.

oh yeah… will a 5x5 or 5x10 give me any significant hypertrophy or should i bulk on a 8x4 first? and one more thing any one know the best aproch on shocking my nervous system and increasing my nerolgical input and contaction signal?
thanks

2

Don’t cut until you get a significant base. By that, I mean don’t cut until you are 200 lbs, at least. I am waiting for a while to cut. You are playing football, as am I, and since you need to break through tackles, I would recommend a lot of Olympic movements as they require power to perform them. You can still use 5x5 for them.

I think you can get away with reps as low as 5 for hypertrophy purposes. Personally, I like keeping my reps below 10, usually 8 or lower is ideal for me at lest.

Just one thing, with size, strength comes as aside effect. With strength, size comes as a side effect.

3

True with strength you’ll get bigger and as you get bigger you’ll get stronger, but there’s a difference in scale.

If your main goal is getting stronger, you won’t necessarily become the biggest thing in the world. I mean, it’s obviously possible with all the huge power lifters. But look at Bruce Lee. Guy was super strong, but not super big. Also I’ve seen many olympic lifters who are very strong, but necessarily the biggest guys around.

Same holds true with getting bigger. There are lots of big guys who aren’t as strong as they appear.

Since your main goal is getting stronger I would stick with the 5x5 or 6x4. I think it’s best to get a strong base of strength anyways before trying to go for size/hypertrophy…that’s my personal opinion though.

The way I see it by the time you’ve built a solid foundation of strength and you go for size you’ll be able to rep more weight for hypertrophy and you’ll really start to see some significant gains in size.

I mean, seriously, who do you think is going to get bigger. A guy benching 135lbs 10reps for 4 sets, or a guy benching 245+ for the same amount? I think it’s rather obvious.

Just stuff your face for the summer and lift the heavy weights.

You look pretty lean so if you eat clean and eat a lot you wont put on much fat, so don’t worry about your six pack.

When fall comes around, or when you think it’s time, you can start “shredding”.

Oh and for adding shoulder width that means you want to pack muscle onto your lateral delt. For me I’ve found doing lat raises, L laterals, and uprights work great for doing this.

Military press usually hits both the frontal and lateral heads of the delt. So go for it.

4

Pick a heavy ass compound exercise. Do as many singles as you can at 90% intensity within 15 minutes.

5

thanks for the advice! yeah my nummber one goal is both performance AND looking good 200 pounds is def too huuuuge for me cuz i’m around 5 9 and dont wanna look too bulky… i just want more of a v shape!!! im 73 kg now so an extra 4kg or 8lb wont hurt but i’ll still try to loose bf for the summer.
so for that v should i do isolationmovements in the days between my big movements? whats in your opinion are the best exercises for that?

6

[quote]ukrainian wrote:
Don’t cut until you get a significant base. By that, I mean don’t cut until you are 200 lbs, at least. I am waiting for a while to cut. You are playing football, as am I, and since you need to break through tackles, I would recommend a lot of Olympic movements as they require power to perform them. You can still use 5x5 for them.

I think you can get away with reps as low as 5 for hypertrophy purposes. Personally, I like keeping my reps below 10, usually 8 or lower is ideal for me at lest.

Just one thing, with size, strength comes as aside effect. With strength, size comes as a side effect.

[/quote]

I like the latter more than the former, the idea of being a compact hellaciously strong SOB appeals to me much more than being a huge mass monstriousity. Not saying that packing some serious muscle is a problem, but at least for me seeking strength is my end goal in lifting right now more than hypertrophy. (Funny thing is I am gaining some decent size without specifically seeking size :slight_smile: )

As far as trainig for power and size, something along the lines of CW 10x3 or EDT would probably fit the bill for you quite well.

7

[quote]kanayo6 wrote:
thanks for the advice! yeah my nummber one goal is both performance AND looking good 200 pounds is def too huuuuge for me cuz i’m around 5 9 and dont wanna look too bulky… i just want more of a v shape!!! im 73 kg now so an extra 4kg or 8lb wont hurt but i’ll still try to loose bf for the summer.
so for that v should i do isolationmovements in the days between my big movements? whats in your opinion are the best exercises for that? [/quote]

Rather than waste your time with isolation movements, I would suggest some KB or DB swings on your off days with light to moderate weights for fat-loss complexes. Holy crap those can get your cardiovascular system on fire!

8

[quote]kanayo6 wrote:
thanks for the advice! yeah my nummber one goal is both performance AND looking good 200 pounds is def too huuuuge for me cuz i’m around 5 9 and dont wanna look too bulky… i just want more of a v shape!!! im 73 kg now so an extra 4kg or 8lb wont hurt but i’ll still try to loose bf for the summer.
so for that v should i do isolationmovements in the days between my big movements? whats in your opinion are the best exercises for that? [/quote]

You will be surprised. Once you actually start lifting, you will want to get a lot bigger than you previously thought. And I was saying 200 lbs before you cut down, and after the cut, you can be at a good 190 (or 185 if you put on more fat than you anticipated). And you can still be huge and hold a really good V-shape.

9

yeah ukrainian i found that to be very true… i already wanna be so much bigger then i did in the beginning. another thing is that ppl around me notice the change more than my self, i could think i’m average or much smaller then some particular person but when they are next to me i’m actually bigger or the same!
…i think u just got me apeald by the idea of being a 190lb 5 9 cut animal…
i’ll keep u posted on my progress!
thnx

10

[quote]Sir wrote:
True with strength you’ll get bigger and as you get bigger you’ll get stronger, but there’s a difference in scale.

If your main goal is getting stronger, you won’t necessarily become the biggest thing in the world. I mean, it’s obviously possible with all the huge power lifters. But look at Bruce Lee. Guy was super strong, but not super big. Also I’ve seen many olympic lifters who are very strong, but necessarily the biggest guys around.

[/quote]

Yes, well, Bruce Lee died of anorexia pretty much, so he stayed small due to his eating habits, yet was strong because his CNS didn’t require nutrients to become more efficient.

I would also wager that many olympic lifters eat to stay at the size where their relative strength is at their highest, so they can win more competitions.

So, eating really determines how big you get, your lifting style still impacts it, but eating is still the #1 factor.

11

http://www.T-Nation.com/article/bodybuilding/beast_building_part_1&cr=

This is good stuff.

Size and Strength are two different goals that require two different set/rep schemes.

Sure, big people are strong and strong people are big, but Kirk Karwowski is better at being strong than Jay Cutler and Jay Cutler is better at being big than Kirk (for the record, I’d rather have Kirk’s Body).

If Strength is your goal, you need to train with weights above 80% of your max. The Number of sets you do is inversely preportional to the number of reps you do and the weight you’re using.

For 85% you might be doing 4 sets of 10
or 15 sets of 3.

But for 95% the options are limited, and you’ll be doing something more along the lines of 1 set of 5 or 3 sets of 1.

If Muscle Gains are your goal, then high reps is what you want. Sets of 15 reps for Back and Legs. Sets of 10 reps for Arms, Chest, and Shoulders. Using Slow negatives, drop sets, rest pause sets, and other strategies to increase the time under tension will be better suited for hypertrophy than strength.

There is no easy answer or formula for size or strength since many styles of training can work and there is no one best style (although some are better than others).

12

[quote]Goodfellow wrote:
Sir wrote:

Yes, well, Bruce Lee died of anorexia pretty much, so he stayed small due to his eating habits, yet was strong because his CNS didn’t require nutrients to become more efficient.

[/quote]

errrr…no. this is not correct at all. If you read the book called Expressing the Human Body you can see the diet that Bruce was on and you will read that Linda Lee cooked everything for him and made sure he ate very healthy and that he had a very strict diet. Sorry don’t mean to hijack your thread OP.

As far as getting bigger even if you know a lot about lifting a good mass builder is the 5x5 program with simply bench/deadlifts/squats/pull ups/chin ups/dips/rows. It’s helps get mad gains. Like the other guys said you don’t get shit from muscle isolation work outs if you don’t have a good base.

13

there was an article on here called Size and Strength 2.0 and it basically called for you to do upper/lower splits twice a week the first upper/lower was hypertrophy aimed and did reps from 12-20 the next 2 days were stength aimed with sets of 4-5 it was an OK program, i didnt see much with it but maybe itd work better for you.

also wouldnt say 4 sets of 4-6 work well for both hypertrophy and strength? i mean i do think youre better off going all out for just either or versus doing a hybrid.